Eurocup: Seven clubs remain unbeaten
Week 3 of both the Eurocup and EuroChallenge competitions is over and in the Eurocup there are still seven unbeaten clubs scattered throughout the groups, one in each group with the exception of Group A. Most of the contests in the Eurocup were won by wide margins this week with the exception of the BC Donetsk – Trefl Sopot overtime game. Of note, Red Star Belgrade and Sassari had a slugfest at the Pionir where they combined to drop in 220 points. Travis Diener picked up a Eurocup record by dishing off 15 assists in his club’s losing effort in the contest. EWE Baskets Oldenburg picked up their third win in three weeks to remain unbeaten in Group F of the EuroChallenge.
Eurocup
Group A
BC Prienai – CEZ Basketball Nymburk, 84:66
BC Prienai moved into a tie for the top spot in Group A with a solid win over previously unbeaten CEZ Basketball Nymburk, 84:66. The results put both squads at equal 2-1 records and makes Group A the only group at this point in the competition without an unbeaten club. Prienai used a 30:17 second quarter to build a lead that Nymburk couldn’t recover from.
Top Scorers:
BC Prienai: Zygimantas Janavicius 16; Gediminas Orelick 15; Arminas Urbutis 15; Siim-Sander Vene 13; Gintaras Kadziulis 12.
CEZ Basketball Nymburk: Radoslav Rancik 19; Jiri Welsch 12.
Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem – BC Budivelnik Kiev, 81:67
BC Budivelnik Kiev took to the road for a mid-season contest with the 0-2 Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem club. By the end of the first half the hosts had amassed a 49:33 advantage and had no intentions of letting go. Budivelnik was able to cut the gap by eight at the end of the third frame, but Hapoel got all but one of those points back in the fourth to finish the contest with a 14-point win and their first victory on the season. The loss drops Budivelnik into a tie for third with Hapoel with identical 1-2 records.
Top Scorers:
Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem: Craig Smith 18; Josh Duncan 17; Raviv Limonad 13; Jacob Pullen 10.
BC Budivelnik Kiev: Leo Lyons 18; Artur Drozdov 12.
Group B
Lukoil Academic Sofia – Gescrap Bilbao Basket, 64:85
Gescrap Bilbao Basket stayed on top of Group B with an unblemished 3-0 record after a road trip win over Lukoil Academic Sofia. The two clubs played to a 42:43 score at the half, the Bilbao broke things open with a 9:21 third frame and then added eight more to the cushion in the fourth. Lukoil drops to 1-2 on the year and third place in the division.
Top Scorers:
Lukoil Academic Sofia: Devin Greene 13; Mohamed Abukar 11; Darryl Watkins 10.
Gescrap Bilbao Basket: Lamont Hamilton 19; Kostas Vasiliadis 15; Alex Mumbru 13; Fran Pilepic 10.
Group C
VEF Riga – BC Triumph Lyubertsy, 84:91
BC Triumph Lyubertsy took care of business in Latvia as they improved their record to 3-0 while sending their hosts into a three-way tie for second at 1-2 with an 84:91 win. The visitors jumped out early and build a substantial advantage in the first half, heading into the break up 14, 34:48. The Latvians weren’t ready to hand over the ‘W’ though and they fought back in the third to pull to within four, 69:63 with 10 minutes left to play. When play resumed in the fourth Riga got a triple and a lay-up before Triumph could tally anything, but when they did, it meant the end to a 16:2 run the hosts put together to take a three-point lead. Unfortunately for Riga, they couldn’t hold on and Triumph fired back to jump up by eight within a couple of minutes. Riga was able to pull back to within five, 81:86, but the visitors dropped in their singles and they closed out the contest with a seven-point win and a perfect 3-0 record. Tywain McKee paced the Triumph win with 32 points and a PIR of 42.
Top Scorers:
VEF Riga: Dairis Bertans 23; Earl Rowland 14; Kaspars Berzins 10; Antanas Kavaliauskas 10.
BC Triumph Lyubertsy: Tywain McKee 32; Sergey Karasev 19; Kyle Landry 17.
Artland Dragons – Le Mans Sarthe Basket, 76:71
Artland grabbed their first win of the season, using a solid fourth quarter to send Le Mans Sarthe Basket back to France with an identical record as Artland and VEF Riga, 1-2. The clubs put on a good show for the estimated 1,344 in attendance as they kept it close, through the end of the third quarter. Going into the final 10 they were tied at 55, but a 7:0 run to open the frame by Artland proved to be too much for the Le Mans squad to overcome. Heading into the second half of the six-game season the three clubs are essentially fighting for one spot now with BC Triumph Lyubertsy running away with the Group at 3-0.
Top Scorers:
Artland Dragons: Anthony King 15; Marquez Haynes 14; Johannes Strasser 14; Dennis Horner 12; Demond Mallet 10.
Le Mans Sarthe Basket: Joao Paulo Batista 24; Pape Sy 20; Charles Kahudi 10.
Group D
Banvit BK Bandirma – BC Azovmash Mariupol, 97:81
BC Azovmash’s woes over the last few weeks have continued, this time a sound beat down by Banvit BK Bandirma in week three has dropped their Eurocup mark to 0-3, while the win improves Banvit to 2-1 and a second place seat at the moment. Banvit cruised to a 16-point halftime lead which turned out to be their final margin of victory.
Top Scorers:
Banvit BK Bandirma: Sammy Mejia 28; Chuck Davis 22; Vladimir Stimac 22.
BC Azovmash Mariupol: Manny Harris 20; Oleksiy Pecherov 14; Tadija Dragicevic 14.
Group E
PBC Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar – Galatasaray Medical Park, 91:66
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar pounded previously unbeaten Galatasaray by 35-points, to take a commanding lead in Group E. The loss drops Galatasaray to 2-1 and second place.
Top Scorers:
PBC Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar: Jimmy Baron 23; Nick Calathes 20; Simas Jasaitis 16; Andrey Zubkov 10.
Galatasaray Medical Park: Jamont Gordon 12; Milan Macvan 11; Cenk Akyol 10.
BC Donetsk – Trefl Sopot, 92:87
BC Donetsk and Trefl Sopot came into yesterday’s contest without a win in the 2012-13 Eurocup competition between them and they needed an extra five minutes of play to decide which one was going to get the first ‘W’ on the season. The game was riddled with wide point spread swings as Trefl took the first quarter by six and then Donetsk outscored their visitors by 10 in the second to take a four-point margin into the second half. Donetsk went up by one heading into the final quarter. With 29 seconds left in regulation Donetsk had a four-point lead, Filip Dylewicz hit a deuce for Trefl, then Ramel Curry split a pair of singles to put Donetsk up by three with 9 seconds to play. After a timeout, Dylewicz nailed a three-ball to knot the score at 75 and the final shot for Donetsk was blocked to force the overtime frame. The squads exchanged baskets and were tied at 85 with 45 seconds to play. Vojdan Stojanovski dropped in a three-pointer for Donetsk lead in the frame and Doron Perkin connected on a pair of free throws to close out the scoring. The win puts Donetsk in third place in the group with a 1-2 record while Trefl Sopot continues to hold down the bottom spot, now with an 0-3 mark.
Top Scorers:
BC Donetsk: Darius Songaila 24; Vojdan Stojanovski 18; D’or Fischer 17; Doron Perkins 15; Ramel Curry 11.
Trefl Sopot: Frank Turner 23; Filip Dylewicz 10; Adam Waczynski 14; Przemyslaw Zamojski 12.
Group F
Panionios BC Athens – Unics Kazan, 72:92
Kazan stayed unbeaten in Group F with a 20-point victory over winless Panionios. An interesting stat from this contest is that both teams shot a combined 36 of 38 from the free throw line, with each team missing only one charity toss apiece. Panionios was 15 of 16 (93.8%), while Unics Kazan was 21 of 22 (95.5%). The difference in the game was Kazan dropping in nine of 20 threes, while the hosts could only connect on three of 15.
Top Scorers:
Panionios BC Athens: Nikos Pappas 24; Landon Milbourne 12; Vlantimir Giankovits 12.
Unics Kazan: Chuck Eidson 22; Kostas Kaimakoglou 17; Mire Chatman 13; Ian Vougioukas 13; Terrell Lyday 11.
Telenet Oostende – Stelmet Zielona Gora, 80:74
Telenet Oostende built enough of an advantage late in the game to withstand a 12:2 run in the last minutes of the contest as the hosts move to 2-1 and second place in Group F, while Stelment drops to 1-2 and the third spot in the group. Oliver Stevic tallied large for Stelment dropping in 21 points and snagging 15 rebounds for a solid double-double on the day. Matt Lojeski picked up 21 for Telenet shooting a perfect 3 of 3 from behind the arc, 6 of 6 from the line and 3 of 7 inside the arc.
Top Scorers:
Telenet Oostende: Matthew Lojeski 21; Brent Wright 10.
Stelmet Zielona Gora: Walter Hodge 24; Oliver Stevic 21.
Group G
Spartak St. Petersburg – Ratiopharm Ulm, 89:71
Spartak St. Petersburg picked up an important home victory over previously unblemished Ratiopharm at home in St. Petersburg, Russia. The loss drops Ratiopharm into second place with a 2-1 record, while the hosts keep their unbeaten mark intact, now at 3-0. The hosts won all four quarters, leaving no doubt as to the outcome of the competition and setting themselves as the cream of the Group G crop. Josh Carter paced the Spartak club with 24 points, including six, three-pointers on the night.
Top Scorers:
Spartak St. Petersburg: Joshua Carter 24; Vladimir Dragicevic 17; Loukas Mavrokefalides 14.
Ratiopharm Ulm: Allan Ray 14; Dane Watts 14.
Group H
Crvena Zvezda Diva Belgrade – Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari, 116:104
It was a record breaking night in front of a near capacity crowd estimated at 7,000 Belgrade’s Pionir Hall when the Red Star took on Sassari for the top of Group H yesterday. Red Star out gunned Sassari 166:104 to lay claim to sole possession of first place in Group H with a 3-0 record and in the process set a Eurocup record, hitting 38 two-pointers on the night. As impressive as the number of shots put down is, the shooting percentage they had while accumulating those 38 deuces is as impressive as the club connected on 38 of 51 or 74.5%. They also hit 8 of 17 from behind the arc and 16 of 18 from the free throw line. All-in-all a very hot shooting night for the red and white. On the other side of the scorer’s table was the equally hot shooters from Sardina, who connected on 21 of 35 (60%) from inside the arc, 18 of 35 (51.4%) behind the arc and 8 of 15 (61.5%). Red Star used a nine-point advantage in the third quarter to build the margin they needed and they were able to hold on for the win with a 26:26 final quarter. Sassari drops to 1-2 and tied with Cajasol and Orleans for second in the group. Sassari’s Travis Diener set a new Eurocup competition record when he tallied 15 assists in the contest. Bootsy Thornton lead all scorers with 33 for Sassari.
Top Scorers:
Crvena Zvezda Diva Belgrade: Igor Rakocevic 28; Elton Brown 22; Bojan Subotic 11; Rasko Katic 11; DeMarcus Nelson 10.
Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari: Bootsy Thornton 33; Tony Easley 19; Michal Ignerski 17; Drake Diener 14; Travis Diener 13 (15 assists – new Eurocup record).
Orleans Loiret Basket – Cajasol Seville, 56:70
Cajasol Seville got their first win of the Eurocup season on the road when they visited Orleans and came out with a 14-point victory to tighten the race for the second advancement spot in Group H. The win knots up Cajasol, Orleans and Sassari at 1-2, while Red Star Belgrade sits on top of the group at 3-0. Cajasol set the tone early with an 11-point margin after the first 10. The two clubs knotted the second quarter mark at 20, giving the visitors the same 11-point advantage heading into the second half. Orleans picked six of the deficit to pull within five, but Cajasol dominated the fourth and added nine to the final margin to come out on top of a 56:70 score.
Top Scorers:
Orleans Loiret Basket: Caleb Green 12; Jahmar Young 11; Brian Greene 10.
Cajasol Seville: Tomas Satoransky 20; Joan Sastre 14; Roberto Dozier 11.
EuroChallenge
Group B
Keravnos – CSU Asesoft Ploiesti, 88:76
Keravnos Strovolou moved into second place of Group B by themselves with a convincing 88:76 win over the now 0-3 CSU Asesoft Ploiesti squad. This contest was tight all the way into the final frame when the hosts when on a 10:2 run and broke things open.
Top Scorers:
Keravnos: B. Maze 23; A. Crocker 20; L. Kinnard 16; P. Trisokkas 11.
CSU Asesoft Ploiesti: V. Tica 15; V. Stanescu 13; C. Burlacu 11; D. Hargrove 10.
Group C
Norrköping Dolphins – Tampereen Pyrintö, 84:73
The Dolphins welcomed their Finnish neighbors to Norrkoping and promptly sent them packing with an 0-3 record after the 84:73 beating they were given. The hosts improved to 2-1 with the win, moving into sole possession of second place in Group C. Tampereen remains in the basement of the group. The visitors came out of the first quarter up by one, 12:13, but the Dolphins turned on the shooters in the second and built a 13-point advantage in the frame to take a 42:30 lead into the intermission. That margin was just too much for the visitors to make up as Norrkoping had them down by 19 early in the fourth quarter.
Top Scorers:
Norrköping Dolphins: A. Saks 17; E. Jeromanovs 13; K. Gabriel 13; P. Hampton 12.
Tampereen Pyrintö: L. Ulmer 23; D. Williams 19.
Group F
EWE Baskets – Kormend, 95:64
EWE Baskets Oldenburg sent a message to the rest of Group F with a 31-point victory and their third win in as many tries. They have built a 65-point margin of victory over their three wins, to all-but assure themselves of a top two spot and a trip to the Top 16. Kormend remains without a win in three attempts and sits alone at the bottom of the group.
Top Scorers:
EWE Baskets: R. Smeulders 15; R. Paulding 15; C. Kramer 12; J. Jenkins 12.
Kormend: Z. Buljan 21; M. Shaw 16; C. Ferencz 14.
Group H
Hapoel Holon – Antwerp Giants, 88:64
Hapoel Unet Holon won the battle of the middle of Group H to move into second with a 2-1 record. The loss drops Antwerp to 1-2 and into third. The Giants had built and eight-point margin with just over three minutes to play in the third quarter and Hapoel went on a 33:3 scoring run that erased all doubt as to the outcome of this contest.
Top Scorers:
Hapoel Holon: S. Daniel 18; J. Dyson 18; S. Harrush 15; F. Hassell 12; L. Hill 11; D. Smith 10.
Antwerp Giants: B. Hopkins 16; G. Thondique 12; J. Love 11.