The final week of the Eurocup Regular Season saw the final five places in the Last 32 filled. On Tuesday ratiopharm Ulm won in France to advance and three more teams celebrated on foreign courts Wednesday; Union Olimpija Ljubljana clinched in Germany, PAOK Thessaloniki in Lithuania and Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem in Russia. ALBA Berlin edged Enel Brindisi at home to survive. The Last 32 begins in January.
GROUP A
Sasa Zagorac made a pair of free throws with 16.8 seconds to go as Union Olimpija Ljubljana edged EWE Baskets Oldenburg 75-77 to advance to the Last 32 from third place in Group A. Zagorac led the way with 23 points as Olimpija improved to 5-5, while already-qualified Oldenburg fell to 4-6 and fourth place. The visitors led by 15 at halftime. Oldenburg rallied in the third quarter to close the gap, and tied the game in the fourth, but the hosts never took the lead. Sava Lesic added 18 points in the Olimpija win that eliminated JSF Nanterre, which downed Telekom Baskets Bonn 86-95. Nanterre needed a win by 7 points and a loss by Olimpija to qualify, but did not see that outcome. Gerald Robinson and Mykal Riley were unstoppable in the first half for Nanterre, combining to score 37 points for 38-48 halftime lead. After the break Bonn tied it at 59-59, but never took the lead as Nanterre answered with a 1-15 run. Riley finished with 26 points, and Robinson had 24 points and 8 assists in victory. Dominion Bilbao Basket beat Dolomiti Energia Trento 104-91, extending its winning streak to six games and grabbing first place in Group A. Bilbao took control early, held a 58-32 lead late in the second quarter and cruised the rest of the way as Clevin Hannah collected 22 points and 8 assists while Dairis Bertrans scored 16 points for Bilbao, which finished the regular season with an 8-2 record. Trento saw its four-game winning streak snapped and fell to 7-3 in the group despite 20 points from Dominique Sutton.
GROUP B
Kresimir Loncar scored a put-back layup with 0.3 seconds to go as ALBA Berlin edged Enel Basket Brindisi 80-79 to reach the Eurocup Last 32 on Wednesday. ALBA finished the regular season in fourth place with a 5-5 record, but would have also qualified with a loss, as MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg routed Le Mans Sarthe Basket 90-49 earlier the same day. Jordan Taylor led the winners with 18 points, while Loncar finished with 13 points for ALBA. Meanwhile, Ludwigsburg led from start to finish against Le Mans, opening the game with a 10-0 run, boosting its margin to 46-22 at halftime and then to 78-30 early in the fourth quarter to round out an impressive win and finish the group in second place with a 7-3 record. Mustafa Shakur led in victory with 17 points. Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas held off Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia 73-78 on the road to improve to 8-2 and clinch first place in the group. In a game that was close throughout 40 minutes, Kevin Pangos made clutch baskets and dished assists for the visitors to hold on. Pangos collected 15 points and 7 assists, while Sasu Salin and Alen Omic both added 12 points in the win. Reggio Emilia would have needed a 10-point victory to take over first place in the group, but dropped to third with a 6-4 record as Pietro Aradori and Darjus Lavrinovic both scored 20 points.
GROUP C
Down 13 early in the fourth quarter, ratiopharm Ulm rallied past SLUC Nancy 76-80 to claim a ticket to the Last 32. The visitors used a 0-16 run to take the lead and hung on in the final minute when Derwin Kitchen tried to punch Nancy back in. Da’Sean Butler led a balanced Ulm attack with 13 points. On Friday, Ulm learned it finished Group C in third place after second place CAI Zaragoza beat Umana Reyer Venice 82-72. CAI picked up its third straight victory, improving to 7-3 as Henk Norel scored 21 points while Stevan Jelovac had 12 points and 9 rebounds. Venice suffered its third straight defeat and fell to 4-6, dropping to fourth place behind Ulm. Valencia Basket routed Proximus Spirou Charleroi 97-76 to complete a perfect regular season. The teams were tied at 46-46 at halftime, but Valencia opened the third quarter with an 18-0 run and never looked back. Bojan Dubljevic had 20 points in less than 19 minutes in victory, and Rafa Martinez netted 14 on 4-for-5 three-point shooting. Spirou was eliminated from Last 32 contention a day earlier with Ulm’s victory, and finished the season with a 3-7 record.
GROUP D
In the first game of Round 10, Aris Thessaloniki beat Banvit Bandirma 72-53 to clinch first place in Group D. Banvit trailed by 2 early in the fourth quarter before the hosts went on a 20-1 tear that decided the game. The result boosted Aris to 7-3, while Banvit slipped to 5-5 and finished the regular season in fourth place. Jerel McNeal led the winners with 20 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting and Jamelle Hagins posted 12 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. On Wednesday, Unics Kazan topped Trabzonspor Medical Park 73-80 to claim second place. Unics improved to 7-3, the same as Aris, but the Greek side swept Unics during the regular season. Keith Langford led five Unics scorers in double figures with 22 points and Latavious Williams posted 16 points and 7 rebounds. Trabzonspor finished third with a 5-5 record like Banvit, but won a tie breaker in head-to-head matches. Buducnost VOLI Podgorica routed depleted Steaua Eximbank Bucharest 89-56 in the last Eurocup game for both teams this season. Buducnost used a 22-5 spurt in the first quarter to build a double-digit lead and never looked back as Sead Sehovic paced the winners with 17 points.
GROUP E
PAOK Thessaloniki downed Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius 81-88 in the Lithuanian capital to advance to the Last 32 on Wednesday. PAOK finished the regular season with a 5-5 record and in third place in Group E. Rytas led 68-64 through three quarters, but William Hatcher scored key baskets from close range, and Uros Duvnjak hit from long range as PAOK went on to a Last 32-clinching win. Sofoklis Schortsanitis led the winners with 23 points on 10-of-14 two-point shooting and 10 rebounds, while Hatcher added 18 points. In what turned out to be its last game in the Eurocup this season, Besiktas Sompo Japan Istanbul routed Group E winner Zenit St. Petersburg 91-67. The win snapped Besiktas’s five-game losing streak. Besiktas learned during the third quarter that it lost its chance of qualifying to the Last 32 when PAOK won in Vilnius. Nate Wolters scored 15 points to pace Besiktas, which led from start to finish. Avtodor Saratov cruised to a 104-78 home win over Szolnoki Olaj, completing its first Eurocup Regular Season on a high note and finishing Group E in second place with a 7-3 record, while already-qualified Szolnoki fell to 4-6. An outstanding 15-for-29 shooting display from downtown led Saratov to score 104 points and record 30 assists – 10 of them dished by Paul Stoll, who also led six scorers in double figures with 20 points on 4-of-5 shooting from long distance. Travis Peterson added 17 points and Jeff Brooks amassed a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds.
GROUP F
The remaining Last 32 spot from the group was issued when Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem defeated Krasny Oktyabr Volgograd 74-95. Jerusalem advanced thanks to Nizhny Novgorod, which defeated Galatasaray Odebank Istanbul 81-75 minutes before. A 13-3 second-quarter run broke the balance and Jerusalem led 36-51 at halftime. The visitors never looked back and increased the margin in the final minutes with a 14-0 run. D’Or Fischer led the winners with 18 points and Lior Eliyahu added 16 with 9 boards and 6 assists. Nizhny came back from 8 points down with five minutes left to beat Galatasaray and finish the regular season in third place with a 6-4 record. A closing 18-2 run fueled by Dimitry Khvostov, Evgeny Baburin and Victor Rudd gave Nizhny the come-from-behind victory as Khvostov scored 10 of his 20 points in the final quarter. Those outcomes eliminated AEK Athens, which edged Neptunas Klaipeda 75-71. AEK learned during the second half that it had no chances of advancing after both Jerusalem and Nizhny won their games, but still rallied from a 40-55 deficit to win behind Loukas Mavrokefalidis and Marc Carter. Mavrokefalidis finished the game with 27 points plus 9 rebounds, and Carter scored 10 for AEK. Daniel Ewing had 22 points and 9 assists for Neptunas, which would have won the group with victory, but finished second with a 6-4 record, allowing Galatasaray to finish atop the Group F standings with a 7-3 record.
Source: Eurocup Basketball
