MUNICH (Germany) - Six teams booked their place in the FIBA Europe Cup Second Round after the penultimate round of Regular Season games was played out.
Cedevita Junior, Trefl Sopot, Dinamo DBS Sassari, Casademont Zaragoza and Rostock Seawolves have all progressed; joining UCAM Murcia, who were the first team to advance on Tuesday night.
Key Storylines
Cedevita Junior improve to 5-0 and book Second Round ticket;
Sopot, Sassari and Zaragoza also advance to next phase;
Tartu's win at Porto means that Seawolves progress;
Murcia beat Bosna on Tuesday to secure the first Second Round spot.
Weekly Highs
Efficiency: Nicholas McGlynn (Dinamo DBS Sassari) / Malcolm Bernard (Tartu Ulikool Maks & Moorits) - 33 Points: Justin Jaworski (Surne Bilbao Basket) / Gian Clavell (CS Valcea 1924) - 29 Rebounds: Nicholas McGlynn (Dinamo DBS Sassari) - 13 Assists: Yunus Sonsirma (Aliaga Petkimspor) - 11 Steals: Sam Payne (Peristeri Betsson) - 5 Blocks: Bassala Bagayoko (Surne Bilbao Basket) / Jehyve Floyd (Aliaga Petkimspor) - 3
Five more teams book Second Round tickets on Wednesday
Cedevita Junior sealed their place in the Second Round with an 85-68 win over Keravnos BC in Group D, maintaining their unbeaten start to the competition.
The Croatian side came into the second period with a 14-11 lead, before racing away against a Keravnos side that was not at its best. Cedevita's lead peaked at 30 points, as they hit 13 three-pointers. Corey Allen-Williams led the victors with 19 points, shooting 58 percent from the field. Darnell Edge had a game-high 25 for Keravnos.
Casademont Zaragoza are bound for the Second Round as they overpowered Anorthosis Famagusta 89-61. The Spanish side led from start to finish as Youssouf Traore led with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Kyprianos Maragkos had 13 for Famagusta.
Trefl Sopot also qualified for the Second Round after they beat Absheron Lions 98-78. Sopot took a 17-16 lead in the latter stages of the first period and never looked back, increasing their lead to as many as 25 points in a convincing win.
Mikolaj Witlinski led six players in double figures for the victors with 16 points. Gediminas Orelik had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Lions.
The Polish side's place was confirmed thanks to BC Kalev/Cramo's 88-82 win over Neftchi IK, whose three-game unbeaten run came to a screeching halt. Erik Makke led Kalev/Cramo with 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting.
Tartu Ulikool Maks & Moorits managed to bag a 90-71 road win at FC Porto, thanks to a whopping statline from Malcolm Bernard, as he went for 23 points, 10 boards and 7 assists. Their win meant that Rostock Seawolves qualified for the Second Round, having won on Tuesday.
Dinamo DBS Sassari eased to a 97-65 road win against CS Valcea, thanks to an impressive double-double from Nicholas McGlynn with their passage to the Second Round later confirmed after Sporting CP came from behind to beat RASTA Vechta 78-75.
The American had 16 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 4-for-5 from the floor and a spotless 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in what was a comfortable win for the Italian side.
In the all-Romanian affair in Group C, CSM CSU Oradea recovered from a slow first quarter to blitz CSM Corona Brasov 87-65. Kalif Young paced Oradea with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Murcia secure Second Round spot; Bilbao beat Brno in thriller
UCAM Murcia booked their passage to the FIBA Europe Cup Second Round as they dismissed KK Bosna 87-63.
The Spanish side led by as many as 32 points on the way to claiming the all-important head-to-head, with Toni Nakic leading the way with 16 points and Dylan Ennis adding 12 in a well-balanced scoring effort.
Chase Audige led KK Bosna with 14 points as the Bosnian side spurned their chances of qualifying tonight, but still have a good chance of progressing in the final week of Regular Season action.
Meanwhile, Bilbao overcame Brno in an incredible battle that wasn't one for the defensive purists. Justin Jaworski led the champions to a 115-100 win, as their lead peaked at 26 points, but they were made to sweat as Brno got it back to 92-83 in the early stages of the fourth before Bilbao pulled clear.
The win leaves Bilbao in a good position to advance to the Second Round, while Jacob Groves and Anthony Williams both had 25 points to lead the Czech side who are eliminated from contention.
JDA Dijon Basket handed KK Cibona a second straight loss as David Holston starred in the French side's 94-85 win. Holston went 6-of-8 from three-point land, and Dijon shot 53 percent from the field. Kamaka Hepa had 23 for Cibona.
Rostock Seawolves disposed of Windrose Giants Antwerp. Lukasz Kolenda was a spotless 4-of-4 from three-point land for 20 points in a 75-63 road win.
Elsewhere, KC Szombathely were 90-79 victors over Bakken Bears in Group H as Benedek Varadi hit five three-pointers to lead the Hungarian side with 23 points.
FIBA