Porto through to Second Round after overtime drama; Den Bosch, Gaziantep also advance
MUNICH (Germany) - FC Porto took home a 76-75 overtime win against Fribourg Olympic, and three other teams joined them in the Second Round over the course of an action-packed Gameday 5.
MUNICH (Germany) - A Charlon Kloof dunk helped FC Porto take home a 76-75 overtime win against Fribourg Olympic to punch their ticket to the Second Round on Wednesday evening.
Two more clubs – Heroes Den Bosch and Gaziantep – secured early qualification on the penultimate gameday of the Regular Season.
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Despite losing 75-67 to BC Parnu Sadam and dropping to 3-2 in Group C, Den Bosch joined Porto through to the next round having secured head-to-head tie-breakers against both lower-placed clubs.
Meanwhile, Oradea took care of business with a 90-62 victory over Rilski Sportist, a win that got them one step closer to the Second Round. Erick Neal led Oradea in scoring and creating, putting up 16 points and 7 assists for the winners. Demajeo Wiggins had a 16 point, 12 rebound double-double in a strong effort for the losing side.
Gaziantep were the 'lucky losers' on the night - they fell to Telenet Giants Antwerp 87-75 in a Group B contest, but thanks to point differential and Hapoel B-Cure Laser Haifa's win on Tuesday, the Turkish club is still guaranteed a trip to the next stage of the competition.
Elsewhere, HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim came through with a big win against SCMU Craiova, 102-81. Arunas Mikalauskas led the German club with a perfect offensive night - he led his team in scoring with 19 points, without missing from the field or the free throw line.
CSO Voluntari took down the Norrkoping Dolphins on the road, 77-70. Toddrick Gother paced Voluntari in scoring with 21 points on only 21 field goal attempts.
Niners Chemnitz cruised to a 101-72 win against Golden Eagle Ylli - Jonas Richter put up 18 points in only 21 minutes played for Chemnitz. The loss for Golden Eagle means the club from Kosovo no longer have a chance to advance.
In further Group A action, Brose Bamberg's 95-78 success against Hapoel Nofar Galil Elion made it a three-horse race in the standings. Christian Sengfelder put up an impressive 21 point, 11 rebound double-double to lead the German club to a win.
Happy Casa Brindisi blew out Donar Groningen 81-57 behind a strong team defensive performance that saw them hold Groningen to 36 percent shooting from the field.
In other Group F action, BC Kalev/Cramo took down BC Budivelnyk Kyiv 75-66 at home, led by a strong 18 point, 7 rebound performance from Martins Meiers. That result, plus Brindisi's win, mean that the top three teams in Group F are all still alive in the competition.
Opava took down BC Balkan 83-69 via a balanced team effort on offense: five players scored in double-digits for the Estonian club. That result means things in Group D are still wide-open as this stage of the competition comes down to the wire.
The final game of the night was a key Group G match-up between Sporting CP and Egis Kormend. Sporting CP came out on top, 89-84. The home team road a massive fourth quarter, with Derrick Fenner's 21 points (including 9-of-11 free throw shooting) keying the win.
The defeat saw Kormend spin out of contention, with the three other teams in the group entering the final week of the Regular Season with qualification hopes alive.
FIBA