FIBA Basketball

    Moving on up: Oradea, Ironi Nahariya soar in Power Rankings

    MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - CSM CSU Oradea and Ironi Nahariya were the biggest movers-up in the FIBA Europe Cup Power Rankings during the break between Round of 16 legs.

    MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) – CSM CSU Oradea and Ironi Nahariya made the biggest leaps in the FIBA Europe Cup Power Rankings after scoring big wins in the first leg of the Round of 16, but it was Telekom Baskets who maintained their grip on the top spot.

    Both of the biggest movers-up were ranked in the lower half of the Power Rankings last time, but improved their positions greatly with positive results. The Eric Alfasi-coached Ironi Nahariya registered a 96-75 victory against Gaziantep, while Oradea defeated Muratbey Usak Sportif 82-72.


    They were among four other double-digit winners who put themselves in the driver's seat of their respective ties and are currently on the right track to continue their FIBA Europe Cup campaigns in the Quarter-Finals.

    1. Telekom Baskets (+19)  Looks like Telekom Baskets, who are playing some eye-wateringly good small-ball this season, are coping with the absence of Filip Barovic without a problem. At least against a perimeter-oriented Kataja Basket. Although there were bigger wins in the Round of 16 first legs than the Bonn side's victory against the Finnish club, no one managed to dislodge the Germans from the first place in the Power Rankings.
    2. Elan Chalon (+21) Unlike all the other big winners in the Round of 16, Elan Chalon registered their 99-78 win against Kormend on the road. Despite not doing much in the league cup over the weekend, Jean-Denys Choulet's side have it all figured out in the FIBA Europe Cup and should make it through to the next round.
    3. Enisey (+10) Despite coming away with a 10-point win against Demir Insaat in the first leg, Enisey are walking on somewhat thin ice ahead of the road trip to Istanbul. When the two teams met in the Regular Season, Buyukcekmece won by 16 points at home, but the Krasnoyarsk club did play without Frank Elegar and Tony Taylor that time around.
    4. Telenet Oostende (+9) Having lifted the Belgian Cup over the weekend and re-signed coach Dario Gjergja to a new four-year deal, Oostende will be hoping to keep the good news coming for their fans. The Belgian side will be operating with a 9-point edge against Elan Bearnais after winning the first leg 95-86 in Oostende.
    5. Ironi Nahariya (+21) The renaissance of Derwin Kitchen allowed Ironi Nahariya to get off to a flying start to the FIBA Europe Cup Play-Offs. Sealing the deal in Gaziantep is now all but a formality, it would seem.
    6. Cibona (+12) Nik Slavica soared to a team-high 16 points, as Cibona reeled in an 81-69 win against Stelmet Zielona Gora, giving the legendary Croatian side a sizeable advantage before the return leg in Zagreb.
    7. CSM CSU Oradea (+10) Despite having a difficult time in the Romanian league, CSM CSU Oradea are making up for it in international play. The only remaining Romanian side in the FIBA Europe Cup just need to hold on to their double-digit lead against Muratbey Usak Sportif for just 40 more minutes to advance to the Quarter-Finals.
    8. Charleroi (+1) The tie between Spirou Basket and Nanterre 92 is the closest of them all in the Round of 16 and not only because the teams are separated merely by 300 kilometers. The first leg answered very few questions with Charleroi scoring what can perhaps be best described as a moral victory. They will be visiting their next door neighbors in France with a one-point edge.
    9. Nanterre (-1)
    		 Chris Warren, Spencer Butterfield and Heiko Schaffartzik have been locked in at the Palais des Sports Maurice Thorez this season in the FIBA Europe Cup. It goes without saying that scoring one more basket than the visiting Spirou Basket certainly doesn't qualify as mission impossible for the French side.
    10. Pau-Lacq-Orthez (-9)
    		 Much like Nanterre, Pau-Lacq-Orthez fell victim to a Belgian club last week. However, unlike their French counterparts, they face a nine-point deficit before the second leg at home. That being said, Elan Bearnais are undefeated at home in the FIBA Europe Cup and have won games by an average of 24 points on their home floor.
    11. Demir Insaat (-10)
    		 Returning from a trip to Krasnoyarsk down by 10 points isn't the worst that could have happened for Demir Insaat. The club's most recent addition Eric Buckner managed to go toe-to-toe with FIBA Europe Cup stand out Frank Elegar, which ought to give at least some optimism for coach Ozhan Civgin.
    12. Stelmet Zielona Gora (-12)  Stelmet Zielona Gora updated their trophy cabinet by lifting the Polish Cup and point guard Lukasz Koszarek snatched up Tournament MVP honors. The Polish side will need some more playmaking magic from the 33-year-old veteran on the road in Zagreb against Cibona in order to stand a chance of erasing the first-leg deficit of 12 points.
    13. Muratbey Usak Spotif (-10) The slumping Usak side have now not won for almost a month across all competitions, including losing to the previously winless TED Ankara Kolejliler in the Turkish Basketball Super League.
    14. Kataja Basket (-19) Rion Brown and Daniel Mullings might no longer need to go one-on-five for Kataja Basket to score, as FIBA Europe Cup single game assist record-holder Teemu Rannikko is expected be back in action and setting up his teammates once again. That said however, does not change the fact, Kataja are down by 19 points after the first leg.
    15. Gaziantep (-21) Gaziantep's disastrous second-half display in Nahariya completed the triple whammy for Turkish clubs in the FIBA Europe Cup. And unlike Buyukcekmece and Usak, the hole the Stefanos Dedas-coached side find themselves seems possibly too big to get out of in the second leg.
    16. Kormend (-21) In the worst situation among all Round of 16 teams, Kormend already have found themselves seated by the exit door. However, if there's one thing we have learned this season – they will not go down without swinging that one last punch.


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