Eurocup: Last 32 gets 4 more clubs
The door to the Last 32 of the Eurocup has slammed shut as the final week of the Regular Season finished on Wednesday night. There were nineteen games around Europe on day 2 of week 10 and the final four Last 32 positions were decided with Bilbao, TED Ankara, CEZ Nymburk, and Banvit Bandirma becaming the final quartet of teams to book safe passage into the next stage of the Eurocup.
Group A
Artland Dragons vs. CEZ B. Nymburk, 58-77
CEZ Nymburk put in a convincing away performance to down German team Artland Dragons and snatch the final Last 32 place in Group A. It has been a good Eurocup so far for the Czech side, and on Wednesday Nymburk put on a strong show to claim third in the group with a 6-4 record. The Artland Dragons have had a difficult season and the club finished fifth with a dismal 2-8 record.
With qualification at stake, Nymburk raced from the blocks and started carving a lead from the tip-off, eventually taking the first quarter 10-20. The first 10 minutes set the tone for the game as the Dragons found it hard to get back into the match as Nymburk continued to put together scoring streaks. By the midway buzzer, despite a brief rally from the home team, CEZ held a 25-46 lead. With 21 points the different going into the second half, the visitors could afford to ease off slightly and the result was the hosts cutting the deficit to 14 by the end of the third quarter, the score reading 44-58. With the game long since won, Nymburk closed out a comfortable victory in the 4th that secured passage to the next stage of the 2013/2014 Eurocup.
Rado Rancik paced Nymburk with 30 points and was backed up by Dylan Page with 19 and Tre Simmons with 12.
Anthony King scored 13 for the hosts and Lawrence Hill added 12.
Group B
Bilbao Basket vs. EWE Baskets Oldenburg, 90-84
Group B threw up a winner takes all game on Wednesday when Bilbao hosted Oldenburg in Spain for a game that both needed to win to claim a Last 32 place. Bilbao´s poor form over recent weeks (five consecutive losses) meant EWE had a chance of taking the road win, but the Spanish home team managed to scrape through to the next stage of the Eurocup. The win sent Bilbao above Oldenburg into third place with a 5-5 record, while the German team also sits on 5-5 but misses out on head to heads.
A yo-yo first quarter saw both teams hold the lead on several occasions and by the end of the first period nothing could separate the clubs as the scoreboard read 21 apiece. The second 10 minutes proved just as tight, but the home advantage started to tell as Bilbao carved out a slender 46-41 lead at halftime. An early extension of the lead in Q3 from Bilbao was quickly rubbed out as the visitors put on a 2-11 run to snatch the initiative. However, the home team responded with 10 unanswered points of their own to put the game on a knife edge heading into the final minutes. Bilbao held on through the final minute despite an onslaught from Oldenburg to take the game and a place in the Last 32.
Alex Mumbru was inspirational for the winners and claimed a game high 22 points, while German Gabriel grabbed 21 points and 7 rebounds in a high octane performance.
Julius Jenkins led the way for EWE Baskets with 20 points. Dru Joyce claimed 18 points and 8 assists in the losing effort, while Nemanja Aleksandrov took 13 points and 6 rebounds.
Group F
Aykon TED Ankara vs. Alba Fehervar, 84-64
Ankara´s Eurocup Regular Season quest ended with qualification to the Last 32 thanks to a crushing victory over Alba Fehervar at home. The Turkish club put 20 points on the Hungarian visitors in a win that took the home team to third in Group F with a 6-4 record.
The game was never really in doubt as the hosts dominated from the first second and even held a 20-2 lead after 5 minutes of play. Alba started to find the basket in the second half of the first 10 minutes but Ankara kept pressing to lead 29-12 after the initial period. The second stanza went much the same way as the home team continued to control the game, despite a brief rally from the visitors courtesy of a 0-8 run. With the halftime buzzer sounding around the Ankara Arena the score sat at 47-31. Ankara extended the lead early in the third quarter to all but seal the game, but Alba recovered well to get the score to
63-53 after half hour. Any hopes of a monumental comeback were dashed when Ankara ascended again in the fourth to make the remaining minutes a formality.
Vanja Plisnic put in a barnstorming all round display for the winners by collecting 23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Vladimir Golubovic put in a double-double performance by tabbing 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Clay Tucker had 14 points and 6 assists and Aleksandar Rasic 12 points and 7 assists.
Group G
VEF Riga vs. Banvit Bandirma, 91-77
Banvit secured a Last 32 berth by a whisker after losing to VEF Riga in Latvia on Wednesday night. The Turkish club will feel luck shined down upon them as Riga could not get a large enough win to secure its own passage to the next phase of the Eurocup. Both clubs were tied for third place in Group G heading into this game, but Banvit progresses thanks to an 83-64 home win over Riga in Week 5.
A very tense opening to the game saw neither team register a score for more than three minutes due to the stakes of the game. Eventually the baskets started to flow and Riga took the early advantage by claiming the first quarter 21-15. Banvit responded early in the second by getting the score to just one point and by the time halftime came the teams were locked at 40-40. Banvit stormed from the changing room and dominated the early exchanges of the third quarter with an 11-0 run to go 40-51 in front. The hosts responded with a 13-1 run of their own and the game became a spectacle of end to end action. Heading into the fourth and final quarter Riga held a 3 point lead at 61-58. Needing to put more points on the board for any hopes of qualification, the hosts went into overdrive in the last period to extend the lead to 14 by the end of the match. However, it was not enough for the Latvian hosts and Banvit progressed.
Dee Brown was sensational for Riga with 22 points and 11 assists, while Kristaps Janicenoks and Kenan Bajramovic proved able deputies with 19 apiece.
Chuck Davis added 19 for the losing team, with Keith Simmons taking 14 and Sammy Mejia 12.