The week's big numbers: Donar hit the three-point record; Diouf enters 15-rebound club
MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - It was bombs away for Donar Groningen in their return to the Second Round after a two-week break, with the Dutch side matching the FIBA Europe Cup all-time record in threes.
MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - It was bombs away for Donar Groningen in their return to Second Round action after a two-week break, with the Dutch side matching the FIBA Europe Cup all-time record in made three-pointers.
Elsewhere, DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell saved the day for Bakken Bears in dramatic fashion, Alba Fehervar registered a 20-point comeback and only three teams remain undefeated in the Second Round.
Like every week, we take a deep dive into the most interesting events of the gameday through the lens of numbers and look to get you up to speed on all of the most important feats achieved by teams and individuals.
0.1
This will be the smallest number this week, but probably the biggest in importance. That's how much time DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell left on the clock, scoring a game-winning basket, as Bakken Bears celebrated a 93-92 overtime victory against Mornar Bar.
The last-second bucket allowed the Bakken Bears star to move into a power-share with Keravnos big man Mohamed Abukar in the scoring leaderboard, with both players now averaging 21.5 points per game.
3
The competition field seems to be particularly level this season, with only three unbeaten teams remaining in the Second Round after the second gameday. ESSM Le Portel moved to 2-0 by outlasting Kataja Basket 82-77 and extended their winning streak to seven games, with Bakken Bears and Donar Groningen also staying on the straight and narrow so far, despite qualifying as second seeds from the Regular Season.
6
Mornar Bar guard Derek Needham had two very different halves of basketball against Bakken Bears in Denmark. After going 6-of-9 from three-point range in the first 15 minutes of the game, the American playmaker missed his next six attempts and scored his only other basket in the game with 1:29 remaining in overtime.
Derek Needham fouled out in overtime
Needham scored all of his season-high 21 points from deep, going 7-of-16 from beyond the arc. Up to this game, he had made just 8-of-29 of his three-point attempts.
7
It was a good week for Szolnoki Olaj, with the Hungarian powerhouse steamrolling Tsmoki-Minsk by 34 points in a 79-45 blowout win in Group K. However, the big lead did result in some carelessness with the ball for the team's forward Strahinja Milosevic, who finished the contest with a season-high 7 turnovers.
Great atmosphere in the building led to a huge @FIBAEuropeCup win tonight!! @SzolnokiOlaj crowd was amazing!! Loved the energy from beginning to end!! 🖤❤️❗️
— Kendrick Perry (@kendrick3perry) January 10, 2018
The 32-year-old Serbian player was the first one to hit the mark in the Second Round, but not the first one this season. He will share the honors, if you can put it that way, with six other athletes.
9
Thomas Koenis was probably one three-pointer away from literally catching fire this week, reeling in the Top Performer honors with a 25-point, 5-rebound and 5-assist display on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting night from the field.
Everything the 28-year-old big man touched turned to gold for Donar Groningen, who registered a convincing 109-69 win over Keravnos from Cyprus in Group L.
De shot chart van de wedstrijd @Donar_Official - Keravnos (109 - 69) van gisteravond. En de shot chart van Thomas Koenis. Het klopt, daar staan geen kruisjes op 😀 pic.twitter.com/ldBeVszpoA
— Ben Kah (@Ben_Kah) January 11, 2018
After connecting on five three-pointers in the first five minutes of the contest, Koenis proceeded to hit two more baskets from downtown and finished the performance of his career with a perfect 7-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc.
12
Nemanja Vranjes made the most free-throws in the FIBA Europe Cup this season by going 12-of-16 from the stripe in the last game before the Christmas break. He did not have the rights to the season record all to himself for too long, with Ivan Buva repeating the same feat with better accuracy in the first game back in 2018.
The Croatian center connected on 12-of-13 free-throw shots on his way to a 26-point and 13-rebound double-double in an important bounce-back win for Istanbul BBSK.
15
Bakken Bears big man Michel Diouf became only the seventh player this season to join the exclusive 15-rebound club in the FIBA Europe Cup, notching down 8 boards on the defensive end and 7 more on the offensive glass.
Of course... DeVaughn aka @FlyingWithClair is on team of the week. Al credits to these 5 guys.... Michel @bigmich6 Diouf must be first man off the bench... https://t.co/PApSpuqz6U
— Bakken Bears (@bakkenbears) January 11, 2018
In the 93-92 overtime win over Mornar Bar, the Danish champions combined for 56 rebounds as a team, which is the third-best mark this season and fourth on the all-time list.
The already-eliminated Hungarian team Falco Vulcano holds both the team and the individual records this season, having set a competition all-time best with 72 rebounds against Karposh Sokoli, with Krisztofer Durazi leading the way with a season-high 19 rebounds.
20
Something would be amiss in the FIBA Europe Cup, if there wasn't a double-digit comeback on any given week. This time around, it was Alba Fehervar racing from behind to snatch a late 74-72 win against Demir Insaat despite once trailing by as many as 20 points in the first half of play.
There were notable comebacks elsewhere too, as Bakken Bears turned around a 12-point deficit against Mornar Bar in the 93-92 overtime win, Istanbul BBSK trailed by 13 before proceeding to edge Nizhny Novgorod 82-79 and Egis Kormend erased a 9-point gap in the fourth quarter against Nevezis to come out on top 85-79.
22
It was an historically good week for Donar Groningen, who not only registered a 109-69 win over Keravnos in Group L but also tied the FIBA Europe Cup record for most made three-pointers in a single game.
.@donar_official climbed to the top of Group L with A 40-point blowout against Keravnos! #FIBAEuropeCup
— FIBA Europe Cup (@FIBAEuropeCup) January 10, 2018
📊 https://t.co/Dzj07Gs6vZ pic.twitter.com/LsuXvh21an
The Dutch champion connected on 22 three-point attempts, matching the previous all-time best mark set by last season's champions Nanterre 92 from France.
Donar's 22-of-32 clip, good for 68.8 percent from beyond the arc, eclipsed the 22-of-35 mark the French side set in a 110-82 win over Muratbey Usak Sportif in the Quarter-Finals.
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