EuroCup: Semifinals matchups are now set

The remaining competitors in the 2012-13 EuroCup completed one more round Wednesday on their way to determining an overall champion. The four quarterfinal matchups finished their second games and with the scores compiled, the four clubs that are moving on to the semifinals have been set. In semifinal A, BC Budivelnik Kiev will play Uxue Bilbao Basket, and in semifinal B, Valencia Basket will play PBC Lokomotiv Kuban.

In the quarterfinals, Lokomotiv Kuban won both contests against Buducnost VOLI, by substantial margins, and will move on to face Valencia Basket; Uxue Bilbao Basket overcame a four-point loss in the first game of the quarters with a 23-point win at home to advance to the semis against BC Budivelnik Kiev; Valencia Basket defeated Unics Kazan in both games and will meet up with Lokomotiv Kuban; BC Budivelnik Kiev erased a nine-point deficit from game 1 with a 17-point win in game 2 to advance to the next round against Uxue Bilbao Basket.

QF Group A
Budivelnik Kiev – Spartak St. Petersburg, 73:56
Artur Drozdov picked up a double-double in Game 2 of the Group A quarterfinal where his club, Budivelnik Kiev, earned a slot in the semifinals with a 73:56 win over Spartak St. Petersburg. The win countered the 11-point loss in Game 1 that they were dealt by Spartak in St. Petersburg.

Spartak opened the contest with a six-point advantage after the first quarter, 13:19, but Budivelnik countered that with a huge second quarter (24:9) that gave them a nine-point margin at the half. The guests cut the lead to five in the third as they outscored their hosts 17:21 in the third 10, setting up the fourth with the score standing at 54:49. Budivelnik dominated the fourth like they did in the second, putting up an additional 12 on their margin to close out the contest up 17, 73:56.

BC Budivelnik Kiev will now face Bilbao in the semifinals.

Malcolm Delaney was lead man on the Budivelnik squad with 17 points (9 for 9 from the free throw line), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Michailis Anisimov contributed 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. Drozdov combined for 12 points and 12 rebounds in earning his double-double.

Loukas Mavrokefalides was game-high for Spartak with 21 points. Zach Wright added 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocked shots. Vladimir Dragicevic dropped in 11 points, as well as tallying 5 steals on the night.

Game 1 Score: Spartak St. Petersburg – Budivelnik Kiev, 83:72

QF Group B
Uxue Bilbao Basket – Ratiopharm Ulm, 101:78
At the end of Game 1, Ratiopharm Ulm held a four-point advantage over Uxue Bilbao Basket. With the game shifting to Bilbao’s home court, it was thought that the final minutes would come down to a scramble for not only the contest, but also the semifinal slot. Unfortunately for Ratiopharm, this game was over at halftime as the hosts took the lead in the second and just kept pouring it on until the final horn sounded on a 23-point win.

Bilbao will now face BC Budivelnik Kiev in the semifinals.

Nikos Zisis was game-high for Bilbao with 23 points and a PIR of 25. Lamont Hamilton added 21 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He also ended up with a PIR of 27. Roger Grimau contributed 13 points, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocked shots. Fran Pilepic added 12 points to the win.

John Bryant once again led the Ratiopharm squad, this time with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 blocked shot, and a PIR of 29. Per Guenther contributed 19 points, and 3 assists. Steven Esterkamp dropped in 13 points, and Allan Ray added 10.

Game 1 Score: Ratiopharm Ulm – Uxue Bilbao Basket, 85:81

QF Group C
Lokomotiv Kuban – Buducnost VOLI, 90:65
Lokomotiv Kuban enjoyed an 18-point margin from Game 1, so Buducnost VOLI knew they had their work cut out for them as they traveled to Krasnodar, Russia, for Game 2. Unfortunately for Buducnost, the locals were determined to put a stamp of domination on their two-game series, a series that they won by a total score of 162:119. Simas Jasaitis led Kuban with 23 points and a PIR of 28, which should earn him MVP honors for the week.

Game 2 opened with Kuban setting the tone and nearly doubling their opponent’s score, 29:16. Buducnost was able to counter in the second frame and get back five of the points they gave up in the first, 16:21, to send the teams to their halftime break with Kuban up 45:37. The hosts got the five back they gave up in the second, and them some, in the third, outscoring Buducnost 26:16, to send the game into the last 10 with Buducnost with Kuban up 71:53. In the last 10 minutes, the Russian club added another seven points to the difference, to come out with a 90:65 victory and a spot in the semifinals.

Lokomotiv Kuban will now face Valencia Basket in the semifinals.

Simas Jasaitis was game-high with 23 points and a PIR of 28. Derrick Brown added 17, Richard Hendrix dropped in 13, and Mantas Kalnietis contributed 10 points and 6 assists.

Aleksa Popovic was team-high for Buducnost with 14.

Game 1 Score: Buducnost VOLI – Lokomotiv Kuban, 54:72

QF Group D
Unics Kazan – Valencia Basket, 71:68
In Game 1 of the Valencia-Unics quarterfinal match up, Valencia took the early lead in the series with a 10-point win over their Russian opponents. With the series shifting to Kazan for Game 2, Valencia was going to have to come in and protect their 10-point lead and hopefully add to the total.

This contest was close from start and lasted the entire game. Unics put up a six-point advantage after the first quarter, outscoring Valencia 20:14. The guests got two back in the second to head into the locker room down 35:31. In the third frame, Valencia was able to cut the margin even further, to one-point, 54:53. The key for Valencia was protecting the lead they had from Game 1, now they just needed to run the clock out. In the fourth Valencia scored early and built a seven-point lead 54:61, but Unics countered with some long-balls and fought back in the competition to retake the lead, only it was too little, too late for Unics and Valencia was moving on to the semis.

Valencia will now face Lokomotiv Kuban Basket in the semifinals.

Pau Ribas was team-high for Valencia with 16 points, Rafa Martinez added 11, and the duo of Justin Doellman and Thomas Keliati dropped in 10 points each.

Chuck Eidson was game-high for Unics with 18 points, largely due to shooting 11 for 12 from the free throw line. Ian Vougioukas added 11, and Vladimir Veremeenko dropped in 10.

Game 1 Score: Valencia Basket – Unics Kazan, 80:70

Semifinal Matchups:
Uxue Bilbao Basket – BC Budivelnik Kiev
PBC Lokomotiv Kuban – Valencia Basket