Tickets punched for trio as Leiden, Oradea, Sporting reach Quarter-Finals

MUNICH (Germany) - Three more FIBA Europe Cup Quarter-Finals places were confirmed on Wednesday with CSM CSU Oradea, Sporting CP and ZZ Leiden all ensuring they advance to the Play-Offs.

The trio join Avtodor Saratov, Bahcesehir College and HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim in the last eight with just two spots still to be decided as the Second Round concludes over the next week.

Oradea were the first to lock up their spot as they eased to an 80-65 success over Trefl Sopot to move to 4-1 in Group K. Garlon Green led the way with an efficient 25 points on 6-of-10 shooting as the Romanian side advanced to another Quarter-Final in the competition having finished in third place last season.

Sporting duly followed suit as they prevailed in the battle of Lisbon with a dominant 89-72 triumph over Benfica. They used a 26-9 third period to pull clear with Travante Williams impressing again with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the way through.

Meanwhile, ZZ Leiden sealed top spot in Group I with a hard-fought 79-75 success at home to Parma-Parimatch - holding off a late fightback to finish 5-1 having led by as many as 15 in the contest.

Jhonathan Dunn top scored with 18 points with Arunas Mikalauskas close behind on 16 points. The visitors were led by 17 points from Mareks Mejeris as their late 8-2 run was not enough with a showdown for the last eight now looming.

"This was an important win," said Mikalauskas. "Not only did we advance to the Quarter-Finals, but I also got to beat the Lithuanian coach of Parma which was a personal goal. We knew our situation prior to the game and we wanted to be in control of our own destiny. By taking the win we did just that."

Legia Warszawa had earlier defeated medi Bayreuth to keep their hopes alive with a convincing 80-55 victory. Raymond Cowels and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman combined for 43 points in the win with Cowels netting six of the team's 11 three-pointers.

Elsewhere, in Group L, Bahcesheir came from behind to edge out Avtodor for a 97-95 triumph in an overtime thriller in Istanbul as five players reached double figures, while London Lions wiped out a 16-point deficit on their way to beating Bakken Bears 82-75 with Isaiah Reese posting a triple-double of 13 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

Following the conclusion of Gameday 6, there are still five rescheduled games to take place with the next encounter on Friday as Unahotels Reggio Emilia host Crailsheim with a chance to qualify.

FIBA