The calendar for the second phase of the Eurocup,
the Last 16, has been released. Sixteen teams will battle from January
17 to February 28 of 2012 and the two best teams in each of the four
groups will advance to the Quarterfinals series, en route to the
Eurocup Finals - to happen in Khimki, Russia on April 14 and 15 - for
the last four survivors. The first week of games will already feature
classics of the competition like Benetton Basket vs. Alba Berlin in
Group L, Aris BSA 2003 vs. BC Khimki in Group J or BCM Gravelines vs.
Valencia Basket in Group I. The stage is set for the action to resume
in the 10th Anniversary of the Eurocup as the Last 16 promises to be
full of thrills in the two following months. Read more here.
The
last week of the regular season completed the chart of the Last 16
teams and the competition is now ready to move on to the second phase!
Among the winning teams on Tuesday, Cholet Basket's Fabien Causeur was
the best player of the night with an index rating performance of 33,
which earned him MVP of the Week honors in Week 6. Causeur led Cholet
to a 69-66 home win over PAOK BC, despite having been eliminated
earlier. He scored 27 points, pulled 2 boards, dished 4 assists,
collected 3 steals and drew 9 fouls to lead his team for a sweet ending
to the team's season. Second in line this week was Banvit BK's Chuck
Davis with an index rating performance of 32 behind 15 points, 7
rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Read more here.
December 20, 2011 - Week 6
Cholet Basket 69 - 66 PAOK BC
Cholet ended the
regular season with a hard-fought Group B win over PAOK, 69-66, at home
on Tuesday night. The hosts worked back from a 15-23 deficit to take
the lead at the end of the second quarter then held off Paok’s near
comeback at the end. Cholet got a game-leading 27 points from Fabien
Causeur, the Eurocup’s scoring leader this season, along with 17 points
from James Christopher, including 3 of 4 from downtown. PAOK was led by
Ioannis Kalampokis, who had 18 points, and J.R. Giddens, who added 17.
With the win, Cholet ended the season at 2-3, while PAOK slipped to
1-4. Read more here.
KK Cibona 78 - 86 Hapoel Jerusalem
Two traditional clubs
already eliminated from the Eurocup treated fans in Zagreb to a decent
battle on Tuesday, but in the end visiting Hapoel Jerusalem denied a
first victory to host Cibona with a 78-86 victory. Hapoel finished the
regular season 2-4, good for third place in Group A, while Cibona
finished 0-6 despite having won a game in the pre-season Euroleague
Qualifying Rounds. Brian Randle led the winners with 17 points, while
Luke Jackson and Dan Grunfeld had 13 each, and Jarvis Varnado 11.
Cibona got 15 points from Brian Chase, 13 from Davor Kus, 12 from Jure
Lalic and 11 from Antwain Barbour. Jackson's triple-shot of
three-pointers in 67 seconds before halftime gave Hapoel leads it did
not relinquish the rest of the way. Read more here.
KK Buducnost Voli 57 - 72 Alba Berlin
Alba Berlin finished
the Eurocup regular season as Group H champ thanks to a new win, this
time on the road at KK Buducnost Voli by 57-72 on Tuesday night. At the
end of the first phase, Alba stands at the top with a 5-1 record while
Buducnost, who had also qualified for the Last 16 before the game and
needed a 19-point at least to finish first, dropped to 3-3 for second
place. In the first half, runs for both sides kept the game rather
close, but in the third quarter Alba pulled away for good. Yassin
Idbihi led the winners with his 21 points and 7 boards, Marko Simonovic
added 14, 12 of them in the first quarter, and Heiko Schaffartzik
posted 10. For Buducnost, Aleksa Popovic and Vladimir Tica led the way
with 12 points apiece while Cedomir Vitkovac nailed 11. Read more here.
BC Donetsk 80 - 69 BCM Gravelines
BCM Gravelines became
the 2011-12 Eurocup regular season Group A champion despite an 80-69
road loss against BC Donetsk in Ukraine on Tuesday. Both teams tied for
first place atop the standings, each with a 5-1 record, but Gravelines
was first due to its 25-point home win against Donetsk in Week 2. Ramel
Curry paced the winners with 21 points. Ivan Radenovic added 15,
Darnell Jackson had 13 while Vule Avdalovic got 11 for Donetsk. J.R.
Reynolds led Gravelines with 17 points. J.K. Edwards added 13 for the
guests. Gravelines rallied from an early eight-poiny deficit to get a
19-24 edge after 10 minutes. Curry led a 9-0 run that put Donetsk back
ahead, 28-24. Gravelines trailed until halftime but Yannick Bokolo
shined after the break for a 43-46 edge. Read more here.
Asvel Basket 69 - 68 Lukoil Academic
A
do-or-die survival test for a place in the Last 16 ended in dramatic
fashion as Kim Tillie's jumper with three-tenths of a second left in
overtime lifted Asvel Basket to a thrilling 69-68 victory over visiting
Lukoil Academic of Bulgaria at home on Tuesday in Villeurbanne, France.
Asvel not only avoided elimination by finishing with a 4-2 record, but
also finished first in Group D in a tie-break over Valencia Basket of
Spain, which lost on the road at Telenet Oostende in Belgium. Dijon
Thompson's jump hook for the hosts sent the game to overtime, where
Asvel led 63-58 halfway through. Bruno Sundov made 2 three-pointers in
a minute and then tipped in a miss with 20 seconds left to give Lukoil
the lead. Read more here.
Banvit BK 79 - 55 Lokomotiv Kuban
Banvit BK punched its
ticket to the Last 16 and then locked up first place in Group E by
demolishing Lokomotiv Kuban 79-55 on Tuesday. Despite the loss, Loko
also backed into the Last 16 via a three-way tiebreaker that was formed
when Gran Canaria beat Fraport Skyliners. Chuck Davis produced 15
points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals to lead the hosts, who like
Lokomotiv and Granca finished the regular season at 4-2. Kenan
Bajramovic added 14 points, Lance Willimas 11, Baris Ermis tallied 10
points and 8 assists and Erkan Veyseloglu and Keith Simmons scored 10
each. Rod Blakney paced Lokomotiv with 12 points and 5 assists. Read
more here.
KRKA Novo Mesto 68 - 65 Le Mans
Krka
Novo Mesto held off a comeback by Le Mans Sarthe Basket to win 68-65 at
home Tuesday evening and the enter the Last 16 on a winning note. Le
Mans trailed the entire game and finally tied it at 60-60 with 4:17
left in the fourth quarter, but Krka never relinquished the lead. The
hosts were led by Smiljan Pavic, who netted 13 points and Jure Balazic,
who bagged 11 along with a game-leading 14 rebounds. Taylor Rochestie
led Le Mans with 13 points, while Henri Kahudi and Travon Bryant added
10 apiece. Krka, which already qualified for the Last 16, closed the
regular season with a 4-2 record; Le Mans finished up 1-5. Read more here.
BC Azovmash 67 - 74 Lietuvos Rytas
Lietuvos
Rytas Vilnius completed its regular season with a perfect record and in
first place of Group F after taking a 67-74 away success over Azovmash
Mariupol. Renaldas Seibuits led the way for Rytas with 17 points,
Tyrese Rice bagged 16 with 7 assists and Lawrence Roberts chipped in
15. Rado Rancik led all scorers with 24 for Azovmash, Artur Drozdov
drained 18 with 4 for 6 from beyond the arc and Ratko Varda had 12. Six
points scored by Seibutis answered by 4 from Varda gave an early 4-6
advantage to Rytas. Lawrence Roberts with a three-pointer extended to
6-11. Bogdan Bayda nailed one for Azovmash, then back-to-back baskets
from Jonas Valanciunas gave a 9-15 cushion to the guests. Read more here.
Spartak St. Petersburg 97 - 77 Benetton
Spartak
St. Petersburg completed its Eurocup regular season campaign unbeaten
in Group G after downing Benetton Treviso 97-77. Vladimir Dragicevic
was the main contributor for the winners with 21 points, Loukas
Mavrokefalides added 14, Miha Zupan 12 and Victor Keryu 11, while
Patrick Beverley dished 10 assist and Yotam Halperin 8, for a total of
31 for the team. Jobey Thomas bagged 22 points on 6-for-6 shooting from
downtown, Sani Becirovic chipped in 16 and Massimo Bulleri nailed 13
for Benetton. A 16-5 run early in the second quarter gave a 45-28
margin to Spartak, but the visitors answered close to halftime with a
0-11 run to finish 47-39 at halftime. Read more here.
December 20, 2011 - Eurocup Regular Season, Game 6: there is no tomorrow!
The 2011-12 Eurocup regular season comes to an end
this Tuesday with several teams still fighting for survival and others
tying to win their respective groups. As many as 12 teams have already
advanced to the next round and nine of them know already their Last 16
groups, but there will be several showdowns all over the competition to
keep fighting for Eurocup glory. Action starts at 16:00 CET, as Spartak
SPB (5-0) hosts Benetton Basket (3-2) in Group G. Both teams have
qualified to the Last 16 but Spartak will fight to finish the regular
season undefeated. Read more here.
A
well-known big man making his mark with a Eurocup newcomer has taken
the Week 5 MVP honor as Jeremiah Massey put Lokomotiv-Kuban on the
brink of Last 16 qualification with a huge home win. Massey dominated
inside as Lokomotiv walloped visiting Gran Canaria 2014 by 73-51 on
Tuesday to take over first place in Group E. Massey was everywhere for
Lokomotiv, amassing team highs of 16 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals and
2 blocks to go with 3 assists and 4 fouls drawn. It all added up to a
performance index rating of 28, best among all Eurocup players this
week. Following him in second place for Week 5 was Dominic James of
Aris B.S.A. 2003 with an index rating of 27 based on his 28 points and
4 assists in a losing cause against Nymburk. Read more here.
December 13, 2011 - Week 5
BCM Gravelines 81 - 77 KK Cibona
BCM
Gravelines remained unbeaten through five games in Group A with a tough
come-from-behind win over Cibona Zagreb 81-77 on Tuesday. In a
thrilling fourth quarter that saw seven lead changes and four ties, the
visitors led 69-73 with less than four minutes to play. But Gravelines
responded with 10 unanswered points – half of which came from Rudy
Jomby – to take over for good. The result also left Cibona winless so
far this season. Ludo Vaty starred for the winners with 20 points and 7
rebounds. Jomby added 15, while Andrew Albicy tallied 15 points and 5
assists and J.K. Edwards finished with 12 points. Andrija Zizic scored
20 and grabbed 8 rebounds to lead Cibona. Read more here.
Hapoel Jerusalem 68 - 74 BC Donetsk
For
the first time in its history BC Donetsk secured its spot in the Last
16 of the Eurocup with a 68-74 road win over Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem in
Group A action at Goldberg Arena in the Israeli capital on Tuesday
night. Donetsk improved to 4-1 and will join BCM Gravelines as the two
qualifying teams from the group, while Hapoel fell to 1-4 and for the
second season in a row finish the Eurocup campaign in the regular
season. Hapoel needed to delete a 9-point loss from Week 1, but at no
point during the game reached the desired gap. The locals held a 64-60
lead with 5:51 to go, but until the very last seconds saw Donetsk go on
a 2-12 run to get the sweet win. Read more here.
PGE Turow 73 - 78 KK Buducnost Voli
Buducnost
Voli took a giant step forwards to reach the Last 16 in Group H by
downing PGE Turow 73-78 on the road on Tuesday. Buducnost improved to
3-2 in Group H and will qualify today if Alba Berlin beats Dexia
Mons-Hainaut. Turow dropped to 2-3 and run out of the chances to make
it to the Last 16. Bojan Dubljevic and Jermaine Anderson led the
winners with 16 points apiece. Bojan Krstovic and Cedomir Vitkovac each
added 13 while Marko Popovic had 10 for Buducnost. Ronald Moore led
Turow with 22 points. Giedrius Gustas added 15 while Konrad Wysocki had
13 for the hosts. Buducnost used a 0-8 run to get an early 5-13 margin
and kept a 16-24 edge after 10 minutes. Read more here.
PAOK BC 76 - 81 VEF Riga
VEF Riga advanced to
the Last 16 in Group B by edging PAOK BC 76-81 in Thessaloniki, Greece
on Tuesday. VEF improved to 3-2 in Group B and will be second no matter
what. Meanwhile, PAOK dropped to 1-4 and has no chance to make it to
the next round. Kristaps Janicenoks paced the winners with 21 points.
Kaspars Berzins and Curtis Millage each added 12, Antanas Kavaliauskas
had 11 and 10 rebounds while Sandis Valters got 10 points for VEF.
Marcus Goree led PAOK with 18 points. J.R. Giddens added 13, Dimos
Dikoudis had 11 while Ioannis Kalampokis got 10 for the hosts, that led
21-20 after 10 minutes. Read more here.
Cedevita 68 - 73 Spartak St. Petersburg
Spartak
St. Petersburg became the Eurocup regular season Group G champion by
edging Cedevita 68-73 in Zagreb, Croatia on Tuesday. Spartak improved
to 5-0 to finish first no matter what while Cedevita dropped to 1-4 and
has no chance to make it to the Last 16. Vladimir Dragicevic led the
winners with 16 points on 8-of-8 two-pointers. Miha Zupan added 13 for
Spartak. Miro Bilan led Cedevita with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Matjaz
Smodis added 12 for the hosts. Spartak led 14-20 early in the second
quarter but an outstanding Bilan led an 8-0 run that allowed the hosts
to get a 27-24 edge. Patrick Beverley and Loukas Mavrokefalidis stepped
up late in the first half to give Spartak a 31-37 lead at the break.
Read more here.
CEZ Nymburk 78 - 72 Aris BSA 2003
With a fantastic rally
at the finish, CEZ Nymburk won its group and advanced to the Last 16 by
downing Aris BSA 2003 of Greece by 78-72 at home in the Czech Republic
on Tuesday. A smashing 11-0 run, starting with a Tre Simmons
three-pointer and ending with a Pavel Pumprla dunk, eclipsed what had
been a 67-72 scoreboard in favor of Aris with 2 minutes left. Nymburk
improved to 4-1 and clinched first place in Group C for having beaten
Aris twice and holding a points advantage against Rudupis of Lithuania.
Aris is now tied with Rudupis at 3-2 for the second and final Last 16
spot from Group C. Read more here.
Lukoil Academic 77 - 83 Telenet Oostende
Telenet Oostende scored
its first win of the Eurocup season by outlasting Lukoil Academic 77-83
in a thriller that went down to the final minute in Sophia. The
visitors led late 69-76, but Lukoil stormed to within 1 twice in the
final minute. However a crucial turnover down 2 with 18 seconds left
rued the hosts and Chris Booker iced the Oostende win from the line
with 12 seconds remaining. The win lifted Oostende to 1-4, but the team
had already lost any hope of reaching the Last 16. Booker paced
Oostende with 18 points and 7 rebounds, Kennedy Winston added 15
points, Veselin Petrovic scored 13 and Dragisa Drobnjak 11. Read more here.
Lokomotiv Kuban 73 - 51 Gran Canaria 2014
Lokomotiv
Kuban got a huge 73-51 success over Gran Canaria 2014 in Group E to
become the exclusive group leader with a 4-1 record, while Granca
slipped to 3-2. Jeremiah Massey contributed to the win with a
double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds and an index rating of 28.
Ali Traore added another 14 points and 11 boards. Maxim Shelketo scored
13 and Rod Blakney 11 for the victors. The visiting team got 16 points
from Marquez Haynes, while Juan Palacios added 9 points and Spencer
Nelson pulled down 11 boards. Read more here.
BC Khimki 76 - 70 Cholet Basket
BC
Khimki beat Cholet Basket 76-70 to wrap up first place in Group B,
while damaging the visitors chances to reach the next stage. Kresmir
Loncar led the way for the winners with 20 points on 8-for-12 two-point
shooting. Anton Pushkov and Chris Quinn added 13 points apiece and
Vitaly Fridzon tallies 11 with 5 assists. Fabien Causeur confirmed his
all-around skills with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 fouls
drawn to lead Cholet. Robert Hite bagged 15, Luc-Arthur Vebobe 14 and
Randal Falker 10. Khimki tried to escape during the second quarter with
a 15-4 run for a 35-27 lead, but a 3-13 Cholet run capped by
back-to-back triples from Hite made it 53-54 late in the third quarter.
Read more here.
December 12, 2011
Lietuvos Rytas 82 - 72 KRKA Novo Mesto
Lietuvos
Rytas Vilnius downed Krka Novo Mesto 82-72 on Monday to clinch first
place in Group F. Rytas remains perfect with a 5-0. Krka slipped to
3-2, but has already qualified to the Last 16 round. Tyrese Rice led
the winners with 16 points and 7 assists, Renaldas Seibutis scored 14,
Mindaugas Katelynas netted 10 and Lawrence Roberts pulled down 10
boards and posted 9 points. Jimmy Baxter was the main contributor for
Novo Mesto with 14 points, Smiljan Pavic drilled 13 with 9 boards and
Mustafa Abdul Hamid netted 11. Krka Novo Mesto took a 23-32 margin
after a 7-0 run early in the second quarter, but a 24-8 run that
bridged the last two quarter gave a 73-61 advantage to Rytas at the
midway point of the last quarter and the hosts controlled the game till
the final buzzer. Read more here.
December 7, 2011 - Eurocup Week 4 MVP: Nikola Vucevic, KK Buducnost Voli
With
Week 4 in the regular season arrived the first teams to advance to the
Last 16. Despite winning its game however, KK Buducnost Voli still
could not advance to the next round, but Nikola Vucevic emerged as the
leader of the team on court and earned MVP of the Week honors thanks to
an index rating performance of 36, the most among players in winning
teams and, this week, also of any team. Vucevic scored 22 points with 7
of 8 two-point shots and 8 of 8 free throws, pulled 10 rebounds, dished
2 assists and drew 5 fouls which amounted to the best individual
performance of the week. Next in line were Cholet Basket's Fabien
Causeur, PGE Turow's David Jackson and KRKA Novo Mesto's Jure Balazic,
all with an index rating performance of 28. Read more here.
December 6, 2011 - Week 4
PGE Turow 91 - 87 Alba Berlin
In arguably one of the
best games in this Eurocup season, PGE Turow rallied from a 17-point
deficit to edge Alba Berlin 91-87 in double overtime in Poland on
Tuesday. Turow moved up to 2-2 in Group H to tie for Buducnost for
second place in this group. Meanwhile, Alba dropped to 3-1 but will
advance to the Last 16 if it wins one of its two remaining games. David
Jackson paced the winners with 23 points and 8 rebounds, including a
layup-plus-foul that sealed the outcome late in the second overtime.
Konrad Wysocki added 19 points, Daniel Kickert, who went scoreless in
the opening 38 minutes, had 16 while Ronald Moore got 13 points, 6
rebounds and 6 assists for Turow. Read more here.
Valencia Basket 83 - 59 Lukoil Academic
Valencia
Basket got closer to clinch a Last 16 spot in Group D by thrashing
Lukoil Academic 83-59 at home on Tuesday. Valencia moved up to 3-1 and
will qualify to the Last 16 with another win. Meanwhile, Lukoil dropped
to 1-3 and may be mathematically out if it loses next week. Tiago
Splitter paced the winners with 18 points and 8 rebounds in his last
game with Valencia. Stefan Markovic and A.J. Ogilvy each added 11 while
Serhiy Lishchuk and Rafa Martinez had 10 apiece for Valencia. Bruno
Sundov had 17 points for Lukoil while Lamont Mack added 10. Splitter
allowed Valencia to get a 18-11 margin at the end of the first quarter.
Read more here.
Aris BSA 2003 79 - 58 GasTerra Flames
Aris
BSA 2003 remained alive to take top honors in Group C of the Eurocup
with a convincing 79-58 victory at home over GasTerra Flames. Christos
Tapoutos scored 14 points to pace four Aris scorers in double figures
in pushing the Greek club’s record to 3-1. Dominic James tallied 13
points while Sergio Kerusch scored 9 of his 11 points in the fourth
quarter and Sam Muldrow chipped in 10 points. GasTerra was eliminated
from the Last 16 by dropping to 0-4 in the group despite 17 points from
David Bell and 14 points by Avis Wyatt, while Alex Wesby scored 11.
Read more here.
KK Cibona 76 - 78 BC Donetsk
Banvit BK lived to
fight long-term in Group E as it handed Gran Canaria its first loss of
the season with a resounding 79-54 decision at home in Bandirma, Turkey
on Tuesday. Banvit took over the game the second quarter and never
looked back while running its record to 2-2. Gran Canaria, which could
have qualified early for the Last 16 with a victory, fell to 3-1. Keith
Simmons led four double-digit Banvit scorers with 18 points. Kenan
Bajramovic added 14 and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Cliff Hammonds
had 11 points and dished 7 assists, while Chuck Davis scored 10. Gran
Canaria got 13 points from Juan Palacios, but he was the only visiting
player to score more than 8 points as Banvit's defense stopped the
rest. Read more here.
Banvit BK 79 - 54 Gran Canaria 2014
Banvit
BK lived to fight long-term in Group E as it handed Gran Canaria its
first loss of the season with a resounding 79-54 decision at home in
Bandirma, Turkey on Tuesday. Banvit took over the game the second
quarter and never looked back while running its record to 2-2. Gran
Canaria, which could have qualified early for the Last 16 with a
victory, fell to 3-1. Keith Simmons led four double-digit Banvit
scorers with 18 points. Kenan Bajramovic added 14 and 10 rebounds for a
double-double. Cliff Hammonds had 11 points and dished 7 assists, while
Chuck Davis scored 10. Gran Canaria got 13 points from Juan Palacios,
but he was the only visiting player to score more than 8 points as
Banvit's defense stopped the rest. Read more here.
CEZ Nymburk 80 - 83 BC Rudupis
Another would-be Last
16 qualifier was denied and Group C became a battle to the finish as
Rudupis ambushed previously undefeated CEZ Nymburk 80-83 on the road in
the Czech Republic on Tuesday. The Lithuanian squad evened its record
at 2-2 behind 19 points and 5 assists by Gintaris Kadziulis, including
3-for-5 accuracy from downtown. Arminas Urbutis added 17 points and 11
rebounds for a huge double-double. Dainius Salenga added 14 points and
Gediminas Orelik 11, including a key three-point play in the waning
seconds. Nymburk, whose record fell to 3-1, lost its chance to qualify
early for the Last 16. The hosts were led by Petr Benda, who knocked
down 24 points. Read more here.
Lietuvos Rytas 87 - 49 Le Mans
Lietuvos
Rytas romped to an 87-49 victory over Le Mans on Tuesday at Siemens
Arena to remain undefeated in Group F and lock up a berth in the
Eurocup Last 16. The hosts scored the first 8 points and made it 15-2
en route to a one-side win that saw the lead hit the 40-point mark in
the third quarter. Rytas made 8 of 15 three-pointers (53%) and
outrebounded Le Mans 45-26. Predrag Samardziski and Renaldas Seibutis
scored 14 points each for the winners, Jonas Valanciunas tallied 13
points and 11 rebounds, Arturas Jomantas scored 12 and Tyrese Rice
posted 10 points and 6 assists. J.P. Batista netted 10 for Le Mans in
defeat. Read more here.
BC Khimki 89 - 65 PAOK BC
BC
Khimki became the first team to reach the Last 16 after downing PAOK
Thessaloniki 89-65 on Tuesday afternoon in Group B. Khimki is still
unbeaten with a 4-0 record, while PAOK has just one win so far. Thomas
Kelati led five Khimki scorers in double figures with 16 points on
5-of-7 three-point shooting, Vitaly Fridzon bagged 14, Sergey Monya and
Zoran Planinic netted 13 apiece, while Kresmir Loncar amassed 13 points
and 11 rebounds. Dimos Dikoudis scored 13 points for PAOK, Rashad
Wright added 11 and Michalis Giannakidis 8. A 14-2 second-quarter
Khimki run made it 36-23 at halftime. Read more here.
The
third week of games in the Eurocup regular season saw as many as 10
road wins in 16 games, proving that there are no clear favorites
regardless where the games are played. One of the road winners was
Valencia Basket as forward Nik Caner-Medley led the performance of the
team at Lukoil Academic for the win and an index rating performance of
29, that earned him the weekly MVP honors among those players in
winning teams. Caner-Medley scored 27 points including 8 of 10
two-pointers and 3 of 5 threes, pulled 4 boards, had 2 steals and 1
block. After him was BC Donetsk's Ramel Curry with his 26 index rating
performance behind 23 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Read more here.
November 29, 2011 - Week 3
GasTerra Flames 51 - 58 Aris BSA 2003
Aris BSA 2003 held on
for a tough 51-58 victory at GasTerra Flames on Tuesday. Sam Muldrow
scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Aris to its second win
in three Group C games, which is good for second place at the halfway
point in the regular season. After a very tight first half, which ended
with the visitors up 20-22, Aris pulled away and took a double-digit
lead in the third and upped it to 15 in the fourth. Jason Dourisseau
led an impressive Flames’ comeback to within 3, but Aris had just
enough down the stretch to lock up the win. Dimitris Vergins added 11
points and Ronald Davis had 7 points and 8 rebounds for the victors.
Read more here.
Hapoel Jerusalem 75 - 91 BCM Gravelines
BCM Gravelines beat
Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem 75-91 on the road Tuesday evening at Goldberg
Arena in the Israeli capital to improve to 3-0 and secure sole
possession of first place in Group A. Although the visitors led from
start to finish, Hapoel fought back from a 41-53 halftime deficit to
reach 57-59 midway in the third quarter. But whenever the hosts got
close, Gravelines had the answer, especially from downtown, where it
doubled the home team’s output by hitting 14 triples. Rudy Jomby led
Gravelines with 19 points, including 5 of 7 from beyond the arc, while
Andrew Albicy added 18 points and Juby Johnson scored 12. Read more here.
BC Donetsk 98 - 81 KK Cibona
BC Donetsk improved its
chances to make it to the Eurocup Last 16 in competitive regular season
Group A by thrashing Cibona 98-81 in Ukraine on Tuesday. Donetsk moved
up to 2-1 in Group A while Cibona dropped to 0-3. Cibona will be
mathematically out of the competition if it loses against Donetsk in
Zagreb, Croatia next week. Ramel Curry led the winners with 23 points.
Ivan Radenovic and Vyacheslav Kravtsov each added 15, Michael Lee had
13 while Maksym Pustozvonov got 10 for Donetsk. Davor Kus led Cibona
with 14 points. Antwain Barbour and Andrija Zizic each added 12 while
Brian Chase had 10. A free throw by Marin Rozic gave Cibona its only
lead, 10-11, midway through the first quarter. Curry and Lee stepped up
to make Donetsk get a 21-17 margin after 10 minutes. Read more here.
VEF Riga 69 - 53 Cholet Basket
VEF
picked up its second win in Group B and dropped Cholet Basket to 0-3
with a 69-53 victory on Tuesday in the Latvian capital. Courtney Sims
posted 14 points and 9 rebounds, Antanas Kavaliauskas added 13 and 8,
Tyler Cain 12 and 6 and Kristaps Janicenoks tallied 11 points and 6
assists for the winners. Cholet started strong behind center Romain
Duport, but in a seesaw battle, Riga led by 6 after 10 minutes and
Cholet by 4 at halftime. Riga stormed ahead to a double-digit advantage
in the third quarter and then opened the fourth with an 11-1 run to
essentially ice the win. Read more here.
BC Rudupis 79 - 91 CEZ Nymburk
CEZ
Basketball Nymburk took a giant step to make it to the Eurocup Last 16
in regular season Group C by downing Rudupis 79-91 in Lithuania on
Tuesday. Nymburk improved to 3-0 to stay atop the standings while
Rudupis dropped to 1-2. Both teams are set to meet again in the Czech
Republic next week, where Nymburk could mathematically seal a Last 16
spot. Petr Benda paced the winners with 22 points on 10-of-14
two-pointers. Tre Simmons added 18, Lamayne Wilson had 13 while Pavel
Pumprla and A.J. Abrams each got 12 for Nymburk. Edgaras Zelionis led
Rudupis with 18 points. Adas Juskevicius added 15 while Dainius Salenga
and Gediminas Orelik each had 11 for the hosts. Read more here.
Lukoil Academic 64 - 72 Valencia Basket
Valencia Basket got a
crucial 64-72 away win over Lukoil Academic on Tuesday, in Sofia,
Bulgaria, to go atop the Group D table with a 2-1 record. Academic
opened the scoring from downtown before a 0-12 run for Valencia gave it
the lead and they never looked back! Nick Caner-Medley had an
outstanding performance by draining 27 points in 23 minutes, Tiago
Splitter amassed 9 points and 12 rebounds and Nando De Colo chipped in
8 for Valencia. Todor Stoykov paced Academic with 17 points, Bozidhar
Avramov nailed 13 and Damjan Stojanovski 8. Read more here.
BC Azovmash 66 - 71 KRKA Novo Mesto
Making a big move in
Group F despite not having won a home game yet, Krka Novo Mesto held on
to beat BC Azovmash 66-71 by leading from the opening tipoff to the
final buzzer on the road Tuesday in Mariupol, Ukraine. The victory was
Krka's second in a row away from Slovenia and gave at least sole
possession of second place in Group F with a 2-1 record. The visitors
overcame a huge effort by Ricky Minard of Azovmash with a balanced
attack led by Zoran Dragic, with 14 points and 8 rebounds, while Jimmy
Baxter scored 13. Minard scored 31 points on 5-for-11 shooting from
downtown and added 11 rebounds for Azovmash, whose record fell to 1-2.
After leading 27-42 at the end of the first half, Krka withstood a
furious rally by Azovmash, led by a relentless Minard, that cut the
lead to 56-57 with 8 minutes left. Read more here.
Lokomotiv Kuban 83 - 60 Fraport Skyliners
Lokomotiv Kuban raised
its record to 2-1 in Group E by outlasting Fraport Skyliners 83-60 on
Tuesday in Krasnodar, Russia. Jeremiah Massey led the way for Lokomotiv
with 18 points and 7 rebounds, Ali Traore amassed a double-double of 17
point and 10 boards, Lionel Chalmers drilled 17 with 5-for-7 shooting
from downtown and Maxim Grigoryev had 10. Quartez Robertson drilled 15
for the visitors, Jermareo Davidson and Johannes Herbert netted 11
apiece and Michael “Juice” Thompson added 9. The gusts took a 21-26
early advantage in the second quarter, but a 15-0 Lokomotiv run late in
the quarter changed the momentum of the game, with the home team
leading 42-33. Read more here.
Spartak SPB 75 - 62 FC Bayern Munich
Spartak
St. Petersburg remains perfect atop Group G with 3-0 record after
downing Bayern Munich 75-62 on Tuesday afternoon. Patrick Beverley led
the way for Spartak with 17 points and 6 rebounds, Loukas
Mavrokefalides scored 13, Viktor Keyru 11 and Yotam Halperin tallied 9
points and 6 assists. Robin Benzing led Bayern with 16 points, Chevon
Troutman bagged 15 and Jan Jagla drilled 12 with 8 boards. A 16-3
Spartak run highlighted by Mavrokefalides, Keyru and Vladimir
Dragicevic gave the hosts a 36-22 margin late in the second quarter.
Read more here.
November 24, 2011 - Khimki, Russia to host 2012 Eurocup Finals
Euroleague Basketball has announced that the 2011-12
Eurocup season’s crowning event, the Eurocup Finals, will take place in
Russia for the first time ever, as Khimki will host the event on April
14 and 15, 2012. The newest Eurocup champion will be crowned at the
5,000-seat Basketball Center of Moscow Region, the homecourt of Eurocup
powerhouse BC Khimki. The two-day, four-team tournament will feature
semifinals on Saturday, April 14 leading to the next day's title game,
whose winner will not only lift the Eurocup trophy, but also qualify
for the 2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague! Read more here.
November 23, 2011 - Eurocup Week 2 MVP: J.R. Giddens, PAOK BC
Action
kept on going strong in Week 2 of the Eurocup regular season, and so
did PAOK BC's J.R. Giddens, who, with an index rating performance of
32, earned MVP of the Week honors, an award to which only players from
winning teams are eligible. Giddens scored 22 points including 3 of 3
from the arc, pulled 12 rebounds and had 2 steals for the best
individual winning performance of the week. Following Giddens was
Lokomotiv Kuban's Jeremiah Massey with an index rating performance of
31, thanks to his also 22 points and 12 rebounds. KRKA Novo Mestos's
Allan Ray was third in line with an index rating of 26 including 6 of 8
triples. Read more here.
November 22, 2011 - Week 2
PGE Turow 67 - 66 Dexia Mons-Hainaut
A
battle for their first victory of the Eurocup season saw two Group H
teams endure three lead changes in the final 17 seconds before Ronald
Moore's game-winner lifted PGE Turow to a thrilling 67-66 triumph over
Dexia Mons-Hainaut of Belgium on Tuesday in Zgorzelec, Poland. Turow
will share second place in Group H with a 1-1 record, while Mons still
searched for a first victory that the visitors surely felt they had on
Tuesday. A.J. Slaughter hit what had seemed like the winning shot with
6 seconds on the clock to give Mons the lead, but Moore needed just
half that time to go the other way and make his first points the
decisive ones. Read more here.
Hapoel Jerusalem 89 - 73 KK Cibona
Hapoel
Migdal Jerusalem celebrated its debut win in the 2011-12 Eurocup season
with an 89-73 victory over Cibona Zagreb in Group A on Tuesday evening
at Goldberg Arena in Jerusalem, Israel. With the win Hapoel improved to
1-1, while Cibona dropped to 0-2. A big 20-0 run in the second quarter
allowed Hapoel to take a double-digit lead and walk to the half time
break up 14. Cibona managed to cut the margin by half inside the
closing quarter, but Jarvis Varnado and Dan Grunfeld helped Hapoel to
stay on top. Brian Randle led Hapoel with 16 points, Varnado had 13
points and 7 rebounds. Read more here.
Cedevita 70 - 64 FC Bayern Munich
A
host that reached the Eurocup Finals in its first season last year
turned back a newcomer aiming for similar success as Cedevita topped
visiting F.C. Bayern Munich 70-64 on Tuesday in Zagreb, Croatia.
Cedevita improved to 1-1 in Group G, while Munich falls to the same
record. Munich took brief leads in the second and third quarters, but
could never get ahead much on the scoreboard due to woeful 1-for-12
three-point shooting. Cedevita got 15 points and 4 assists from Dontaye
Draper, last season's Eurocup MVP. Marino Bazdaric followed with 11
points, including a crucial three-pointer midway through the fourth
quarter, while Chris Warren added 10 and 6 rebounds. Read more here.
CEZ Nymburk 93 - 60 GasTerra Flames
CEZ
Nymburk overwhelmed Gasterra Flames 93-60 at home in Nymburk, Czech
Republic, to take sole possession of first place in Group C with a 2-0
record. Tre Simmons and A.J. Abrams led the hosts with 18 points
apiece, as the latter hit a perfect 5 of 5 from downtown. Pavel
Pumprla, Lamayne Wilson and Mike Lenzly added 12 points each for the
winners. David Bell's 18 points led the losers, which are now last in
the group at 0-2. Gasterra kept it close until the middle of the third
quarter, when Nymburk hit the gas and the visitors could not find the
basket, scoring a mere 5 points in the fourth quarter.Read more here.
Lietuvos Rytas 83 - 55 BC Azovmash
Lietuvos Rytas took the
showdown between previously undefeated teams in Group F by thrashing
Azovmash 83-55 in Vilnius, Lithuania on Tuesday. Rytas is now the
exclusive leader atop this group at 2-0. Ronnie Seibutis paced the
winners with 17 points. Mindaugas Katelynas added 15, Jonas Valanciunas
has 12 while Predrag Samardziski pulled down 11 rebounds for Rytas.
Ricky Minard led Azovmash with 12 points, Hasan Rizvic added 11 and
Daniel Ewing 10 for the guests, that were outrebounded by 50-34
tonight. Azovmash's defense allowed the guests to control the game in
the early going and a three-pointer by Igor Zaytsev gave his team a
10-16 margin after 10 minutes. Read more here.
Lukoil Academic 66 - 62 Asvel Basket
Lukoil
Academic Sofia edged 66-62 Asvel Basket at the end of a back-and-forth
game to become the Group D leader with a 2-0 record. Academic started
strong and took an early 17-4 lead. Asvel came back to tie the score at
19-19, but the hosts escaped again early in the third quarter, 44-28.
Asvel climbed within 48-42, but Academic held on and pushed ahead
55-44. Another 9-0 Asvel run opened a thrilling finale where the free
throws were crucial. Brandon Heat led the way for the winners with 18
points on 4 of 8 from downtown, Lamont Mack added 13 while Dejan
Stojnovski nailed 8. Read more here.
Lokomotiv Kuban 75 - 67 Banvit BK
Lokomotiv
Kuban outlasted Banvit BK 75-67 in Krasnodar, Russia, on Tuesday to
improve to 1-1 in Group E. Banvit also dropped to 1-1. Jeremiah Massey
led the winners with 22 points, 12 rebounds and a performance index
rating of 32, Rod Blakney added 13 points, Maxim Sheleketo 11 and Ali
Traore and Maxin Grigoryev drilled 10 each. Chuck Davis scored 15 for
Banvit, Baris Ermis added 14 and Keith Simmons chipped in 12 others.
The hosts tried to escape early in the game with a 12-0 run, but Banvit
was back ahead 52-53 early in the third. A crucial 14-2 Lokomotiv run
to start the last quarter made the difference. Read more here.
BC Khimki 90 - 70 VEF Riga
BC Khimki raised its record to 2-0 in Group B by
downing VEF Riga 90-70 on Tuesday in its home opener. Now Khimki is the
exclusive leader of Group B. A 21-8 run - highlighted by three long
distance shots nailed by Tomas Kelati – to start the second half iced
the game for Khimki, which finished the third quarter leading 72-56.
Vitay Fridzon and Kresmir Loncar led Khimki scoring 11 points apiece,
Sergey Monya and Zoran Planinic added 10 each, Chirs Quinn and Tomas
Kelati each netted 9, while Alexey Zhukanenko and Timofey Mozgov scored
8 to complete an outstanding team effort. Courtney Sims led all VEF
Riga scorers with 18 points, Kristaps Janicenoks added 15 with 7
rebounds and Tyler Cain amassed 9 points and 10 rebounds. Read more here.
November 16, 2011 - Eurocup Week 1 MVP: Tony Parker, Asvel Basket
A
Eurocup debutante managed to soar over all other players in the opening
week as Asvel Basket superstar Tony Parker racked up a performance
index rating of 40 to become Week 1 MVP. Parker was the main force
behind Asvel's first home win over Valencia Basket by scoring 34 points
behind 8 of 15 two-point shots, 3 of 4 threes, 9 of 10 free throws, 5
rebounds and 5 assists. Parker was the catalyst of a collective effort
that allowed his team to grab a first win this season. Following Parker
in the list of top performances this opening week, Cholet Basket's
Fabien Causeur was second with a close performance index rating of 36.
Lokomotiv Kuban's Jeremiah Massey was third in line with his 31 index
performace. Read more here.
November 15, 2011 - Week 1
VEF Riga 80 - 74 PAOK BC
VEF
Riga survived a tough test in difficult Group B by edging PAOK BC 80-74
in the Latvian capital on Tuesday. Courtney Sims led the winners with
19 points and 11 rebounds. Curtis Millage had 14 of his 18 points in
the final 15 minutes to lead VEF in crunch time. Dairis Bertans added
14 points while Antanas Kavaliauskas got 11 for VEF. JR Giddens led
PAOK with 17 points. Marcus Goree added 16, Dimos Dikoudis had 12 while
Rashad Wright got 11 for the guests. Giddens and Dikoudis helped PAOK
to get a 15-19 edge late in the first quarter. An outstanding
Kavaliauskas allowed VEF to tie the game, 23-23, after 10 minutes. Read
more here.
Bayern Munich 72 - 62 Benetton Basket
Eurocup debutante FC
Bayern Munich managed to pull its first win ever in the competition by
getting rid of Benetton Basket at home on Tuesday night, 72-62. The win
allows Bayern to start with a 1-0 record in Group G, while Benetton
will stay at 0-1. Benetton took the lead early in the game, but soon
Bayern jumped ahead and never looked back. Jekel Foster led the winners
with 14 points, Jan Jagla added 12, Chevon Troutman had 11 plus 10
boards and Jonathan Wallace chipped in with 10. For Benetton, only
Alessandro Gentile scored in double digits leading all scorers with his
19 points. Read more here.
Cholet Basket 63 - 75 BC Khimki
BC
Khimki Moscow Region had a strong start in the 2011-12 Eurocup by
downing Cholet Basket 63-75 in France in Group B on Tuesday. Khimki
became the first team to register in road win in Group B. Timofey
Mozgov paced the winners with 21 points. Vitaly Fridzon added 15 while
Sergey Monya had 11 for Khimki. Fabien Causeur led Cholet with 31
points on 12-of-17 shooting. Robert Hite added 10 for the hosts. Khimki
had a strong start but Causeur brought Cholet within 16-20 after 10
minutes. Khimki managed to keep the lead throughout the second quarter
but Cholet got within 34-35 at halftime. Monya had 8 points, including
back-to-back triples, in an 1-14 run that broke the game open, 45-66,
early in the fourth quarter. Read more here.
Asvel Basket 87 - 78 Valencia Basket
With
a virtuoso performance from one of its owners, Asvel Basket delighted
its home fans by downing two-time champion Valencia 87-78 on Tuesday in
the Group D opener for both teams. Point guard and part-owner Tony
Parker hit back-to-back three-pointers with under 4 minutes left to
break open what was a two-point game, 69-67, before those shots. Parker
finished with 34 points, with 13 in the final 4 minutes. Ronny Turiaf
added 12 points for Asvel, Dijon Thompson and Edwin Jackson 11 each,
and Kim Tillie 10. For Valencia, Nik Caner-medley downed 19 points,
Serhiy Lishchuk had a double-double of 16 and 12 rebounds, while Rafa
Martinez added 12 points, Stefan Markovic 10. Read more here.
BC Donetsk 80 - 71 Hapoel Jerusalem
BC
Donetsk started the Eurocup season in style by beating Hapoel Jerusalem
80-71 in their Group A contest. Dmytro Gliebov scored 15, Vule
Avdalovic 14 and Michael Lee grabbed 13 rebounds to help lead the
winners. The game was tied at 43-43 midway through the third quarter,
but Gliebov and Avdalovic heated up and put the game away. Donetsk was
strong underneath – it outrebounded Hapoel 46-35 and got 5 blocked
shots from Viacheslav Kravtsov – and benefitted from Jerusalem’s awful
outside shooting (3 of 16 for three-points; 18.8%). Ramel Curry added
11 for the winners. D.J. Strawberry paced Jerusalem with 22 points and
Yuval Naimy scored 17. Read more here.
KK Cibona 71 - 101 BCM Gravelines
BCM Gravelines
Dunkerque sent a message that echoed all around the competition and
grabbed its first road win in Group A by thrashing Cibona 71-101 in
Zagreb, Croatia on Tuesday. Andrew Albicy led the winners with 21
points. Cyril Akpomedah added 18, Juby Johnson had 11 while Yannick
Bokolo got 10 for Gravelines, that downed 15-of-32 three-pointers and
outrebounded Cibona by 30-40. Marin Rozic led Cibona with 18 points.
Pavle Marcinkovic had 12, Andrija Zizic added 11 while Davor Kus got 10
for the hosts. Albicy led a 0-13 run that Dounia Issa capped with a
three-pointer to break the game open, 13-32, early in the second
quarter. Read more here.
Banvit BK 73 - 72 Fraport Skyliners
In the first-ever
Eurocup matchup between them, Banvit squeaked by Fraport Skyliners
73-72 at home in Bandirma, Turkey on Tuesday to take a quick share of
first place in Group E. Lance Williams scored 20 points on 8-for-11
two-point shooting, including the decisive free throw with 20 seconds
left, to lead the winners. Serkan Erdogan added 15 points and Keith
Simmons finished with 9, including a team-leading 5 rebounds. Baris
Ermis dished 7 assists for Banvit. Jermareo Davidson paced the losers
with 21 points and 7 rebounds, and Jimmy McKinney added 19 points. Read
more here.
Spartak St. Petersburg 73 - 56 Cedevita
Spartak
St. Petersburg got the first win of the 10th anniversary Eurocup season
by downing Cedevita Zagreb 73-56 at Yubileyni Sport Palace Tuesday in
Group G. The guests from Croatia tried to escape early in the game with
a 0-11 run for an early 9-point lead, but Spartak responded with a 19-5
charge - during which Patrick Beverley scored 17! - to even the score
by halftime and put St. Petersburg ahead 37-31 early in the third
quarter. Chris Warren scored a layup, but another deadly 11-0 Spartak
run pushed Cedevita farther behind, 48-33, and allowed Spartak to pick
up an important win. Beverley led the way for the winners with 21
points in an excellent shooting performance. Read more here.
November 15, 2011 - Eurosport celebrates Eurocup opening day!
The opening day of the Eurocup’s 10th season on
Tuesday will see broadcasting partner Eurosport celebrate the
popularity and success of the competition with as many as four live
broadcasts in different areas as well as a special rebroadcast of the
2011 Eurocup championship game. The buildup to tip off will see a show
about last season’s title game between Unics Kazan and Cajasol Sevilla
shown on Eurosport 2 at 10:00 CET and again at 16:00 with the second
showing immediately preceding the first live games of the 2011-12
season. Read more here.
November 8, 2011 - Eurocup tip-off just one week away
The 2011-12 Eurocup season is just around the
corner! The new season tips off in just one week on Tuesday, November
15, with 16 fixtures taking place in 13 countries across Europe. This
season the 32-team lineup and the players that compose those squads are
as deep and as talented as ever, as the opening-night schedule shows.
In Group B, a clash between Cholet Basket and BC Khimki Moscow region
pits two teams that played in the Euroleague last season against one
another. Altogether there are five clubs that played the Euroleague
last season in the Eurocup for the new campaign. Read more here.
November 7, 2011 - Eurocup Regular Season, Group H analysis
Coming
off an extraordinary Eurocup debut season, Torin Francis is now ready
to lead Alba Berlin under the boards. Francis shined in the 2010-11
Eurocup Last 16 with Panellinios, averaging 15.7 points and 8.2
rebounds in 6 games. An aggressive, versatile player, Francis will be
Alba's physical presence in the paint. Center Daniel Kickert enters his
fourth Eurocup season right at the prime of his career. Kickert is a
mobile big man with deep range, mobility and determination. He led
Turow to reach the Polish League finals last season and has become his
team's leader under the rims. Expect Kickert to do better than ever in
the 2011-12 Eurocup. Read more here.
November 4, 2011 - Eurocup Regular Season, Group G analysis
Group
G features more Euroleague winners than you might expect to see and all
of them are eager to add Eurocup crowns to their resumes. Two of them
standout for their multiple accomplishments: Spartak guard Yotam
Halperin and Cedevita big man Matjaz Smodis. Halperin is a two-time
Euroleague champs and a veteran of six Final Fours with two teams. The
combo-guard was a 2007-08 All-Euroleague Second Team selection. Smodis
is a three-time winner with seven Final Four appearances. He was a
member of the 2006-07 All-Euroleague Second Team. These two stars are
surely familiar with one another – They squared off in the Euroleague
title game in 2004 and 2008. Read more here.
November 2, 2011 - Eurocup Regular Season, Group F analysis
An
efficient center in his fourth Eurocup season, JP Batista is Le Mans'
main reference in the paint. His solid post skills, effective mid-range
jumpers and team-oriented attitude helps Le Mans in many ways. Batista
reached the Eurocup final with L. Rytas in 2007 and has the chance to
face his former team in this year's Eurocup regular season. Rado Rancik
is set to play his fifth consecutive Eurocup season with four different
teams - Nymburk, Benetton, Galatasaray and now Azovmash. An all-time
top 20 scorer in competition history, Rancik will offer one-on-one
skills, intensity and outstanding winning mentality. Read more here.
November 2, 2011 - Eurocup Regular Season, Group E analysis
A
young veteran at age 26, Keith Simmons enters his third season with
Banvit with the chance to face one of his former teams, Fraport
Skyliners. Athletic, intense and ready, Simmons is a good defensive
player that reads passing lines very well. He is a slasher who thrives
in transition and can help on the boards due to his jumping skills.
Lokomotiv Kuban is a Eurocup newcomer but has a very experienced point
guard in Lionel Chalmers, who returns the competition for the first
time since 2008. Chalmers enters his second season with Loko, to which
he arrived after leading the 2009-10 Russian League in scoring (19
ppg.) with Enisey. Far from being a scorer, Chalmers is a steals
specialist and a great on-the-ball defender, too. Read more here.
October 27, 2011 - Eurocup Regular Season, Group D analysis
Despite
being away from the competition in the last two years, Todor Stoykov of
Lukoil Academic is still the Eurocup's all-time top scorer with 1,040
points. Considering the next active player is Rado Rancik of Azovmash -
ranked 19th at 637 points -, Stoykov has a good chance to add some
distance in the scoring standings and keep showing that his deep range,
driving skills and outstanding leadership is out of the question. An
All-Eurocup second team selection last season, Nik Caner-Medley plays
the competition with a third different Spanish team. Caner-Medley
thrives in competitive environments, so expect him to shine brightly in
his new team, offering power, strength and outstanding winning
mentality. Read more here.
October 26, 2011 - 2011-12 Eurocup Fab Five Challenge opens tomorrow!
Hello,
basketball fans! The Eurocup Fab Five Challenge is back for the 2011-12
season and it open tomorrow, October 27! It is fun, unpredictable, easy
to play and very addictive, so beware. Since players can switch levels
on any given week, Fab Five players have a lot of alternatives. The way
it works is quite simple - pick a player from each of the five groups
and whoever earns the most points wins the weekly prize. The overall
winner is the team with the highest accumulated score. Last season's
winner was Arale Weisberg of Israel, who will try to defend his throne
in the 2011-12 season! Read more here.
October 25, 2011 - Eurocup Regular Season, Group C analysis
A
veteran swingman in his second Eurocup season, Jason Dourisseau hopes
to make the most out of his experience to help GasTerra Flames in the
competition. Always ready to help on the boards, Dourisseau is an
excellent defensive player with good feel for steals, as well as a good
athlete who can score in many ways. Lamayne Wilson of CEZ Nymburk
enters his fourth Eurocup season with as many teams. He helped
Budivelnik to reach the Quarterfinals last season and wants to take
Nymburk even higher. A great three-point shooter with size, athleticism
and speed, Wilson is a natural-born mismatch that knows the competition
better than almost anyone around. Read more here.
October 24, 2011 - Eurocup Regular Season, Group B analysis
With
a Turkish Airlines Euroleague season under his belt, blue-collar power
forward Randal Falker returns to the Eurocup ready to have a bigger
impact in the competition. Falker is in its fourth season with Cholet
and was one of the best per-minute rebounders in the Euroleague last
season. He will keep cleaning the boards in the 2011-12 Eurocup. A
former Euroleague winner, Marcus Goree of PAOK returns to the Eurocup
for the first time since 2003-04. Strong, talented and with solid
fundamentals around the basket, Goree will offer PAOK his experience,
post skills and mid-range jumpers. At age 34, Goree has a good chance
to shine in the Eurocup. Read more here.
October 21, 2011 - Eurocup Regular Season, Group A analysis
BC
Donetsk has looked for experienced players to do well right away in its
Eurocup debut season. The club did not hesitate to find a reliable
point guard in Vule Avdalovic, right at the prime of his career at age
30. His court sense, high basketball IQ and experience - he reached the
Eurocup Final Eight with Valencia Basket in 2009 - will be very
valuable to this team. Despite seeing limited playing time, Moshe
Mizrahi can inspire Hapoel Migdal to reach high in this Eurocup season.
Mizrahi lifted the then-called ULEB Cup trophy with Hapoel in 2004,
going against all odds. His know-how could be essential for the Israeli
powerhouse. Read more here.
The
last week of the regular season completed the chart of the Last 16
teams and the competition is now ready to move on to the second phase!
Among the winning teams on Tuesday, Cholet Basket's Fabien Causeur was
the best player of the night with an index rating performance of 33,
which earned him MVP of the Week honors in Week 6. Causeur led Cholet
to a 69-66 home win over PAOK BC, despite having been eliminated
earlier. He scored 27 points, pulled 2 boards, dished 4 assists,
collected 3 steals and drew 9 fouls to lead his team for a sweet ending
to the team's season. Second in line this week was Banvit BK's Chuck
Davis with an index rating performance of 32 behind 15 points, 7
rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Read more 
A
do-or-die survival test for a place in the Last 16 ended in dramatic
fashion as Kim Tillie's jumper with three-tenths of a second left in
overtime lifted Asvel Basket to a 
Krka
Novo Mesto held off a comeback by Le Mans Sarthe Basket to win 68-65 at
home Tuesday evening and the enter the Last 16 on a winning note. Le
Mans trailed the entire game and finally tied it at 60-60 with 4:17
left in the fourth quarter, but Krka never relinquished the lead. The
hosts were led by Smiljan Pavic, who netted 13 points and Jure Balazic,
who bagged 11 along with a game-leading 14 rebounds. Taylor Rochestie
led Le Mans with 13 points, while Henri Kahudi and Travon Bryant added
10 apiece. Krka, which already qualified for the Last 16, closed the
regular season with a 4-2 record; Le Mans finished up 1-5. Read more 
Lietuvos
Rytas Vilnius completed its regular season with a perfect record and in
first place of Group F after taking a 67-74 away success over Azovmash
Mariupol. Renaldas Seibuits led the way for Rytas with 17 points,
Tyrese Rice bagged 16 with 7 assists and Lawrence Roberts chipped in
15. Rado Rancik led all scorers with 24 for Azovmash, Artur Drozdov
drained 18 with 4 for 6 from beyond the arc and Ratko Varda had 12. Six
points scored by Seibutis answered by 4 from Varda gave an early 4-6
advantage to Rytas. Lawrence Roberts with a three-pointer extended to
6-11. Bogdan Bayda nailed one for Azovmash, then back-to-back baskets
from Jonas Valanciunas gave a 9-15 cushion to the guests. Read more 
Spartak
St. Petersburg completed its Eurocup regular season campaign unbeaten
in Group G after downing Benetton Treviso 97-77. Vladimir Dragicevic
was the main contributor for the winners with 21 points, Loukas
Mavrokefalides added 14, Miha Zupan 12 and Victor Keryu 11, while
Patrick Beverley dished 10 assist and Yotam Halperin 8, for a total of
31 for the team. Jobey Thomas bagged 22 points on 6-for-6 shooting from
downtown, Sani Becirovic chipped in 16 and Massimo Bulleri nailed 13
for Benetton. A 16-5 run early in the second quarter gave a 45-28
margin to Spartak, but the visitors answered close to halftime with a
0-11 run to finish 47-39 at halftime. Read more 
A
well-known big man making his mark with a Eurocup newcomer has taken
the Week 5 MVP honor as Jeremiah Massey put Lokomotiv-Kuban on the
brink of Last 16 qualification with a huge home win. Massey dominated
inside as Lokomotiv walloped visiting Gran Canaria 2014 by 73-51 on
Tuesday to take over first place in Group E. Massey was everywhere for
Lokomotiv, amassing team highs of 16 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals and
2 blocks to go with 3 assists and 4 fouls drawn. It all added up to a
performance index rating of 28, best among all Eurocup players this
week. Following him in second place for Week 5 was Dominic James of
Aris B.S.A. 2003 with an index rating of 27 based on his 28 points and
4 assists in a losing cause against Nymburk. Read more 
BCM
Gravelines remained unbeaten through five games in Group A with a tough
come-from-behind win over Cibona Zagreb 81-77 on Tuesday. In a
thrilling fourth quarter that saw seven lead changes and four ties, the
visitors led 69-73 with less than four minutes to play. But Gravelines
responded with 10 unanswered points – half of which came from Rudy
Jomby – to take over for good. The result also left Cibona winless so
far this season. Ludo Vaty starred for the winners with 20 points and 7
rebounds. Jomby added 15, while Andrew Albicy tallied 15 points and 5
assists and J.K. Edwards finished with 12 points. Andrija Zizic scored
20 and grabbed 8 rebounds to lead Cibona. Read more 
For
the first time in its history BC Donetsk secured its spot in the Last
16 of the Eurocup with a 68-74 road win over Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem in
Group A action at Goldberg Arena in the Israeli capital on Tuesday
night. Donetsk improved to 4-1 and will join BCM Gravelines as the two
qualifying teams from the group, while Hapoel fell to 1-4 and for the
second season in a row finish the Eurocup campaign in the regular
season. Hapoel needed to delete a 9-point loss from Week 1, but at no
point during the game reached the desired gap. The locals held a 64-60
lead with 5:51 to go, but until the very last seconds saw Donetsk go on
a 2-12 run to get the sweet win. Read more 
Buducnost
Voli took a giant step forwards to reach the Last 16 in Group H by
downing PGE Turow 73-78 on the road on Tuesday. Buducnost improved to
3-2 in Group H and will qualify today if Alba Berlin beats Dexia
Mons-Hainaut. Turow dropped to 2-3 and run out of the chances to make
it to the Last 16. Bojan Dubljevic and Jermaine Anderson led the
winners with 16 points apiece. Bojan Krstovic and Cedomir Vitkovac each
added 13 while Marko Popovic had 10 for Buducnost. Ronald Moore led
Turow with 22 points. Giedrius Gustas added 15 while Konrad Wysocki had
13 for the hosts. Buducnost used a 0-8 run to get an early 5-13 margin
and kept a 16-24 edge after 10 minutes. Read more 
Spartak
St. Petersburg became the Eurocup regular season Group G champion by
edging Cedevita 68-73 in Zagreb, Croatia on Tuesday. Spartak improved
to 5-0 to finish first no matter what while Cedevita dropped to 1-4 and
has no chance to make it to the Last 16. Vladimir Dragicevic led the
winners with 16 points on 8-of-8 two-pointers. Miha Zupan added 13 for
Spartak. Miro Bilan led Cedevita with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Matjaz
Smodis added 12 for the hosts. Spartak led 14-20 early in the second
quarter but an outstanding Bilan led an 8-0 run that allowed the hosts
to get a 27-24 edge. Patrick Beverley and Loukas Mavrokefalidis stepped
up late in the first half to give Spartak a 31-37 lead at the break.
Read more 
Lokomotiv
Kuban got a huge 73-51 success over Gran Canaria 2014 in Group E to
become the exclusive group leader with a 4-1 record, while Granca
slipped to 3-2. Jeremiah Massey contributed to the win with a
double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds and an index rating of 28.
Ali Traore added another 14 points and 11 boards. Maxim Shelketo scored
13 and Rod Blakney 11 for the victors. The visiting team got 16 points
from Marquez Haynes, while Juan Palacios added 9 points and Spencer
Nelson pulled down 11 boards. Read more 
BC
Khimki beat Cholet Basket 76-70 to wrap up first place in Group B,
while damaging the visitors chances to reach the next stage. Kresmir
Loncar led the way for the winners with 20 points on 8-for-12 two-point
shooting. Anton Pushkov and Chris Quinn added 13 points apiece and
Vitaly Fridzon tallies 11 with 5 assists. Fabien Causeur confirmed his
all-around skills with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 fouls
drawn to lead Cholet. Robert Hite bagged 15, Luc-Arthur Vebobe 14 and
Randal Falker 10. Khimki tried to escape during the second quarter with
a 15-4 run for a 35-27 lead, but a 3-13 Cholet run capped by
back-to-back triples from Hite made it 53-54 late in the third quarter.
Read more 
Lietuvos
Rytas Vilnius downed Krka Novo Mesto 82-72 on Monday to clinch first
place in Group F. Rytas remains perfect with a 5-0. Krka slipped to
3-2, but has already qualified to the Last 16 round. Tyrese Rice led
the winners with 16 points and 7 assists, Renaldas Seibutis scored 14,
Mindaugas Katelynas netted 10 and Lawrence Roberts pulled down 10
boards and posted 9 points. Jimmy Baxter was the main contributor for
Novo Mesto with 14 points, Smiljan Pavic drilled 13 with 9 boards and
Mustafa Abdul Hamid netted 11. Krka Novo Mesto took a 23-32 margin
after a 7-0 run early in the second quarter, but a 24-8 run that
bridged the last two quarter gave a 73-61 advantage to Rytas at the
midway point of the last quarter and the hosts controlled the game till
the final buzzer. Read more 
With
Week 4 in the regular season arrived the first teams to advance to the
Last 16. Despite winning its game however, KK Buducnost Voli still
could not advance to the next round, but Nikola Vucevic emerged as the
leader of the team on court and earned MVP of the Week honors thanks to
an index rating performance of 36, the most among players in winning
teams and, this week, also of any team. Vucevic scored 22 points with 7
of 8 two-point shots and 8 of 8 free throws, pulled 10 rebounds, dished
2 assists and drew 5 fouls which amounted to the best individual
performance of the week. Next in line were Cholet Basket's Fabien
Causeur, PGE Turow's David Jackson and KRKA Novo Mesto's Jure Balazic,
all with an index rating performance of 28. Read more 
Valencia
Basket got closer to clinch a Last 16 spot in Group D by thrashing
Lukoil Academic 83-59 at home on Tuesday. Valencia moved up to 3-1 and
will qualify to the Last 16 with another win. Meanwhile, Lukoil dropped
to 1-3 and may be mathematically out if it loses next week. Tiago
Splitter paced the winners with 18 points and 8 rebounds in his last
game with Valencia. Stefan Markovic and A.J. Ogilvy each added 11 while
Serhiy Lishchuk and Rafa Martinez had 10 apiece for Valencia. Bruno
Sundov had 17 points for Lukoil while Lamont Mack added 10. Splitter
allowed Valencia to get a 18-11 margin at the end of the first quarter.
Read more 
Aris
BSA 2003 remained alive to take top honors in Group C of the Eurocup
with a convincing 79-58 victory at home over GasTerra Flames. Christos
Tapoutos scored 14 points to pace four Aris scorers in double figures
in pushing the Greek club’s record to 3-1. Dominic James tallied 13
points while Sergio Kerusch scored 9 of his 11 points in the fourth
quarter and Sam Muldrow chipped in 10 points. GasTerra was eliminated
from the Last 16 by dropping to 0-4 in the group despite 17 points from
David Bell and 14 points by Avis Wyatt, while Alex Wesby scored 11.
Read more 
Banvit
BK lived to fight long-term in Group E as it handed Gran Canaria its
first loss of the season with a resounding 79-54 decision at home in
Bandirma, Turkey on Tuesday. Banvit took over the game the second
quarter and never looked back while running its record to 2-2. Gran
Canaria, which could have qualified early for the Last 16 with a
victory, fell to 3-1. Keith Simmons led four double-digit Banvit
scorers with 18 points. Kenan Bajramovic added 14 and 10 rebounds for a
double-double. Cliff Hammonds had 11 points and dished 7 assists, while
Chuck Davis scored 10. Gran Canaria got 13 points from Juan Palacios,
but he was the only visiting player to score more than 8 points as
Banvit's defense stopped the rest. Read more 
Lietuvos
Rytas romped to an 87-49 victory over Le Mans on Tuesday at Siemens
Arena to remain undefeated in Group F and lock up a berth in the
Eurocup Last 16. The hosts scored the first 8 points and made it 15-2
en route to a one-side win that saw the lead hit the 40-point mark in
the third quarter. Rytas made 8 of 15 three-pointers (53%) and
outrebounded Le Mans 45-26. Predrag Samardziski and Renaldas Seibutis
scored 14 points each for the winners, Jonas Valanciunas tallied 13
points and 11 rebounds, Arturas Jomantas scored 12 and Tyrese Rice
posted 10 points and 6 assists. J.P. Batista netted 10 for Le Mans in
defeat. Read more 
BC
Khimki became the first team to reach the Last 16 after downing PAOK
Thessaloniki 89-65 on Tuesday afternoon in Group B. Khimki is still
unbeaten with a 4-0 record, while PAOK has just one win so far. Thomas
Kelati led five Khimki scorers in double figures with 16 points on
5-of-7 three-point shooting, Vitaly Fridzon bagged 14, Sergey Monya and
Zoran Planinic netted 13 apiece, while Kresmir Loncar amassed 13 points
and 11 rebounds. Dimos Dikoudis scored 13 points for PAOK, Rashad
Wright added 11 and Michalis Giannakidis 8. A 14-2 second-quarter
Khimki run made it 36-23 at halftime. Read more 
The
third week of games in the Eurocup regular season saw as many as 10
road wins in 16 games, proving that there are no clear favorites
regardless where the games are played. One of the road winners was
Valencia Basket as forward Nik Caner-Medley led the performance of the
team at Lukoil Academic for the win and an index rating performance of
29, that earned him the weekly MVP honors among those players in
winning teams. Caner-Medley scored 27 points including 8 of 10
two-pointers and 3 of 5 threes, pulled 4 boards, had 2 steals and 1
block. After him was BC Donetsk's Ramel Curry with his 26 index rating
performance behind 23 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Read more 
VEF
picked up its second win in Group B and dropped Cholet Basket to 0-3
with a 69-53 victory on Tuesday in the Latvian capital. Courtney Sims
posted 14 points and 9 rebounds, Antanas Kavaliauskas added 13 and 8,
Tyler Cain 12 and 6 and Kristaps Janicenoks tallied 11 points and 6
assists for the winners. Cholet started strong behind center Romain
Duport, but in a seesaw battle, Riga led by 6 after 10 minutes and
Cholet by 4 at halftime. Riga stormed ahead to a double-digit advantage
in the third quarter and then opened the fourth with an 11-1 run to
essentially ice the win. Read more 
CEZ
Basketball Nymburk took a giant step to make it to the Eurocup Last 16
in regular season Group C by downing Rudupis 79-91 in Lithuania on
Tuesday. Nymburk improved to 3-0 to stay atop the standings while
Rudupis dropped to 1-2. Both teams are set to meet again in the Czech
Republic next week, where Nymburk could mathematically seal a Last 16
spot. Petr Benda paced the winners with 22 points on 10-of-14
two-pointers. Tre Simmons added 18, Lamayne Wilson had 13 while Pavel
Pumprla and A.J. Abrams each got 12 for Nymburk. Edgaras Zelionis led
Rudupis with 18 points. Adas Juskevicius added 15 while Dainius Salenga
and Gediminas Orelik each had 11 for the hosts. Read more 
Spartak
St. Petersburg remains perfect atop Group G with 3-0 record after
downing Bayern Munich 75-62 on Tuesday afternoon. Patrick Beverley led
the way for Spartak with 17 points and 6 rebounds, Loukas
Mavrokefalides scored 13, Viktor Keyru 11 and Yotam Halperin tallied 9
points and 6 assists. Robin Benzing led Bayern with 16 points, Chevon
Troutman bagged 15 and Jan Jagla drilled 12 with 8 boards. A 16-3
Spartak run highlighted by Mavrokefalides, Keyru and Vladimir
Dragicevic gave the hosts a 36-22 margin late in the second quarter.
Read more 
Action
kept on going strong in Week 2 of the Eurocup regular season, and so
did PAOK BC's J.R. Giddens, who, with an index rating performance of
32, earned MVP of the Week honors, an award to which only players from
winning teams are eligible. Giddens scored 22 points including 3 of 3
from the arc, pulled 12 rebounds and had 2 steals for the best
individual winning performance of the week. Following Giddens was
Lokomotiv Kuban's Jeremiah Massey with an index rating performance of
31, thanks to his also 22 points and 12 rebounds. KRKA Novo Mestos's
Allan Ray was third in line with an index rating of 26 including 6 of 8
triples. Read more 
A
battle for their first victory of the Eurocup season saw two Group H
teams endure three lead changes in the final 17 seconds before Ronald
Moore's game-winner lifted PGE Turow to a thrilling 67-66 triumph over
Dexia Mons-Hainaut of Belgium on Tuesday in Zgorzelec, Poland. Turow
will share second place in Group H with a 1-1 record, while Mons still
searched for a first victory that the visitors surely felt they had on
Tuesday. A.J. Slaughter hit what had seemed like the winning shot with
6 seconds on the clock to give Mons the lead, but Moore needed just
half that time to go the other way and make his first points the
decisive ones. Read more 
Hapoel
Migdal Jerusalem celebrated its debut win in the 2011-12 Eurocup season
with an 89-73 victory over Cibona Zagreb in Group A on Tuesday evening
at Goldberg Arena in Jerusalem, Israel. With the win Hapoel improved to
1-1, while Cibona dropped to 0-2. A big 20-0 run in the second quarter
allowed Hapoel to take a double-digit lead and walk to the half time
break up 14. Cibona managed to cut the margin by half inside the
closing quarter, but Jarvis Varnado and Dan Grunfeld helped Hapoel to
stay on top. Brian Randle led Hapoel with 16 points, Varnado had 13
points and 7 rebounds. Read more 
A
host that reached the Eurocup Finals in its first season last year
turned back a newcomer aiming for similar success as Cedevita topped
visiting F.C. Bayern Munich 70-64 on Tuesday in Zagreb, Croatia.
Cedevita improved to 1-1 in Group G, while Munich falls to the same
record. Munich took brief leads in the second and third quarters, but
could never get ahead much on the scoreboard due to woeful 1-for-12
three-point shooting. Cedevita got 15 points and 4 assists from Dontaye
Draper, last season's Eurocup MVP. Marino Bazdaric followed with 11
points, including a crucial three-pointer midway through the fourth
quarter, while Chris Warren added 10 and 6 rebounds. Read more 
CEZ
Nymburk overwhelmed Gasterra Flames 93-60 at home in Nymburk, Czech
Republic, to take sole possession of first place in Group C with a 2-0
record. Tre Simmons and A.J. Abrams led the hosts with 18 points
apiece, as the latter hit a perfect 5 of 5 from downtown. Pavel
Pumprla, Lamayne Wilson and Mike Lenzly added 12 points each for the
winners. David Bell's 18 points led the losers, which are now last in
the group at 0-2. Gasterra kept it close until the middle of the third
quarter, when Nymburk hit the gas and the visitors could not find the
basket, scoring a mere 5 points in the fourth quarter.
Lukoil
Academic Sofia edged 66-62 Asvel Basket at the end of a back-and-forth
game to become the Group D leader with a 2-0 record. Academic started
strong and took an early 17-4 lead. Asvel came back to tie the score at
19-19, but the hosts escaped again early in the third quarter, 44-28.
Asvel climbed within 48-42, but Academic held on and pushed ahead
55-44. Another 9-0 Asvel run opened a thrilling finale where the free
throws were crucial. Brandon Heat led the way for the winners with 18
points on 4 of 8 from downtown, Lamont Mack added 13 while Dejan
Stojnovski nailed 8. Read more 
Lokomotiv
Kuban outlasted Banvit BK 75-67 in Krasnodar, Russia, on Tuesday to
improve to 1-1 in Group E. Banvit also dropped to 1-1. Jeremiah Massey
led the winners with 22 points, 12 rebounds and a performance index
rating of 32, Rod Blakney added 13 points, Maxim Sheleketo 11 and Ali
Traore and Maxin Grigoryev drilled 10 each. Chuck Davis scored 15 for
Banvit, Baris Ermis added 14 and Keith Simmons chipped in 12 others.
The hosts tried to escape early in the game with a 12-0 run, but Banvit
was back ahead 52-53 early in the third. A crucial 14-2 Lokomotiv run
to start the last quarter made the difference. Read more 
A
Eurocup debutante managed to soar over all other players in the opening
week as Asvel Basket superstar Tony Parker racked up a performance
index rating of 40 to become Week 1 MVP. Parker was the main force
behind Asvel's first home win over Valencia Basket by scoring 34 points
behind 8 of 15 two-point shots, 3 of 4 threes, 9 of 10 free throws, 5
rebounds and 5 assists. 
VEF
Riga survived a tough test in difficult Group B by edging PAOK BC 80-74
in the Latvian capital on Tuesday. Courtney Sims led the winners with
19 points and 11 rebounds. Curtis Millage had 14 of his 18 points in
the final 15 minutes to lead VEF in crunch time. Dairis Bertans added
14 points while Antanas Kavaliauskas got 11 for VEF. JR Giddens led
PAOK with 17 points. Marcus Goree added 16, Dimos Dikoudis had 12 while
Rashad Wright got 11 for the guests. Giddens and Dikoudis helped PAOK
to get a 15-19 edge late in the first quarter. An outstanding
Kavaliauskas allowed VEF to tie the game, 23-23, after 10 minutes. Read
more 
BC
Khimki Moscow Region had a strong start in the 2011-12 Eurocup by
downing Cholet Basket 63-75 in France in Group B on Tuesday. Khimki
became the first team to register in road win in Group B. Timofey
Mozgov paced the winners with 21 points. Vitaly Fridzon added 15 while
Sergey Monya had 11 for Khimki. Fabien Causeur led Cholet with 31
points on 12-of-17 shooting. Robert Hite added 10 for the hosts. Khimki
had a strong start but Causeur brought Cholet within 16-20 after 10
minutes. Khimki managed to keep the lead throughout the second quarter
but Cholet got within 34-35 at halftime. Monya had 8 points, including
back-to-back triples, in an 1-14 run that broke the game open, 45-66,
early in the fourth quarter. Read more 
With
a virtuoso performance from one of its owners, Asvel Basket delighted
its home fans by downing two-time champion Valencia 87-78 on Tuesday in
the Group D opener for both teams. Point guard and part-owner Tony
Parker hit back-to-back three-pointers with under 4 minutes left to
break open what was a two-point game, 69-67, before those shots. Parker
finished with 34 points, with 13 in the final 4 minutes. Ronny Turiaf
added 12 points for Asvel, Dijon Thompson and Edwin Jackson 11 each,
and Kim Tillie 10. For Valencia, Nik Caner-medley downed 19 points,
Serhiy Lishchuk had a double-double of 16 and 12 rebounds, while Rafa
Martinez added 12 points, Stefan Markovic 10. Read more 
BC
Donetsk started the Eurocup season in style by beating Hapoel Jerusalem
80-71 in their Group A contest. Dmytro Gliebov scored 15, Vule
Avdalovic 14 and Michael Lee grabbed 13 rebounds to help lead the
winners. The game was tied at 43-43 midway through the third quarter,
but Gliebov and Avdalovic heated up and put the game away. Donetsk was
strong underneath – it outrebounded Hapoel 46-35 and got 5 blocked
shots from Viacheslav Kravtsov – and benefitted from Jerusalem’s awful
outside shooting (3 of 16 for three-points; 18.8%). Ramel Curry added
11 for the winners. D.J. Strawberry paced Jerusalem with 22 points and
Yuval Naimy scored 17. Read more 
Spartak
St. Petersburg got the first win of the 10th anniversary Eurocup season
by downing Cedevita Zagreb 73-56 at Yubileyni Sport Palace Tuesday in
Group G. The guests from Croatia tried to escape early in the game with
a 0-11 run for an early 9-point lead, but Spartak responded with a 19-5
charge - during which Patrick Beverley scored 17! - to even the score
by halftime and put St. Petersburg ahead 37-31 early in the third
quarter. Chris Warren scored a layup, but another deadly 11-0 Spartak
run pushed Cedevita farther behind, 48-33, and allowed Spartak to pick
up an important win. Beverley led the way for the winners with 21
points in an excellent shooting performance. Read more 
Coming
off an extraordinary Eurocup debut season, Torin Francis is now ready
to lead Alba Berlin under the boards. Francis shined in the 2010-11
Eurocup Last 16 with Panellinios, averaging 15.7 points and 8.2
rebounds in 6 games. An aggressive, versatile player, Francis will be
Alba's physical presence in the paint. Center Daniel Kickert enters his
fourth Eurocup season right at the prime of his career. Kickert is a
mobile big man with deep range, mobility and determination. He led
Turow to reach the Polish League finals last season and has become his
team's leader under the rims. Expect Kickert to do better than ever in
the 2011-12 Eurocup. Read more 
Group
G features more Euroleague winners than you might expect to see and all
of them are eager to add Eurocup crowns to their resumes. Two of them
standout for their multiple accomplishments: Spartak guard Yotam
Halperin and Cedevita big man Matjaz Smodis. Halperin is a two-time
Euroleague champs and a veteran of six Final Fours with two teams. The
combo-guard was a 2007-08 All-Euroleague Second Team selection. Smodis
is a three-time winner with seven Final Four appearances. He was a
member of the 2006-07 All-Euroleague Second Team. These two stars are
surely familiar with one another – They squared off in the Euroleague
title game in 2004 and 2008. Read more 
An
efficient center in his fourth Eurocup season, JP Batista is Le Mans'
main reference in the paint. His solid post skills, effective mid-range
jumpers and team-oriented attitude helps Le Mans in many ways. Batista
reached the Eurocup final with L. Rytas in 2007 and has the chance to
face his former team in this year's Eurocup regular season. Rado Rancik
is set to play his fifth consecutive Eurocup season with four different
teams - Nymburk, Benetton, Galatasaray and now Azovmash. An all-time
top 20 scorer in competition history, Rancik will offer one-on-one
skills, intensity and outstanding winning mentality. Read more 
A
young veteran at age 26, Keith Simmons enters his third season with
Banvit with the chance to face one of his former teams, Fraport
Skyliners. Athletic, intense and ready, Simmons is a good defensive
player that reads passing lines very well. He is a slasher who thrives
in transition and can help on the boards due to his jumping skills.
Lokomotiv Kuban is a Eurocup newcomer but has a very experienced point
guard in Lionel Chalmers, who returns the competition for the first
time since 2008. Chalmers enters his second season with Loko, to which
he arrived after leading the 2009-10 Russian League in scoring (19
ppg.) with Enisey. Far from being a scorer, Chalmers is a steals
specialist and a great on-the-ball defender, too. Read more 
Despite
being away from the competition in the last two years, Todor Stoykov of
Lukoil Academic is still the Eurocup's all-time top scorer with 1,040
points. Considering the next active player is Rado Rancik of Azovmash -
ranked 19th at 637 points -, Stoykov has a good chance to add some
distance in the scoring standings and keep showing that his deep range,
driving skills and outstanding leadership is out of the question. An
All-Eurocup second team selection last season, Nik Caner-Medley plays
the competition with a third different Spanish team. Caner-Medley
thrives in competitive environments, so expect him to shine brightly in
his new team, offering power, strength and outstanding winning
mentality. Read more 
Hello,
basketball fans! The Eurocup Fab Five Challenge is back for the 2011-12
season and it open tomorrow, October 27! It is fun, unpredictable, easy
to play and very addictive, so beware. Since players can switch levels
on any given week, Fab Five players have a lot of alternatives. The way
it works is quite simple - pick a player from each of the five groups
and whoever earns the most points wins the weekly prize. The overall
winner is the team with the highest accumulated score. Last season's
winner was Arale Weisberg of Israel, who will try to defend his throne
in the 2011-12 season! Read more 
A
veteran swingman in his second Eurocup season, Jason Dourisseau hopes
to make the most out of his experience to help GasTerra Flames in the
competition. Always ready to help on the boards, Dourisseau is an
excellent defensive player with good feel for steals, as well as a good
athlete who can score in many ways. Lamayne Wilson of CEZ Nymburk
enters his fourth Eurocup season with as many teams. He helped
Budivelnik to reach the Quarterfinals last season and wants to take
Nymburk even higher. A great three-point shooter with size, athleticism
and speed, Wilson is a natural-born mismatch that knows the competition
better than almost anyone around. Read more 
With
a Turkish Airlines Euroleague season under his belt, blue-collar power
forward Randal Falker returns to the Eurocup ready to have a bigger
impact in the competition. Falker is in its fourth season with Cholet
and was one of the best per-minute rebounders in the Euroleague last
season. He will keep cleaning the boards in the 2011-12 Eurocup. A
former Euroleague winner, Marcus Goree of PAOK returns to the Eurocup
for the first time since 2003-04. Strong, talented and with solid
fundamentals around the basket, Goree will offer PAOK his experience,
post skills and mid-range jumpers. At age 34, Goree has a good chance
to shine in the Eurocup. Read more 
BC
Donetsk has looked for experienced players to do well right away in its
Eurocup debut season. The club did not hesitate to find a reliable
point guard in Vule Avdalovic, right at the prime of his career at age
30. His court sense, high basketball IQ and experience - he reached the
Eurocup Final Eight with Valencia Basket in 2009 - will be very
valuable to this team. Despite seeing limited playing time, Moshe
Mizrahi can inspire Hapoel Migdal to reach high in this Eurocup season.
Mizrahi lifted the then-called ULEB Cup trophy with Hapoel in 2004,
going against all odds. His know-how could be essential for the Israeli
powerhouse. Read more 
