By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
After a dominant fourth quarter, Cholet defeated Varese 96-88 in the Basketball Champions League Qualifying Tournament semifinal and moved on the verge of the BCL Regular Season.
T.J. Campbell led the winning side, scoring 23 points with eight assists, for a game-high Player Impact Rating (PIR) of 30. Gerry Blakes followed him with 13 points and seven rebounds, Vojtech Hruban and Nael Sako added 12 points each, while Enzo Guoudou Sinha and Gerald Ayayi had 10 points apiece.
Sean McDermott’s impressive outing with 27 points and nine rebounds wasn’t enough for Varese, as only Davide Moretti with 15 and Tomas Woldetensae with 13 points followed him.
The game itself was very entertaining, with the lead changing hands several times. Cholet eventually pulled away with a 10-2 run in the final period.
In the other semifinal of the same BCL qualifying tournament, Happy Casa Brindisi proved their might over Heroes Den Bosch getting a 78-63 win.
Jajuan Johnson with 12 points and five rebounds was the first among equals as the Italians proved to be too strong for the Dutch team, which started the game with a 19-13 lead in the first period, only to give up after that.
Thomas Van der Mars with 16 points and 8 rebounds was the leader of the losing side.
Cholet and Brindisi will now play for a spot in the BCL Regular Season’s Group C alongside Lenovo Tenerife, Darussafaka Lassa, and VEF Riga.
Photo: fiba.basketball