By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Darussafaka secured the away win, 85-81, opposite NutriBullet Treviso but was eliminated from the Basketball Champions League Tuesday evening.
Young center Ragip Atar topped the five-player double-digit scoring list with 18 points to his name. Wayne McCullough and Troy Caupain threw in 13 points apiece in Dacka’s fifth win in a row across all competitions. Dogus Ozdemiroglu had 11 points and Isaiah Pineiro added ten points in the Round of 16 Gameday 6 affair.
Backed by the first four-game BCL winning streak in team history, Selcuk Ernak’s side finished 4-2 in Group J but was forced to the wrong end of the three-way tie with Baxi Manresa and Tofas Bursa. In order to advance to the Quarterfinals, either its Turkish rival had to prevail in Spain or the home team’s win was by a margin greater than 35 points.
Without Matteo Imbro, the team guided by Massimiliano Menetti finished the Round of 16 with six losses in as many outings. Youngster Giordano Bortolani had at least 19 points in all six games recording exactly 19 points versus Darussafaka.
The hosts led for only 88 seconds at Palaverde but nearly came all the way back from a 21-point deficit during the fourth quarter. Zalgiris Kaunas loanee Tomas Dimsa banked in 11 out of his 15 points after the break. Aaron Jones logged 14 points and Michal Sokolowski had 12 points.
Both sides will now focus their efforts at the domestic level. Sitting at 17-6, the Turkish side trails Anadolu Efes by half a game and Fenerbahce Beko 2.5 games in the BSL standings. Treviso carries a 9-12 record in Italy’s LBA Serie A.
Postgame press conference:
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League