Karsiyaka outguns Brindisi and claims FIBA Championsleague Final 8 spot

Pinar Karsiyaka scored a century for the first time in this BCL campaign to overpower Happy Casa Brindisi at home and grab second place in Group I – and a coveted Final 8 berth – ahead of the Italian team.

Here’s a closer look at all five games on Tuesday, which saw Lenovo Tenerife take first place in Group J ahead of Hereda San Pablo Burgos and ERA Nymburk, strengthening their bid for the top spot in Group L.

Pinar Karsiyaka 107-88 Happy Casa Brindisi — Group I

Karsiyaka delivered their best offensive display of the season in the do-or-die clash with Happy Casa Brindisi for the remaining ticket to the Final 8 from Group I, overpowering the Italian side 107-88 to earn their third trip to the Quarter-Finals stage in club history.

The Turkish team needed to prevail by at least five points to tie Brindisi at 3-3 in the group standings and claim the head-to-head advantage over the Italian team, who had won by a four-point margin in the reverse fixture.

Nobody showed a greater sense of urgency than Tony Taylor, who poured in 21 points on 7 of 8 shooting from the floor already in the first half, including 10 points within the final 2:40 of the second frame, to lift the hosts to a 53-43 lead at halftime.

Karsiyaka stretched their lead to as many as 18 points, 71-53 on two Raymar Morgan free-throws 5:33 from the end of the third quarter.

Josh Bostic, however, inspired a Brindisi fightback by finding success from downtown, and he trimmed the deficit to just 7 points, 87-80, from the stripe right before the halfway mark of the final stanza.

Morgan, however, made a contested layup, drew the foul, and converted the and-one play to stop the rot, and later Sek Henry drilled a triple right at the end of the shot clock to drive a dagger through Brindisi’s heart and extend Karsiyaka’s lead to 96-82.

Taylor finished with a BCL career-high 30 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the field, 7 assists, and 2 rebounds, while D. J. Kennedy posted a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, Bostic finished with 28 points in a losing effort.

Hapoel Unet-Credit Holon 71-90 Tofas Bursa — Group I

Tofas Bursa bowed out of their maiden BCL campaign on a high note after using a late run to beat Group I winners Hapoel Unet-Credit Holon 90-71 on the road.

The Turkish team traveled to Israel, having already abolished their chances of making the Final 8, but this didn’t prevent them from stepping it up in crunch time on Tuesday.

The lead had changed hands 14 times when, with 2:28 remaining to the end of the third frame, a majestic Tomislav Zubcic dunk tied the scores at 58-58 and sparked a 22-2 Tofas run bridging the two final quarters.

Zubcic himself capped it off with a triple on a DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell assist with 7:33 left to the final buzzer, stretching the visitors lead to 78-60.

Tofas forced an eye-popping 22 Holon turnovers and scored 32 points off them, with the Turkish team also scoring 20 fast-break points.

Zubcic paced the winners with 21 points and 5 assists and Berkan Durmaz chipped in with 18 points and 5 rebounds. Holon’s Isaiah Miles shot 6 of 10 from three-point range and finished with a game-high 22 points in defeat.

Lenovo Tenerife 89-60 Hereda San Pablo Burgos — Group J

Lenovo Tenerife prevailed in convincing fashion in the battle with Hereda San Pablo Burgos for first place in Group J, as they rolled over the reigning BCL champions 89-60.

Burgos, who suffered their heaviest loss in the BCL, scored the first basket of the night but never managed to find a rhythm. They advance to the Final 8 as the second-seeded team from the group.

Tenerife grabbed their first double-digit lead, 24-14, right before the first buzzer and pulled away decisively midway through the third frame, when Giorgi Shermadini scored with one of his trademark hook shots, and Emir Sulejmanovic followed up with a triple to stretch the hosts’ lead to 52-31.

The yellow-blacks extended the gap to as many as 31 points in the final stanza, as they showcased their offensive plurality by getting 51 points from their second unit – the Burgos bench contributed less than half of that, 24 points.

Shermadini finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds to lead five Tenerife players in double digits, and Sulejmanovic had 12 points and 8 boards. Miquel Salvo collected a game-high 15 points and added 7 rebounds in a losing effort for Burgos.

Igokea 64-58 VEF Riga — Group J

Igokea nearly squandered a 17-point lead but held off VEF Riga down the stretch to clinch a 64-58 win at home and conclude their first-ever BCL campaign on a 3-3 record in the Play-Offs.

The hosts took third place in the group ahead of VEF, who picked up their sixth loss in as many Group J games and finished fourth of the standings.

Igokea held VEF scoreless during a seven-minute stretch bridging the two opening quarters and went on a 15-point run to open up a 23-8 lead early in the second frame.

Anthony Clemmons drove to the VEF basket and finished with a layup to stretch the gap to 34-17 with just 2:21 remaining to the halftime buzzer. VEF finally snapped out of their offensive woes in the third quarter and begun chipping away at the deficit.

The visitors held Igokea to just 3 points during a six-minute stretch in the fourth stanza, but after they came within 4 points, 62-58 with 15 seconds left to play, Darko Talic drew a foul and sealed Igokea’s win from the free-throw line.

Jackie Carmichael paved the way for Igokea with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds while VEF’s Isaiah Pineiro had a game-high 16 points and 8 rebounds in defeat.

Dinamo Sassari 73-91 ERA Nymburk — Group L

ERA Nymburk used a strong start to create separation from Dinamo Sassari and cruised to a 91-73 wire-to-wire win, setting up a battle with Casademont Zaragoza for first place in Group L on the final day of the Play-Offs.

The Czech side is now tied with Zaragoza at 4-1 in the standings and will now top the group if they defeat the Spanish side on Thursday, by any margin of victory.

In Sassari, Nymburk raced to a 26-16 lead late in the first quarter and maintained double-digit leads throughout the opening half.

Hayden Dalton drilled a triple 4:54 from the end of the third frame to cap off an 11-0 run, and Nymburk’s lead ballooned to 26 points, 66-40, leaving the hosts with a mountain to climb.

Nymburk won the battle on the glass 46 to 35 and had Omar Prewitt leading the way on offense, as he finished with 21 points and added 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Dalton chipped in with 17 points and 8 boards, while for Sassari, Eimantas Bendzius had 15 points in defeat.