Avenida, Sparta&K and Olympiacos eye up Round of 8 spots

MUNICH (Germany) - There were commanding wins on Thursday night for Perfumerias Avenida, Sparta&K M.R. Vidnoje and Olympiacos who all excelled in the first leg of their Round of 16 match-ups.

Olympiacos have a nice lead to defend when they land in Turkey next week after beating Orman Genclik 72-64, although things could have been even better, since they had led by as many as 15 in the contest.

 Jacki Gemelos continued her rich vein of form as the veteran wing rolled back the years with another excellent line. She claimed 23 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, while Bashaara Graves barely missed all night in adding 16 points and 9 rebounds.

Paris Kea and Morgan Bertsch combined to do a sweet job for Sparta&K, who sailed past Hatay with a 90-71 home victory.

The former came up with 26 points from a scorching shooting night, with Bertsch also on fire and netting 24 points. There was also a vital and impressive 10 assists for playmaker Kseniia Levchenko.

Perfumerias Avenida showed their teeth as they rode past Artego Bydgoszcz 78-64, sealing a nice advantage late with Tiffany Hayes producing the late show. She had already shot the lights out and continued in the last period to emerge with a wonderful 11-of-13 from the field for 26 points, as well as 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

FIBA