Telekom Baskets, Enisey lead the pack before Quarter-Final return legs
MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - The first leg battles of the FIBA Europe Cup Quarter-Finals saw Telekom Baskets and Enisey Krasnoyarsk take considerable steps towards making the Semi-Finals.
MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - The first leg battles of the FIBA Europe Cup Quarter-Finals saw Telekom Baskets and Enisey Krasnoyarsk take considerable steps towards making the Semi-Finals, while the outcomes of the two other ties haven't moved the needle much in either direction.
Having defeated Ironi Nahariya by 21 points, the Bonn side moved back into the top spot in the Power Rankings, while Enisey jumped up to second place after eyeing the leaders from distance for the past couple of weeks.
.@telekombaskets and @BC_Enisey lead the pack before the #FIBAEuropeCup Quarter-Final return legs.
— FIBA Europe Cup (@FIBAEuropeCup) March 13, 2017
📖 https://t.co/9hQUuJmQRW pic.twitter.com/CFpsMlVE5K
Three of the Semi-Finalists will became clear already in the coming days, while the highly-contested duel between Elan Chalon and Cibona will settle the winner a week later.
| 1. Telekom Baskets (+21) | After smashing yet another opponent on their home floor, Telekom Baskets are back at the top of the Power Rankings like they own it. And they probably do. The spirits are high in Predrag Krunic-land, with the Bonn side also getting their big man Filip Barovic back from the sidelines for the return leg in Israel. |
| 2. Enisey (+12) | Enisey are probably not sure how they managed to win the first leg by double-digits, but they certainly aren't complaining. Having won the game by 12 point somewhat against the run of play, the Russians are in an excellent position to get past the Quarter-Final barrier in Belgium. |
| 3. Elan Chalon (-2) | When your star player breaks the competition scoring record, you would expect your team to win… but that wasn't the case, when Elan Chalon playmaker John Roberson dropped a scary 39 points in Zagreb. However, coming back to France with only a two-point deficit can still be classified as a small victory. |
| 4. Cibona (+2) | In spite of being torched by John Roberson on the defensive end, Cibona stayed calm and collected and got what they wanted – a win. The team from Zagreb proved that basketball is a team game, but their two-point edge does look quite vulnerable, especially on the road. |
| 5. Usak (+3) | Opportunity missed? Having led by as many as 18 points against Nanterre in the first leg in Turkey, Muratbey Usak Sportif lost most of their leeway with a disastrous fourth quarter. Now, the Usak boat will sail for the French shores slightly short on supplies and just hope for the best. |
| 6. Nanterre (-3) | Nanterre made the most out of a tough situation in Turkey thanks to the leadership of Heiko Schaffartzik and Spencer Butterfield, but really missed the input of the third musketeer – Chris Warren, who had one of his worst performances of the season. |
| 7. Telenet Oostende (-12) | Oostende coach Dario Gjergja might still be shaking his head in disbelief at this very moment after how his side handled the final minutes of the first leg in Krasnoyarsk, while the club's video scouts are probably making a full-length film on how not to play end-of-game situations. |
| 8. Ironi Nahariya (-21) | Ironi Nahariya are all about big margins since transferring from the Basketball Champions League. All of their games so far ended with double-digit differences: +21 against Gaziantep at home, then -15 against Gaziantep on the road, now -21 on the road against Bonn. Can we expect a big home win again? |
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