Record-breaking Eurocup round six
The second half of the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season began with the games of Round 6, which saw lots of points scored and records set. Jamar Smith became the competition’s all-time leader in three-pointers made, and there were big wins for Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, while Herbalife Gran Canaria produced a few club records. Lokomotiv was also one of only two teams to win on the road in Round 6. The second one was ratiopharm Ulm joined.
Group A
UNICS Kazan earned a crucial victory in the fight to reach the Top 16 by fending off Umana Reyer Venice 90-87 on a historic night for Jamar Smith. The UNICS star scored 20 points, including six three-pointers, to become the competition’s all-time leader in triples made. Isaiah Canaan added 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists as UNICS improved to 3-2. Reyer lost the game to fall to 2-3 but retained the head-to-head tiebreaker against UNICS. Michael Bramos evened his club record with six three-pointers in scoring 23 points in the loss. The scheduled game between Joventut Badalona and Partizan NIS Belgrade has been suspended.
Group B
This group will be incomplete this week. Germani Brescia vs. Buducnost VOLI Podgorica has been suspended at the visitors’ request due to multiple COVID-19 positive cases. As a result, they could not have a minimum of eight players on the Authorisation List fit to play.
Group C
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar found no resistance at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp on Wednesday night in grabbing a 94-114 road win. Along the way, they set several team and individual records. In the first half, the visitors trashed Antwerp and headed to the locker room with a 32-point advantage (39-71) that was never jeopardized. Lokomotiv earned its fourth win in a row to threaten Segafredo Virtus Bologna’s lead in Group C. Antwerp, on the other hand, remained winless in the last place. Alan Williams paced the winners on a magic night in which he penned career-highs in points (27), rebounds (17), and PIR (36). Mantas Kalnietis also set a career-high and club record with 15 assists. Ibrahima Faye posted a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds on the losing side, as did David Dudzinski with 21 and 10. It was the only game played on time in Group C. Virtus Segafredo Bologna did not face Lietkabelis Panevezys as the visitors requested a suspension due to multiple COVID-19 positive cases that did not allow the team to have a minimum of eight players on the Authorisation List fit to play. For the same reason, one of the newest EuroCup rivalries, AS Monaco vs. MoraBanc Andorra, was not held as planned on Wednesday but rather rescheduled later.
Group D
Dolomiti Energia Trento remained undefeated by surviving a comeback battle to win 89-80 against winless Frutti Extra Bursaspor. Trento had a 20-point lead in the first quarter but lost almost all of it by midway through the second quarter and fought off Bursaspor to move to 5-0. Kelvin Martin led the way with 22 points while JaCorey Williams had 18 points and 7 rebounds. Bursaspor is now 0-4 despite 21 points and 11 rebounds from Oguz Savas. Herbalife Gran Canaria roared past Promitheas Patras 98-83 to improve to 4-1. Promitheas dropped to 2-3. Stan Okoye led the winners with 25 points. Eleftherios Mantzoukas paced Promitheas with 24 points on 6-of-6 three-point shooting. The visitors led 51-52 at halftime, but Okoye and Fabio Santana stepped up after the break as Gran Canaria took control. Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana collected a 75-63 victory over short-handed Nanterre 92 in the Slovenian capital. Olimpija improved to 2-2 in the standings, while Nanterre dropped to 1-4. Rion Brown led the winners with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Kendrick Perry scored 10 points and dished 10 assists. Ivan Fevrier led Nanterre with 23 points.