April 8, 2016 - Eurocup Semifinals, Game 2 MVP: DJ Seeley, Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas
After
a long, tough season, two teams - Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul and
Strasbourg - prevailed and went all the way to the Eurocup Finals,
starting in a couple of weeks. Both teams advanced suffering a lot in
the last semifinals games in a week for the memories. It was so close
that Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas fell only two points short of
being in the final for the second consecutive season, as it still won
Game 2 against Galatasaray, overtime included, which allowed DJ Seeley
to become the last weekly MVP of the season with his index rating
performance of 28, his best individual performance ever in the
competition. Seeley netted 23 points, pulled 4 rebounds, dished 5
assists, had 1 steal and drew 7 fouls to be the best ranked player this
week. Following him, Davide Pascolo of Dolomiti Energia Trento with a
27 and Romain Duport of Strasbourg with a 24. Read more here.
April 6, 2016 - Semifinal, Game 2: it is crunch time!
It is decision time in the 2015-16 Eurocup! The
Eurocup semifinals will come to an end on Wednesday with two exciting
games. Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul holds a 14-point lead in its
series against Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas, which hosts Game 2 at
on Wednesday 21:30 CET. Two hours earlier, at 19:30 CET, Dolomiti
Energia Trento hosts Strasbourg with a six-point lead in its series.
Get ready for a critical day in the outcome of the competiton! Read
more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 2:
SEMIFINAL A
Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas vs. Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul 94-81
SEMIFINAL B
Dolomiti Energia Trento vs. Strasbourg 78-86
March 31, 2016 - Eurocup Semifinals, Game 1 MVP: Chuck Davis, Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul
The
road to the Eurocup Finals just entered it's last step with the semis.
Both series are still much alive after Game 1, but it is also true that
Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul is the team closer to reaching the final
step thanks to a 14- pointwin over Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas.
The leader behind a win that could prove decisive was Chuck Davis, who
thanks to his index rating performance of 29 earned weekly MVP honors.
Davis netted 18 points, pulled 10 rebounds, dished 4 assists, had 1
steal and 1 block and drew 2 fouls for a great all-around performance
in 28 minutes coming off the bench. Next in line among winning players
was Davis' teammate at Galatasaray Vladimir Micov plus Dolomiti Energia
Trento's Julian Wright, both with index rating performances of 23.
Strasbourg's Bangaly Fofana had a prominent 26 index, but his
performance did not earn his team a win against Trento. Read more here.
March 29, 2016 - Semifinal, Game 1: four teams, one goal!
The road to the 2016 Eurocup Finals is coming to the
end. Less than a week after the end of the Eurocup quarterfinal series,
the stage is set for the first leg of the home-and-away semifinals.
With one clash on Tuesday and one on Wednesday, get ready for the
excitement and drama.
Semifinal A: Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul vs. Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas
On Wednesday, Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul welcomes
Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas for their first semifinal game. The
only previous times these two teams met was in 2008, when Galatasaray
ousted Gran Canaria in the Eurocup Eighthfinals, thanks to a 99-74 win
at home in Game 1, and proceeded that season to its only previous
Eurocup Semifinals appearance.
Semifinal B: Strasbourg vs. Dolomiti Energia Trento
In the semifinals opener on Tuesday, Strasbourg
welcomes Dolomiti Energia Trento and Quarterfinal Game 2 MVP Dominique
Sutton. The two sides are in the midst of the most-successful
continental campaigns in their respective histories and now go against
each other for the first time ever.
Here is the schedule for Game 1:
SEMIFINAL A
Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul vs. Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas 89-75
SEMIFINAL B
Strasbourg vs. Dolomiti Energia Trento 68-74
March 28, 2016 - Inside the semifinals: Dolomiti Energia Trento vs. Strasbourg
A hand injury to Strasbourg big man Matt Howard
thrust the team's two most-experienced centers, Bangaly Fofana and
Romain Duport, into big roles in the quarterfinals. The two combined to
average 18.5 points on 15-of-21 shooting (71.4%), which included a pair
of threes by Dport, plus 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. With Howard unlikely
to return for the games against Trento, these two centers, who did not
shoulder much of a load early in the season, remain focal points for
Strasbourg. Of course Trento has a go-to- guy in the paint in Julian
Wright, who is second on the team in scoring (14.5 ppg.), rebounding
(5.6 rpg.), steals (1.5 spg.) and average index rating (16.8) and leads
the squad in blocks (1.2 bpg.) But Wright (2.03 meters) and his backup
Luca Lechthaler (2.06) will give up a lot of height to Fofana (2.12)
and Duport (2.18). This will surely be a matchup to follow. Read more here.
March 26, 2016 - Eurocup Semifinals at a glance
Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas vs. Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul
For the second consecutive season, Herbalife Gran
Canaria Las Palmas has reached the Eurocup Semifinals, and once again
it is the most successful of the last four teams with its 15-5 record.
Gran Canaria boasts an 8-2 road record and enters the semifinals on a
seven-game road winning streak, and five of those wins have been by a
double-digit margin. Head coach Aito Garcia Reneses has used 14
different players at least once in the starting lineup, but now uses a
10-man rotation. In the four games since the elimination rounds have
started, seven different players have scored at least once in double
figures. Gran Canaria is the highest scoring team in the semifinals
(85.3 ppg.), averages most assists (19.4 apg.), rebounds (36.5 rpg.)
and three-pointers (10.5). Big man Alen Omic is Gran Canaria’s top
scorer (13.8 ppg.) and rebounder (7.7 rpg.), but the team has plenty of
firepower on the outside. Pont guard Kevin Pangos averages 12.2 points
on 52.8% three-point shooting and dishes 5.1 assists; no player made
more threes this season than Sasu Salin (49), who averages 11.9 points
per game; and D.J. Seeley has been worth 11 points per night. With Brad
Newley, Pablo Aguilar and Eulis Baez each scoring at least 7 points per
game, Gran Canaria and its diverse solutions on offense will be hard to
stop.
Dolomiti Energia Trento vs. Strasbourg
In its first season in the competition, Dolomiti
Energia Trento has put together an impressive campaign and reached the
Eurocup Semifinals. Trento rides a three-game winning streak into the
semis during which it won each contest by at least 10 points. The team
has been strong at home with an 8-2 record, but has been especially
productive on the road, where its 87.1 points per game in third-best in
the competition. Trento leads the Eurocup in forced turnovers (16.7
TOpg.) and steals (9.1 spg.) and is the best of the semifinalists in
offensive rebounding (12.3). Big man Davide Pascolo is the team’s top
scorer (14.8 ppg.) and rebounder (5.7 rpg.) and one of three players
who posted at least 13 points plus 7 rebounds in the two-game
quarterfinals series. The other two are Julian Wright (14.5 ppg., 5.6
rpg.), the only player who started all 20 Eurocup games for Trento, and
in-form swingman Dominique Sutton, who picked up Eurocup Quarterfinals
Game 2 MVP honors for torching EA7 Emporio Armani Milan with 20 points,
8 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. Trento gets significant
contribution on the perimeter from Trent Lockett (10.8 ppg.), and
Jamarr Sanders (9.1 ppg.) who hopes to recover from an ankle sprain. In
his absence, veteran point guard Giuseppe Poeta stepped up with 16
points and 3.5 assists in the quarterfinal series, helping Trento join
Benetton Treviso as the only Italian teams to reach the competition’s
semifinals, and it now wants to become the first team from Italy to
contend for the Eurocup title. Read more here.
After
a long, tough season, two teams - Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul and
Strasbourg - prevailed and went all the way to the Eurocup Finals,
starting in a couple of weeks. Both teams advanced suffering a lot in
the last semifinals games in a week for the memories. It was so close
that Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas fell only two points short of
being in the final for the second consecutive season, as it still won
Game 2 against Galatasaray, overtime included, which allowed DJ Seeley
to become the last weekly MVP of the season with his index rating
performance of 28, his best individual performance ever in the
competition. Seeley netted 23 points, pulled 4 rebounds, dished 5
assists, had 1 steal and drew 7 fouls to be the best ranked player this
week. Following him, Davide Pascolo of Dolomiti Energia Trento with a
27 and Romain Duport of Strasbourg with a 24. Read more 
The
road to the Eurocup Finals just entered it's last step with the semis.
Both series are still much alive after Game 1, but it is also true that
Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul is the team closer to reaching the final
step thanks to a 14- pointwin over Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas.
The leader behind a win that could prove decisive was Chuck Davis, who
thanks to his index rating performance of 29 earned weekly MVP honors.
Davis netted 18 points, pulled 10 rebounds, dished 4 assists, had 1
steal and 1 block and drew 2 fouls for a great all-around performance
in 28 minutes coming off the bench. Next in line among winning players
was Davis' teammate at Galatasaray Vladimir Micov plus Dolomiti Energia
Trento's Julian Wright, both with index rating performances of 23.
Strasbourg's Bangaly Fofana had a prominent 26 index, but his
performance did not earn his team a win against Trento. Read more 
