7Days EuroCup: Groups Get New Leaders
The 7Days EuroCup completed Round 7 of the 2018-19 regular season on Wednesday night and there was a dynamic shift in power as Groups A through D found new leaders. This is a testament to the level of competition in this league.
The top-2 teams of Group A locked horns and it was French squad AS Monaco that came out on top after defeating Crvena Zvezda 75-91. Both teams were tied for the lead with 4-2 records but now Monaco has a one-game lead, while Crvena Zvezda shares a 4-3 record with MoraBanc Andorra. Monaco gave Red Star a taste of their own medicine as they used superior defense to shut down their opponents in the Serbian capital. Red Star’s Billy Baron and Joe Ragland were the only two players from Crvena Zvezda to score in double figures with 14 and 12 points, respectively. On the other end of the floor, Derek Needham torched them for 21 points thanks to five 3-pointers.
In Group B action, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar (6-1) moved up to the pole position in the group with a convincing 64-72 win over Limoges CSP Elite. At the same time, ALBA Berlin suffered their second loss of the season at the hands of Cedevita Zagreb 102-109. Cedevita stalled ALBA Berlin’s momentum and halted their four-game winning streak dead in its tracks. Justin Cobbs rose to the occasion with a near-double-double performance as he delivered 20 points and nine assists for Cedevita.
Valencia Basket seized control over Group C with a resounding 101-83 win over Turk Telekom Ankara. They are technically tied with ASVEL with identical 5-2 records but Valencia moves to the top of the standings based on tiebreakers. Valencia had a well-balanced attack and used unselfish play to dictate the pace of the game. Their 31-22 advantage in the assists category tells of a key element in the story of this win.
Group D is the most polarized group so far. It’s the only group where a team has failed to record a victory in FIAT Torino. The top two teams sport 6-1 records but Unicaja Malaga moves to the top with their 78-84 victory over the Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt. Their group rivals Unics Kazan (6-1) played their game on November 13th and were able to edge out Rytas 81-87.