By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
A back-and-forth affair between eliminated sides led to Falco Szombathely edging Rytas Vilnius, 86-81, Wednesday night.
Hungary international Zoltan Perl was the enforcer putting in 17 of his 25 points after the break, including nine in the last ten minutes of the Basketball Champions League Round of 16 Gameday 6 contest. He made 8/12 two-pointers and 9/11 free throws. Tallying four rebounds, four assists, and three steals helped to the game-high 28 efficiency rating.
Team captain Benedek Varadi went for 15 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds. Gyorgy Goloman’s solid showing produced 15 points, six rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal. Boris Barac and Marvin Clark chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively. Szilard Benke (foot) was sidelined.
Following 11 lead changes, the team coached by Milos Konakov was in control down the stretch. Backed by the Arena Savaria crowd and outscoring the visitors, 42-24, in the paint, the Hungary champions finished the Group L double-legged round-robin schedule at 1-5 and forced the opponents down to 2-4.
Similar to the Szombathely outfit, the team based in the Lithuanian capital was already eliminated as well. Former Murray State standout Jarvis Williams drew a team-high 15 points in the losing effort in Hungary. Tanner Leissner followed with 14 points. Margiris Normantas and Ivan Buva added ten points apiece.
Back to the domestic level, the winning side leads Hungary’s NB I/A packing a 22-3 W-L tally. As for the team coached by Giedrius Zibenas, its 20-3 record trails Lithuania’s Betsafe LKL leader Zalgiris by a couple of games.
Postgame press conference:
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League