Three road warriors shake up Eurocup Group B
Half of the teams in the 7DAYS EuroCup played their finals games of 2021 on Tuesday, and the results saw three road warriors shake things up in Group B. Buducnost left France with a victory over Bourg that sent it alone atop the group – at least for one day. Reyer was victorious in Patras to climb into the top half of the standings. And Cedevita stunned Valencia to end a five-game losing streak. Bursaspor edged Ulm in the Round 8 opener to become the only team in Group B to protect its home floor with only one game – Gran Canaria vs. Virtus – left to be played on Wednesday. In Tuesday’s lone Group A contest, Metropolitans outlasted Andorra to end a two-game skid. On Wednesday, Lokomotiv hosts Partizan with first place in that group at stake.
Frutti Extra Bursaspor 68-66 ratiopharm Ulm
Frutti Extra Bursaspor snapped a three-game losing streak by winning a thrilling back-and-forth battle 68-66 at home over ratiopharm Ulm. Bursaspor led by 13 points late in the second quarter before Ulm went on a 0-20 run spanning halftime. The hosts answered with the next 13 points and never let Ulm get back ahead to improve to 3-4 in Group B. Derek Needham and Allerik Freeman led the way with 20 points each, and Egemen Guven chipped in 8 points and six rebounds. Ulm, which had won four of its last five games, dropped to 4-4 despite Jaron Blossomgame scoring 16 points and Cristiano Felicio adding 12 points and eight rebounds.
Promitheas Patras 68-78 Umana Reyer Venice
Umana Reyer Venice used a late explosion to overcome Promitheas Patras 68-78. A low-scoring first half saw Promitheas take a series of small leads without ever being allowed to feel comfortable. Promitheas opened the second half with a 10-0 burst, but Reyer fought back with its own 0-10 run to go ahead 51-52 with ten minutes left. It stayed close in the fourth quarter until Reyer produced a 0-15 run in three minutes to seal the win. Mitchell Watt bagged a double-double for Reyer with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Victor Sanders and Michael Bramos scored 13, and Jeff Brooks added 12. Jerai Grant led the hosts with 19 points, Kendrick Ray scored 17, and Dimitris Agravanis had 14. Promitheas drops to 2-6 while Reyer improves to 4-4.
Boulogne Metropolitans 92 81-74 MoraBanc Andorra
Boulogne Metropolitans 92 took charge in the second half and held on to beat MoraBanc Andorra 81-74 on Tuesday night at Palais des sports Marcel-Cerdan. The hosts trailed by nine early in the third quarter before Lahaou Konate scored 7 in a 9-0 run as Metropolitans outscored Andorra 46-30 over the final 18 minutes. Vince Hunter scored 16 and blocked three shots to lead Metropolitans, which ended a two-game skid and improved to 4-4. Keith Hornsby added 14 points and four assists, Will Cummings netted 12 points, and David Michineau had 11. Drew Crawford paced Andorra with 15 points, Clevin Hannah scored 12, Codi Miller-McIntyre tallied 11 points and five assists, and Oriol Pauli contributed 10 points. The loss ended Andorra’s modest two-game winning streak and dropped its record to 5-3.
Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 82-86 Buducnost VOLI Podgorica
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica bounced back from its home defeat against Gran Canaria in Round 7. It escaped from the Ekinox with a valuable 82-86 road win against Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse on Tuesday night. The visitors built an 18-point lead early after the break, but Bourg came back and made it a one-possession game, 68-70, in the last period. Justin Cobbs came to the rescue, scoring 11 of Buducnost’s last 16 points to pave the way for the win. Cobbs was the guests’ top scorer with 24 points, to which he added six assists for a PIR of 31. D.J. Seeley followed him with 21 points, and Willie Reed posted 15 points and eight boards to help Buducnost improve to 6-2. Alexandre Chassang had career-highs in points (15) and PIR (20 to set the tone for Bourg, which dropped to 2-6. Maxime Courby also netted 15 points to achieve his career-best, while C.J. Harris, Rasheed Sulaimon, and Maxime Roos contributed 13, 12, and 11 points, respectively, in defeat.
Valencia Basket 85-97 Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana ended its five-game losing skid with a convincing 85-97 victory over Valencia Basket on the road in Group B. Jaka Blazic paced six Cedevita scorers in double figures with 24 points. At the same time, Yogi Farrell collected 15 points, seven assists, and two steals. Edo Muric added 15 points, Jacob Pullen 13, Zach Auguste 11, and Melvin Ejim finished with 10 points in Cedevita’s first 7DAYS EuroCup win since Round 2 on October 27. Valencia saw its three-game winning streak come to an end and fell to 4-3. The club was without its head coach Joan Penarroya, who was unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols. Sam Van Rossom scored a team-high 13 points off the bench, Klemen Prepelic netted 12 points, and both Xabi Lopez-Arostegui and Martin Hermannsson had 10 points.