MUNICH (Germany) - This season's script continued to serve up plenty of twists and turns as Casademont Zaragoza poured more misery and heartache on CIMSA CBK Mersin with a nerve-shredding comeback win on the road.
There was also high drama as Beretta Famila Schio were almost done by a buzzer-beater at Flammes Carolo Basket but it was a split second too late to be counted.
Elsewhere, Galatasaray Cagdas Faktoring, Fenerbahce Opet and Spar Girona all stayed perfect. Holders ZVVZ USK Praha inked their biggest win of the campaign and Basket Landes inflicted a first defeat on Umana Reyer Venezia.
Key Storylines
Zaragoza seal a super and nail-biting win on the road at Mersin who remain winless;
Schio cling onto a road win after last gasp basket ruled out in Ardennes;
Trio of clubs all retain their flawless starts to the season;
Landes end the perfect start of Reyer with hard-fought and tense home win.
Weekly Highs
Efficiency: Kayla Alexander (Valencia Basket Club) - 32 Points: Mariam Coulibaly (Spar Girona) - 26 Rebounds: Multiple Players - 10 Assists: Julie Allemand (Fenerbahce Opet) - 12 Steals: Kennedy Burke (CIMAS CBK Mersin), Leila Lacan (Basket Landes) - 4 Blocks: Kayla Alexander (Valencia Basket Club) - 3
Landes inflict first loss on Reyer; Alexander hits top gear
Basket Landes are on a roll after following an impressive Week 2 win at Mersin by becoming the first side to beat Umana Reyer Venezia. They dug out a tense 63-57 victory on Thursday night in a defensively dominated encounter.
Landes finished the job despite a host of missed free-throws in the closing moments. Becky Massey and Murjanatu Musa led the hosts with 13 points each, while Camille Droguet posted a super smart 10 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.
Kayla Alexander excelled for Valencia Basket Club in a one-sided 99-64 success at DVTK HUNTHERM. The center made a terrific 10 of 12 from the floor, finishing with 23 points, plus 7 boards and 3 blocks.
The Spanish visitors were also helped by a quick-fire start inspired by Hind Ben Abdelkader who ended up with 22 points to ensure DVTK remain without a victory all season.
Drama as Zaragoza heap misery on Mersin; sigh of relief for Schio
Zaragoza came back from a double-digit deficit to squeeze past Mersin 79-72 after scoring 8 points in the last 18 seconds on Wednesday night.
It included a buzzer-beating half-court shot from Helena Pueyo who was excellent with 15 points and 8 boards, while teammate Carla Leite starred with 22 points.
The result leaves Mersin at an unthinkable 0-3, with Kennedy Burke having done everything possible to inspire a win with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists.
The tension was also turned up to the max when Beretta Famila Schio had to survive a scare to slip past Flammes Carolo Basket 81-79. The Italians thought they had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when Maia Hirsch sunk a potential game-winning triple.
However, it was determined on review that she only just failed to release before the buzzer. Jessica Shepard led the way for Schio with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Dorka Juhasz lit it up for Galatasaray Cagdas Faktoring as they maintained their flawless record by soaring past the still winless Sopron Basket 83-64. Returning to home soil, the Hungarian national team center dropped 21 points and 10 rebounds, with Kamiah Smalls exceptional in the backcourt with 12 points, 10 assists and 7 boards.
Spar Girona also maintained their perfect start as they swept aside Tango Bourges Basket 92-62 in front of their jubilant fans. Juste Jocyte and Mariam Coulibaly were unstoppable at times with the former harvesting 23 points and frontcourt ace Coulibaly registering 26 points.
Fenerbahce Opet had to shrug off a slow start to navigate their way past visiting Olympiacos SFP 94-73.
The recently signed returnee and fan favorite Kayla McBride tipped off her latest spell with the club by contributing 13 points, while backcourt partner Julie Allemand passed the rock 12 times.
ZVVZ USK Praha turned up the noise in a big way as Kaitlyn Chen handed out 10 assists in their one-sided 97-51 triumph at VBW Gdynia. But it was Valeriane Ayayi who stole the show with a captain's effort that returned 18 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. Meanwhile Emese Hof completed a double-double of 18 points and 10 boards.
Results
Thursday, October 23
DVTK HUNTHERM 64-99 Valencia Basket Club Basket Landes 63-57 Umana Reyer Venezia
Wednesday, October 22
VBW Gdynia 51-97 ZVVZ USK Praha Sopron Basket 64-83 Galatasaray Cagdas Faktoring CIMSA CBK Mersin 72-79 Casademont Zaragoza Spar Girona 92-62 Tango Bourges Basket Flammes Carolo Basket 79-81 Beretta Famila Schio Fenerbahce Opet 94-73 Olympiacos SFP
FIBA