Champions League Wraps Up Round 1
The Basketball Champions League wrapped up Round 1 of its 2018-19 regular season on Wednesday with a stacked slate of nine games. It was a mixed bag but for the most part, there were some tightly contested games, one of which went all the way into overtime.
Group A
UCAM Murcia 74-62 Le Mans Sarthe Basket
The Spanish club employed some sticky defense to get past their guests from France. It was a tough game for both sides as neither team could get its offense properly in gear. Shots were not finding their mark and the game boiled down to a grind fest on the defensive end of the floor.
It was in the third quarter that the hosts made their move via an 11-0 run. Milton paced UCAM Murcia with 14 points, while Cameron Clark led Le Mans with 16 points of his own.
BK Ventspils 78-99 Anwil Wloclawek
This was not a fun game to watch for the Ventspils fans in attendance to support their team. Anwil took control of the game early and did not look back. They were clearly the better team and dominated Ventspils on all fronts. The Polish club got a huge game out of Michal Michalak who busted out with a game-high 22 points.
Banvit BK 89-76 MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg
Banvit protected their home court successfully in this with some hustle on the glass and some intelligent defense. Ludwigsburg seized the early advantage but Banvit managed to post a big rally in the second quarter to gain control of the game. From there, Banvit stuck to their guns and pounded the rock in the low post for some easy baskets.
Jordan Morgan was an unstoppable force for Banvit, recording 27 points for the winners.
Group B
Hapoel Holon 93-69 Fribourg United
Hapoel Holon crushed Fribourg via a relentless assault from beyond the 3-point arc. The home team rained down 17 triples in this game. Khalif Wyatt accounted for five of those treys, helping him on his way to his game-high 21 points. Fribourg’s perimeter defense was almost non-existent. Good ball movement allowed Hapoel Holon to continuously find their open man, who more often than not, nailed the 3-pointer.
BK Opava 74-67 JSF Nanterre
This is the first game for Opava in the Champions League and they made a splash via an upset win at home over French club Nanterre.
Opava set the tone early on and got to a strong start with a 28-16 advantage in the first period. They played it smart and thwarted every attempted comeback Nanterre could muster. Jakub Sirina led Opava with 15 points and six assists, making sure that his teammates were involved in the offense.
Here are the other results from Groups C and D.
Group C
Brose Baskets Bamberg 88-89 Montakit Fuenlabrada
AEK Athens 75-79 Hapoel Jerusalem
Group D
Virtus Bologna 83-78 (OT) Neptunas Klapeida
Unet Oostende 84-93 Promitheas Athens