The first round of games in the Eurocup is in the books, as upsets and road wins were regular occurrences in round one.
Group A
French side Le Mans secured a 78-76 road win over Cibona Zagreb, thanks to 22 points from Dashaun Wood.
Seemingly in control all game-long, Le Mans survived a thrilling ending where Cibona had threatened to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, but the visitors hung on.
Matthew Janning had 19 to lead Cibona.
Telenet Ostend put their Euroleague qualifying round disappointment behind them to record a 90-83 win over CEZ Nymburk. And Cantu edged Artland Dragons 88-86 in Italy.
Group B
Dinamo Sassari beat EWE Oldenburg 96-77 on the road to stamp their mark on this season’s Eurocup.
Caleb Green led all scorers with 25 points for Sassari as the Italian side blitzed their German counterparts in the first half, reeling off 33 points in the first quarter and leading 55-30 at the half.
Chris Kramer and Nemanja Aleksandrov had 16 points each to lead Oldenburg.
Elan Chalon had no problems as they eased past Spirou Charleroi 83-59 in Belgium.
AJ Slaughter led French side Elan Chalon with 14 points as they cruised to victory in the opening round.
Group C
Union Olimpija Ljubljana settled into life in the Eurocup for the first time with a 67-59 win over Cimberio Varese at the Stozice Arena.
They made hard work of the win though, eventually pulling away in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. Finland international Sasu Salin led the Slovenians with 15 points.
Keydren Clark scored 12 points to lead Varese.
Ratiopharm Ulm scored an 86-80 home win over Asvel to get their Eurocup season up and running.
Trent Plaisted led the winners with 16 points.
Group D
Following on from Alba Berlin and Zaragoza’s wins from this group, Gravelines secured a 75-69 road win over Virtus Roma.
Gravelines looked comfortable throughout until a late fourth quarter burst from the hosts made those closing stages nervy for the French side.
Abdou Mbye led Gravelines with 17 points with Jonathan Rousselle adding 14. The Italians were led by Quinton Hosley’s 19 points.
Group E
There was an upset in Russia as Romanian champions CSU Ploiesti defeated Khimki 97-83.
Leading 55-43 at half-time, Ploiesti became too relaxed with their lead and allowed the hosts back into the game. A 21-8 third quarter gave Khimki a 64-63 lead heading into the fourth, but the Romanians held their nerve and assumed full control of proceedings.
A game-high 24 points from Gerald Lee, going 11-out-of-12 from the field was the difference maker for the victors. James Augustine led Khimki with 17.
Hapoel Jerusalem edged Lukoil Academic 84-76 at the Goldberg Arena.
Artsoim Parakhouski led the winners with 21 points and eight rebounds. Former Maccabi Electra player Yotam Halperin added 14.
Filip Videnov led the Bulgarians with 17.
Pinar Karisyaka thrashed newcomers Igokea 90-60 in Izmir in one of the more impressive showings in round one. Bobby Dixon led the Turkish side with six three-pointers, en route to a game-high 22 points.
Group F
Ukrainian side Khimik Yuzhne raced clear by winning the fourth quarter 22-5 as they beat Aykon Ankara in Turkey.
Romeo Travis had 19 points to lead Yukzhne, while Vladimir Golubovic led all scorers for Ankara with 23 points, but it was in vain.
Nizhny Novgorod were comfortable 82-64 victors at home to Alba Fehervar.
A 24-14 first quarter scoreline paved the way for the Russians as their Hungarian counterparts couldn’t come back.
Vadim Panin led Novgorod with 18 points.
Group G
The only game in Group G on Wednesday night saw Israeli champions Maccabi Haifa lose at home 75-67 to Unics Kazan.
Down 46-29 at the half, the signs looked bad for Maccabi, but they hit back, holding Unics to just nine points in ten minutes to leave themselves with a shout in the fourth period, as they were only down 55-49.
Kazan though kept their cool; and stormed back to take the game.
Andrew Goudelock led all scorers with 22 points for Unics Kazan.
Group H
Spartak St.Petersburg earned themselves a well deserved 62-58 win away to Besiktas.
Donald McGrath led the winners with 16 points, while Chris Lofton responded in vain for the Istanbul outfit with 14.
There were also wins for Panionios, as they edged Radnicki 77-72 at home in Athens and a first ever win by a Finnish team as Bisons Loimaa beat Neptunes Klaipeda 63-62 thanks to free throws from Mikko Koivisto with 12 seconds left which sealed the win.
