MUNICH (Germany) - It was an enticing start to the FIBA Europe Cup Second Round, with impressive performances, particularly from those sides away from home.
Half of the eight games resulted in victories for those on the road, as the early battle for positioning in the groups began.
Key Storylines
Road teams, Reggiana and Bosna win in Group L;
Peristeri impress against Zaragoza;
Last season's finalists start their group with victories.
Weekly Highs
Efficiency: Jaylen Barford (Pallacanestro Reggiana) - 31 Points: Cleveland Melvin (PAOK BC) / Jaylen Barford (Pallacanestro Reggiana) - 27 Rebounds: Francisco Amarante (Sporting CP) / Owen Klassen (Rostock Seawolves) -10 Assists: Sayeed Pridgett (CSM CSU Raiffeisen Oradea) / Troy Caupain (Pallacanestro Reggiana) - 10 Steals: Multiple players - 4 Blocks: JT Thor (Pallacanestro Reggiana) - 3
Reggiana, Bosna secure narrow road wins in Group L
Pallacanestro Reggiana beat Cedevita Junior 94-90 in a pulsating battle, where the Italian outfit created enough space between them and their Croatian opponents in the last 1:21 to get the job done.
Neither side enjoyed a lead of more than 10 points in an exciting battle; however, Reggiana built a 92-84 lead just under 90 seconds to play, sealing the win. Jaylen Barford led the winners with 27 points on 4-for-5 shooting from three-point range, along with 4 steals.
Jordan Gainey had 21 for Cedevita, who, after their first five games in the FIBA Europe Cup, have now dropped their last two, now with this opening day defeat in the Second Round.
KK Bosna bagged a crucial 84-79 away win against CSM CSU Oradea in a physical battle that could have gone either way. With just a point separating the two teams at the break, the Bosnian side had the edge in the second half to take the win.
Edin Atic led the winners with 24 points, shooting 8-for-11 from the field. He also went 4-for-5 from three-point range, as well as adding 7 rebounds and 4 assists to his tally. Kris Richard had 18 points, 8 boards and 7 assists for Oradea.
Peristeri overcome Zaragoza; Petkimspor also off the mark
Peristeri beat Zaragoza 92-80 in a thoroughly deserved away win, shooting 50 percent from the field and connecting on 10 triples, while holding their Spanish opponents to just 41 percent from the floor.
Ty Nichols was once again outstanding, as he went for a game-high 25 points, and he also dished out 6 assists. Santi Yusta went 6-for-11 from the field as he led Zaragoza with 18.
Meanwhile, Aliaga Petkimspor also got a solid win to start their Second Round campaign, as Yannick Franke led the way with 18 points in their 76-72 victory over Dinamo Sassari.
Last season's finalists, Bilbao and PAOK, start Group M with wins
A strong first half propelled Bilbao Basket to a 94-79 victory over a stubborn Sporting CP side. But despite the success, Bilbao were made to work hard, as they saw a 17-point lead shrink to a nervy 88-76 advantage with more than two minutes to play, but with the Portuguese side playing with confidence.
The holders saw the game out, holding on to their double-digit lead and hitting 13 triples, led by 18 points each from Darrun Hilliard and Luke Petrasek. Francisco Amarante had a game-high 25 for Sporting.
PAOK recovered from a poor first period to overcome BC Prievidza 101-70, thanks in large part to a commanding 27-9 final period. Cleveland Melvin had 17 points at the break, on his way to 27 points and hitting five three-pointers for PAOK, supported by 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists from Tomas Dimsa.
Joe Toussaint had 16 points and 7 assists for Prievidza in defeat.
Rostock hit 17 triples in dominant win over Sopot; Murcia also impressive
After an evenly-matched first ten minutes, Rostock Seawolves broke away with a 30-12 second quarter, en route to a convincing 97-72 win over Energa Trefl Sopot in Group K.
The German side drained 17 three-pointers, to go 50 percent from range in a scorching display that their Polish counterparts could not handle. D'Shawn Schwartz and Lukasz Kolenda both had 18 points to lead the Seawolves. Paul Scruggs had 15 for Sopot.
UCAM Murcia were just as commanding, overpowering KC Szombathely 97-67 in Spain. David De Julius led a balanced scoring effort for Murcia with 15 points.
FIBA