Partizan, Bologna, Malaga now 3-0 in 7Days EuroCup
The 7Days EuroCup opened Round 3 action on Tuesday night with a slate of four games. The evening did not disappoint as three of the winners are top teams in their respective groups with 3-0 records. Off to a hot start in the 2019-20 season are BC Partizan, Virtus Bologna, and Unicaja Malaga.
Group A
Virtus Bologna have looked impressive thus far this season. Their composure and execution have been on-point. And when they’re down, they manage to climb back into contention. This game was a good example of that as Bologna rebounded from an early deficit to come away with the 87-72 win over MoraBanc Andorra.
After trailing by as much as 11 points, Bologna amped up their defensive intensity and turned the tables on Andorra in the second and third quarters. Bologna was in good hands as the ever-steady Milos Teodosic found his shooting touch later in the game to lead his team to victory with15 points, three boards and nine dimes.
Andorra is now 1-2 but are still in fourth place in Group A.
Group B
BC Partizan Belgrade were cool cats on the road as they maneuvered their way to a 61-66 victory over Rytas Vilnius. The Lithuanian club sinks to 1-2 and now currently holds the precarious 5th place in the Group standings. Interestingly enough, this was the first victory of Partizan over Rytas in 7Days EuroCup play. To their credit, the Serbian powerhouse has been playing at a high level to start the season.
Marcus Page heated up from the outside and sank four 3-pointers on his way to 17 points for Partizan. His teammate, Nemanja Gordic manned the plays on offense and contributed 13 points, six rebounds and handed out seven assists for the night. Gordic was one of the important keys to his team’s victory as he stepped up at the right time to secure the lead and command of the game for Partizan.
The other game from Group B was between Umana Reyer Venezia and Tofas Bursa. The Italians took care of their homecourt and emerged victorious 76-65.
As a team, Venezia landed 9-of-20 shots from 3-point land to give them a decisive advantage. Tofas Bursa struggled to find their touch from deep, collectively going 3-for-16 from distance.
Veteran forward Austin Dayes paced Venezia with 15 points, leading three other teammates to score in double figures. In stark contrast, Tofas leaned heavily, too heavily, on Devin Williams who exploded for a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double. Unfortunately, it was almost a one-man show a no other teammate scored in double figures.
Group D
Unicaja Malaga bested Galatasaray Istanbul 88-83 to move up to 3-0 and rise to the top of the league standings. It was pretty much the Axel Toupane show for Malaga as the player spearheaded his team’s offense on the shoulders of his 22-point performance. He nailed 4-of-5 shots from beyond the 3-point arc and added three assists and three steals for a well-rounded two-way game.
The game was close overall. It was not until Alberto Diaz hit a go-ahead 3-pointer to lift Malaga up by nine points in the fourth quarter, keeping the lead at a manageable level for them to protect.