FIBA Europe - MiZo stun Brno with fourth-quarter rally

MUNICH (EuroLeague Women) - Timea Ivkovicne Beres led a final-quarter scoring blitz as MiZo Pecs stunned Gambrinus Sika Brno to level up their EuroLeague Women Eighth-Final play-off at 1-1.

Gambrinus, the defending champions, trounced MiZo Pecs 80-47 in Game One and they looked set for a similarly comfortable evening on Friday as they built a 42-33 lead by the midway point of Game Two.

MiZo Pecs clawed their way back slightly, but Gambrinus still seemed to be in control as the match entered the final 10 minutes with Jan Bobrovsky`s side still boasting a 51-44 lead.

But a Nora Bujdoso three-pointer sparked a remarkable comeback from Mizo Pecs, who proceeded to outscore their opponents 28-5 in the last period to record a stunning 72-56 victory.

MiZo Pecs coach Laszlo Ratgeber was delighted with his side.

"Brno are a quality opponent. We showed great heart today when Brno had a 12-point advantage," he said.

"Our fans helped us today and encouraged our players into producing a great performance.

"We will still fight despite Brno having home advantage in the third game.

Gambrinus coach Jan Bobrovsky said: "We lost the game because we only scored 14 points in second half.

"We started well but we did not control the game after that.

"We stopped playing our style of basketball when we had a 12-point advantage."

De Forge shackled in Ros Casares win

Ros Casares were again able to limit the threat of Wisla Can-Pack ace Anna De Forge to book their place in the quarter-finals.

De Forge poured in 15 points and grabbed four rebounds in the first half alone to help Wisla into a 35-31 lead.

But Ros Casares put the shackles on the 30-year-old American in the second half, and she could add only three more points and two rebounds as the Spanish side ran out 67-57 winners in Poland.

An Elena Tornikidou jump shot sparked a 12-1 run in the third period that swung the game in favour of the Spanish side.

Three players stood out for the victors, with DeLisha Milton pouring in 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, Allison Feaster Strong adding 16 points, three rebounds and two assists, while Elisa Aguilar contributed 15 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Thompson leads Spartak into quarter-finals

Another big night from Tina Thompson propelled Spartak Moscow Regions into the quarter-finals with a 67-52 road win over USK Prague.

Thompson, who poured in 25 points in the opening game of this Eighth-Final play-off on Tuesday, scored 17 and grabbed 11 rebounds in Friday's decisive victory.

Tuesday's game had been an 82-54 blowout, but things were not so easy for Spartak in the re-match.

When Marketa Mokrosova made a jump-shot with 36 seconds left in the third quarter, USK were just two points down at 42-40.

But Spartak began the final frame on a 15-2 run that put the final result beyond doubt.

Despite the defeat, USK coach Lubor Blazek said he was proud of his players.

"We lost another game in the EuroLeague in the last minutes, but there is nothing to be ashamed of," he said.

"We played very strong opponents. We had nothing to lose, but we did not have enough power in the final minutes."

UMMC emerge victorious from dramatic finish

UMMC Ekaterinburg survived a dramatic finish to level their Eighth-Final play-off with MKB Euroleasing at 1-1 with a 71-69 victory.

MKB looked well on course to victory as they went into the locker rooms at half-time with a 45-33 advantage, and the lead stayed in double-digits for much of the third period.

But the tide began to turn and Lindsay Whalen put them ahead 52-51 with two free throws with a minute left in the third.

They began the final period ahead 55-52 but were never ahead by more than a few points and MKB launched a late rally, moving to within three at 70-67 on Ivana Matovic's jumper with 1:39 left.

Suzy Batkovic missed for UMMC, but after a time-out Andrea Balas-Pirine Karolyi was also off target for MKB.

UMMC's Elena Karpova tried to finish it with a three-pointer but missed again.

Matovic could not get open for a three-pointer, and had to settle for a jump shot that made it 70-69 with 29 seconds left.

But they could not get in a foul until the clock clicked down to eight seconds, and Adia Barnes split a pair from the charity stripe to ice the game.

CSKA too strong for USVO

US Valenciennes put up a brave fight but finally succombed to CSKA Volgaburmash who advanced to the quarter-finals with a 76-70 win.

USVO led in this contest until late in the third period and despite falling behind at that stage, still managed to keep the game close until the end.

Kristi Harrower made for an interesting last 45 seconds when she was fouled while making a jumper and converted the chance to close the gap to 71-68.

After Edwige Lawson split two free throws for the visitors, Vedrana Grgin Fonseca missed another three - she was zero for five on the night - as Valencienne's EuroLeague dreams died.

Evanthia Maltsi scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Bourges Basket to a 66-53 victory at USO Mondeville and into the quarter-finals.

Halcon Avenida fought like lions and led for much of the game but came unstuck in the fourth quarter and lost to TEO Vilnius, 74-68.

The victory has given the Lithuanian team a 2-0 sweep of their Eighth-Final play-off tie and propelled them into the quarter-finals.

Dexia Namur will take their Eighth-Final play-off series back to Istanbul next Wednesday after defeating Fenerbahce 66-59 on Friday night.

Ian Parker
FIBA