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Wednesday Preview: Who will be the first teams to advance to the Second Round?

MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - There are up to six tickets to the Second Round up for grabs in Wednesday's action in the FIBA Europe Cup and as many teams hoping to stave off elimination.

The central matchup of the day will take place in Hungary, where the contest between Egis Kormend and BC Balkan will decide the fate of all four teams in Group D.

A victory would send Kormend and Keravnos, who defeated Basic-Fit Brussels in Cyprus on Tuesday, to the next phase of the competition, spelling early elimination for the other two teams in the standings.

Elsewhere, potentially decisive fixtures will also take place in Tbilisi, Joensuu, Istanbul, Antwerp, Charleroi, Karposh and Porto.

Group E: Dinamo Tbilisi (0-3) v Lukoil Academic (1-2)

Time: Wednesday, 16:00 CET
Key Matchup: Kiel Turpin v Keith Clanton
Head-to-head: Lukoil Academic won the first game in Sofia 73-70.
Permutations: Dinamo Tbilisi would be eliminated with a loss.
Domestic Form: Dinamo improved to 4-0 in the Georgian Superleague with a 72-59 win over Olimpi Tbilisi. They are the only undefeated team in the championship. Lukoil Academic inscribed their third win in a row in the Bulgarian NBL, defeating Academic Bultex 81-66 and improving to a 3-1 mark.
Live Stream: YouTube.com/FIBA

Group B: BC Nevezis (1-2) v SL Benfica (1-2)

Time: Wednesday, 17:00 CET
Key Matchup: Valerii Likhodei v Antywane Robinson
Head-to-head: SL Benfica won the first game in Lisbon 88-83.
Permutations: Neither of the teams can secure a place in the Second Round or be mathematically eliminated this week.
Domestic Form: Nevezis split their pair of games in the Lithuanian championship over the weekend, defeating Siauliai 90-57 before seeing their three-game winning streak cut with a 79-75 loss to Dzukija. They are 3-5 in the LKL. Benfica remained at the top of the table in the Portuguese LPB with a 6-0 mark after winning 97-75 against Madeira.
Live Stream: YouTube.com/FIBA

Group G: Demir Insaat (2-1) v Khimik (0-4)

Time: Wednesday, 17:00 CET
Key Matchup: Evaldas Kairys v Jason Love
Head-to-head: Demir Insaat won the first game in Yuzhne 80-60.
Permutations: Demir Insaat can neither qualify for the Second Round nor be eliminated this week; Khimik are already eliminated.
Domestic Form: Demir Insaat steamrolled Gaziantep 98-78 in the Turkish Basketball Super League to improve to a 2-3 mark, which puts them in 11th place. Khimik lost twice in the Ukrainian Superleague last week, falling to Cherkaski Mavpy 68-67 on Friday and 62-58 to Budivelnyk on Sunday. They had won the previous three games and are now 3-2.
Live Stream: YouTube.com/FIBA

Group C: Kataja Basket (3-0) v Kapfenberg Bulls (0-3)

Time: Wednesday, 17:30 CET
Key Matchup: Timothy Williams v Jozo Rados
Head-to-head: Kataja Basket won the first game in Kapfenberg 86-72.
Permutations: Kataja Basket can qualify for the Second Round if they win, providing Mornar Bar also win against FC Porto in the other game of the day. In this scenario, FC Porto and Kapfenberg Bulls would be eliminated.
Domestic Form: Kataja slumped to their fourth defeat in the last five games in the Finnish Korisliiga, losing 94-71 against Espoo United. They are only 8th in the table with a 3-4 mark now. Kapfenberg cruised past Wels 80-65 to move to a 5-1 record in the Austrian championship. They are 5-1 and currently share the top spot with three other teams.
Live Stream: YouTube.com/FIBA

Group B: Bakken Bears (2-1) v Avtodor Saratov (2-1)

Time: Wednesday, 18:30 CET
Key Matchup: Jeffrey Crockett v Coty Clarke
Head-to-head: Avtodor won the first game in Saratov 76-73.
Permutations: Neither of the teams can secure a place in the Second Round nor be mathematically eliminated this week.
Domestic Form: Bakken Bears, 2-1, did not play in the Danish Basketligaen last week. Avtodor had a rough game against Lokomotiv Kuban in the VTB League, getting blown out 110-77 in Saratov. With a 2-2 record, they are sixth in the table.
Live Stream: YouTube.com/FIBA

Group E: Istanbul BBSK (2-1) v U-BT Cluj-Napoca (3-0)

Time: Wednesday, 15:00 CET
Key Matchup: Stefan Bircevic v Zeljko Sakic
Head-to-head: U-BT Cluj-Napoca won the first game in Romania 90-69.
Permutations: U-BT Cluj-Napoca would advance to the Second Round with a win.
Domestic Form: Istanbul BBSK fell short against Tofas, losing 95-85, and dropping to 2-3 in the Turkish Basketball Super League. They are in 8th place. After losing the week before, Cluj bounced back in the Romanian championship with a 97-68 hammering of BC Mures to improve to a 4-1 record, which puts them in a four-way tie at the top of the standings.
Live Stream: YouTube.com/FIBA

Group F: Bnei Rav-Bariach Herzliya (1-2) v Alba Fehervar (1-2)

Time: Wednesday, 18:30 CET
Key Matchup: Shawn Dawson v Alandise Harris
Head-to-head: Herzliya won the first game in Szekesfehervar 93-74.
Permutations: Neither team can qualify to the Second Round nor be eliminated this week.
Domestic Form: The poor start of the season in Israel continued for Herzliya, as they lost 88-64 to Hapoel Tel Aviv and now share a league-worst 1-4 mark with two other clubs. Alba ended their three-game losing streak with an 89-75 win over KTE Duna in the Hungarian championship, which helped them climb from the bottom of the table to 12th place with a 2-4 record.
Live Stream: YouTube.com/FIBA

Group D: Egis Kormend (3-0) v BC Balkan (0-3)

Time: Wednesday, 19:00 CET
Key Matchup: Marquis Wright v Devin Brooks
Head-to-head: Kormend won the first game in Botevgrad 84-83.
Permutations: Kormend would qualify to the Second Round with a win; Balkan would be mathematically eliminated with a loss. A Kormend victory would send Keravnos to the next round and fully eliminate Basic-Fit Brussels.
Domestic Form: Kormend inscribed their third win in a row in the Hungarian championship, claiming an 81-69 win over Zalakeramia. They are 2nd in the table with a 5-1 record. Balkan stayed undefeated in the Bulgarian NBL, downing Spartak Pleven 102-81 to advance to 4-0.
Live Stream: YouTube.com/FIBA

Group A: Telenet Giants Antwerp (2-1) v Bosna (0-3)

Time: Wednesday, 20:30 CET
Key Matchup: Hans Vanwijn v Devon Walker
Head-to-head: Antwerp won the first game in Sarajevo 91-84.
Permutations: Bosna would be mathematically eliminated with a loss.
Domestic Form: Antwerp suffered their first loss of the season in Belgium, losing 85-81 to Liege. They dropped to 4th place with a 4-1 record in the domestic championship. Bosna improved to a 2-3 mark in the ABA League 2 with a 97-91 win over Tivat, climbing to 4th place in the standings.
Live Stream: YouTube.com/FIBA

Group F: Proximus Spirou (3-0) v Tsmoki-Minsk (1-2)

Time: Wednesday, 20:30 CET
Key Matchup: Seth Tuttle v Christopher Czerapowicz
Head-to-head: Proximus Spirou won the first game in Minsk 79-76.
Permutations: Proximus Spirou would advance to the Second Round with a win.
Domestic Form: Spirou defeated Lauven Bears 89-81 in the Belgian championship to improve to a 3-3 mark. In the VTB League, Tsmoki fell heavily against Unics Kazan, suffering a 91-65 blowout. They are 2-3 in the table and currently in 7th place.
Live Stream: YouTube.com/FIBA

Group H: Karposh Sokoli (0-3) v Szolnoki Olaj (2-1)

Time: Wednesday, 20:30 CET
Key Matchup: Dragan Labovic v Strahinja Milosevic
Head-to-head: Szolnoki Olaj won the first game in Hungary 94-73.
Permutations: Karposh Sokoli would be eliminated with a loss.
Domestic Form: Karposh inscribed a 109-78 win over Kozuv in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia championship to improve to 4-1 in the table, which puts them in 3rd place. Szolnoki Olaj are the lone undefeated team in the Hungarian championship with a 6-0 record after continuing their winning streak with an 85-58 win over Jaszberenyi.
Live Stream: YouTube.com/FIBA

Group C: FC Porto (1-2) v Mornar Bar (2-1)

Time: Wednesday, 21:30 CET
Key Matchup: Sasa Borovnjak v Uros Lukovic
Head-to-head: Mornar won the first game in Montenegro 81-70.
Permutations: Mornar Bar can qualify for the Second Round if they win, providing Kataja Basket also win against Kapfenberg Bulls in the other game of the day. In this scenario, FC Porto and Kapfenberg Bulls would be eliminated.
Domestic Form: After losing the first three games of the championship, FC Porto have rebounded with three wins on the trot. Their last win came against Galitos, 83-67. Mornar Bar could not come out victorious in an all-Montenegrin matchup against Buducnost in the ABA League, losing 79-70 and dropping to a 3-4 record.
Live Stream: YouTube.com/FIBA

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