MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - Huge upsets rocked the FIBA Europe Cup this week, with multiple front-runners picking up their first losses in the Second Round at the hands of lower-ranked clubs.

While Kormend’s victory against Nanterre 92, the last remaining undefeated team in the competition, stands out as a particularly impressive result, it really is just the tip of the iceberg, when it comes to scores no one expected.

Like at the end of every week, we take a closer look at what actually happened across European arenas through a lens of numbers.

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There are only two winless clubs left in the Second Round after an upset-heavy week saw Pardubice, APOEL, BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque and Bnei Herzliya open their victory count.

Czech side Pardubice started the week by defeating one of the tournament pacemakers Pau-Lacq-Orthez 92-77, while APOEL downed Group M leaders Telekom Baskets 84-78 in Nicosia the following day.

The under-performing Gravelines and Bnei Herzliya also finally got on the board, but their wins certainly do not qualify as shocking upsets, like the aforementioned contests. 

With two games left to play, Mures and SL Benfica remain the only two winless teams in the Second Round.

5

Aleksandar Rasic continued his hot streak from beyond the arc for U-BT Cluj-Napoca, burying five more three-pointers to bring his tally to 11 triples in the past two games and 20 in the last five.

However, it didn’t help the Romanian side to come away with a win against Alba Fehervar, who triumphed 86-61 in Cluj-Napoca to fill the vacancy at the top of Group O that opened up after Pau-Lacq-Orthez unexpectedly fell in Pardubice.

None of Rasic’s three-pointers could match the back-breaking triple by James Farr with less than half a minute to go to send Alba in front 82-79. Left with no other option but to foul intentionally, U-BT Cluj-Napoca and Rasic had to watch the visitors seal the win from the free-throw line on the other end.

5

This week has to go down as the craziest one this season, with almost all of the competition’s front-runners falling like flies practically simultaneously.

Before the start of the week, there were five teams with perfect Second Round records, now only one remains. Demir Insaat, Telekom Baskets, Nanterre and Enisey all suffered losses, leaving Elan Chalon as the only team with a 4-0 record in the FIBA Europe Cup Second Round.

Having previously also won all six Regular Season games, Nanterre’s winning streak was snapped at nine games, with the French side losing to Kormend.

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Stephen Zack received Top Performer laurels this week after putting up a dominant performance against SL Benfica in a 76-67 victory for Lukoil Academic, adding up to an overall ranking of 35.

The 24-year-old American center scored 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field, but that was only the second most impressive thing about his performance in Portugal, with the big man also pulling down 15 boards.

Zack, who recorded his fourth double-double in the FIBA Europe Cup this season, was two rebounds shy of Dave Dudzinski’s season record of 17 boards for Steaua CSM back in the Regular Season.

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Two Kormend players, Parrish Petty and Lenzelle Smith, were honored among the Top Performers of the week after the side’s momentous 91-74 takedown of previously undefeated Nanterre in Hungary.

However, one of the heroes remained unsung, as Terry Allen, who was the competition’s top scorer with 27 points this week, did not make the cut in terms of efficiency ranking.

The Kormend forward has been a tough cover throughout the season and his 37-point game against Limburg United still stands the highest-scoring performance in this FIBA Europe Cup campaign by any player.

31

Antwerp Giants moved to the top of Group L standings with an impressive 86-64 victory against Demir Insaat after a straight-out-of-dreams second half performance.

The Belgian hosts trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half and had a 9-point deficit heading into the third period, but came out of the locker rooms a brand new team.

Led by a 16-point effort by Yoeri Schoepen, the Giants outscored Buyukcekmece 53-22 after intermission, racing ahead to an unbelievable victory.

"This was the best second half in years for Antwerp Giants. Defense was the key and made the difference in the third and fourth periods," Roel Moors, the head coach of the team, told the media afterwards.

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It was an excellent week for APOEL, as they got revenge against Telekom Baskets for their 38-point loss in Bonn by forcing an 84-78 upset and also no longer hold the record for the biggest loss in the Second Round.

"We spent huge amounts of energy and the Cypriot passion was transferred to our foreign players who accomplished this win tonight," the team’s play-caller Dimitrios Koustenis said after the game.

Μπράβο μάγκες! @FIBAEuropeCup #apoel #apoelbasket 💪 pic.twitter.com/oKkHaBTxIx

— APOEL Official Feed (@apoelcomcy) January 11, 2017

While the win in Nicosia was achieved through their own hard work, APOEL had little to do with their 96-58 loss in Germany being overtaken as the biggest margin of defeat in the Second Round, as Sodertalje Kings slumped to a 93-51 loss against Gaziantep in Sweden.

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Donar Groningen left many basketball experts scratching their heads, as they become the first team this season to win on the road in the far-away Krasnoyarsk.

The Dutch club dominated from start to finish, registering an 81-67 victory against Enisey when all was said and done. The biggest advantage they showcased was inside the paint, where they outscored the usually robust Siberian club 48-26.

Quite a few of these inside-the-paint points came from Donar’s point guard Lance Jeter, who finished the game with 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists, toying at will with his defenders inside and out.

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