EuroCup: Round 2 recap

Round 2 of the 2016/2017 EuroCup Regular Season played out on Wednesday with a complete schedule across Groups A through D. ALBA Berlin, Lietkabelis Panevezys, and Gran Canaria Las Palmas stayed unbeaten through two games. We also saw Bayern Munich go bucket crazy in the first half of its contest against Murcia, while Malaga opened its season by sending a message across the continent.

Group A

Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas has started the EuroCup campaign on fire. The Spanish club (runner up in 2015 and third in 2016) defeated Nizhny Novgorod 80-106 in an impressive away performance. The visitors drained 36 points in a devastating first quarter that set a winning tone. The performance was bookended by another 28 points haul in Q4 as Novgorod was simply blown away. Kyle Kuric paced the victory with 20 points.

Lietkabelis Panevezys opened its EuroCup season with a big 76-80 road win over Cedevita Zagreb. Considering Cedevita’s experience, this is certainly one of the upsets of week 2 of the competition. The guests started strong and hit 48 points in the first half for a 48-37 lead at the halftime. Just 10 points in the third act allowed the Zagreb hosts back into the contest, but Panevezys held on in the fourth to claim the win.

Group B

ALBA Berlin looked strong on the road to Bilbao Basket, the Germans leaving Spain with a 77-85 win to stay unbeaten in Group B. Bilbao actually led by a point (37-36) at halftime, but the deficit was reversed through thirty minutes as ALBA took a 56-57 lead. The Berlin outfit had the momentum and drained 28 points in the fourth to settle the game.

Fuenlabrada stunned Khimki Moscow Region at home with an 89-85 success. Russian club Khimki is among the favored teams to win the EuroCup this season, but the team was shocked here. Fuenlabrada was 40-34 ahead at the long break and stayed one step ahead through the third and held on to close the contest in a nail biting fourth.

Group C

Adriatic League high flyers Buducnost Voli Podgorica has not found the EuroCup to be as easy so far this season. The club was handed a 62-86 lesson at the hands of Malaga, the Spanish club living up to its position as one of the tournament favorites. Jamar Smith scored 19 points to lead a Malaga team that plundered 55 points in the first half alone.

Bayern Munich broke 90 points on the way to a 92-84 home win over Murcia in Bavaria. Bayern were simply sensational in the first half, smashing over 30 points in the first and second frames for a huge 62-35 lead at the break. The final score shows that Murcia put in a huge effort in the second half to comeback. However, it often felt that the visitors were only going to make the score respectable and not overturn the deficit. That proved to be the case as Munich claimed victory.

Goal D

Ratiopharm Ulm edged Union Olimpija Ljubljana at home with an 87-82 win. The Germans seemed to have an answer for every question posed by Union Olimpija, staying one step ahead through the quartes for an easier-than-it-seems win. The hosts actually shot worse than Ljubljana from 2 points and 3 points range, but made up for it by hitting 18 free throws for an 85.7% accuracy score from the charity strip.

Hapoel Jerusalem had too much for Valencia with a 77-81 win over the competition’s winningest club. Jerusalem 18 points for Curtis Jerrells to set the scoring tone, but Amare Stoudamire also stood out with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. The visitors scored at least twenty points in every quarter to achieve an offensive consistency that Valencia struggled to match.