Season in review: Pardubice and Nanterre 92 set new FIBA Europe Cup milestones

MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - There were a number of changes in the FIBA Europe Cup record books this season, but most of them came in individual performances, while most of the team milestones remained intact.

Only two teams managed to set new competition bests in the main statistical categories, with the eventual champions Nanterre 92 blasting past the previous record for three-pointers made and BK Pardubice getting the job done on the glass with the most rebounds in a single game.

POINTS

There was an overall increase in teams joining the 100-point club this season, with the century mark reached on 29 individual instances in comparison to just 20 times last season. However, no team came even close to the all-time high mark of 121 points set by CEZ Nymbyrk against Hibernia back in 2015. 

To this day, the 121-45 victory by the Czech side on the road in Ireland stands unrivaled as the biggest victory in the FIBA Europe Cup history.

Alba Fehervar, Antwerp Giants and Demir Insaat share the season-high of 111 points, while Nanterre's 110-point outburst against Muratbey Usak Sportif was the most by any team ever in the Play-Offs.

REBOUNDS

The Levell Sanders-coached Pardubice side broke not one, but two records in the rebounding department, setting a new competition-best with 57 overall rebounds in a low-scoring 74-65 victory against U-BT Cluj Napoca and also moving the marker forward with an all-time high 26 offensive rebounds.

In spite of the big rebounding numbers, Lamb Autrey was the only player in double figures with 11 boards, but seven other members of the Pardubice team added five or more in the game.

Pardubice out-rebounded Cluj 57-47 in the record-breaking game

The previous overall rebound record was held by Slovenian outfit Tajfun, who had 54 boards in a loss to CEZ Nymburk last season. Meanwhile, before being surpassed by Pardubice, the all-time high in offensive rebounds in a single game belonged to Antwerp Giants, who had once gobbled up 23 boards on the offensive glass.

ASSISTS

Nanterre, who dished out 32 dimes in a 109-71 blow-out against Bnei Herzliya in the Second Round, was just one assist shy of equaling CEZ Nymburk's record for most assists in a game at 33, also set by the Czech side in the aforementioned 76-point hammering of Hibernia.

Chris Warren and Heiko Schaffartzik sharing the glory

In the French side's close challenge to the record, Heiko Schaffartzik dished out nine assists, Chris Warren had eight, while Hugo Invernizzi and Mykal Riley chipped in with seven and five assists, respectively.

STEALS

Although Pau-Lacq-Orthez did not have a long Play-Off run, their play in the early stages of the season was more than convincing. Having gone undefeated in the Regular Season, the French side also set a season high in steals with 17 takeaways in a 77-56 win against Tartu back in October. 

The defensive effort was led by D.J. Cooper, who registered six steals in the game, while eight more of his teammates also got on the board in the category. However, it wasn't enough to surpass Tajfun's all-time best of 18 steals.

BLOCKS

Kataja Basket and Tsmoki Minsk led the league with 9-block games this season, but both were a long way from challenging the current record-holders Tartu, who swatted away an all-time high 12 shots in the Baltic derby against Juventus Utena last season. No other team has ever gone into double-digit territory in the blocks category.

THREE-POINTERS

One of the few team records that was broken this season was the most three-pointers made in a single game, as the long-range bomber squad assembled by Nanterre coach Pascal Donnadieu twice blew the lid off last season's best mark of 18, once shared by Kataja Basket and Tsmoki Minsk.

The French side set a new all-time high in January, when they fired in 22-of-35 shots from beyond the arc against Bnei Herzliya in a 109-71 win that was also the game they reached the competition season-high 32 assists.

Spencer Butterfield made six three-pointers, Hugo Invernizzi knocked down five, Chris Warren chipped in with four, Mykal Riley collected three, while Bathiste Tchouaffe and Heiko Schaffartzik splashed home two each.

The second time Nanterre surpassed last season's best mark came in the Play-Offs against Usak, when they made 19-of-35 of their attempts from beyond the three-point arc.

FIBA