NICOSIA (FIBA Europe Cup) - U-BT Cluj-Napoca continued their renaissance in the FIBA Europe Cup with a win against Group L rivals Keravnos, while Belfius Mons-Hainaut caused a stir in the standings by downing Donar Groningen in Belgium.

The short-handed Romanian champions from Cluj-Napoca held on to inscribe a 71-67 win over the Christoforos Livadiotis-coached Cypriot hosts, despite a late fightback attempt.

Lasan Kromah registered his best game of the season with 28 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in heavy action for coach Mihai Silvasan, with Giordan Watson and Adomas Drungilas adding 12 and 11 points.

"It was a hell of a win," said Silvasan after the game. "We played without our center due to injury, so we improvised and the seven guys that played fought and showed character. They took care of things and claimed the win."

In the other game of the day in Group L, Mons inscribed their first win in the Second Round with an 84-65 triumph against the previously undefeated Donar club from the Netherlands.

After using a 12-0 run to break away at the end of the opening quarter, the Tre Demps-led Belgians were in cruise control the rest of the way, getting their Round of 16 bid back on track.

Demps led all scorers with 24 points, his teammate Garlon Green chipped in with 22 points and 5 boards, while Sean Cunningham had a team-high 17 points in a losing effort for the Groningen club.

Elsewhere, ESSM Le Portel and Bakken Bears maintained their perfect records in the Second Round with wins over Nizhny Novgorod and Szolnoki Olaj, respectively.

The French club extended their winning streak to eight games by topping the Petr Gubanov-led Nizhny Novgorod side 79-72 in Group I, while the Bears took on a more offensive approach against Szolnoki Olaj, outscoring the Hungarians 100-96 in Group K.

Meanwhile, Istanbul BBSK kept Kataja Basket at the bottom of Group I by claiming an 87-82 win in Finland behind another strong game from Ivan Buva, who posted 28 points and 6 boards. In Group K, Tsmoki-Minsk also fell to a 0-3 mark following an 83-76 defeat by Mornar Bar on the road in Montenegro.

Demir Insaat and Alba Fehervar were the big winners in Group J, climbing to a shared top spot in the standings after both clubs improved to 2-1.

The Turkish side downed Nevezis 78-75 in Kedainiai, in spite a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double by Tadas Sedekerskis in his FIBA Europe Cup debut for the Lithuanians. Over in Hungary, Alba Fehervar topped Egis Kormend 85-77 in the local derby, with Peter Lorant leaving a 27-point and 9-rebound mark on the game.

FIBA