MUNICH (Germany) - The field for the EuroCup Women Round of 16 will be without some ambitious clubs after several frontrunners were eliminated from the competition upon the conclusion of the Play-Off Round 1 second leg games.
There were some huge results and plenty of drama, including Sopron Basket coming back from a 16-point first leg loss to Besiktas BOA to advance.
Meanwhile, Olympiacos SFP only just made it by two points on aggregate as they squeezed out a heartbroken Elitzur Ramla with the last play of the tie. Fierce rivals Panathinaikos A.C also celebrated as they took a super win double against a KKZ Crvena Zvezda side that had been tipped for big things.
BLMA initiated a second-half lockdown of Charnay Basket and it turned the tie on its head. Already losing by 8 from the first game, they went down by 16 points on their home court but recovered brilliantly.
Key Storylines
Sopron Basket celebrate amazing turnaround behind Friskovec and Papp one-two punch;
Olympiacos SFP breathe sigh of relief after edging out Ramla as Woolfolk saves the day;
Panathinaikos end hopes of title frontrunners Crvena Zvezda after impressive late surge;
BLMA win French derby after being 24 points behind in the tie with Charnay;
Gernika suffer big loss in Pecs thriller but dodge a major bullet to survive and progress;
Sydney Taylor drops a 35 piece for Sosnowiec as they slip past Keltern.
Weekly Highs
Efficiency: Luisa Geiselsoder (CIMSA CBK Mersin) - 32 Points: Sydney Taylor (MB Zaglebie Sosnowiec) - 35 Rebounds: Garance Rabot (BLMA) - 14 Assists: Julie Vanloo (CIMSA CBK Mersin- 12 Steals: Kennedy Burke (CIMSA CBK Mersin) ) - 5 Blocks: Morgan Amari Jacqueline Jones (VBW Gdynia) - 3
Sopron's great escape; Buzzer beater for Woolfolk
Having only recently been eliminated from EuroLeague Women, it looked bleak for Sopron Basket when they also found themselves with a 16-point mountain to climb in this competition against a talented Besiktas BOA.
However, showing amazing heart and posting a memorable victory, Sopron started with a 27-7 first period and dug out an 80-59 victory to advance. It was built on Zala Friskovec and Kaludia Papp both netting an excellent 21 points.
Olympiacos held a 7-point lead from their first leg win against Elitzur Ramla and then went down 80-75 in the return game to win by just one basket on aggregate.
That came in the shape of a buzzer beating bucket from the outstanding Nausia Woolfolk who continued her super season with 23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
Panathinaikos A.C. celebrated eliminating a Crvena Zvezda team coached by the irrepressible Marina Maljkovic and one that had also just signed Ukrainian legend, Alina Iagupova. Up from the home leg with a modest single digit lead, the Greek side held firm and also ran out 69-68 winners in Belgrade. A 25-17 last period was decisive in a tigh encounter, with Ioanna Krimili and Feyonda Fitzgerald scoring 21 and 19 points respectively.
BLMA showed huge amounts of resilience after hitting back against French rivals Charnay to win 70-55 and by 7 on aggregate, having looked like their hopes had died. Down by 24 in the tie, they came roaring back with fabulous defense and some great work by rising star Nell Angloma who harvested 23 points and 10 boards.
Gernika escape as Pecs despair; scoring machine Taylor lights it up
With a 19-point lead it looked like Gernika were already set for the next phase. However, they only just managed to achieve that aim after losing 78-61 to Pecs in a nerve-shredding contest. They had to rely mainly on 20 points from Masa Jankovic to survive, including a last gasp layup.
Pecs were left agonized at only just falling short and were led by 25 points from Julia Reisingerova, as well as 15 points from Agnes Torok.
Sosnowiec held a modest 8-point advantage heading to Keltern and had to work hard to avoiud being dumped out. They saw their lead wiped out at one juncture but eventually rode their way to a dramatic 80-79 triumph behind an epic 35 points from Sydney Taylor, as well as a double-double of 17 points and 12 boards from Catherine Reese.
Having already impressed last week in their first leg duel against VBW Gdynia when taking victory, Castors Braine finished the job in real style with a 91-54 blowout win on the road against their opponents. Gergana Ivanova got almost landed in triple-double territory with a superb 16 points. 9 rebounds and 7 assists.
Results
Thursday, December 18
CIMSA CBK Mersin 95-87 CS Rapid Bucuresti (Aggregate: 177-165) LOTTO AZS UMCS Lublin 58-81 Zabiny Brno (Aggregate: 150-132) Olympiacos SFP 75-80 Elitzur Ramla (Aggregate: 168-166) Sopron Basket 80-59 Besiktas BOA (Aggregate: 170-165) KKZ Crvena Zvezda 68-69 Panathinaikos A.C (Aggregate: 144-154) Athinaikos Qualco 73-51 Hozono Global Jairis (Aggregate: 153-126) Movistar Estudiantes 72-61 Sleza Wroclaw (Aggregate: 134-126) BLMA 70-55 Charnay Basket (Aggregate: 125-118) BAXI Ferrol 66-60 GEAS (Aggregate: 147-122) Basket Mechelen Kangoeroes 85-69 KP Brno (Aggregate: 157-135) Perfumerias Avenida 71-59 Emlak Konut (Aggregate: 152-138) 81-78
Wednesday, December 17
VBW Gdynia 54-91 Castors Braine (Aggregate: 127-171) NKA Universitas Pecs 78-61 Lointek Gernika Bizkaia (Aggregate: 121-123) Rutronik Stars Keltern 79-80 MB Zaglebie Sosnowiec (Aggregate: 154-163) Villeneuve d'Ascq LM 67-75 UFAB49 (Aggregate: 162-142) Magnolia Basket Campobasso 60-54 Kibirkstis-TOKS (Aggregate: 130-141)
FIBA