Eurocup Round 6: EWE Baskets falls to Sassari
It was a busy calendar of Eurocup encounters on Wednesday as Round 6 was brought to a close with 19 games across the continent. It was an evening of closely fought matches with plenty of drama, including five games decided by a single shot, and one after a double overtime marathon.
Banco di Sardegna Sassari overcame EWE at home to trade places with the Germans in Group B, while in Group C Ratiopharm took out ASVEL on the road and Olimpija also travelled well to claim a narrow win over Cimberio. Group D looks to be going down to the wire as ALBA and Gravelines both picked up wins, the former at home against Bonn and the latter downed Virtus Roma at home.
The game of the night occurred in Group E where Igokea grabbed a home win over Karsiyaka, but only after double overtime!
Games of the night
Group B
Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari vs. EWE Baskets Oldenburg, 82-74
After topping Group B last week, EWE Baskets had to win tonight to maintain top spot after Cedevita laid down a marker on Tuesday. However, the German team fell to defeat against Sardegna and the Italian club actually leap frogs Oldenburg to take second in Group B with a 4-2 record. With negative head to head results it has been an awful week for EWE as the team slips to fourth and 4-2.
During the first 10 minutes the teams traded baskets and three pointers, but EWE emerged from the period with a slender 20-21 lead. The visitors held the lead half way into the second quarter until two three pointers gave the hosts the advantage for a brief time. Oldenburg responded heading towards the midway buzzer and led 34-36 at halftime. Throughout a busy third period the two teams traded scores and the lead as neither could dominate proceedings, but Sassari found rhythm at the close of the period to lead 55-51 heading into the final stretch. A 7-0 run early in the fourth all but sealed victory for the hosts as Oldenburg could not find the time or the baskets to come back.
Drake Diener offered a game high 21 points in the winning effort, while Caleb Green with 17 points and Linton Johnson with 13 points were also instrumental in the Sassari win.
A solid 30 minutes for Oldenburg failed to produce a win, but Andrea Crosariol hit 14 points and Nemanja Aleksandrov, Chris Kramer, Dru Joyce and Rickey Paulding all collected 11 points.
Group C
Cimberio Varese vs. Union Olimpija Ljubljana, 82-83
Olimpija Ljubljana took victory at the death against Varese to keep pressure on Ratiopharm Ulm at the top of Group C. The Slovenian team now moves to second in the group with a 4-2 record, while despite a spirited effort Varese stays in fifth with 1-5.
A fantastic opening quarter from Varese pointed to a comfortable home win as the Italian team swept Olimpija aside and took a 21-6 lead heading into the second 10. However, the visitors mounted a comeback in Q2 with a flurry of triples that remarkably sent the teams in at halftime with Cimberio´s lead cut to two points at 36-34. It was clearly an up and down match as it was Olimpija´s turn to go on a run as the team opened up a 38-49 lead during the third period. Varese chipped into that 11 point lead to take the scores to 50-54 heading into the final quarter. During the fourth both teams hit each other for baskets as the game became very tight, so much so that by the end of regulation time the scores were tied at 71 apiece.
In the final overtime session the teams continued to play eye for an eye Basketball as the clock wore down. With 10 second remaining it looked as though the home team would take the spoils, but Deividas Gailius nailed a three to steal an important win for the visitors.
Gailius was a sensation for Ljubljana picking up 31 points and 10 rebounds. Alen Omic was also in good touch for the winners by hitting 15 points and taking 9 rebounds.
Keydren Clark was the standout scorer for the home team with 23 points, but Ebi Ere was the driving force behind the Italians with 22 points and 8 rebounds.
Group E
Igokea Aleksandrovac vs. Pinar Karsiyaka, 110-98
One of the most dramatic games in recent Eurocup Regular Season memory saw Igokea pick up a double overtime win over Karsiyaka. This dramatic match saw the home team pick up just its second win of the season to go 2-4 in Group E, while the visitors stay in second position with a 4-2 record.
It is probably not hard to imagine that this was a close game throughout and from the tip off the teams were locked. During the first 10 minutes both sets of players cancelled each other out, but Igokea was winning 18-17 at the first break. During the second period continued the pattern of neither team opening up a significant margin and by the halftime buzzer it was the hosts winning 35-34 heading into the changing rooms. A flurry of baskets from beyond the arc from both teams opened the second half in an exciting fashion, and for the first time a large gap was opened up as Karsiyaka claimed an 11 point lead heading into the last 10 minutes with the scoreboard reading 50-61. Igokea started what would be a huge turnaround in the fourth and chipped slowly at Pinar´s lead during the period. The effort paid off as the regular time ended with the teams locked at 74-74.
During overtime the teams once again went to trading baskets as tension swept through the Sportska Hala Laktasi Arena in Bosnia. Karsiyaka led by three points with just 17 seconds of overtime remaining, but once again Igokea came back to tie the game at 87-87 to send the game into an extra session of overtime. Igokea pulled away slightly in the second overtime period, whether that was because the home team found an extra gear in front of the boisterous crowd or the Turkish visitors wilted. The most one sided stanza of the match proved to be the last as Igokea sealed a memorable win.
Branko Jorovic paced the Bosnian winners with 27 points, but arguably the most important contribution came from Sergerio Gipson who scored 25 points, 9 of which came in the second overtime session. Nemanja Gordic was a solid provider for the victors with 10 assists, while he also scored 15 points in a fine display.
Esteban Batista was fantastic for Karsiyaka and was the game´s best player with 27 points, 16 rebounds, three steals and 11 fouls drawn. Bobby Dixon was busy from distance with five three pointers in a 22 point haul, while Jon Diebler also hit five 3 pointers on his way to 15 points.
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Eurocup Wednesday roundup
Group A
CEZ B. Nymburk vs. Telenet Ostend, 73-51
Artland Dragons vs. FoxTown Cantu, 68-81
Le Mans Sarthe vs. Cibona Zagreb, 53-64
Group C
Asvel Villeurbanne vs.Ratiopharm Ulm, 60-78
Group D
Alba Berlin vs. Telekom Bonn, 76-61
BCM Gravelines vs. Virtus Rome, 74-64
Group E
Lukoil Academic vs. Hapoel Jerusalem, 76-63
CSU Asesoft vs. Khimki Moscow Region, 72-95
Group F
Khimik Yuzhne vs. Aykon TED Ankara, 79-81
Alba Fehervar vs. Nizhny Novgorod, 78-84
Group G
Unics Kazan vs. Maccabi Haifa Bazan, 79-58
MZT Skopje Aerodrom vs. VEF Riga, 70-77
Kalev Cramo vs. Banvit Bandirma, 75-72
Group H
Spartak SPB vs. Besiktas I. Forex, 61-64
Neptunas Klaipeda vs. Bisons Loimaa, 85-72
Radnicki Kragujevac vs. Panionios Athens, 84-77