Bologna keeps a perfect record in the Eurocup
Virtus Segafredo Bologna rallied late to knock off AS Monaco on Wednesday and join Joventut Badalona and Dolomiti Energia Trento, which both won on Tuesday, as the only teams with perfect records through four Eurocup rounds. All three won at home in a round that saw the hosts go 9-2 with only Partizan NIS Belgrade and Herbalife Gran Canaria able to snatch valuable triumphs on the road. There were no group A games on Wednesday.
Group B
Unicaja Malaga registered its third consecutive home win by downing Germani Brescia 86-69 at Martin Carpena on Wednesday. Unicaja improved to 3-1 while Brescia dropped to 1-3. Dario Brizuela paced the winners with 17 points off the bench. Kenny Chery scored 18 for the visitors, who rallied from an 18-point deficit to get a 48-51 lead late in the third quarter. Brizuela and Francis Alonso stepped up in crunch time to make sure Unicaja collected the win.
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica never trailed in holding off ratiopharm Ulm 73-68. The hosts, who were missing starting point guard Justin Cobbs to injury, led by as many as 14 in the second quarter and 10 in the fourth, but Ulm repeatedly rallied to make it exciting late. Nikola Ivanovic continued his magnificent season with 21 points to lift Buducnost to 3-1. Dylan Osetkowski led the way with 18 points and 6 assists for Ulm, which lost its third straight game in falling to 1-3.
Group C
Virtus Segafredo Bologna needed a historical performance to fend off AS Monaco 94-85 and grab sole possession of the first place. In a battle of unbeaten teams, Vince Hunter poured in 20 points to lead Virtus, Julian Gamble added 19, and Milos Teodosic collected 14 points and 12 assists as Virtus set a club record with 32 assists in moving to 4-0. Monaco gave a strong fight, with Damien Inglis tying his career-high with 17 points in the loss, which dropped the club to 3-1.
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar turned in a fine defensive effort to protect its home floor and beat MoraBanc Andorra 76-61. Lokomotiv improved to 3-1 in a share of the group’s second-best record, while Andorra dropped to 1-3 on the season. Kevin Hervey scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and also pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the hosts. David Jelinek scored 13 points in defeat.
Lietkabelis Panevezys put its Top 16 hopes in play by knocking off Telenet Giants Antwerp 80-73 for its first win of the season. Gytis Masiulis collected 26 points, and 10 rebounds as Lietkabelis improved to 1-3. Antwerp fell to 0-4 despite Speedy Smith’s 15 points and 8 assists.
Group D
On Wednesday, Promitheas Patras scored an 88-72 win over visiting Nanterre 92. Promitheas improved to 2-2 in the standings while Nanterre dropped to 1-3 and is now on a three-game losing streak. Charis Giannopoulos led the winners with 21 points, while Vangelis Mantzaris dished 11 assists. Alpha Kaba paced Nanterre with 20 points on 9-for-10 two-point shooting.
Herbalife Gran Canaria bounced back from a Round 3 defeat to claim a 76-96 win against Frutti Extra Bursasport and improve its record to 3-1. The visitors used an amazing offensive performance in the first quarter, in which they hit 7 three-pointers in just 9 attempts, to build an 18-33 margin that was never jeopardized. Bursaspor lost its third home game in a row and remains last in the group. John Shurna led the winners with 18 points and 8 boards. Veteran Oguz Savas posted 14 points and 6 rebounds in defeat.