Power Rankings: ESSM Le Portel reign supreme, as Belfius Mons-Hainaut show signs of life

MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - We present the third edition of the FIBA Europe Cup Power Rankings for the 2017-18 season, a quick and fun way to keep up-to-date with all of the action throughout the Second Round and into the Play-Offs.

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RANK	CLUB	MOVE
16			The big black cloud is coming down on Tsmoki-Minsk, as the Dragons are knocking on heaven's door in the Second Round. In spite of 37-year-old Aliaksandr Kudrautsau finding a magical youth potion that has rejuvenated his game, the Belarusian club are nearing a point of no return in Group K after dropping their third straight game in the FIBA Europe Cup. Another defeat in their next game against Bakken Bears would all but spell the end of the road for Tsmoki.
15			As the famous Monty Python tune goes, one should always look on the bright side of life. Kataja Basket are… but there's not an awful lot there on the bright side of life. The Finns are carrying a donut in the loss column midway through the Second Round. Hmm… Donuts are tasty, but that's as positive as it gets. The group of death has, predictably, been grim, but Kataja lost all three of their games by single digits.
14			We definitely saw a red blip on the radar from Egis Kormend after a nice win over Nevezis, but Gasper Potocnik's side forgot to turn up to the all-Hungarian derby against Alba Fehervar in Group J and disappeared from the map again. Maybe a 39-point win over Sopron in the Hungarian championship can breathe some life into their European campaign?
13			Nevezis suffered the most lop-sided three-point lost in the history of basketball, losing to Demir Insaat in a distorted 78-75 scoreline. The team's star forward Valerii Likhodei made the final score more presentable by scoring quick 6 points in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter with the outcome already decided… The only reason the Lithuanians didn't lose any ground in the Power Rankings was a spectacular FIBA Europe Cup debut by Tadas Sedekerskis, who had 13 points and 14 boards.
12			The nightmare from Groningen continued for well over a quarter for Keravnos against U-BT Cluj-Napoca before they had a eureka moment and remembered they are allowed to play well. And play well they did, mounting a big comeback before ultimately falling short 71-67. Translated from Greek, Kεραυνός aka Keravnos, means lightning strike. Hopefully, the second-half jolt of energy was sufficient to bring some life into the Cypriot side's campaign.
11			Forget what we said about Belfius Mons-Hainaut in the past. They packed all of their things, called a moving truck and landed a much-improved lot in the Power Rankings with a rather surprising 84-65 hammering of the previously undefeated Donar Groningen. At 1-2, they still have a long way to go towards contending for a place in the Round of 16 but that was a good place to start.
10			ERROR 404 – DEFENSE NOT FOUND. A 100-96 loss to Bakken Bears was just the latest in the string of disappointments for Szolnoki Olaj. If we had to choose one word to define their performance in the Second Round, it would be 'underperforming'. Not only because you'd get a million points for it in Scrabble, but also because the Hungarian championship leaders simply can't get their record straight in international play.
9			Nizhny Novgorod are dealing with some noisy neighbors in Group I and it's hardly their fault that they ended up in the same group with the likes of ESSM Le Portel and Istanbul BBSK. A big night from Petr Gubanov wasn't enough to inflict damage on the French side in Le Portel, as Nizhny fell to 1-2 in the standings after a 79-72 defeat. They lost the most ground in the Power Rankings… but it's hard to actually put much blame on anyone.
8			U-BT Cluj-Napoca? More like U-DIDN'T-BT Cluj-Napoca! After a shaky start to their Group L campaign, they have found their groove in the Second Round. A 71-67 win over Keravnos and improving to a 2-1 mark put the Romanian champs in a tie for pole position with Donar Groningen. The momentum arrow is green for the second week in a row for U-BT Cluj-Napoca.
7			Three quarters of textbook basketball. One quarter of basketball Alba Fehervar would rather not talk about. All in all, a pretty decent week for the Szekesfehervar side who improved to 2-1 in Group J with an 85-77 win against their fellow Hungarians from Kormend. Considering their only loss came in overtime against Nevezis, there's plenty to be happy about for coach Branislav Dzunic and his team.
6			Having extended their home dominance in the FIBA Europe Cup with their fifth consecutive win at the Topolica Sports Hall, Mornar Bar have established a solid footing in Group K with a 2-1 record. Although an 83-76 win against the bottom-of-the-pack Tsmoki-Minsk is nothing to write home about, but it's still an OK result, considering one of your top players — yikes, Nemanja Vranjes! — went 2-of-15 from the field.
5			This three-position fall would be worthy of a long and cheerful "Wheeee!" if this were a water slide. But it is not. We're talking about the Power Rankings and Donar Groningen lost their prime real estate after a disappointing 84-65 blowout loss to the previously winless Belfius Mons-Hainaut. The fact that Donar were ranked 13 spots higher than their Belgian opponents in the Power Rankings speaks to the extent of the upset.
4			You may hear a lot of things about Demir Insaat. "Oh… They lack some depth! Oh… they lack some flare!" Truth of the matter is that they get the job done, as shown by their 2-1 record in Group J. Having defeated Nevezis on the road in Lithuania, the Turkish side reinserted their name back in the top echelon of teams after a bit of a wobble against Alba Fehervar last week.
3			Stabilization – steɪbɪlʌɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/ – noun – the process of making something physically more secure or stable After an is-this-score-real type of start to the Second Round and a 37-point humiliation against ESSM Le Portel in France, Istanbul BBSK could not be on firmer ground in Group I after improving to 2-1 with an 87-82 win over Kataja Basket. Before we forget, we'd like to remind you that Ivan Buva set a new season-high in scoring for the second week in a row. This time, 28 points.
2			It really is the Danish fairytale, maybe even better than Hans Christian Andersen's works! Having already reached the best-ever international performance for a basketball team from Denmark, Bakken Bears seem determined to keep the run going. DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell delivered just in time for the Aarhus club to defeat Szolnoki Olaj 100-96 and move to a perfect 3-0 in the standings.
1			At this point, ESSM Le Portel might already believe they can fly. They might even think they can touch the sky. The French side has seen nothing other than the clouds at the top of the Power Rankings and if they keep their eight-game winning streak going, this could last for a while. Nizhny Novgorod was the latest team to be taken for a spin at Le Chaudron, becoming already the sixth team in the FIBA Europe Cup to leave France empty-handed.