By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Of the five BKT EuroCup games played on Tuesday for the 12th round, four were won by the guests, proving that you must always expect the unexpected.
The biggest surprise came from the 98-76 triumph of Dolomiti Energia Trento over last season’s champions Dreamland Gran Canaria.
Behind 23 points by Andrejs Grazulis, the Italian side got its fifth win of the season over the top team of Group B dominating the game after trailing 31-27 in the first quarter.
As a result, Gran Canaria is now tied at the top with a 10-2 record with JL Bourg en Bresse which extended its winning streak to a club-record six games and hit 15 three-pointers before holding on to an 89-98 win over U-BT Cluj-Napoca.
The home side dropped to 8-4 in a tie for the third spot. Bourg scored a club-record 37 first-quarter with Isiaha Mike scoring 14 of his game-high 26 points in that first quarter.
Cluj is now tied with ratiopharm Ulm, the only team that lost on the road, to 7-bet Lietkabelis Panevezys (94-90) which got just their fourth win of the season (4-7) having played one game less so far.
Paulius Valinskas led the winning team with 24 points and 10 assists on his return from injury, while a double technical to point guard Juan Numez was a key point of the game.
Meanwhile, Aris Midea Thessaloniki prevailed over Turk Telekom in Ankara (95-85) getting to a 5-7 record and making a key step towards the playoffs.
Vassilis Toliopoulos led the winners with 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists, while Tyrone Wallace had a huge game for Turk Telekom with 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists which was not enough as they dropped to 3-9.
In the only game of Group A, Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul beat Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 88-83 on the road.
Angel Delgado delivered a big double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds to help Besiktas improve to 7-5, good enough for the fourth spot in the group standings for the moment.
Cedevita remains the only EuroCup team without a victory despite Karlo Matkovic scoring 22 points.
RESULTS
GROUP A
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana – Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul 83-88
Wolves Vilnius – Joventut Badalona (20/12)
Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv – Umana Reyer Venice (20/12)
Paris Basketball – Veolia Towers Hamburg (20/12)
London Lions – Prometey Slobozhanske (20/12)
STANDINGS
1. Paris 10-1
2. Hapoel Tel Aviv 8-2
3. London Lions 8-3
4. Besiktas 7-5
5. Joventut 6-5
6. Prometey 6-5
7. Wolves 4-6
8. Venice 4-7
9. Hamburg 2-9
10. Cedevita Olimpija 0-12
GROUP B
7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys -ratiopharm Ulm 94-90
Turk Telekom Ankara – Aris Midea Thessaloniki 85-95
U-BT Cluj-Napoca – Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 89-98
Dreamland Gran Canaria – Dolomiti Energia Trento 76-98
Slask Wroclaw – Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (20/12)
STANDINGS
1. Gran Canaria 10-2
2. JL Bourg 10-2
3. Cluj Napoca 8-4
4. Ulm 8-4
5. Aris 5-7
6. Lietkabelis 5-7
7. Trento 5-7
8. Buducnost 4-7
9. Turk Telekom 3-9
10. Slask Wroclaw 1-10