7Days EuroCup Round 5 opens with four games
The 7Days EuroCup opened Round 5 action on Tuesday night with four games on its slate. The quantity was overshadowed by the quality of basketball displayed by the teams that took to the hardwood.
In Group A, Ratiopharm Ulm got on the board with their first win of the season after defeating Maccabi Rishon L Zion 103-89. Both teams now sport a 1-4 record in the league to start the 2019-20 season, but this win swaps their positions in the group standings. Ratiopharm Ulm is now in fifth place. Both clubs need a lot of hustle to gain ground on MoraBanc Andorra (4th), who have a 2-2 record but have yet to play in this round.
The German club had Zoran Dragic to thank for the victory as he spearheaded their offense on the shoulders of his career-high 33 point. Derek Willis also had himself a solid performance, dropping 19 points and 16 points for the victors. Their control of the glass, 45 rebounds vs. 25 by Rishon was a telling factor in their crucial win.
In Group B action, Umana Reyer Venezia used a flurry of 3-pointers to pull away early in their 72-81 road win over Rytas Vilnius. The Venetian squad rained down a total of 14 3-pointers on their hosts to bag this one. Their 17-26 lead at the end of the first quarter was just the beginning as they snowballed their advantage to an even larger lead. Rytas would make their move in the third quarter but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit.
Jeremy Chappell accounted for five of Venezia’s 3-pointers, en route to his game-high 21 points.
There were two games coming from Group C. The first was a clash between two teams that had 2-2 records. After the dust settled, Germani Brescia (3-2) prevailed over JSF Nanterre (2-3) 65-73, to claim that highly coveted 4th place in the group standings. Brescia’s defense shined through in this contest as they found ways to make stops at key junctures in the game. Deandre Landsdowne paced Brescia for the win with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field.
The second game was between Joventut Badalona and Cedevita Olimpija. The Spanish club managed to deny Cedevita their first taste of victory in a high-scoring 101-81 blowout win. Cedevita are undefeated in the ABA League, but have not fared too well in the tougher environment in the 7Days EuroCup. Five of Joventut’s players clocked in with double-digit scoring efforts, led by the 17 points of Klemen Prepelic. Codi Miller-McIntyre led Cedevita with a game-high 18 points.
In this contest, the rebounding disparity was impactful in the result, with Joventut outrebounding Cedevita 41-23. Their work on the glass allowed for some second-chance points, with 14 of those 41 being on the offensive end of the floor.