Eurocup Quarterfinals: Munich and Trento win
We are down to the last eight clubs as the Eurocup Quarterfinals get underway this week, with the path to the final now in sight. There were two games to open the week’s action on Tuesday, with a further two to take place on Wednesday, with all ties to be decided next week in the return legs.
It was a night for the home teams. Bayern Munich downed Galatasaray in Germany via a ten point deficit, while an all-Italian affair saw Trento put ten points on Milan to open the door for the semi-finals.
FC Bayern Munich vs. Galatasaray, 99-89
Bayern Munich will be protecting a 10 point lead when it heads to the caldron of Istanbul next week, thanks to a solid home win against a tricky Galatasaray team. The German club (a Euroleague drop out this season) has the tools to go all the way, but Galatasaray also showed a level of consistency on the road to show that this Eurocup Quarterfinal is not dusted yet.
In a high quality game, both teams managed to break 20 points through each quarter, with Bayern plundering 29 in the first frame to set up the victory. Galatasaray edged the second 21-22, but heading into the long break, the Bavarian hosts led 50-44. The buckets continued to rain in the third act, and Munich edged the period 24-23 to make it 74-67 through thirty minutes. The home team simply kept hitting net, stopping the visitors from rallying in the fourth quarter.
Deon Thompson led the win with 20 points and 9 rebounds, while Dusko Savanovic added 19 points and Alex Renfroe 17 points and 5 assists. John Bryant was hot with 13 points and 9 boards.
Vladimir Vicov paced the losing effort with a game high 22 points, followed by Stephane Lasme with 18 points and 6 rebounds, and Errick McCollum with 15 points, 5 boards, and 7 scoring passes.
Dolomiti Enrgia Trento vs. EA7 Armani Milan, 83-73
In an all-Italian clash in the Eurocup Quarterfinal, Trento gave itself a huge chance against Italian champs Milan with a ten point home win. Euroleague dropout Milan is very capable of turning it around next week, but a double digit lead is huge for Trento.
It was close in the first half, but the hosts stole the first frame 21-19 and extended with a 24-22 second act to lead 45-41 as the players headed into the locker room at the midway buzzer. The game was decided in the third stanza as the hosts pushed through a 21-12 that made it 66-53 through the final split. Milan attempted to fight back in the fourth, but Trento shut the game down late on and eased to victory.
Giuseppe Poeta set the scoring tone for Trento with 20 points, while Davide Pascolo had 19 points and 9 rebounds. Julian Wright had a double-double of 13 points and 10 boards, while Trent Lockett and Dominique Sutton grabbed 12 points apiece.
Mantas Kalnietis led Milan with 16 points, followed by Milan Macvan with 15 points.