Dijon’s defense too much to handle for Nymburk in FIBA Championsleague
French team JDA Dijon showcased their defensive prowess by stifling ERA Nymburk (Czech Republic) to 2-0 in Group B. At the same time, Tofas Bursa had a victorious BCL debut at Keravnos, and Falco Szombathely held off Pszczolka Start Lublin to start the season on the right foot.
Let’s have a closer look at all three Tuesday games, the first day of action in Week 3 of the 2020-21 Regular Season.
Group B
JDA Dijon turned heads on Tuesday night by holding ERA Nymburk scoreless during a seven-minute stretch in the second half and clinching an 85-61 statement win at home over the Czech champions.
The French team overpowered ERA Nymburk inside and outscoring them 44 to 24 in the paint.
Big man Alexandre Chassang paved the way for Dijon with a huge 22-point, 13-rebound double-double, and 5 assists, while Chase Simon chipped in with 20 points and 4 boards.
Vojtech Hruban, who finished with a game-high 26 points for Nymburk, poured in his first 16 points in less than 11 minutes, and Nymburk led for most of the first half, but never by more than five points.
Axel Julien put Dijon ahead 30-28 with a rare dunk 7:34 from the end of the second quarter, and Chase Simon knocked down a triple to stretch the hosts’ lead to 47-38.
Nymburk reduced that nine-point gap after the interval, but Abdoulaye Loum scored with a layup just before the 5-minute mark in the third period to instigate a 13-0 Dijon run for the French side to extend the gap to 67-50 by the end of the quarter.
Dijon kept the screws on defense tight throughout the final stanza and claimed the 24-point win in rather comfy fashion, as they held Numburk to just 34 percent shooting from the field.
In the other group B game yesterday, Tofas Bursa (Turkey) used a big third quarter to overcome a double-digit deficit and celebrate an 84-74 win at Keravnos (Cyprus) in the Turkish team’s maiden BCL encounter.
The visitors scored the first 8 points of the night, but the Cypriot side soon assumed control of proceedings and led by as many as 10 points, 33-23, midway through the second frame.
D. J. White, though scored 7 points in quick succession to breathe some much-needed life into Tofas and allow them to trim down the gap before the break.
DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell scored with a layup 5:40 from the end of the third frame to put Tofas back ahead, 46-45, and the visitors closed the period on a 20-8 run to claim a lead that proved unassailable in the fourth stanza.
Akoon-Purcell paved the way for Tofas with 24 points on 9 of 14 shooting from the field and 8 rebounds, while D. J. White had 17 points, 2 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block. Jesse Hunt had 22 points and 5 boards for Keravnos in defeat.
Group D
Falco Szombathely from Hungary overcame opening night jitters, shot 90 percent from the free-throw line, and prevailed 84-75 in their season opener after holding off a tenacious Pszczolka Start Lublin (Poland) down the stretch.
Lublin led for most of the first quarter, but Szilard Benke knocked down a triple right before the end of the period to lift Falco to a 21-19 lead, and the hosts never abolished the driver’s seat again.
Evan Bruinsma poured in 15 points on 7 of 10 shooting from two-point range by halftime, and Falco stretched the gap to as many as 12 points.
However, Lublin, who had lost their season opener to Casademont Zaragoza two weeks earlier, was not planning to roll over and started chipping away at the gap after the break, reducing the deficit to 70-68 halfway through the fourth quarter.
Zoltan Perl, though scored with a layup off a Bruinsma offensive board and, after Lublin wasted consecutive possessions, Kyan Anderson made it a 6-point gap from the free-throw line.
Bruinsma, who had only played in the BCL qualifiers with his previous teams, had an excellent debut in the league with 21 points and 6 boards, while Benke finished with a double-double of 12 points and a BCL career-high 11 rebounds. For Lublin, Sherron Dorsey-Walker had 17 points and 4 assists in a losing effort.