By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Partizan got back to their winning ways in 7DAYS EuroCup after managing to unlock in the second half to defeat Lietkabelis Panavezys 84-77 in Round 5.
The Lithuanians threatened their hosts as they trimmed the deficit to three points with back-to-back threes in the last two minutes of the game, though Kevin Punter stepped up right on time to hand Partizan the victory. Punter scored 11 points for the hosts, though it was Zach LeDay who paced the team with 19 points, 5 rebounds.
Alen Smailagic signed off with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds, Aleksa Avramovic and Balsa Koprovica both added 12 points.
Lietkabelis’ veteran Gediminas Orelik posted 19 points, while Kristupas Zemaitis and Kaspars Berzins both shared 12 points as the team now falls to a 2-3 record.
It took an extra five-minute period but Dolomiti Energia Trento stood strong to take down feisty Slask Wroclaw at home with an 81-77 win.
Diego Flaccadori led a short-staffed Trento with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, Johnathan Williams added a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds and the Italians finally picked up their first victory of the season against victory starved Slask.
Kerem Kanter had a breakthrough performance with 17 points and 15 rebounds for a new career-high PIR of 35, though his efforts didn’t pay off for the Polish side in the overtime.
These two games concluded Group A action for Round 5, as EuroCup will resume in December, after the World Cup Qualifiers windows.
Earlier in Round 5, Turk Telekom Ankara handed Lokomotiv their first defeat of the season with a statement 88-85 win at home.
Standings:
| Group A | W | L | PTS+ | PTS- | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Joventut Badalona | 4 | 1 | 392 | 327 | 65 |
| 2. Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar | 4 | 1 | 460 | 407 | 53 |
| 3. Partizan NIS Belgrade | 4 | 1 | 403 | 361 | 42 |
| 4. Boulogne Metropolitans 92 | 3 | 2 | 423 | 419 | 4 |
| 5. MoraBanc Andorra | 3 | 2 | 405 | 407 | -2 |
| 6. Turk Telekom Ankara | 3 | 2 | 376 | 384 | -8 |
| 7. Lietkabelis Panevezys | 2 | 3 | 404 | 389 | 15 |
| 8. Hamburg Towers | 1 | 4 | 428 | 466 | -38 |
| 9. Dolomiti Energia Trento | 1 | 4 | 339 | 410 | -71 |
| 10. Slask Wroclaw | 0 | 5 | 352 | 412 | -60 |
Photo: EuroCup