By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
It was a special Basketball Champions League week for Txus Vidorreta. The 54-year-old Lenovo Tenerife boss became the first head coach reaching 50 wins in FIBA’s premier European club competition. His side’s improved to 3-1 in Group J taking down Igokea at home Tuesday.
One day later, the fellow Spanish club of the group and defending champion, Hereda San Pablo Burgos, held VEF Riga to 45 points to claim the victory in Latvia, despite missing several key players. The hosts were officially eliminated from the Final 8.
Another team bowing out, Tofas Bursa also suffered defeat at home as Happy Casa Brindisi presented itself unstoppable in Turkey. Hapoel Unet-Credit prevailed in Turkey as well snatching a comeback win over Pinar Karsiyaka in the other Group I affair.
Elsewhere, Kasey Shepherd powered Nizhny Novgorod over Turk Telekom and over AEK in a span of three days as Nizhny improved to 4-0, becoming the first team to advance to the Final Eight. SIG Strasbourg defeated AEK beforehand, keeping the race for the second spot alive in Group K.
The lone Group L affair saw Brose Bamberg hit 21 triples against Casademont Zaragoza shaping a new all-time record of three-pointers made in a single Champions League game. The German side improved to 1-2.
Group I
Pinar Karsiyaka – Hapoel Unet-Credit Holon 76-77
Tofas Bursa – Happy Casa Brindisi 72-91
1. Hapoel Unet-Credit Holon 7 (3-1)
2. Happy Casa Brindisi 7 (3-1)
3. Pinar Karsiyaka 6 (2-2)
4. x-Tofas Bursa 4 (0-4)
Group J
Lenovo Tenerife – Igokea 80-75
VEF Riga – Hereda San Pablo Burgos 45-67
1. Lenovo Tenerife 7 (3-1)
2. Hereda San Pablo Burgos 6 (3-0)
3. Igokea 4 (1-2)
4. x-VEF Riga 4 (0-4)
Group K
Nizhny Novgorod – Turk Telekom 96-82
SIG Strasbourg – AEK 91-73
Nizhny Novgorod – AEK 88-60
1. Nizhny Novgorod 6 (3-0)
2. AEK 5 (2-1)
3. SIG Strasbourg 5 (1-3)
4. Turk Telekom 5 (1-3)
Group L
Brose Bamberg – Casademont Zaragoza 117-76
1. Casademont Zaragoza 5 (2-1)
2. ERA Nymburk 4 (2-0)
3. Brose Bamberg 4 (1-2)
4. Dinamo Sassari 2 (0-2)
x-eliminated
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League