Tuesday night saw the first four games of the second leg of the Last 32 match-ups in the Eurocup, and this means we have four teams already lined up for the quarter final. The remaining four teams will join them at the conclusion of this round on Wednesday the 2nd of March but for now, let’s have a look at the teams who are marching forward in the Eurocup.
FC Bayern Munich 84 – ALBA Berlin 75
This really was a winner takes all tie in Munich after the first leg ended in a draw and the hosts prevailed on an exciting night in Germany. The away team took the lead early on in the game but at half-time, the hosts were ahead by 10 points. Bayern remained in the lead throughout the game and although ALBA pushed hard, they never got in a position to take the lead.
With less than 4 minutes on the clock, there was just three points in the game but the hosts enjoyed a 7-0 scoring run which sealed the game. Dusko Savanovic grabbed 17 points, as did Alex Renfroe, with the hosts sailing home comfortably in the end. Anton Gavel provided 15 points and Paul Zipser served up 10 points in the win. Will Cherry grabbed 18 points in the loss while Jordan Taylor offered 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in the defeat.
EWE Baskets Oldenburg 64 – Strasbourg 93
The German side came into their home tie with a 2 point advantage but they were blown away in the second leg with Strasbourg carrying out a demolition job. A 0-11 scoring run in the opening quarter set the tone for the evening and by half-time, the gap was 13 points. Oldenburg managed to get to within 9 points in the third quarter but again, this was the setting for Strasbourg to race again and the lead was quickly at 20 points.
Mardy Collins grabbed 16 points and 7 assists, Rod Beaubois provided 16 points, Kyle Weems grabbed 14 points, Louis Campbell provided 10 points and there was a double-double for Matt Howard with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Klemen Prepelic offered 13 points for the hosts and Vaughn Duggins provided 10 points in the loss.
Dolomiti Energia Trento 79 – CAI Zaragoza 65
The Italian team knew that they were trailing by two points from the first leg but a strong home performance saw Trento celebrating long before the night was night. The opening was fairly even with the lead changing hands a few times and at the the break, the score was level at 33-33. However, a 14-4 scoring run in the third quarter tipped the balance in the favour of the Italians and they pushed on from that point. At 55-44, the gap never became less than 6 points, more than enough to cover the two point deficit from the opening game.
Julian Wright provide 21 points and 8 rebounds, Davide Pascolo offered up 16 points while Jamar Sanders grabbed 11 points, with 9 coming in the vital third quarter period. Andres Forrway was also able to add 11 points in the win. For the Spanish side, Joan Sastre grabbed 16 points, Isaac Fotu provided 12 points, all in the opening half, and Henk Norel offered up 10 points.
Galatasaray Odeabank Istanbul 93 – Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir 65
Galatasaray were trailing by 3 after the first leg but a dominant performance against their Turkish rivals ensured that they qualified with a bit to spare, taking the two-legged tie by 25 points. An 11-0 scoring run in the second quarter ensured that the hosts were on their way and they were 43-32 ahead at half-time. This was enhanced in the opening exchanges of the third quarter and at the start of the third quarter, the gap was stretched to 79-54.
Errick McCollum provided 21 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds but over the course of the night, 6 Galatasaray players grabbed double figures. Blake Schilb offered up 17 points, Vladimir Micov and Stephane Lasme both grabbed 13 points, Caleb Green provided 13 points and Chuck Davis picked up 11 points. For the losing team, Kenny Gabriel provided 18 points and Can Altintig provided 10 points.
The quarter-final ties are shaping up as:
- FC Bayern Munich v Galatsaray Odeabank Istanbul
- Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas or Limoges v Unics Kazan or Stelmet Zielona Gora
- Strasbourg v Zenit St Petersburg or Nizhny Novgorod
- EA7 Emporio Armani Milan or Banvit Bandirma v Dolomiti Energia Trento
The quarter final games will be played over two legs and the games will be played out between March 15th and March 23rd.
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