Last 16 Game 1 - January 27, 2009 CET: 20:00 Local time: 20:00 - POLIDEPORTIVO MUNICIPAL "LA CASILLA"

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final 0-0
0-0 Semi-Final 0-0
0-0 Quarter Final 0-0
0-0 Last 16 0-0
6-0 Regular Season 3-3
6-0 Overall 3-3

Referees

Crew Chief
FACCHINI, FABIO, Italy
Referee
VYKLICKY, ROBERT, Czech Rep.
Umpire
RUTESIC, ZDRAVKO, Montenegro

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
80.2 Points 77.3
29.2 Rebounds 28.3
8.0 O. Rebounds 7.7
21.2 D. Rebounds 20.7
12.8 Assists 14.0
8.7 Steals 8.5
1.7 Blocks 1.2
14.5 Turnovers 13.5
59.6 % 2PT 53.2 %
43.9 % 3PT 38.5 %
73.3 % FT 76.7 %
82.3 Index 76.0

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
12.0 / SALGADO, JAVIER Points 16.7 / FENN, DARREN
6.4 / WEIS, FREDERIC Rebounds 5.0 / FENN, DARREN
1.2 / GUARDIA, SALVADOR OR 1.8 / FENN, DARREN
5.2 / WEIS, FREDERIC DR 3.2 / FENN, DARREN
3.3 / SALGADO, JAVIER Assists 4.2 / NEITZEL, DREW
1.5 / SALGADO, JAVIER Steals 1.3 / HESS, ADAM
0.8 / WEIS, FREDERIC Blocks 0.3 / JOHNSON, PAUL
2.7 / Blums Turnovers 2.8 / FENN, DARREN
80.0 % / Seibutis 2PT 75.0 % / JOHNSON, PAUL
85.7 % / Blums 3PT 70.0 % / MADRICH, DIRK
100.0 % / VAZQUEZ, PACO FT 88.9 % / McIntosh
13.7 / Banic Index 15.3 / HESS, ADAM

THE TAKE

Iurbentia Bilbao looks to continue its magical first season in Europe as it opens the Eurocup Last 16 at home against Artland Dragons. Head coach Txus Vidorreta's Spanish club was one of three teams to go undefeated in the regular season, putting together a 6-0 mark in Group H. Iurbentia fought off Buducnost for victories by 2 and 3 points while beating Nymburk and Hemofarm by an average of 16 points. Vidorreta's men ranked first in both two-point field goal percentage (59.6%) and three-point percentage (43.9%) to get the job done. Guard Javier Salgado came off the bench to lead Bilbao in scoring and assists. Swingman Renaldas Seibutis and forward Marko Banic are two other important offensive weapons, while guard Janis Blums proved he must be guarded at all times as he hit 12 of 14 three-pointers. And yet another shooter from the bench has been guard Predrag Savovic. A big key for Vidorreta has been veteran center Frederic Weis, who is doing the dirty work in the paint. Bilbao took a big step to solidifying its frontcourt by adding forward Damir Markota just before the Last 16 started. Trying to stop iurbentia will be Artland Dragons, which last season reached the final 16 teams in its first season in European action. Head coach Thorsten Leibenath took over the German team, which dropped to 1-3 in Group G but won at Fortitudo and against FMP to advance with a 3-3 record. The Dragons already had some unpleasant experiences against Spanish clubs in the regular season, losing by 17 points at Pamesa Valenica and 10 points at home against Valencia. Artland reached the Last 16 without the heart and soul of its team as forward Darius Hall went out early on with a broken finger, but could return during the Last 16. Leibenath has had a number of players acting in leadership roles, including several with Euroleague experience. Center Darren Fenn is leading the team in scoring and rebounding. Small forward Adam Hess is shooting the ball well and big man Dirk Madrich has been an excellent spark off the bench. Rookie point guard Drew Neitzel has been outstanding, too. Two other guards needed to help contain the Bilbao shooters are Lamont McIntosh and Will Blalock, neither of whom has been major source of scoring thus far. And a key could be forward Chad Prewitt, who can hit from long range and do damage from the inside. Bilbao is the favorite at home, but it best not underestimate the Dragons or it could see its unblemished record suffer its first loss.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Eurocupbasketball.com

Quotes Head Coaches

VIDORRETA, TXUS
iurbentia Bilbao
"I have seen the game they played against Fortitudo and they won it well, they dominated the game clearly. They bage their game on the power of their frontcourt, both the forwards and the centers, which make them hard to stop. We will have played Thursday, Sunday and Tuesday but I think our team is deep enough. Only Salgado and Banic had to play more minutes than the rest, but all the others should be able to handle this without problems. I think that mentality and motivation will lead us to the fifth straight victory against the Artland Dragons."
LEIBENATH, THORSTEN
Artland Dragons
"Bilbao has a lot of very good players, who play very good as a team. They don't have a superstar on the team, but the players are very experienced, a lot of them have already played in the NBA. They have flexible guards and good scoring quality. We have to play an aggessive defense, rebound the ball and take care of their shooters."

Players

GUARDIA, SALVA
iurbentia Bilbao
"Their centers are very versatile. All of them can play in the paint and outside. It will be a hard game because their mobility can create some problems for us. We will start from scratch in the Last 16 and we must win games ASAP. We are lucky that we have two of the first three games at home, if we win them and after that we manage to beat Rytas, we might secure a Final Eight berth."
Renaldas Seibutis - iurbentia BilbaoIurbentia Bilbao led from start to finish but needed a 16-4 fourth quarter run to put away Artland Dragons 71-62 in the Group L opener for both teams on Tuesday in Spain. Bilbao led by 17 points in the first half but saw Artland pull within two points after a 2-11 surge spanning the final two quarters. Bilbao, however, scored 16 of the next 20 points, including a 10-0 run, to put the game out of reach. Drago Pasalic collected 16 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks to lead Bilbao, which has not lost yet in the Eurocup, its first-ever European competition. Renaldas Seibutis added 13 points for the winners. Javi Salgado scored all 7 of his points in the fourth quarter. The German side Artland was paced by Lamont McIntosh with 15 points and Will Blalock scored 10. Darren Fenn and Adam Hess combined for 13 points as they made just 4 of 24 shots total. Artland worked hard in the second half to get back in the game by focusing on rebounding. Early in the second half, Bilbao had already grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and was out-rebounding Dragons 30-13. But the difference was just 42-34 in the end.

Pasalic started in superb form, scoring the first 6 points for Bilbao and again as the hosts surged ahead 12-2. Seibutis's third basket made it 16-6 but McIntosh hit a lay-up and three-pointer to trim the margin to 17-11. Pasalic connected again and Damir Markota's foul shot gave Bilbao a 22-12 lead after one period. Dirk Madrich's free throw started the second quarter and McIntosh cut the deficit to 24-15. But Predrag Savovic and Paco Vazquez connected on back-to-back three-pointers to force an Artland timeout at 30-15. Markota's offensive rebound and put-back gave Bilbao its biggest lead of the game at 32-15 after the timeout. Drew Neitzel's three-point shot trimmed the gap to 32-21 only to see Seibutis push it back to 36-22. McIntosh drained another long ball and Neitzel scored the final four points of the half as Artland was within 40-31 at the break.

Chad Prewitt opened the third period with a triple and Hess's three-point shot made it 42-39. But Janis Blums converted a lay-up and, after a McIntosh turnover, also nailed a three-pointer. Pasalic hit another basket and it was 50-39 after Seibutis's free throw. Artland had a run left, however, as Tyray Pearson scored two baskets down the stretch, including a put-back of an offensive rebound to make it 50-45 after three periods. Artland started the fourth quarter with 2 turnovers but did not get punished as Bilbao missed 2 three-pointers. Madrich hit the first basket of the period and McIntosh's triple brought Artland within 52-50, completing a 2-11 run spanning the third and fourth quarters. Dragons had a chance to tie the game but McIntosh turned the ball over and Luke Recker nailed a three-pointer. Fenn answered with an offensive rebound put-back. And after Salgado knocked down a triple, Madrich made it 58-54. Luke Recker scored again and following an Artland timeout Neitzel turned the ball over and Quincy Lewis and Salgado combined for 6 foul shots and Markota's dunk finished off the 10-0 run for a 68-54 advantage. Blalock hit two baskets to cut the margin to nine points but Artland would not get closer the rest of the way.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Eurocupbasketball.com
Referees: FACCHINI, FABIO (ITA), VYKLICKY, ROBERT (CZE), RUTESIC, ZDRAVKO (MNE)
Attendance: 5000
By Quarter1234
iurbentia Bilbao22181021
Artland Dragons12191417
End of Quarter1234
iurbentia Bilbao22405071
Artland Dragons12314562
Head coach: VIDORRETA, TXUS
iurbentia Bilbao
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
3FG
M-A
FT
M-A
Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
7 HAMPL, TOMAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 GUARDIA, SALVA 13:37 2 1/1 0/1         1   1     1 1 1
9 RECKER, LUKE 17:27 5 1/1 1/2         2   1     2   3
10 SEIBUTIS, RENALDAS 18:34 13 4/4 0/3 5/6   3 3   1         3 16
11 SAVOVIC, PREDRAG 4:37 3   1/2     2 2     1     3    
13 BANIC, MARKO 23:55 2 1/2 0/2   2 4 6           2 1 4
14 SALGADO, JAVI 20:38 7 0/1 1/3 4/4   2 2 2 1 3     3 5 8
19 VAZQUEZ, PACO 11:37 3   1/2     2 2 1   2     2 1 2
20 LEWIS, QUINCY 29:31 6 1/3 0/3 4/4   1 1 1 1 4 2   2 4 4
24 PASALIC, DRAGO 23:28 16 7/14   2/3 5 6 11   2   2   1 2 24
25 MARKOTA, DAMIR 15:37 7 3/5 0/3 1/4 4 5 9           1 2 9
45 BLUMS, JANIS 20:59 7 1/5 1/1 2/6 1 5 6 1 1 3   1 1 5 7
Team                                
Totals 200:00 71 19/36 5/22 18/27 12 30 42 8 6 15 4 1 18 24 78
52.8% 22.7% 66.7%
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Head coach: LEIBENATH, THORSTEN
Artland Dragons
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
3FG
M-A
FT
M-A
Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
4 STUCKEMANN, FLAVIO 4:32     0/1                       -1
6 PEARSON, TYRAY 16:41 8 3/8   2/2 3 2 5     2     3 2 5
8 MCINTOSH, LAMONT 29:46 15 3/5 3/5     3 3 1 1 2     3 2 13
9 JOHNSON, PAUL 11:59   0/2 0/1     1 1       1   2   -3
10 ROHDEWALD, JAN 5:29     0/1                     1  
12 NEITZEL, DREW 21:24 7 1/1 1/3 2/2   2 2 1 1 3     2 2 6
13 PREWITT, CHAD 17:16 3   1/2     3 3   1 1     3   2
16 HESS, ADAM 28:14 6 1/6 1/4 1/2   2 2   3 2   3 5 2 -6
20 MADRICH, DIRK 13:34 6 2/3 0/1 2/4 1 2 3   1       2 2 6
21 BLALOCK, WILL 18:36 10 5/8     1 1 2     1     2 1 7
24 FENN, DARREN 32:29 7 2/12 0/2 3/4 3 6 9 2   1   1 3 5 5
25 WHITING, ZACK DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           3 1 4               4
Totals 200:00 62 17/45 6/20 10/14 11 23 34 4 7 12 1 4 25 17 38
37.8% 30% 71.4%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

VIDORRETA, TXUS
iurbentia Bilbao
“Our strong start was very important for us, because we were tired after playing three games in five days. Artland Dragons played tough and we allowed them to get back in the game. We felt tired because of the number of games we had to play in the last days. We got a valuable win and the 9-point margin is important. I have to give my team the highest marks because we are still undefeated in Europe. We managed to win a difficult game against an opponent that made the most out of its options. Artland had faith and confidence tonight."
LEIBENATH, THORSTEN
Artland Dragons
"We knew we had to face a team like Bilbao Basket, a tough opponents in its home court. We had a 10-point deficit very early in the game and had trouble against their frontcourt, especially with Damir Markota and Drago Pasalic together on court. Their offensive rebounds gave them too many second chances, while our team only had 2 offensive boards tonight. My team put out a great effort to return to the game in the second half. We fought for every rebound and in every action tried to reduce our deficit again."
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