The EuroCup continued this week with the fourth round of the regular season, and some teams are already in dangerous situations if they want to stay in the Top 16 race.
Two games on Wednesday saw wins for the hosts, including the first-ever EuroCup victory for MoraBanc Andorra, but it also resulted in Levallois Metropoiltans falling to 0-4. Two teams in action on Wednesday in Group B – former champs Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem and Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul – also have still not won a single game and stand at 0-3. So chances are getting slimmer for those and other teams in trouble. However, there is still plenty of time to recover and all of them will be putting in the extra effort this week to get into the win column.
GROUP A
Darussafaka Istanbul rose atop of the Group A standings after crushing Fiat Turin on the road 60-89 to keep its undefeated record intact. Darussafaka led from start to finish, opening the game with a 9-28 lead and pulling away for good by holding Fiat scoreless for the opening eight minutes of the third quarter. JaJuan Johnson had 23 points, Will Cummings scored 21 in 19 minutes and Scottie Wilbekin had 14 points on 4-for-5 three-point shooting with 6 assists in victory. Diante Garrett scored 14 points for Fiat which dropped to 3-1. Cedevita Zagreb hit 14 three-pointers and used a big third quarter to down Unics Kazan 94-74. The two teams now share third place in the standings with 2-2 records. Dzanan Musa scored a EuroCup career-best 20 points, while Roko Ukic poured in 18 points with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals for Cedevita, which held a 44-39 halftime lead, but ran away to a 67-48 margin late in the third quarter. Stephane Lasme scored a career-high 24 points in defeat. On Tuesday, MoraBanc Andorra snatched its first victory ever in the EuroCup season while keeping Levallois Metropolitans winless this season with a 79-61 victory on Tuesday at Poliesportiu D’Andorra. The story of the game was defense for Andorra, which improved to 1-3. Levallois remains last at 0-4. The visiting team was held to 39.5% shooting on two-pointers (15 of 38) and committed 19 turnovers. Moussa Diagne and David Walker led a balanced Andorra attack with 12 points apiece.
GROUP B
In a battle for first place between two previously unbeaten teams, visiting FC Bayern Munich ran away with a 60-76 win against Buducnost VOLI Podgorica in a packed Moraca arena. Bayern improved to 4-0 and sole possession of first place Bayern pulled away to a double-digit margin in the second quarter behind the play of Nihad Djedovic and Devin Booker, before a 0-9 run early in the third opened an 18-point lead from which Buducnost never recovered. Booker finished with 15 points and 8 rebounds, while Dedovic had 13 points in victory. Lietkabelis Panevezys picked up a tough, come-from-behind road win at Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul, 73-78, at Sinan Erdem Dome. Darjus Lavrinovic scored 18 points in 17 minutes on his 38th birthday and Zanis Peiners shined with 16 points and 4 steals for the winners. Galatasaray dominated early and led 25-10 in the first quarter and 43-32 at halftime. However Darjus Lavrinovic led a third-quarter comeback and Gary Talton scored 9 of his 10 points in the fourth as Lietkabelis pulled away for a victory that takes its record to 2-2. DaJuan Summers made his first 6 three-pointers and finished with 20 points for still winless Galatasaray. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem outlasted Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia 61-63 at Palabigi for its first victory of the EuroCup season. Jerome Dyson made the go-ahead three-pointer with 18 seconds left and iced the game with a pair of late free throws. He finished with a EuroCup career-best 22 points. Amedeo Della Valle was brilliant with 23 points, 7 assists and 4 steals in defeat as Reggio Emilia slipped to 2-2.
GROUP C
In a rematch of the 2012-13 EuroCup final, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar remained undefeated in Group C by downing RETAbet Bilbao Basket 102-86 at Basket-Hall on Wednesday. Lokomotiv improved to 4-0, while RETAbet dropped to 1-3. Trevor Lacey led the winners with 20 points and 7 assists and Ryan Broekhoff added 16 points. Jonathan Tabu paced RETAbet with 24 points. Lokomotiv scored 61.8% of its two-point shots (21-of-34) and dished 20 assists. Also on Wednesday, ALBA Berlin outlasted Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius in the German capital to take over second place with a 3-1 record. Peyton Siva starred for the winners with a career-high 26 points plus 9 assists and 3 steals. The two teams went back and forth on the scoreboard for 20 minutes before ALBA pulled away with a 15-4 third-quarter run. Still, it took Siva’s fourth three-pointer with 34 seconds left to seal the deal. Luke Sikma had a double-double of 10 points and rebounds for ALBA, while Mindaugas Lukauskis had 19 points for Rytas, which fell to 1-3 record. A day earlier, Limoges CSP evened its record to 2-2 with a 92-83 victory over Partizan NIS Belgrade at Palais Des Sports De Beaublanc. Brian Conklin scored half the points in a 10-0 fourth-quarter run that gave the hosts a 14-point lead, from which Partizan never recovered. Axel Bouteille paced the winners with 21 points and Mam Jaiteh posted 18 points and 7 rebounds. Patrick Miller had 17 points for Partizan, which also dropped to 1-3.
GROUP D
Two teams tied at 2-1 in Group D will be clashing on Wednesday night to jump ahead as newcomer Tofas Bursa welcomes ASVEL Villeurbanne in Round 4. This will be the first time ever that these two teams meet in European competition. Later, ratiopharm Ulm (2-1) hosts Russian powerhouse Zenit St Petersburg (1-2) in a game that can loosen or tighten things again in this highly competitive group. To close the round, Herbalife Gran Canaria (1-2) welcomes Dolomiti Energia Trento (1-2) in the first official game between them.
