Partizan, Joventut, Buducnost lead at 7DAYS Eurocup midway point
Round 9 marked the midway point of the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season, and three teams stand above the rest. Partizan and Joventut share the top spot in Group A with 7-2 records, and Buducnost is alone in first place in Group B with the same mark. Each group had a different story on Wednesday; Partizan smashed Trento, and Joventut overpowered Lokomotiv in a battle for a share of first place. Buducnost rallied to edge Bursaspor. Likewise, Valencia, hot on Buducnost’s heels at 6-3, erased a big deficit to win in Ulm as the lone road winner among the seven Round 9 games played on their originally scheduled dates. Lietkabelis and Virtus both overcame absences to win on Wednesday. In Tuesday’s lone game. Caleb Homesley set Hamburg Towers club records in scoring, three-pointers made, rebounds, and PIR to lead his team to their third straight win.
GROUP A
Lietkabelis Panevezys 96-89 Boulogne Metropolitans 92
Lietkabelis Panevezys made a club record of 19 three-pointers. They managed to hold on for a 96-89 victory over Boulogne Metropolitans 92 in Group A. Lietkabelis opened a 10-point lead in the first quarter but lost the advantage immediately after that. Metropolitans built a 9-point cushion in the third quarter, but the game was even after 30 minutes. Lietkabelis used the long ball to build an 8-point gap down the stretch and prevailed to improve to 4-5. Dovydas Giedraitis drained five three-pointers in scoring 25 points while Kaspars Berzins had five triples and 19 points, Kristupas Zemaitis scored 18 points, and Panagiotis Kalaitzakis added 12 points. Lietkabelis, which was missing leaders Djordje Gagic and Gediminas Orelik, had lost its last two games and four of the last five. Metropolitans fell to 4-6, including a 1-5 mark away from home. Miralem Halilovic paced the French club with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Will Cummings had 16 points and five assists, Tomer Ginat scored 12, Tony Crocker 11, and Vince Hunter chipped in 10 points in the loss.
Partizan NIS Belgrade 97-65 Dolomiti Energia Trento
Partizan NIS Belgrade showed no mercy against visiting Dolomiti Energia Trento in recording a 97-65 blowout at Stark Arena on Wednesday night. The hosts ruled from the very beginning, opening the game with a 12-2 run that set the basis for an uncontested dominance all the way. Partizan improved to 7-2 on its quest for the Group A leadership, while Trento slipped to 1-8 with its fourth loss in a row. Kevin Punter and Dallas Moore led the winners with 17 points apiece on a combined 17-of-23 shooting. Yam Madar followed with 18 points on 4-of-6 on threes, while Uros Trifunovic and Alen Smailagic contributed 10 points apiece. Andrea Mezzanote was Trento’s top scorer with 15 points, and Jordan Caroline, Diego Flaccadori, and Jonathan Williams posted 14, 13, and 11, respectively.
Joventut Badalona 100-77 Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnoda
Joventut Badalona grabbed its third consecutive victory in Group A by topping Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 100-77 at Palau Olimpic de Badalona on Wednesday. Joventut improved to 7-2 in the standings while Lokomotiv dropped to 6-3. Vladimir Brodziansky led the winners with a career-high 31 points. Pau Ribas added 18, Ferran Bassas 12, Joel Parra 11, and Guillem Vives 10 for Joventut. Errick McCollum led Lokomotiv with 23 points, Stanislav Ilnitskiy added 14, Johnathan Motley 13, and Darius Thompson 10 scored for the visitors. Joventut led 50-46 at halftime before the hosts found a go-to guy in Brodziansky, who scored 12 third-quarter points. Parra and Ribas also stepped up to break the game open, 80-58, at the end of the quarter as Lokomotiv never recovered.
GROUP B
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 83-82 Frutti Extra Bursaspor
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica remained atop the Group B standings by downing Frutti Extra Bursaspor 83-82 in the Montenegrin capital on Wednesday. Buducnost improved to 7-2, while Bursaspor dropped to 3-6 at the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season’s halfway mark. Vladimir Micov led the winners with 20 points, and Willie Reed added 18 points, 12 rebounds, and a game-saving block at the buzzer. D.J. Seeley scored 14 points and Justin Cobbs 12 for Buducnost. Allerik Freeman led Bursaspor with 22 points, David Dudzinski and Derek Needham each scored 17, and Onuralp Bitim had 15 for the visitors. Bursaspor buried its first six attempts from downtown, as Needham, Bitim, and Kevarrius Hayes gave the visitors an 18-29 margin after 10 minutes. Reed and Micov got Buducnost within 27-29, but Dudzinski and an outstanding Freeman helped Bursaspor restore a 42-52 lead at halftime. Freeman and Needham kept pushing the guests after the break, getting help from Andrew Andrews to boost Bursaspor’s margin to 58-73 after 30 minutes. Micov had 9 points in an 11-0 run that brought Buducnost back to life. Seeley nailed the go-ahead three-point play with 4.2 seconds left. Freeman had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Reed blocked his shot.
Virtus Segafredo Bologna 83-82 Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse
Virtus Segafredo Bologna wasted an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter but fended off Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 83-82 at home in Group B. The game was close until Virtus went on an 18-1 run spanning the final two quarters to build an 11-point lead. Bourg raced back to tie the game, but Kyle Weems drained two three-pointers and two big free throws to ice the game in the final 89 seconds. Weems and Mam Jaiteh both scored 15 points, and Marco Belinelli added 13 points for Virtus, which improved to 6-3. Bourg dropped to 2-7 and has still not won on the road. Jalen Jones led the way with 17 points, while JaCorey Williams and Maxime Roos both scored 13 points.
