22 September, 2021
27 April, 2022
16/03/2022
Review
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Reggio Emilia survive overtime thriller; Leiden overturn first-leg deficit to advance

MUNICH (Germany) - Eight became four on Wednesday after the FIBA Europe Cup Quarter-Finals reached their conclusions as the second leg encounters took place.

Bahcesehir College, Bakken Bears, Unahotels Reggio Emilia and ZZ Leiden all booked their spots in the Semi-Finals as they continue their quests to be crowned 2021-22 season champions.

Andrea Cinciarini's double-double helped Reggio Emilia come through a hard-fought battle with Legia Warszawa for a 151-143 aggregate win. The Italians held their nerve to secure an 80-75 overtime victory on the night to make it through to the last four.

Reggio Emilia had a slender three-point advantage from the first leg and the Polish visitors returned the favor to force an extra period in Bologna behind a 20-12 final quarter.

Meanwhile, ZZ Leiden were the only side to advance having lost the first leg as they wiped out a three-point deficit to beat debutants HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim. The Dutch side did the damage in the middle periods and held on to win 85-77 on home soil for an overall 153-148 triumph.


Maarten Bouwknecht hit four triples without a miss in scoring a season best of 23 points from the bench as one of five players in double figures for the hosts. Arunas Mikalauskas added 17 points and 5 assists with fellow Lithuanian Einaras Tubutis pulling down 13 boards to go with 8 points.

Bahcesehir came back from as many as 14 points down in the second leg as they secured a 68-54 victory over Sporting CP in Istanbul to advance. The Turkish side tightened up their defense to allow just 15 points in the second half as they would wrap up an overall 139-124 triumph.


Sporting had looked in control on the night when they led 36-22 with 3:03 left in the first half, and they still held an eight-point cushion inside the final quarter. However, the home side put together a clinical 20-2 close to the game in a pivotal eight-minute span with Jamar Smith finishing with 16 points and 6 assists.

Earlier, Bakken Bears were first to reach the Semi-Finals as they backed up their home win in the first leg with a 70-61 success on the road against CSM CSU Oradea to complete a 154-143 aggregate victory.

Marvelle Harris led the way once more with a 23-point haul off the bench for the visitors on 8-of-10 shooting with three teammates also in double figures.


Oradea had trailed by 10 in the first half and despite closing the gap to just a single point, they were unable to move ahead and saw their campaign come to an earlier end than last season's third-place finish.

The Semi-Finals are set to get underway on March 30 as Leiden face Bahcesehir and Reggio Emilia take on Bakken.

FIBA