7Days EuroCup: Race for Top 16 Heats Up

 Round 9 of the 7Days EuroCup just opened with six games on Tuesday. So far there are already 10 teams that have punched their tickets into the top-16 and are guaranteed to advance into the next phase. They are:

Group A

AS Monaco, MoraBanc Andorra

Group B

Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, ALBA Berlin, Cedevita Zagreb

Group C

Valencia Basket, ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne

Group D

Unicaja Malaga, UNICS Kazan, Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt

Valencia Basket dealt a blow to Zenit Saint Petersburg as they played gatekeeper in Group C, dropping the Russian club 97-89. No freebie wins here. The orange shirts force Zenit to earn their place in the top-16 with a likely must-win game in Round 10.

Not all top teams crushed their matchups with similar impunity. BC Partizan edged out French powerhouse ASVEL 75-78 in a no bearing game (for ASVEL – already qualified). The win was a moral victory for Partizan really as it does take them to 3-6 but are still dead last in the group standings.

MoraBanc Andorra fell to ALBA Berlin 88-80 in a game between two qualified teams, so it was more of a warm-up for both squads as they prepare for the next phase of the 7Days EuroCup.

Which teams will make it and round out the top-16 in rounds 9 and 10?