By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Former NBAers Sam Dekker and Kostas Koufos went to work to lead their team to a historic win.
Dekker scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Koufos added 14 points plus 10 boards of his own and three steals as the London Lions beat Dolomiti Energia Trento 84 – 70 on the road to become the first British team to capture five victories in EuroCup.
This was a very important result for the ambitious Lions that have climbed to the seventh spot in Group B and are well in their pursuit to advance to the next stage. After trailing 42 – 40 at halftime, the British side completely outplayed its opponents after the break on both ends to establish a double-digit lead and ultimately get a comfortable win.
Darion Atkins (13 points, nine rebounds0 and Matteo Spagnolo (13 points, five rebounds) stood out for Trento, now 2-9.
Speaking about one-of-a-kind nights, J’Covan Brown had one to push his Hapoel Tel Aviv to another victory. The American guard tied the all-time EuroCup record for most assists in a single game with 16 and also scored 17 points and got eight rebounds as his team rolled past Paris Basketball 95 – 79.
Jordan McRae contributed 17 points as well to Hapoel’s win. Denver Nuggets’ stash Ismael Kamagate led Paris with 17 points plus 10 rebounds.
Gran Canaria remain the undisputed team to beat not only in Group B but in EuroCup overall. Led by Damian Inglis (18 points), the Spanish team defeated Promitheas Patras 91 – 72 at home to improve to a competition-best 9-2. The hosts had 24 assists and shot 24-34 on 2-pointers.
Arnoldas Kulboka scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds for Promitheas.
Turk Telekom made a display of strength against the Hamburg Towers with a 98 – 74 win behind Axel Bouteille’s 23 points on perfect shooting (9-9 from the field, including 5-5 triples). Yago Dos Santos was brilliant for Ulm with 21 points, eight assists, and six rebounds in the 78 – 69 win over Lietkabelis.
Round 11 Results:
Cedevita Olimpija 80-88 Cluj Napoca
Prometey 79-72 Brescia
Ratiopharm Ulm 78-69 Lietkabelis
Bourg en Bresse 86-79 Reyer Venezia
Joventut 83-82 Bursaspor
Gran Canaria 91-72 Promitheas Patras
Hapotel Tel Aviv 95-79 Paris Basketball
Buducnost 82-71 Slask Wroclaw
Trento 70-84 London Lions
Turk Telekom 98-74 Hamburg
Standings:
Group A:
- Bourg en Bresse 8 – 3
- Joventut Badalona 7 – 4
- Prometey 7 – 4
- Reyer Venezia 6 – 5
- Bursaspor 6 – 5
- Ratiopharm Ulm 6 – 5
- Brescia 5 – 6
- Clujb-Napoca 4 – 7
- Liektabelis 4 – 7
- Cedevita Olimpija 2 – 9
Group B:
- Gran Canaria 9 – 2
- Turk Telekom 8 – 3
- Hapoel Tel Aviv 7 – 4
- Buducnost 7 – 4
- Paris Basketball 7 – 4
- Promitheas Patras 6 – 5
- London Lions 5 – 6
- Hamburg Towers 3 – 8
- Dolomiti Energia Trento 2 – 9
- Slask Wroclaw 1 – 10