Varese triumph in opening thriller at home, NINERS charge toward Finals

MUNICH (Germany) – It's advantage NINERS Chemnitz and Iteylum Varese after contrasting first leg victories of FIBA Europe Cup Semi-Finals action, on Wednesday.

Surne Bilbao Basket will have to rewrite history once again and overcome a massive 25-point deficit in the second leg, while it's all to play for in Istanbul next week, however, Bahcesehir College will be behind on their home floor.  

The second leg of the Semi-Finals will both be played next week on Wednesday April 3.

Varese take slender lead into second leg

Iteluym Varese will take a narrow 81-80 lead to Istanbul following an exhilarating first leg win against Bahcesehir College in Italy.

In a tactical game of tug of war that saw ten lead changes, both teams had their spells but ultimately couldn't pull away. The Turkish side started brightly and even enjoyed an 11-point lead only for the hosts to hit back in the second quarter.

The final minutes of the fourth quarter was an edge-of-your-seat rollercoaster as both teams stayed within a single field goal of each other but in the end two free throws with 37 seconds left from Nico Mannion ultimately separated the two teams on the night.

Davide Moretti led Varese with 17 points with 16 from Hugo Besson as both players went 3-for-6 from deep. The Italian side will look for the same inspiration that led them to a comfortable road win against ERA Nymburk in the first leg of their Quarter-Final tie to lead them past their Turkish counterparts.

Axel Bouteille led Bahcesehir with a game-high 23 points - including a go-ahead triple in the final minute - but despite suffering just their third loss of their FIBA Europe Cup campaign, confidence will remain heading back home.

NINERS recover from slow start to comprehensively down Bilbao

NINERS Chemnitz inflicted a first home loss on Surne Bilbao Basket and put one foot into the Finals thanks to a dominant 98-73 win in the first leg.

The German side recovered from a being down 29-16 after the first quarter - and as many as 14 points in the contest - to fight back and then storm clear to take the third quarter 30-12.

Taking a 71-58 cushion heading into the final quarter, the visitors' lead eventually peaked at 27 as Bilbao had no answer for the all-round offensive firepower of the visitors.

DeAndre Lansdowne led the way for the victors with 22 points, supported by 14 points and 10 rebounds by Jeffery Garrett as NINERS improved their three-point shooting from missing their first nine attempts to finish 10-of-28 - with seven of those in the second half.

Sacha Killeya-Jones led Bilbao with 15 points as they drop their first home game in seven in the FIBA Europe Cup, plus they will have to rewrite history once again and try to repeat what they did in the Quarter-Finals by winning from a double-digit margin. Only this time, they have to do it on the road.

Highs

Efficiency: 27 – DeAndre Lansdowne (NINERS Chemnitz)
Points: 23 - Axel Bouteille (Bahcesehir College)
Rebounds: 13 – Jerry Boutsiele (Bahcesehir College)
Assists: 6 – Davide Moretti (Itelyum Varese), George Earl (Bahcesehir College)
Steals: 3 - DeAndre Lansdowne (NINERS Chemnitz)
Blocks: 3 – Tryggvi Hlinason (Surne Bilbao Basket), Skylar Spencer (Itelyum Varese)

Wednesday, March 27
Surne Bilbao Basket 73-98 NINERS Chemnitz
Itelyum Varese 81-80 Bahcesehir College

FIBA