By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Anthony Clemmons delivered 20 points and eight assists to lead Turk Telekom to a 81 – 71 win over EuroCup contender Partizan Belgrade at home. It was some sort of payback for the Turkish side that had been routed 85 – 59 in the first-leg game in Belgrade.
Clemmons’ performance was near-spotless: He drained 5-5 3-pointers, had also two steals and committed just two turnovers in the 29 minutes he spent on the floor as his team handed Partizan just its third loss over 10 EuroCup games so far.
JaJuan Johnson and Jared Terrell added 15 points apiece for Turk Telekom squad. Despite the absence of leading scorer Aaron Harrison, the hosts led almost from start to finish and held a steady lead around double figures after the mid of the second period. Partizan was unable to muster a comeback and in the beginning of the fourth quarter, Zeljko Obradovic’s team trailed 65 – 49. There was no turning back from that deficit.
Dallas Moore scored 15 points, Kevin Punter dropped 14 points (on 6-16 shots) and Mathias Lessort had 14 points (4-16 free throws) as well, along with eight rebounds. Partizan won the battle of the offensive boards 12 – 3 and had three less turnovers (15 – 12) than Turk Telekom, yet was unable to produce. They shot 24-56 from the field and had problems also from the free-throw line with 18-33.
In the meantime, Turk Telekom was highly efficient, finishing with 22-30 two-pointers and 11-23 triples.
Partizan wasn’t the only EuroCup powerhouse that lost in Tuesday’s (25/1) games of Round 11 since Ratiopharm Ulm routed Virtus Bologna 94 – 68. Jaron Blassingame led the winning side with 19 points plus 11 rebounds while Amedeo Tessitori scored 14 for the Milos Teodosic-less Virtus.
The favorite prevailed and did so in a very dominant fashion Valencia where the local team crushed Buducnost 103-76. Six players scored in double figures for Valencia with Martin Hermannsson having 15 points.
Justin Cobbs (15 points, five assists) and Vladimir Micov (15 points) stood out from Buducnost’s side.
In Poland, Boulogne Metropolitans captured a 74 – 59 win over Slask Wroclaw behind Vince Huner’s double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds), Keith Hornsby (15 points) and Tony Crocker (14 points).
Standings via EuroCup Basketball:
| Group A | W | L | PTS+ | PTS- | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Joventut Badalona | 8 | 2 | 824 | 692 | 132 |
| 2. Partizan NIS Belgrade | 8 | 3 | 931 | 844 | 87 |
| 3. Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar | 7 | 3 | 903 | 872 | 31 |
| 4. Boulogne Metropolitans 92 | 6 | 5 | 911 | 905 | 6 |
| 5. Turk Telekom Ankara | 6 | 5 | 833 | 876 | -43 |
| 6. MoraBanc Andorra | 5 | 4 | 734 | 725 | 9 |
| 7. Lietkabelis Panevezys | 5 | 5 | 811 | 766 | 45 |
| 8. Hamburg Towers | 4 | 6 | 869 | 901 | -32 |
| 9. Slask Wroclaw | 1 | 9 | 709 | 807 | -98 |
| 10. Dolomiti Energia Trento | 1 | 9 | 724 | 861 | -137 |
| Group B | W | L | PTS+ | PTS- | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Valencia Basket | 8 | 3 | 948 | 880 | 68 |
| 2. Gran Canaria | 7 | 2 | 754 | 684 | 70 |
| 3. Buducnost VOLI Podgorica | 7 | 4 | 879 | 862 | 17 |
| 4. Virtus Segafredo Bologna | 6 | 4 | 882 | 865 | 17 |
| 5. ratiopharm Ulm | 6 | 5 | 868 | 838 | 30 |
| 6. Umana Reyer Venice | 4 | 5 | 667 | 665 | 2 |
| 7. Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana | 3 | 6 | 713 | 752 | -39 |
| 8. Frutti Extra Bursaspor | 3 | 6 | 671 | 730 | -59 |
| 9. Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse | 3 | 7 | 803 | 810 | -7 |
| 10. Promitheas Patras | 2 | 7 | 632 | 731 | -99 |
Photo: EuroCup Basketball