NIZHNY NOVGOROD (FIBA Europe Cup) - There was enough drama in Nizhny Novgorod's debut in the FIBA Europe Cup to last an entire season, with the Russian side surviving a nail-biting overtime against Falco Vulcano to inscribe a 94-92 victory in Group H on Wednesday.

Stevan Jelovac finished the game with a team-high 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Ivan Strebkov collected 20 points and 6 assists to push the hosts over the edge in a tight situation down the stretch.

Led by 22-year-old Hungary international Zoltan Perl, who finished the contest with 24 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, Falco Vulcano pushed the hosts to the limit and seemed like the more likely winners with a couple of minutes remaining in overtime.

"I can't be satisfied with this game," said Nizhny Novgorod head coach Zoran Lukic in the press conference. "I only saw the desire to win in the eyes of our players when we were down by 5-6 points in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter."

His counterpart Srecko Sekulovic was more pleased with his side's performance, saying how proud he was to see his players going toe-to-toe with a powerful opponent.

"Any team from Hungary that comes to play in Russia are always regarded as underdogs and tonight we showed that we can also play well against Nizhny Novgorod," said the Falco Vulcano head coach.

"We were one step away from winning in regular time, but this is basketball. Sometimes you are up; sometimes you are down. Nizhny just had more luck than we did. Still, the game was good for us, because we are a small team on the European basketball map and we showed that we can fight."

The other game in Group H was not nearly as competitive, with Szolnoki Olaj blowing out Karposh Sokoli 94-73, point guard Kendrick Perry scoring a team-high 16 points against his former team from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

After registering just one win last season, Sigal Prishtina equaled their win mark on the first day of the Regular Season in Group G, with big man Lis Shoshi knocking down a game-winning buzzer-beater to give the Kosovar side a 74-72 win against Belfius Mons-Hainaut in Belgium.

Shoshi shared a team-high 14 points with Drilon Hajrizi, as Dardan Berisha added 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in the spectacular triumph away from home. In the other game in the group, Demir Insaat also snatched up a road win, topping Khimik 80-60 in Ukraine.

Elsewhere, Donar Groningen cruised to a convincing 77-72 victory in the central clash of the day against ESSM Le Portel in Group A, moving to the top of the table alongside Telenet Antwerp Giants who got off the mark with a 91-84 win over Bosna in Sarajevo.

Avtodor Saratov forward Coty Clarke opened the Regular Season with a bang in Group B, scoring 18 of his overall 24 points in the first quarter of the close-fought duel against Bakken Bears, en route to a 76-73 triumph. Meanwhile, SL Benfica defended their home court with an 88-83 victory over FIBA Europe Cup debutantes BC Nevezis.

Mornar Bar and Kataja Basket celebrated wins in Group C, defeating FC Porto and Kapfenberg Bulls 81-70 and 86-72, respectively. In the only game of the day in Group D, veteran forward Csaba Ferencz had 23 points to lead Egis Kormend to an 84-83 win over BC Balkan.

U-BT Cluj-Napoca enjoyed a stellar start of the Regular Season in Group E, downing perceived favorites Istanbul BBSK 90-69 at home in Romania, while Lukoil Academic held on to take a 73-70 win over Dinamo Tbilisi.

The Jeff Adrien-led Bnei Rav-Bariach Herzliya were the big winners in Group F, coming away victorious 93-74 against Hungarian champions Alba Fehervar, as the 31-year-old American big man registered a monster double-double of 26 points and 15 rebounds. Earlier in the day, their group rivals Proximus Spirou snatched a late 78-76 win in Minsk against Tsmoki.

FIBA