 DKV Joventut survived a tough in Last 16 Group I by edging Aris BSA 2003 in Badalona, Spain on Tuesday night. DKV Joventut registered its first win and faces Alba in Berlin in a big showdown between undefeated teams. Aris hosts Le Mans in already a critical game for both teams, as the loser will go down to 0-2 and lose a lot of chances to reach the playoffs. Uros Tripkovic led the winners with 13 points. Clay Tucker added 11 while Antonio Bueno had 10 for Joventut. Jeremy Richardson led Aris with 17 points. Kee Kee Clark added 16, Aaron Miles had 13 while Michalis Kakiouzis got 11 and a game-high 10 rebounds for the hosts. Joventut opened the game with a 19-6 run that Henk Norel capped with a layup. Three-pointers by Kris Valters and Tripkovic boosted the hosts' margin to 37-18 late in the first half. Kakiouzis, Clark and an unstoppable Richardson stepped up for Aris to get the guests as close as 56-54. Edu Hernandez-Sonseca and Mario Fernandez shined in crunch time to break the game open, 72-61. Aris only rallied once the outcome was clear, fixing the final score with a three-pointer by Clark at the buzzer.
Bueno got Joventut going with a mid-range jumper that Clark copied in the other end. Aris struggled to find the way to the basket, however, while a put-back layup by Bueno and an easy basket from Tripkovic gave DKV a 6-2 edge. Tucker downed his first three-pointer and even when Richardson buried a jumper, a red hot Bueno kept the hosts way ahead, 11-4. Kakiouzis stepped up with a put-back basket that Tripkovic improved with a three-point play. A big triple by Hernandez-Sonseca made Aris call timeout at 17-6. Norel scored down low and a three-pointer by Tucker boosted the hosts' lead to 23-9. Tucker sank a buzzer-beating bomb from way downtown for a 26-11 Joventut lead after 10 minutes. Valters and Miles also struck from downtown early in the second quarter, as Aris slowly improved its offense. Former Joventut center Andy Betts followed free throws with a layup but three-pointers by Valters and Tripkovic gave Joventut its biggest lead, 37-18. Richardson followed a jumper with a triple and a jumper by Miles gave Aris some hope at 39-25. Ivan Paunic joined the three-point shootout and Kakiouzis got the guests even closer, 42-30. Clark and Tripkovic exchanged triples but a put-back layup by Kakiouzis kept Aris within 45-35. Christian Eyenga allowed Joventut to get a 12-point lead, 48-36, at halftime.
Clark hit a big triple immediately after the break but a put-back basket by Fernandez and a layup by Bueno boosted the hosts' lead to 52-39. Kakiouzis joined the three-point shootout and Betts dunked it to bring Aris back to life, 52-44. Richardson silenced the crowd with a big dunk-and-foul that made it a five-point game, 52-47. Hernandez-Sonseca scored down low but a red hot Richardson matched that with a jumper. Hernandez-Sonseca kept pacing Joventut with a dunk but a big triple by Clark and another dunk by an unstoppable Richardson made it a two-point game, 56-54. Hernandez-Sonseca scored again while Koffi followed a layup with free throws for a 62-54 Joventut margin after 30 minutes. Pere Tomas scored inside early in the fourth quarter but a jumper by Paunic and a triple by Richardson kept Aris as close as 64-59. Luka Bogdanovic and Nikos Barlos traded free throws and Tucker sank a jumper to keep the hosts out of trouble at 68-61. Free throws by Fernandez sealed the outcome, 72-61, with 4 minutes left. Aris was not done, however, as Miles sank a jumper and Clark hit free throws for a 72-65 deficit with 2 minutes to go. Miles hit free throws that Tripkovic erased with a layup. A layup by Kakiouzis and a buzzer-beating triple by Clark were too little, too late for Aris, as Joventut had already registered its first Last 16 win.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
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