By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Make it 14 straight wins in Palacio de Deportes for UCAM Murcia destroying Surne Bilbao, 90-72, in Gameday 2 of the Basketball Champions League Round of 16 Tuesday evening.
Ukrainian center Artem Pustovyi improved his personal best for the 2022-23 season to 23 points behind 9/10 field goals until fouling out late in the blowout win. Stuffing the stat sheet with four rebounds, three blocks, two assists, and one steal shaped a staggering efficiency rating of 31 in just over 17 minutes of action in the latest BCL battle of ACB participants.
Firing 14 of his 17 points in the second quarter, experienced guard Thad McFadden set the pace for a constantly growing lead peaking at 29 points after the break. David Jelinek and Travis Trice added 11 points each, and Ilimane Diop paired his ten points with nine rebounds.
Already tied at 8-10 in Spain’s Liga Endesa, both sides are now 1-1 in BCL Group L. The Men in Black were on the winning end of all three road games in the Regular Season of the Champions League’s seventh season but that was far from the case in Murcia.
Struggles appeared early as the Universitarios were firing on all cylinders denying any attempt for a comeback. The 29-point deficit was reduced in the fourth quarter with Jeff Withey dropping nine of his team-high 13 points. Francis Alonso and Xavi Rabaseda followed with 11 points each. Andrew Goudelock and Tomeu Rigo stayed on the injury list.
Postgame press conference
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League