Basketball Champions League: Quarter-Finals underway
We are at the Quarter-Finals stage of the first ever FIBA Basketball Champions League. The first two Quarter-Finals ties tipped off on Tuesday, with the other two to be played on Wednesday. Ludwigsburg took a major step towards the last four with a road success over Banvit. The Germans can seal the deal at home in seven days’ time. The other tie is wide open after ASVEL Lyon and Iberostar Tenerife played out a draw in France.
Banvit vs. MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, 87-92
Ludwigsburg took advantage of its Quarter-Finals series with an important road win over Banvit in Turkey. The German club now has home advantage in the second game next week. With that in mind, Ludwigsburg will be confident of making the final four. In this contest, the visitors drained 29 points in the first quarter for a four-point advantage. Banvit struggled to get in the game, allowing Ludwigsburg a 17-23 second frame that made it 42-52 halftime lead. A 20-22 third act put more daylight between the teams, although Banvit rallied in the fourth to make it interesting down the stretch.
Kelvin Martin topped the winning effort with 19 points, while Gasper Vidmar led the hosts with a game high 20 points. The guests impressed from the field with 48% from beyond the arc.
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ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne vs. Iberostar Tenerife, 62-62
It is all square after in the other FIBA Basketball Champions League Quarter-Final as ASVEL and Tenerife played out a first leg draw. Both teams will be confident in Spain next week, but with home advantage Tenerife will enter the game as narrow favourite. The Spanish club took a narrow lead in the first half and headed in for the long break 30-32 in front. A 22-13 third act by the hosts looked to have swung the momentum back to Lyon. However, Tenerife went again in the fourth and closed down the scoreboard to tie the game.
Marius Grigonis paced Tenerife with a game-high 16 points, while Aaron Doornekemp added 12 points and 7 rebounds.
Walter Hodge secured 12 points for Lyon, followed by Nikola Dragovic with 11 points and 8 boards.