April 10, 2014 - Semifinals Game 2 MVP: Nikos Zisis, Unics Kazan
The
Eurocup competition is drawing to an end one more season. The stage for
the finals is set for next May 1 and 7 as Valencia Basket and Unics
Kazan will meet up for a two-game series, first one in Spain and second
one in Russia, to determine who is the new Eurocup champion and plays
the Turkish Airlines Euroleague next season. In the second game of the
semifinal series, one player stepped up higher than the rest as Nikos
Zisis of Unics amassed an index rating performance of 31 to lead his
team in a comeback against Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade that made up
from a point-deficit got in Game 1 and become the MVP of the week. Read
more here.
April 9, 2014 - Game 2
Nizhny Novgorod 53 - 79 Valencia Basket Club
Valencia
Basket dominated host Nizhny Novgorod on Wednesday night at Trade Union
Sports Palace to win the game 53-79 and the series by an aggregate
score of 128-163. The result sends Valencia to the Eurocup title series
for a record fourth time, where it will face Unics Kazan. Valencia
brought a 9-point edge from Game 1 into the return leg and used a 0-9
first-quarter run to assert control. Coach Velimir Perasovic’s men
increased the lead to 25-39 (100-123) at halftime and erased any doubts
with a 0-16 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters to cruise to
an impressive victory. Bojan Dubljevic led the Valencia attack with 13
points and 6 rebounds, Romain Sato added 11 and 8 and Sam Van Rossom
and Rafa Martinez netted 10 points apiece. Read more here.
Unics
Kazan returns to the Eurocup Finals after using a huge second half from
Nikos Zisis to overcome an 11-point deficit from the first leg, and
beat Crvena Zvezda Telekom 84-67 in Game 2 of their semifinals series.
Unics, the 2011 Eurocup titlist, won the semifinals series 136-130 on
aggregate, as Zisis scored all of his 26 points after halftime. The
Russian side will hold a home-court advantage in the finals, where it
will play Valencia Basket. Zisis was scoreless in the first half, and
Zvezda held 17-21 lead in the second quarter, which translated into a
15-point advantage in the series. But behind triples from Luke
Harangody and baskets from Kostas Kaimakoglou, Unics rallied to take
36-30 halftime lead, and cut the series deficit to 5 points. Read more here.
April 9, 2014 - Semifinals, Game 2: who will reach the finals?
The road to the 2013-14 Eurocup Finals will be
completed this week with the second and last games in a pair of
home-and-away semifinals series. Those two-game Eurocup Semifinals
series, as two before them in the eighthfinals and quarterfinals, will
decide the finalists based on aggregate score difference when both
games are finished. Valencia Basket and Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade
registered home wins in Game 1, but Nizhny Novgorod and Unics Kazan
will have the chance now to have their say on their own home courts.
Every point and each possession will count, so expect intensity, drama
and great basketball, Eurocup-style! Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 2:
SEMIFINAL A
Unics Kazan vs. Crvena Zvezda Telekom 84-67 - Stats
April 3, 2014 - Semifinals Game 1 MVP: Bojan Dubljevic, Valencia Basket
The
time has come in the Eurocup to know what champions are made of! Only
four teams are still alive and started the Semifinal series this week
with the respective openers and when the dust settled, Bojan Dubljevic
of Valencia Basket emerged as MVP of the week thanks to an index rating
performance of 31, the most among all winning players. Dubljevic led
his team to a 84-75 home win over Nizhny Novgorod thanks to his 24
points - 6 of 11 twos, 2 of 4 threes and 6 of 6 free throws -, 12
rebounds and 8 fouls drawn. His teammate Pau Ribas was next in line
with an index rating performance of 26, thanks to his 17 points - 4 of
6 threes -, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Read more here.
Crvena
Zvezda Telekom used its defense that allowed only 4 points in the
fourth quarter en route to 63-52 win over Unics Kazan in Game 1 of
their two-way semifinals series on Wednesday. This outcome means that
victory or a loss by up to 10 points next week will be enough for
Zvezda to advance to its first ever Eurocup Finals. Two teams traded
leads in the first half, with Zvezda bridging the first and second
quarter with a 13-1 run, and Jaka Blazic made sure the hosts take 35-33
advantage into halftime. Rasko Katic and defense got the hosts to 48-39
in the third quarter, and after Unics cut the deficit to only 2 points,
Zvezda opened the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run, keeping Unics
scoreless for almost 8 minutes, paving the way to victory. Read more here.
April 1, 2014
Valencia Basket Club 84 - 75 Nizhny Novgorod
Valencia
Basket used big second and third quarters on the way to 84-75 win over
Nizhny Novgorod in Game 1 of their two-legged Eurocup Semifinals
series. The team with the highest aggregate scored in two-game series
will advance to the finals, which means that a victory or a loss by up
to 8 points next week will be enough for Valencia to become the first
team to reach its fourth Eurocup final. Led by Dijon Thompson the
visitors had a better start to the game, building a 15-23 lead, but Pau
Ribas, Justin Doellman and Bojan Dubljevic rallied Valencia, scoring
all points in a 13-0 that closed the second quarter for 41-32 halftime
lead. Valencia’s defense continued dominating after the break, and
another 13-0 run helped break the 20-point barrier in the third
quarter, making it 63-41. Read more here.
April 1, 2014 - Semifinals, Game 1: the best of the best!
The march to a 2013-14 champion continues this week
with the opening games of the Eurocup Semifinals! The two-game,
home-and-away semifinals series will be decide the finalists based on
aggregate score difference when both games are finished. Two teams from
Last 16 Group L - Nizhny Novgorod and Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade -
and two others from Group O - Unics Kazan and Valencia Basket - made it
this far. Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 1:
SEMIFINAL A
Crvena Zvezda Telekom vs. Unics Kazan 63-52 - Stats
Both
teams have impressive credentials entering the semifinals. Unics not
only boats the best record in the competition this season, but was the
only side to sweep its Eurocup Quarterfinals. Crvena Zvezda started the
season in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague, missed a spot in the Top 16
by one game and since joining the Eurocup for the Last 32, has
eliminated two more teams that started their seasons in the Euroleague.
Their respective home-court advantages are second to none. Unics is
undefeated in its last 13 games in Kazan; Zvezda set a European
basketball attendance record at Kombank Arena in the quarterfinals.
Read more here.
Nizhny Novgorod vs. Valencia Basket
It
is a clash of the two-time champion Valencia Basket and a Eurocup
newcomer Nizhny Novgorod for a place in the finals. Valencia is in a
familiar teritory, having won the competition in 2003 and 2010, and has
reached at least the semfinals for the third consecutive year. As the
lone club to win a quarterfinals series without home-court advantage,
Valencia has made its La Fonteta a very difficult court to visit,
combining to beat its last two opponents - Khimki Moscow Region in the
eighthfinals and Alba Berlin in the quarterfinals - by 48 points.
Nizhny on the other hand enters the semifinals with 6 road wins, but
also a 9-1 record at home. Read more here.