By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Arka Gdynia celebrated its first win in the 2018-2019 EuroCup season by beating Limoges 85 – 76 at home.
It was a strong team effort for Gdynia, particularly in the third period (25-12) that led to the final result. The Polish team even got a 19-point lead, 71 – 52 early in the fourth quarter, just before Limoges began a comeback attempt. The visiting squad cut its deficit to 77 – 73 with three minutes remaining but consecutive triples by James Florence kept Gdynia safe.
Florence finished with 13 points while Josh Bostic had 16 points and Robert Upshaw 15 plus seven rebounds. Samardo Samuels stood out from Limoges with 20 points and seven boards.
Thanks to some solid all-around outing by Luke Sikma (18 points, nine rebounds, four assists) and despite the absence of Peyton Siva, Alba Berlin delivered the upset of the week in the Group with an 85 – 73 road win over Lokomotiv Kuban and former coach Sasa Obradovic.
Isiah Whitehead notched 16 points, Dorell Wright 15 and Moustapha Fall 14 and seven rebounds for Loko. Apart from Sikma, Johannes Thiemann scored 12 points.
Kyle Weems scored 23 points, leading Tofas Bursa to a 94 – 89 win over Cedevita. Justin Cobbs scored 16 points and dished out six assists for the Croatian team in its first EuroCup game after the sacking of coach Sito Alonso.
EuroCup Group B Standings (via Proballers):
Position | Team | % Victory | GP | GW | GL | PTS + | PTS – | GA |
1 | Lokomotiv Kuban | 80 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 417 | 373 | 1.1179 |
2 | Alba Berlin | 80 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 447 | 402 | 1.1119 |
3 | Cedevita Zagreb | 40 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 391 | 395 | 0.9898 |
4 | Limoges | 40 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 406 | 420 | 0.9666 |
5 | Tofas | 40 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 434 | 459 | 0.9455 |
6 | Asseco Arka Gdynia | 20 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 368 | 414 | 0.8888 |
Photo: EuroCup