Tartu edge Kataja; Dnipro and U-BT Cluj-Napoca take command with road wins
MUNICH (Germany) - There were wins in store for University of Tartu, Dnipro and U-BT Cluj-Napoca in the FIBA Europe Cup Qualifiers on Wednesday, with the trio following the footsteps of Beroe and Pinar Karsiyaka, who began their campaign on a victorious note a day previously.
University of Tartu won a very close affair in Estonia by beating their across-the-sea neighbors from Finland, Kataja 78-72. The six-point difference will not serve as a great insurance for the Estonians from Tartu before their next week's trip to Joensuu for the second leg.
"A six-point lead is certainly better than a negative or tied score, but you always want more. We have a small lead for the next game," Tartu coach Priit Vene, said afterwards. "Now we have to go over the mistakes, prepare for next week and see how this series ends."
The home team had huge night from duo of Kregor Hermet and Robert Valge, who posted 21 points each. Brandon Walters led visitors with 19 points and 9 rebounds, while Jarred Ogungnemi-Jackson added 17 points.
Vägev! @fibaeuropecup kvalifikatsioonimänge alustasime kodus hea 78:72 võiduga @katajabasket üle. Nüüd on järgmise nädala otsustavaks mänguks kuus punkti ees ja seis pisut kindlam.
— BC Tartu Basketball (@BCTartu) October 2, 2019
Tänase parima esituse tegi Adomas Drungilas 20 punkti ja 12 lauapalliga… https://t.co/uASPbbFVAs pic.twitter.com/DcgrdjJFtw
The odds of seeing Dnipro in the Group Phase look very favorable after they handed Borisfen a 101-76 blowout defeat in Mogilev, dominating the game end to end.
The Ukrainian side had as six double-digit scorers and two with double-doubles. Maksym Korniienko posted 15 points and 17 rebounds, while Stanislav Tymofeyenko added 10 points and 11 boards.
In the last game of the day, KB Rahoveci from Kosovo had high hopes before their European debut, but the U-BT Cluj-Napoca challenge proved too much for Neven Plantak's side.
The Romanian visitors led for 40 minutes, cruising to a 98-73 victory. All 12 players from Cluj tasted the action, with Donatas Tarolis (20 points, 9 rebounds) and Darko Planinic (19 points) leading the way. Jure Gunjina had 18 points for the hosts.
FIBA
