Bruinsma, Curry headline Top Performers in FIBA Europe Cup farewell

MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - Evan Bruinsma and Brandyn Curry left it all on the floor for Donar Groningen at the MartiniPlaza but their FIBA Europe Cup campaign came to an end.

Despite an 83-80 victory against Umana Reyer Venezia on the second leg of their Semi-Final, the Dutch side couldn't cover the necessary ground to make up for the double-digit loss in Venice a week ago.

"We didn't have quite enough against a solid team like Venice. Maybe, we gave them a little bit too much in the first game in Italy."Evan BruinsmaEvan Bruinsma

However, there were positive undertones: Donar exited on a victorious note and Bruinsma picked up the Top Performer honors after collecting 21 points and 8 rebounds for a total efficiency ranking of 23.

"It was an exciting game. We kind of made a run there at the end. We had a 10-point lead but they made a couple of big shots," said Bruinsma in the post-game press conference.

"We didn't have quite enough against a solid team like Venice. Maybe, we gave them a little bit too much in the first game in Italy."

His co-star, Brandyn Curry, chipped in with a game-high 23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and a pair of steals and led the fourth-quarter surge that put the Venetians under pressure.

For Reyer Venezia, Michael Bramos shined in his return. The 30-year-old Greek-American swingman paced his side's victory over Donar with a team-high 16 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.

Meanwhile, in the other Semi-Final, Kyrylo Fesenko and Ariel Filloy ran the show for Sidigas Scandone Avellino in an 82-72 victory over Bakken Bears that also opened the doors to the Final for the Stefano Sacripanti-coached club.

Ukrainian giant Fesenko needed just 20 minutes to put up 19 points, 6 boards and 2 assists, while Filloy chipped in with 18 points, 4 assists and 3 steals in 28 minutes of playing time.

FIBA