Hungarian double as PVSK-Veolia celebrate maiden success

MUNICH (Germany) - FIBA Europe Cup newcomers PVSK-Veolia claimed their first win at the third attempt, while Egis Kormend and Tsmoki-Minsk both continued their unbeaten starts.

PVSK-Veolia overcame the challenge of ZZ Leiden for an 87-77 victory behind 21 points apiece for Chris Smith and Veljko Budimir.

"We made open shots, the only little mistake I think was in the third quarter but after we kept our focus until the end," said Budimir.

Head coach Ferenc Csirke added: "Congratulations to the team and the fans - we are very happy. We will know more about our future after our next game against [Inter] Bratislava next week."

The Hungarian side trailed 9-6 through three minutes before powering ahead with a 9-0 run as they went on to rack up 27 points by the end of the period. Leiden were unable to recover with Tayler Persons producing another double-double with 20 points and 10 assists in defeat.

Kataja were denied their first win in the Regular Season as they were beaten 81-75 away at Egis Kormend despite 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks from Brandon Walters.

It was a third straight success for Kormend instead as they overcame a slow start having been as many as 14 points down at one stage. Travis Taylor starred again with another double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds - including 5 more on the offensive end.

Tsmoki-Minsk started red hot on their way to a 99-74 victory at BC Kyiv Basket in an unbeaten clash in Group F. The Danish champions scored 32 points in the opening 10 minutes to build a lead they would not relinquish as they now sit at 3-0.

Alex Gavrilovic netted a game-high 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting to lead the way with Dominez Burnett adding 19 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists for the visitors.

Meanwhile, Sodertalje rounded out the night by beating BC Balkan 93-83 as a strong start to the fourth quarter helped provide the platform for victory. Anton Gaddefors top scored with 19 points with Jonathan Person close behind with 18.

12 more games take place on Thursday as five more teams look to move to a perfect 3-0 record so far.

FIBA