At 1-3 and 2-2, respectively, in Group D, Hapoel Gilboa Galil and Cedevita Zagreb still have a good shot of making it to the Last 16 round with a victory in their Tuesday matchup, though for the Israeli squad, it’s a must win game if they wish to stay in the race. While the hosts’ only victory of the Regular Season came precisely against Cedevita in the opener, the Croatian side saw their two game winning streak snapped last week in Athens versus Aris, and need to win to make up for lost ground against the Group leaders. A little vengeance factor also might be in play, as the opening home loss really set Cedevita back in the hunt for the next round. The Week 1 result came courtesy of Jack McClinton, who scored 18 points to lead six Galil scorers in double figures, and Rodney Green’s near triple double. Dagan Yivzori added 16 points for Galil, which shot 10 for 19 from downtown and outrebounded Cedevita 28-41 to help mask the visitors’ 16 turnovers. The hosts shouldn’t have it easier this time on the road, and will look to Trent Plaisted and Corsley Edwards to set the tone inside, where Ido Kozikaro stands as the lone pure center for Hapoel, even though it’s forwards Warren Carter, Green and Tyler Wilkerson who take care of business on the boards. Wilkerson and Carter added 15 points apiece in Week 1 and playmaker Gal Mekel had 11 points and 7 assists. It will be interesting to see if Dontaye Draper has sized up Mekel in their second head to head battle, as the Cedevita point guard totaled the same points but 2 less assists in their previous matchup. Backcourt mate Marino Bavdaric and forwards Vedran Vukusic and Damjan Rudez should lead the charge in the scoring department, though shooting guard Hrvoje Kovacevic did go off for 16 in the opener and Robert Troha also added 10 points. Galil needs to find a way to win down the stretch, however, as they led Azovmash in almost every category last week, except the most important one: scoring.
REFEREES: Recep Ankarali, Milija Vojinovic, Marius Ciulin
Monday, December 13, 2010
Eurocupbasketball.com
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