Keravnos, Levice through in Group D drama as 10 teams advance to Second Round
MUNICH (Germany)- The final Gameday before the start of FIBA Europe Cup's Second Round saw a four-way tie develop in Group D, plus lots more action as the fate of 17 teams was decided on the night.
MUNICH (Germany) - There was plenty of final day drama in the FIBA Europe Cup Regular Season, particularly in Group D as a four-way tie unfolded as 10 tickets to the Second Round were clinched in total.
Patrioti Levice downed Opava 94-80 behind an amazing 37 points from Miha Lapornik as well as an impressive 29 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists from his teammate Deshawn Freeman, while Keravnos BC defeated BC Balkan 82-61 to leave all four sides on 3-3 records with the two victors advancing in the overall points differential.
"Unbelievable euphoria, unbelievable," commented head coach Michal Madzin. "Such a turnaround as we did in the fourth quarter, I have never seen in my life. Tremendous energy and combativeness, and when we got to the point where it could happen, we went over the limit."
Meanwhile, BC Kalev/Cramo needed an Artur Konontsuk layup in the final three seconds to defeat a desperate Happy Casa Brindisi 73-72 in Group F. Martin Dobrek led the way for the hosts with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists, while Bodgan Blinznyuk dropped a triple-double of 13 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists to help BC Budivelnyk Kyiv advance with an 86-81 victory over Donar Groningen.
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Anwil Wloclawek cruised to victory against Egis Kormend on the road, 94-67 as Luke Petrasek scored 19 points and pulled down 5 boards in only 17 minutes of play to help seal their qualification from Group G.
They were joined by Karhu Basket after their 93-84 win over Sporting CP to ensure of top spot behind an all-round effort with five players in double figures for the Finnish side on the road.
Meanwhile, both German sides made it through from Group A. Niners Chemnitz dominated at home in beating Hapoel Nofar Galil Eilon 111-79, while Brose Bamberg guaranteed their passage to the next round with a 76-60 revenge win over Golden Eagle Ylli as they were led by Patrick Miller's 21 points.
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim became the third side from Germany through after they beat CSO Voluntari 93-79. Jaren Lewis put up 14 points and also grabbed 6 rebounds in the win, while Group H winners SCMU Craiova beat Norrkoping Dolphins 90-79 to finish 5-1.
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Heroes Den Bosch comfortably won at home against FC Porto 82-64 to solidifying the pecking order in Group C with Thomas van der Mars posting 19 points and 12 rebounds for the winning side. Also, Fribourg Olympic defeated BC Parnu Sadam 99-94 with both sides already eliminated.
In Group E, CSM CSU Oradea joined Cholet Basket in advancing as they secured an 86-72 victory against Kangoeroes Basket to finish 5-1 in the group with Erick Neal leading a balanced attack with 15 points.
Finally, OCS Swans Gmunden downed Gaziantep 83-75 in a game between two teams who had their futures decided before Gameday 6 with the Turkish side already through. However, the hosts bowed out on a high as Daniel Friedrich dropped an efficient 24 points to go with 7 assists in the win.
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