Round 5 brought the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season to the midway point and helped make the race for Top 16 even tighter as no teams are left winless going into the second half. Three clubs – Darussafaka Istanbul, FC Bayern Munich and Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar – managed to keep their respective undefeated record intact, while Group D sees the six teams separated by just one win.
GROUP A
Darussafaka Istanbul’s unbeaten record remains intact halfway through the regular season after cruising to a never-in-doubt 85-77 victory over MoraBanc Andorra on Tuesday. The hosts established a double-digit lead in the second quarter and never looked back, using a 10-2 run early in the second half to put the outcome beyond doubt. Darussafaka was led by playmaker Scottie Wilbekin who combined 24 points – including 4 of 6 three-pointers – with 6 assists and 5 steals. Andorra dropped to 1-4. UNICS Kazan led from tip to buzzer in routing Fiat Turin on Wednesday. The result left both teams with 3-2 records and tied for second place in the group. Quino Colom scored a EuroCup career-best 26 points and delivered 10 assists, while Stephane Lasme matched his career high with 24 points and collected 11 rebounds and 2 blocks for the winners. Lamar Patterson made 4 of 6 three-point shots for 23 points to lead Fiat. Levallois Metropolitans registered its first win of the season, helped by 15 three-pointers and a career-night from Remy Lesca, by downing visiting Cedevita Zagreb 91-81 on Wednesday night. Levallois improved to 1-4, while Cedevita dropped to 2-3. Lesca, who came into the game having scored 1 point in the last three games, had a career-best 21 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting, dished 6 assists and had 3 steals to lead the way. Klemen Prepelic also scored 21 points for the winners.
GROUP B
FC Bayern Munich reached the midway point in the regular season with a perfect record after overpowering Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia 83-58 on Wednesday at Audi Dome. Jared Cunningham scored 15 points in 18 minutes and Nihad Dedovic came off the bench for another 15 points to lead the winners, who improved to 5-0. Reggio Emilia slipped to 2-3 in Group B. Adas Juskevicius assaulted the EuroCup record book on Tuesday in leading Lietkabelis Panevezys to an 86-79 victory over Buducnost VOLI Podgorica. Juskevicius tied a EuroCup record with 9 three-pointers made and set a competition mark with 7 in the first quarter. He finished with 31 points to set club records for threes in a game and points scored. The victory lifted Lietkabelis into a share of second place in Group B alongside Buducnost at 3-2. There are no more winless teams in Group B, after Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul registered its first win of the season, topping Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 81-91 on Wednesday. Galatasaray hit 13 triples to get the much-needed win, as both teams now hold 1-4 records at the bottom of the group standings. Galatasaray opened a big lead thanks to a 2-16 first-quarter run and never relinquished the advantage despite Jerusalem coming within a single possession in the second half. Dwight Hardy was unstoppable with 24 points on 5-for-8 three-point shooting, and DaJuan Summers netted 19 points.
GROUP C
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar stayed undefeated by topping Partizan NIS Belgrade 83-93 in the Serbian capital on Wednesday. Lokomotiv improved to 5-0 and dropped Partizan to 1-4. Joe Ragland led the winners with 23 points, Dmitry Kulagin added 17 and Lokomotiv had four other scorers in double digits. Nigel Williams-Goss led Partizan with 18 points. A 1-11 run that bridged the last two quarters allowed Lokomotiv to take full control of the game and Ragland sealed the outcome with a couple of big three-pointers down the stretch. In another high-scoring affair on Wednesday with a similar outcome favoring the visiting team, ALBA Berlin nailed 14 triples on 28 attempts in topping RETAbet Bilbao Basket 86-94 to improve to 4-1 for sole possession of second place, while RETAbet dropped to 1-4. ALBA had seven scorers in double figures, but none more than Payton Siva who had 15 points and 7 assists. Marius Grigonis added 14 points for the visitors, while Lucio Redivo netted 20 for the home side. A day earlier, Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius overpowered Limoges CSP 92-76 at Siemens Arena to move into a tie for third place in Group C. The result left both teams with identical 2-3 records at the midway point of the regular season. After falling behind early, the hosts used a 13-0 first-quarter run to take the lead for good. Rokas Giedraitis and Travis Peterson combined for 38 points off the bench to pace the winners.
GROUP D
There is a three-team tie atop Group D after three games on Wednesday. Zenit St Petersburg came from behind to edge visiting Tofas Bursa 84-82 in a thrilling fashion as Kyle Kuric sank a game-winning triple with just 9 seconds remaining. Both teams had 3-2 records after a game in which Tofas took control early on and stayed ahead nearly all the way, leading by as many as 15 in the third quarter. A regular flow of points from Kuric kept his team in contention and he eventually sank the late game-winner to finish the game with 27 points on 4-of-7 three-point shooting, while Drew Gordon had 16 points. Raymar Morgan scored 17 for the visitors. Herbalife Gran Canaria made a strong move by storming host ASVEL Villeurbanne early and cruising to a 68-84 road win as Marcus Eriksson came off the bench to score 18. Gran Canaria broke their tie to join the top half of the group at 3-2, while ASVEL fell to 2-3. A 34-23 rebounding edge led by big Ondrej Balvin and Eulis Baez spelled the difference for the winners. Dolomiti Energia Trento bounced back from recent losses in Group D by thrashing ratiopharm Ulm 77-66. Both teams now have 2-3 records and are tied for fourth place with ASVEL. Diego Flaccadori led the winners with 20 points, 6 assists and 3 steals. Ojars Silins added 13 points for Trento, which led 25-10 after 10 minutes, boosted its margin to 49-23 before halftime, and never looked back.
