By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Tofas Bursa and SIG Strasbourg met twice both in the 2021-22 and the 2022-23 seasons, respectively sharing the victories. Squaring off once again tonight, the Turkish club came back to winning ways against the French team, bouncing back in the Basketball Champions League Round of 16.
Controlling the game from the very first minutes and ending with the 93-71 victory, Orhun Ene’s team relied a lot on Caleb Homesley’s contribution, as the American forward ended with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Coming off the bench, J.J O’Brien added 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists, while Marcus Denmon contributed with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists.
SIG Strasbourg never got even a single chance to come back in contention, with Phil Booth being the only one dragging the team on the offensive end; the 29-year-old guard had 22 points despite shooting only 1/5 from beyond the arc, sharing 4 assists as well. Quinton Hooker had 12 points in the loss.
More particularly, the home side had a special offensive boost from the ones who didn’t start the game, outscoring the opponents in points from the bench (44 vs 19). They were also way better in scoring from three-point range at 52.0% over 25 attempts, while Massimo Cancellieri’s team had a sloppy 29.41%.
With this victory, Tofas Bursa has extended its home winning streak in the Basketball Champions League Round of 16 to five consecutive games. On the other side, SIG Strasbourg is now 0-4 in their last four road games in the competition, which is their longest BCL losing streak on the road in eight years.
After the 19-point defeat suffered last week in Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena, Tofas Bursa now easily recovered in the Basketball Champions League, quickly bouncing back. SIG Strasbourg, instead, finds itself in a worrying position, still winless at 0-2 after losing the French derby to Cholet.
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League