The second half of the 2014-15 Eurocup Last 32 saw the first three teams storm into the Eurocup Eighthfinals. Bayern Munich, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar and Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir all won, improved to 4-0 in the last 32 and advanced. Lokomotiv even tied a competition record with its 15th straight Eurocup victory. Valencia set a Eurocup record with a tremendous opening quarter in Romania. The week’s action also featured a comeback from a 21-point deficit, two teams reaching triple figures in points, three games decided by a single basket and five road winners.

Group G

Unics Kazan took control of Group G with a 65-77 win in an all-Russian showdown against Zenit St. Petersburg. Unics improved to 3-1 for sole possession of first place and needs one more win to advance to the eighthfinals. Behind Keith Langford’s 25 points, the visitors took control of the game with a 5-14 run that bridged the second and third quarters, and never relinquished the lead. CEZ Basketball Nymburk picked up its first Last 32 win and avoided elimination after rallying to down Strasbourg 72-66. The visitors took an early 9-23 lead, but Nymburk erased it by halftime and then used 9-0 third-quarter run to take the lead for good as Tre Simmons scored 16 points, while Christian Burns posted 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Group H

Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas got back to its winning ways, hitting 13 triples and rallying late to beat Banvit Bandirma 91-80 and grab sole possession of first place in Group H. Gran Canaria improved to 3-1 record and now has the tie-break advantage over 2-2 Banvit. Granca now needs one win to secure a place in the eighthfinals. Banvit held the lead until Albert Oliver nailed three consecutive triples to open the fourth quarter and pave way for the hosts’ victory. A triple from Eulis Baez in the dying seconds gave Gran Canaria an 11-point win, overcoming the 10-point Banvit victory last week. Oliver netted 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three-point range. Baez and Kyle Kuric both scored 18, while EJl Rowland had 21 for Banvit. Also on Wednesday, Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari remained in the middle of the race for a place in the eighthfinals by topping Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 87-70. The hosts broke the game open after the break, extending their 46-39 lead to an 18-point margin, and never looked back. David Logan and Shane Lawal led Sassari’s balanced attack, each collecting 14 points and 7 rebounds.

Group I

In Round 4’s sole Tuesday game, Cedevita Zagreb held on to beat Virtus Rome 91-90 after overtime in the Croatian capital to take the top spot in Group I with a 3-1 record. Miro Bilan and Stanko Barac each posted double doubles for the winners, who needed a slick assist from Tomislav Zubcic to Luka Babic for a slam with 2.4 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 82-82 and force overtime. The hosts had earlier rallied from an 8-point fourth quarter deficit with a 12-0 run. The overtime session was tight and Rome had a shot to win at the buzzer, but Brandon Triche’s three-point attempt bounced out. Cedevita outrebounded Rome 53-25. Rok Stipcevic shot 6 of 8 from downtown for 27 points for Rome – including a go-ahead triple with 5.3 seconds left in regulation. Krasny Oktyabr Volgograd downed CAI Zaragoza on the road 71-82 on Wednesday. Oktyabr took the lead for good with a 0-9 run late in the third quarter, before Randy Culpepper and Romeo Travis took matters into their own hands, scoring 16 of Oktyabr’s 25 fourth quarter points and leading it to victory. Randy Culpepper had 31 points, while Travis amassed 19 points plus 14 rebounds in a sweep of CAI.

Group J

In early action on Wednesday, Khimki Moscow Region crushed PAOK Thessaloniki 102-68 to take a step towards a place in the eighthfinals. Khimki took control and the lead for good midway through the first quarter, soon built a double-digit margin, and went on to comfortably register its seventh home win in as many games this season. Petteri Koponen led a balanced offense with 21 points, and Sergey Monia scored 16 on 4-for-4 shooting from long range for Khimki, which was without Marko Popovic and Joffrey Lauvergne. Behind Khimki, there is a tie for second place after FoxTown Cantu defeated Limoges CSP 68-57. Both sides hold 2-2 records and each of their head-to-head matches was decided by an 11-point margin. Cantu led from start to finish, building a double-digit lead behind Darius Johnson-Odom in the first quarter, and extended it a 24-point margin in the fourth quarter. Johnson-Odom led Cantu with 24 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, while Damian Hollis and Eric Williams scored 12 apiece.

Group K

FC Bayern Munich edged Union Olimpija Ljubljana 90-84, sealing its ticket to the Eurocup eighthfinals on Wednesday. Bayern improved to 4-0 and mathematically made it to the next round behind 18 points from Bryce Taylor and 17 from John Bryant. The hosts held slim lead throughout the game, but secured victory in the final 2 minutes. Brose Baskets Bamberg improved to 2-2 in a sole possession of the second place by thrashing JDA Dijon 56-86 on the road, bouncing back from its home loss last week. Janis Strelnieks and Trevor Mbakwe had 14 points apiece to lead Bamberg, which had 12-23 after 10 minutes, and 28-46 lead at halftime.

Group L

Polish champion PGE Turow Zgorzelec rallied to stun Telenet Ostend 79-80 and inch closer to a place in the eighthfinals. Turow improved to 3-1 and with a 2-0 record against Ostend, it needs only one more win to advance to the next phase. Mardy Collins scored the game-winner, capping a game-ending 0-6 run for the victory. Collins paced the winners with 28 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Damian Kulig added 14 points and 8 rebounds for Turow. The competition’s top scorer coming into this week, John Prince, led Ostend with 19 points. Things got even more interesting in the group when Baloncesto Seville downed Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius 88-82 and avoided elimination. Derrick Byars paced the winners with 20 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting. Kristaps Porzingis added 16 points for Seville, which used a 12-2 fourth-quarter run to go ahead for good before triples from by Byars and Ben Woodside sealed a much-needed win.

Group M

Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir clinched a berth in the Eurocup Eighthfinals with an 86-79 victory over Paris Levallois. Bobby Dixon came within 1 rebound of a triple-double and D.J. Strawberry added 19 points for Karsiyaka, which improved to 4-0 and can clinch first place – and with it home-court advantage in the next stage – with a win in either of its remaining games. Paris led by 2 entering the fourth quarter, but Strawberry’s go-ahead three sparked an 8-0 Karsiyaka run and the hosts never relinquished the lead again. Dixon finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 11 assists and 3 steals. Besiktas Integral Forex Istanbul rallied from a 21-point second-quarter deficit to beat Neptunas Klaipeda 80-78. Down 13 at halftime, the hosts took charge in the second half at both ends. Besiktas did not take its first lead of the game until the final minute and even then needed Chris Lofton’s late go-ahead triple to claim the victory. JaJuan Johnson paced the Besiktas attack with 18 points and Ryan Broekhoff scored 17 on 5-of-9 three-point shooting.

Group N

Lokomotiv Kuban remained perfect on the season and claimed a place in the eighthfinals with a comfortable 85-70 win over SLUC Nancy. It was a competition-tying 15th consecutive Eurocup win for Lokomotiv, dating back to 2013 when they won the title. Lokomotiv used a 15-0 run at the start of the third quarter to break the game open, and never look back as Nikita Kurbanov paced the winners with 18 points, while Richard Hendrix contributed with 17 plus 9 rebounds. Valencia Basket used a huge first quarter to regain control of its own destiny and beat CSU Asesoft Ploiesti on the road 84-100. Valencia improved to 2-2 for sole possession of second place after scoring a Eurocup record 42 points in the first quarter and maintaining the lead throughout the game. Pau Ribas netted 19 points with 6 assists, while Romain Sato also scored 19 points with 7 rebounds and Luke Harangody collected 13 points plus 9 boards.

Source: Eurocup