By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Punching in a last-minute ticket to the Play-Ins of the Basketball Champions League, PAOK mateco scored a crazy comeback win, 74-69, against JDA Dijon in Palais des Sports Jean-Michel Geoffroy Tuesday evening.
Jaylen Hands and Jalen Riley shared a team-high 17 points in the key Regular Season Gameday 6 contest. Yannick Franke followed with 16 points. Vassilis Christidis did not make the trip to Dijon after being forced to the list of unavailable players alongside Zaccheus Darko-Kelly.
Guided by Greek tactician Aris Lykogiannis, the Thessaloniki outfit trailed for nearly 30 minutes, mostly in double digits. Completing a rally from a 16-point deficit, PAOK gained control down the stretch and held on for the huge win. Wrapping up Group G at 2-4 secured a spot in the Play-In round. Up next will be the team finishing second in Group H, Lithuania champion Rytas Vilnius or Israel State Cup champion Bnei Ofek Dist Herzliya or Greece’s Basket League rival Peristeri bwin in a best-of-three series.
Locked in the second seed and awaiting the third seed of Group H, La Jeanne fell to 3-3. In contrast to the Greek side, the French side will have the homecourt advantage in its own best-of-three series leading to the Round of 16.
Former Mississippi State center Gavin Ware recording a game-high 23 points was not enough for the win in the finale of the Regular Season. Youngsters Nathan Vincennes and Evan Gauthier logged respective BCL debuts with Jacques Alingue and Abdoulaye Loum out of the lineup for the team coached by Nenad Markovic.
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League