In a night that featured 13 Eurocup games to complete the 3rd round of the competition, Unics, Lokomotiv and Bilbao remained perfect while Donetsk and Artland Dragons secured their first wins of the season. Read the roundup for all games.
Fourty kilometers away from their hometown and a brand new 2500 capacity arena, in Kaunas (and the ancient Kauno Sport Hale which gathered just 1100 fans) the team of Prienai won their second game of tournament over CEZ Nymburk. The Lithuanian side had five players with double digit scoring while all players contributed to a great defensive display, which forced the Czechs to score just 66 points. Final score: 84-66.
In the troubled Middle East, basketball prevailed war and the game between Hapoel Jerusalem and Budivelnik went on as planned. The local team had an easy night as their Americans contributed 53 of the total 87 points. Final score: 81-67. The two clubs are now tied in Group A standings with 1 win and 2 losses each.
The Bilbao Basket train didn’t stop in Sofia either as they won their third win in equal number of games. Lamont Hamilton dominated scoring and rebounding. The Basque team also had a season-high of 23 assists with Nikos Zisis and Alex Mumbru dishing 15 between them. Final score: 84-65 to Bilbao. Surely one of the favourites to go all the way this year.
Back to the Baltic now, where the home side of VEF Riga failed to protect their home ground for the second week in row, falling to the Russian side of Triumph Lyubertsy. The visitors were led by a fantastic Tywain McKee who scored 32 points and had 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals to go alongside. We should keep an eye on Triumph as they feature some of the most talented individuals of the cometition. Final score: 84-91.
To Germany now where the local Artland Dragons prevailed over the visiting lions of Le Mans. This was the first win of the campaign for the home team who are hoping to squeeze in into the next round. And in case they make it, they will have to thank Dennis Horner for it, as he put up double double performance scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Le Mans didn’t deserve much from this game as only six of their players managed to score, with half of them producing just 16 points in between them. Final score: 76-71.
In Turkey, Banvit reached their second home win in a row. Three of their legionaires (Chuck Davis, Sammy Mejia and Vladimir Stimac) put up a real basketball show as they combined for 72 points and 19 rebounds. Needless to say there are only a handful of teams who could survive such a strong performance by their opponents, and Mariupol is certainly not one of them. The Ukrainians remained last and winless. Final score: 97-81.
Although the visiting team of Galatasaray could find an excuse into flying into Russia not once but twice in two days in a row, due to bad weather, Lokomotiv was simply the dominant side of the matchup. Nick Calathes put up a clinic scoring 20 points and dishing 10 assists, resting for just 20 seconds in the entire game. The Krasnodar based team has most likely secured the first place of the group, as it is doubtful that Galatasaray can cover the 25 point difference in the IStanbul re-match. Final score: 91-66.
Not far from Southern Russia, in East Ukraine, the local Donetsk basketball team is hardly following the footsteps of the football club to European glory. Although spending millions on big names in the summer they miserably failed to qualify to Euroleague and won their first Eurocup game just last night, over the winless Trefl Sopot. Darius Songaila continued his strong form, scoring 24 points for the winners. Final score: 92-87.
To the Mediterranena now, where Unics’ visit was marked by the return of Kostas Kaimakoglou and Ian Vouyoukas to Athens. And they showed no mercy for their Greek compatriots as they combined for 30 points leading the Russian side to an easy win over Panionios, who have been having a catastrophic Eurocup campaign so far. Final score: 72-92.
In Belgium and Oostende, the local team is showing consistency at home, achieving their second win in the Sleuyter Arena. Matthew Lojeski continues to be on course to make it to the competition’s All-Star team, pulling off a 21+8 this time around. Olive Stevic tremendous performance of 21+15 just wasn’t enough for the Polish visitors. Final score: 80-74.
In the Venice of North, Spartak became the fourth Russian team who remained perfect with a 3-0 record after the conclusion of the first round. Although playing in front of a disappointing attendance of just 700, Joshua Carter topped the scoring category, stopping at 24. This was the first loss of Ratiopharm Ulm. Final score: 89-71.
There could not be a more suitable city for the most spectacular game of the week, than Belgrade. Crvena Zvezda and Dinamo Sassari combined for a whooping 230 points. A total of 10 players scored double digit numbers from both sides. Bootsy Thornton scored 33 for the visitors, but the heat of the almost sold-out Hala Pionir was too much for them to handle. Final score: 116-104.
We will finish today’s roundup from France, where Cajasol secured their first win of the season, thanks to their strong defensive effort. Tomas Satoransky proved why he is one of the most promising prospects in Europe scoring 20 points. Final score: 56-70.
