By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The Basketball Champions League Round of 16 kicked off with Nizhny Novgorod convincing home win over Umana Reyer Venezia and Kendrick Perry was the man of the hour. He became the first player to record 30+points and 5+ assists in a BCL playoffs game.
Tuesday also featured the only domestic clash as the reigning champs AEK grabbed a road win over PAOK while Le Mans and Bologna ended their game in a tie after 16 lead changes.
On Wednesday, despite missing Rion Brown and Langston Hall, Promitheas Patras pulled off a home win vs. Iberostar Tenerife thanks to Tony Meier.
Tyrese Rice and near-perfect Elias Harris pushed Brose Bamberg to a narrow home win over Banvit while Nanterre showed off their ‘3-and-D’ to the home crowd in win over Besiktas Sompo Japan which might have a bigger problem as Jason Rich stepped off the court due to an injury.
Last but certainly not least, the young Antwerp Giants proved their ‘hunger’ with a win over UCAM Murcia in Belgium.
Rematches will be played next week, with two games scheduled for Tuesday (12/3) and six for Wednesday (13/3). Teams with the better aggregate score after Game 2 will advance to the quarterfinals.
BCL Round of 16 – Game 1 results and scorers:
Nizhny Novgorod – Venezia 95-72 (Perry 34 – Bramos 17)
PAOK – AEK 75-84 (Koniaris 18 – Hunter 20)
Le Mans – Bologna 74-74 (Bigote 25 – Taylor 13)
Neptunas – Hapoel Jerusalem 74-86 (Delininkaitis 16 – Feldeine 17)
Promitheas – Tenerife 69-57 (Meier 22 – Iverson 16)
Antwerp – Murcia 75-67 (Lee 21 – Booker 18)
Bamberg – Banvit 81-79 (Rice 20 – Neal 20)
Nanterre – Besiktas 68-59 (Konate 13 – Buva 10)
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League