MUNICH (Germany) - Both Basket Landes and Valencia Basket Club tipped off their Round of 8 ties with vital first-leg road wins to put themselves in a great position to move towards the Quarter-Finals.

Having recently helped Canada secure safe passage to the  2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Miranda Ayim was back doing the business for Basket Landes as they gained what could be a vital edge in their tie against Orman Genclik. 

The French side collected a narrow but precious lead after winning 82-79 on the road behind an excellent 24 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists from Ayim. She shot the lights out and Landes also prospered from a cameo by Ana Suarez who had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Pelin Bilgic impressed in defeat with a season-high 20 point show for Orman, while Angelica Robinson and Courtney Paris both accumulated double-doubles after pulling down 12 rebounds apiece, to go with their 19 and 16 points respectively. 

Valencia completed a 71-61 victory against domestic rivals Lointek Gernika Bizkaia as they came alive in the closing minutes of their first meeting. Trailing 52-51 with six minutes remaining, the visitors closed out with a stunning run to put one foot in the next stage of the competition.

A special performance of 17 points and 13 rebounds from Joy Brown paced the victory for Valencia, with Melya Tirera also adding  a smart 16 points before fouling out.

FIBA