AVELLINO (FIBA Europe Cup) - Umana Reyer Venezia will be heading back home for the return leg of the FIBA Europe Cup Final with an 8-point cushion after winning the road test against Sidigas Scandone Avellino 77-69 on Wednesday evening.

Turning Point: The home side hung tight in the first half as long as the Kyrylo Fesenko show was on the road, but fell behind by double figures at 48-38 after a three-pointer by Austin Daye crowned an 18-9 second-quarter stretch for the visitors from Venice.

Game Hero: Despite being limited by foul trouble in the second half, Austin Daye was the catalyst for Reyer Venezia all game long with a team-high 14-point contribution in just under 18 minutes of action.

Stats Don't Lie: Having come into the game as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the competition, Scandone struggled from deep all game long, finishing with 4-of-20 shooting on three-point attempts.

Bottom Line: While the Walter De Raffaele-coached Venice side did get a nice lead before their home fixture, the new FIBA Europe Cup champion will not be decided until next Wednesday, when the return leg takes place at the Palasport Taliercio in Venice.

#OnTheNextOne 💪➡️🏀 Ritorno finale #FIBAEuropeCup mercoledì 2 maggio ⏰ 20.30 #Taliercio... RIEMPIAMOLO📣! Questi ragazzi hanno bisogno di noi! #LaStoriaContinua pic.twitter.com/xjHQ2YsvnX

— Reyer Venezia (@REYER1872) April 25, 2018

They Said: "I think it was a good game defensively. We did a lot of good things on defense and it led to good offense. As you can see, we have a really well balanced team. It really showed tonight, the things we can do on both ends of the floor." – Umana Reyer Venezia forward Austin Daye

"We played a tough team for 40 minutes and one of the most important things was that we brought something from everybody, both from the bench and from the starts. This allowed to spread out the minutes. It's only the first part of the Final but I think that we deserved to win this game." – Umana Reyer Venezia head coach Walter De Raffaele

"Congratulations to Venice for a very good game. They played with great intensity and shot well from three-point range. We were a little bit soft for the first 20 minutes, especially on individual and pick-and-roll defense. In the second half, we played more aggressive and we more aggressive on defense but missed a lot of free-throw shots and three-pointers." – Sidigas Scandone Avellino head coach Stefano Sacripanti

"I think we played hard-fought game. We missed a lot of good shots that we had but a couple of our players didn't play their usual game tonight and we know they'll be back next week and they'll be prepared and be ready to make the shots they know they can make. I give credit to Venice, they came here and they handled their business. They played hard. We can use this as a stepping stone going to Venice." – Sidigas Scandone Avellino guard Dez Wells

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