|
|
2009-10 Euroleague, phase by phase
 The Qualifying Rounds are over and the Euroleague is complete with two teams that earned their way into the regular season over the weekend. Appropriately enough, those teams were the next-in-line after last season's domestic results in two of Europe's biggest basketball countries - France and Greece. And in both cases, the teams took first-game wins in Qualifying Round 2 on Tuesday and then held on for series victories on aggregate points in Game 2. The team that had to survive its second game on the road was Maroussi Costa Coffee, which lost 75-70 at Alba Berlin on Sunday but won their series by 4 points anyway thanks to a bigger Game 1 victory. Maroussi joins the Euroleague in regular season Group C to play CSKA Moscow, Caja Laboral, Maccabi Electra, Lottomatica Roma and Union Olimpija. Two nights earlier, it was much the same scenario as Etente Orleanaise lost to visiting Benetton Basket 80-82, but won their series by 7 points thanks to a 9-point win in Game 1. Orleans joins in regular season Group B, which also has Olympiacos, Partizan, Unicaja, Efes Pilsen and Lietuvos Rytas.
|
|
|
Qualifying Round 1, Game 1 |
|
The 2009-10 Euroleague season kicked off with four close games in the first qualifying round on Tuesday. All four home teams - Aris BSA 2003, BK Ventspils, Spirou Basket and Le Mans - registered respective first leg wins but none of them was by more than 5 points, which leaves all chances open for the second leg this Friday. The winner by aggregate score after the two games in each series will advance to the second qualifying round next week.
|
|
|
|
Qualifying Round 1, Game 2 |
|
If all four home teams struck first in Game 1 of each series on Tuesday, winning by between 2 and 5 points, just three days later, in Game 2, their opponents struck back even harder, winning by double-digits each and by an average of 20.5 points each. In the end, those blowout second-game winners - Maroussi, Alba Berlin, Entente Orleanaise and Benetton - are going to Qualifying Round 2 next week to decide which two of them will reach the Euroleague regular season.
|
|
|
|
Qualifying Round 2, Game 1 |
|
A pair of huge takeover runs proved the difference on Tuesday as two teams took nine-point leads after he opening games of their Qualifying Round 2 series, effectively putting one foot each in the upcoming Euroleague Regular Season. The shocker was visiting Entente Orleanaise bowling past Benetton 73-82. n Tuesday's other series opener, Maroussi Costa Coffee beat Alba Berlin 79-70 at home in Athens.
|
|
|
|
Qualifying Round 2, Game 2 |
|
The Qualifying Rounds are over and the Euroleague is complete with two teams that earned their way into the regular season over the weekend. The team that had to survive its second game on the road was Maroussi, which lost 75-70 at Alba Berlin on Sunday but won their series by 4 points anyway thanks to a bigger Game 1 victory. Two nights earlier, it was much the same scenario as Etente Orleanaise lost to visiting Benetton Basket 80-82, but won their series by 7 points thanks to a 9-point win in Game 1.
|
|
|
|
RESULTS
|
| ROUND 1 |
|
Spirou Basket
|
|
|
|
Entente Orleanaise
|
|
|
BK Ventspils
|
|
|
|
Benetton Basket
|
|
|
|
|
Aris BSA 2003
|
|
|
|
Maroussi BC
|
|
|
| ROUND 2 |
|
Benetton Basket
|
|
|
|
Entente Orleanaise
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|