EuroCup: Round 8 summary

We are at the important end of the EuroCup regular season as Round 8 started introducing clubs to the next round. Five teams booked their passage to the Top 16 as Khimki Moscow Region, Hapoel Jerusalem, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod and Ratiopharm Ulm all went through despite contrasting fortunes on Wednesday.

They joined Valencia, Bayern Munich, Cedevita Zagreb, Lietkabelis Panevezys and Gran Canaria Las Palmas, Zenit St. Petersburg, Murcia, and Malaga in the next round of the EuroCup.

Group A

Lietkabelis Panevezys had already qualified, but could not take out Nizhny Novgorod on the road. The Russian hosts prevailed 91-89 and clinched a place in the Top 16 after results elsewhere. This was a tight contest as neither team held more than a six point lead at any stage. Ivan Strebkov pushed the hosts with a career best 31 points.

Cedevita Zagreb downed MZT Skopje 95-61 in the Croatian capital to send Nizhny through. The hosts were much too strong for a Skopje team that is still without a win this late in the EuroCup regular season. This was such a cruise that Cedevita’s 34 points win was the biggest margin of success in the club’s history.

Group B

ALBA Berlin looked in control through three quarters in Khimki, but the Russian hosts used a timely 14-0 run in the fourth act to swing the momentum and claim a Top 16-bagging 88-77 win. Markel Brown drained 19 points in the win, including two from downtown in that game changing streak.

In form Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius won its third on the bounce with a 83-71 home win over Bilbao. Those three victories have put the Lithuanians in contention in Group B. A strong board effort saw Lietuvos Rytas pull 39 rebounds off the glass, while Bilbao managed just 23.

Group C

Group C was already closed for business before this week. However, this is not a formality as clubs jostle for position and a supposedly better draw in the next round. Bayern Munich used a 72-69 score to take bragging rights of Unicaja Malaga and move to the top of the standings. Nick Johnson can be described as game winner as he scored 8 points in the final 150 seconds of the game and topped out at 20 points overall.

Zenit St. Petersburg travelled to Murcia and came away with a 77-90 win to enhance its position in second place. The guests were up by twenty points in the second quarter and stayed professional throughout to stimmy any comeback. Indeed, the Spanish hosts did not get within 8 points for the remainder of the game.

Group D

Hapoel Jerusalem tasted the Top 16 and booked a berth with a strong 81-69 home win over Union Olimpija Ljubljana. That victory also handed Lokomotiv a place in the next round by default. As for the Russian club, it played out a classic with Ratiopharm Ulm, with the Germans downing Lokomotiv 105-101 after overtime.