By Eurohoops Team / info@eurohoops.net
Two Spanish teams have already punched their tickets for the Basketball Champions League Final Four in Belgrade, with Unicaja Malaga eliminating Promitheas Patras and UCAM Murcia defeating MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in two games.
In the other two quarterfinal clashes, two games weren’t enough to determine who was traveling to Serbia. That’s why Lenovo Tenerife, Tofas Bursa, Telekom Baskets Bonn, and Peristeri bwin are in a do-or-die situation.
Defending champions Bonn used the home-court advantage to take the series lead, but Peristeri responded strongly. Led by Joe Ragland and Elijah Mitrou Long, Vassilis Spanoulis’ side won 90-62, facing elimination, and showed character. That’s why everything seems possible in the third and final clash between these two sides (16/04).
Peristeri will be looking for another Ragland masterpiece, while the German side will need more than the 17 points their Canadian duo of Thomas Kennedy and Noah Kirkwood scored during the loss in Greece. Bonn will also rely on its fans at the Telekom Dome since it has won eight straight home matches in both competitions.
As for the remaining Quarterfinals match-up, after Tenerife won 83-77 at home, Tofas responded with a 90-81 victory in Bursa, despite Kyle Guy scoring 34 points for the visitors. The series is now back to San Cristobal de La Laguna for the final match (17/04).
It seems that the fans in Spain should witness another great duel between two sharpshooters, Guy on one side and Caleb Homesley on the other. However, the player to look at is definitely one of the BCL greats, Marcelinho Huertas.
He scored 30 points with eight assists during Txus Vidorreta’s team’s win at the start of the Quarterfinals, but Tofas limited him to five points and six assists in the rematch. It seems that the fate of the series between Tenerife and Tofas is in the hands of a Brazilian basketball magician.
Basketball Champions League Quarterfinals Gameday 3
Telekom Baskets Bonn – Peristeri bwin (16/04)
Lenovo Tenerife – Tofas Bursa (17/04)