By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
U-BT Cluj-Napoca became the sixth team that qualified for the BKT EuroCup playoffs, following Paris, Bourg, Gran Canaria and also London Lions, and Hapoel Tel Aviv, which faced each other yesterday.
However, the biggest game of the night was played in Venice with the local team beating Besiktas 106-96 after overtime.
In Group B, Cluj made it by beating Aris by 24 points (90-74). Emanuel Cate led all scorers with 18 points, while Bryce Jones scored 10 of his 17 points in the key third quarter.
For Aris, Silvio De Sousa netted 14 points and Jonathan Stark finished with 13 in defeat.
Defending champions Gran Canaria returned to wins on the road against Lietkabelis. Ethan Happ paced the winners with 23 points of 10-of-13 two-point shooting plus 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Nico Brussino added 16 points for Gran Canaria.
Deividas Sirvydis shined for Lietkabelis with 31 points, 19 of them in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Turk Telekom is still trying to save their season, after getting the 78-70 home win over Trento.
Yigitcan Saybir led the way with a career-high 21 points and Steven Enoch collected 16 points and 13 rebounds. Paul Biligha scored 13 points for the losing side.
Buducnost got the 78-74 win over Bourg with McKinley Wright being the top scorer with 16 points. It was a crucial win for the home team which created a three-way tie between Trento, Aris, and them in six wins, just between the 5th and the 7th position of the standings.
It wasn’t easy, with Bourg entering the last quarter leading by three (54-51), however, Wright took over in the closing minutes and turned things around. Jeremy Morgan and Jequan Lewis with 13 points each were the top scorers on the losing side.
Last but not least in Group B, Slask got the upset of the night, getting just the second win of the season by beating Ulm 100-88. Dusan Miletic with 19 points led the charge, while Karim Jallow scored 22 for the losing side.
Still, the Polish team led from wire to wire, building a 52-37 halftime lead and proving their progress.
In Group A, Badalona got the job done against Hamburg taking the 96-90 lead behind a vintage performance by Ante Tomic who had 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Andrew Andrews added 19 points and Andres Feliz had 17 for the winning side, but Tomic with a personal 7-0 run in the last two minutes of the game gave the win to his team.
Paris proved their might one more, getting the easy 93-76 home win over Prometey with TJ Shorts and Tyson Ward scoring 18 points each.
Shorts also dished 10 assists while Tai Odiase with 14 points was the top scorer of the losing side, which made just seven out of 38 threes.
In the game that closed the round, Umana Reyer Venezia got the overtime win over Besiktas after a big fight.
Derek Needham lost the chance to win the game for Besiktas in regulation, missing the potential winning shot with the score tied at 89. In overtime, the hosts jumped to a 99-92 lead after a quick 10-3 run and never looked back.
Kyle Wiltjer with 32 points was the top scorer of the winning side and Needham had 27 points for Besiktas.
GROUP A
Wolves Vilnius -Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 91-89
Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv – London Lions 96-100
Veolia Towers Hamburg – Joventut Badalona 90-96
Umana Reyer Venice -Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul 106-96
Paris Basketball – Prometey Slobozhanske 93-76
Standings
1. x-Paris 13-1
2. x- Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv 11-3
3. x- London Lions 10-4
4. Joventut Badalona 9-5
5. Besiktas Emlakjet 8-6
6. Prometey 7-7
7. Wolves 5-9
8. Umana Reyer Venice 5-9
9. Veolia Towers Hamburg 2-12
10. Cedevita Olimpija 0-14
GROUP B
7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys -Dreamland Gran Canaria 84-92
Turk Telekom Ankara – Dolomiti Energia Trento 78-70
U-BT Cluj-Napoca -Aris Midea Thessaloniki 90-74
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica – Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 78-74
Slask Wroclaw – ratiopharm Ulm 100-88
Standings
1. x-JL Bourg 11-3
2. x-Dreamland Gran Canaria 11-3
3. x- U-BT Cluj-Napoca 10-4
4. ratiopharm Ulm 8-6
5. Dolomiti Energia Trento 6-8
6. Aris Midea 6-8
7. Buducnost VOLI 6-8
8. 7bet-Lietkabelis 5-9
9. Turk Telekom 5-9
10. Slask Wroclaw 2-12
– Top two teams from each group advance to the Quarterfinals
-Teams third through sixth from each group advance to the Eighthfinals
x-clinched a berth in the Playoffs