By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg was impressive in defeating Lenovo Tenerife, 99-83, Wednesday.
The German side led by John Patrick clinched first place in Group A and the attached spot to the Basketball Champions League Round of 16. Tenerife pushed back its own chance to advance to the Play-Ins.
Former Northern Colorado standout Jonah Radebaugh highlighted the near-perfect outing with 20 points in Santiago Martin Arena. Jordan Hulls connected four of the 12/26 triples for 15 points and also dished out five assists. Five additional players scored in double-digits with only five team turnovers over the 40 minutes.
The lead peaked at 24 points but the team coached by Txus Vidorreta cut the deficit to nine points in the fourth quarter of the Regular Season Round 5 game. Ludwigsburg comfortably held on to snap the opponent’s 11-game home streak in the BCL.
Champions League original Tenerife was 19-1 playing at home through the six seasons of FIBA’s premier European club continental competition. Bruno Fitipaldo went for a game-high 21 points in the second loss. Kyle Wiltjer ended up with 19 points and Giorgi Shermadini recorded 17 points. Marcelinho Huertas was ejected with a second technical foul after being limited to seven points in 24 minutes.
The German side improved to 4-1 and will take on third-placed Prometey at home on December 21 before the Round of 16. The Spanish side fell to 3-2 and will face eliminated Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari the same day before shifting to the best-of-three Play-In series.
Postgame press conference:
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League