Cluj-Napoca vs Usak Sportif preview

The Story So Far: Usak Sportif ultimately came out on top 93-90 following a thrilling first leg clash in Turkey, but the three-point gap leaves Thursday’s second-leg rather open. The winner of this Qualification Round 2 tie will clinch the remaining spot in Group C of the Regular Season.

U-BT CLUJ-NAPOCA vs. MURATBEY USAK SPORTIF – Thursday at 19:00 CET

CLUJ-NAPOCA (Basketball Champions League) - If you missed the first leg on Tuesday you missed out on a great basketball game but luckily the chance to redeem yourselves is just around the corner, because the Thursday clash should be every bit as good.

There are two reasons for this: Firstly, there is relative parity between the two teams in terms of individual talent and each side can count on at least four players who can make the most of any favourable situation the opposite defence gives them. Secondly, both teams seemed to thrive in the fantastic up-and-down pace they settled in on Tuesday and they have no reason to slow things down the second time around.

One aspect that was evident on Tuesday was that Usak were playing their first official game of the season and lacked some of the fluidity of Cluj-Napoca, who dished out a collective 27 assists. If however the Turkish side scored 93 points under those circumstances, who is to say that they should be worried about team chemistry now that their players know each other a little bit better?