Regular Season Game 14 - February 01, 2007 CET: 20:15 Local time: 20:15 - FERNANDO BUESA ARENA

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-0 Top 16 0-0
0-1 Regular Season 0-0
11-2 Overall 4-9

Referees

Crew Chief
SUDEK, PETR, Slovakia
Referee
ROCHA, FERNANDO, Portugal
Umpire
VOJINOVIC, MILIJA, Serbia

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
83.0 Points 71.6
32.7 Rebounds 32.3
11.6 O. Rebounds 9.2
21.1 D. Rebounds 23.1
16.6 Assists 16.4
11.8 Steals 6.4
2.2 Blocks 3.5
12.8 Turnovers 15.4
53.3 % 2PT 53.5 %
36.4 % 3PT 35.5 %
66.2 % FT 71.9 %
90.3 Index 78.6

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
16.5 / Rakocevic Points 15.4 / GREGORY, WILLIAM KENDRICK
5.6 / SCOLA, LUIS Rebounds 7.4 / CAMPBELL, ERIC
2.1 / SPLITTER, TIAGO OR 2.7 / CAMPBELL, ERIC
4.1 / SCOLA, LUIS DR 4.7 / CAMPBELL, ERIC
5.3 / PRIGIONI, PABLO Assists 3.8 / WHEELER, T.
2.9 / PRIGIONI, PABLO Steals 1.2 / CAMPBELL, ERIC
0.7 / Peker Blocks 1.4 / NICEVIC, SANDRO
2.1 / Rakocevic Turnovers 2.8 / NICEVIC, SANDRO
92.9 % / PRIGIONI, PABLO 2PT 69.6 % / WHEELER, T.
44.1 % / Erdogan 3PT 52.2 % / GREGORY, WILLIAM KENDRICK
93.8 % / PRIGIONI, PABLO FT 90.6 % / NICEVIC, SANDRO
17.8 / SCOLA, LUIS Index 19.1 / CAMPBELL, ERIC

THE TAKE

Group A champion Tau Ceramica hopes to finish on a high note when it hosts Le Mans in Vitoria, Spain on Thursday for a game that is not entirely without potential repurcussions. Tau (11-2) will be a top-seeded team in Top 16 Draw along with group champions Panathinaikos and CSKA, as well as the second-best ranked team. Meanwhile, Le Mans (4-9) has no chance to advance to the Top 16, but with a win in Vitoria would allow Prokom Trefl Sopot to make it to the Top 16 no matter what. With Zoran Planinic (11 ppg., 4.7 apg.) sidelined, Pablo Prigioni (7.8 ppg., 5.3 apg.) is the only pure playmaker available for Tau coach Velimir Perasovic, as Ender Arslan cannot play Euroleague games with the Spanish powerhouse until the start of the Top 16. As such, Igor Rakocevic (16.5 ppg., 44% 3FG) and Fred House (6.2 ppg., 2.5 spg.) will help Prigioni with point guard duties against the three reliable playmakers of Le Mans: Tyson Wheeler (6.4 ppg., 3.8 apg.), Pape Philippe Amagou (3.7 ppg.) and Yannick Bokolo (4.8 ppg., 3.3 apg.). Rakocevic will join forces with Serkan Erdogan (11.8 ppg., 44.1% 3FG) and House to provide fire power against Nebojsa Bogavac (8.3 ppg., 47.2% 3FG) and Nicolas Batum (3.8 ppg.), but if there is a player who could give the hosts trouble is Kenny Gregory (15.4 ppg., 52.2% 3FG, 5.3 rpg.), a mismatch for almost every Euroleague team due to his quickness and athleticism. He has his perfect complement in Eric Campbell (13.8 ppg., 68.1% 2FG, 7.4 rpg.), an aggressive power forward who works on the offensive boards to find second-chance baskets. Campbell will not have it easy against Luis Scola (16.5 ppg., 5.6 rpg.), simply one of the best power forwards on the planet. Scola has plenty of help around, too, with centers Tiago Splitter (9 ppg., 6.1 rpg.) and Kaya Peker (5.4 ppg.), as well as mobile power forward Mirza Teletovic (5.2 ppg.). Meanwhile, Campbell starts alongside defensive ace Alain Koffi (4.8 ppg.), who will be ready to face Splitter. Sandro Nicevic (12.6 ppg., 90.6% FT) will come off the bench to provide experience, low-post moves and short jumpers. Even when Tau is the favorite in this game, Le Mans will try to give his best to finish its first-ever Euroleague season with a prestigious road win.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

Players

PRIGIONI, PABLO
Tau Ceramica
"It's a bit difficult to prepare a game like this because both teams are playing for nothing special, as we will end first and they won't be in the Top 16 whatever the result. But looking at our bad streak lately and the last rout we took in our domestic competition, we should focus on improving our game. Our target is to recover the good feelings, to play a good and serious game and to win. I think we are in a valley right now. We started playing great this season and nobody can maintain such a good level for ten months. We knew we were going to run into a low-level playing period and we already know what we must do to escape from it. I think Le Mans is a very athletic team, with several quality players. They were not lucky, but I think that's because our group was pretty hard. Many teams struggled a lot to play them in France."
Mirza Teletovic - Tau Ceramica Tau Ceramica cruised past Le Mans Sarthe Basket 86-54 on Thursday night at the Fernando Buesa Arena in Vitoria, Spain, to finish the regular season on a high note. Tau won its 24th straight home game as it improved to 12-2 as the Group A winner. Le Mans dropped to 4-10 and finished its inaugural Euroleague campaign in seventh place. The game was never close as Tau scored the game’s first 6 points, increased the lead to 18-4 midway through the first period and continued to run away. It was 48-22 at halftime and didn't get much closer in the second half as the hosts took the easy win. Luis Scola led the way with 18 points, Igor Rakocevic added 15, Mirza Teletovic 14 and Serkan Erdogan scored 11. Pablo Prigioni had 6 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Eric Campbell led Le Mans with 11 and Pape Phillipe Amagou added 10.

Tau took advantage of it size advantage over Le Mans's frontcourt to earn an early 6-0 edge after 2 minutes. The guests struggled at the beginning, turning the ball over and letting easy points inside the paint. Nicolas Batum ended the drought for Le Mans, but a three-pointer by Rakocevic followed by Scola free throws widened the gap to 11-2. Although Le Mans coach Vincent Collet tried to reinforce Le Mans's defense with Sandro Nicevic, Tau was already hot and kept running the court and scoring with ease. A 7-2 run increased the lead to 18-4 midway through the first period. An urgent timeout by Le Mans didn't change anything, as Rakocevic nailed a corner three and Scola scored under the rim for a 23-4 edge after 7 minutes. Le Mans switched to zone defense at that point and that worked fine as Tau managed to score only 5 points until the end of the quarter. That was enough for the visitors to reduce the disadvantage a bit and reach the end of the quarter trailing 28-13.

Kenny Gregory - Le MansTau started the second period focusing mainly on three-point attempts, but only Erdogan was successful. Despite the poor shooting, the hosts remained comfortably ahead mainly because Le Mans was still committing the same mistakes on offense. A three by Kenny Gregory seemed to awake the guests at 33-19, but Erdogan, Teletovic and Rakocevic came quickly to the rescue for Tau to extend the lead to 46-19. Collet was unable to find the right combination to combat Tau's strong defense, especially in the paint. An acrobatic jumper by Fred House closed the game at halftime with a solid 26-point lead, 48-22, for Tau.

The hosts needed three attempts to hit the first three in the second half as both teams showed up quite cold after the intermission. Gregory and Scola were the only other two players able to find the way to the rim in the first 4 minutes of the quarter, as the differences remained big for the hosts. Teletovic boosted Tau to its first 30-point lead at 57-26 on a bank shot, but Nebojsa Bogavac answered quickly from downtown. House hit the floor dangerously while fighting for an offensive rebound and was quickly replaced by Sergi Vidal with 4 minutes to go. Vidal, after a long period sidelined, was the chosen one to return the 30-point margin on a right-sided three-pointer at 63-31 and that difference remained steady at the end of the period.

Nothing changed at the beginning of the last quarter, as Tau continued to focus on the outside shot, and Le Mans was unable to score a single field goal for the first three minutes. A dunk made by Batum was the only points Le Mans got not from the free throw line, as Tau hit three times in a row from downtown to raise the lead to 77-40. The scoring improved in the last couple of minutes, enough to please a patient crowd. Yannick Bokolo, at the buzzer, closed the score at 86-54 and gave Tau its 12th win for its best mark ever in the first round of the Euroleague.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Natxo Mendaza, Euroleague.net
Referees: SUDEK, PETR (SVK), ROCHA, FERNANDO (POR), VOJINOVIC, MILIJA (SRB)
Attendance: 7400
By Quarter1234
Tau Ceramica28202018
Le Mans1391418
End of Quarter1234
Tau Ceramica28486886
Le Mans13223654
Head coach: PERASOVIC, VELIMIR
Tau Ceramica
# 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 SCOLA, LUIS 35:00 18 7/10 0/1 4/5   6 6 4 3 2     3 4 25
5 PRIGIONI, PABLO 32:00 6   2/4   4 3 7 7 2 2     1   17
7 CILLA, JESUS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 RAKOCEVIC, IGOR 25:15 15 0/1 5/7     2 2 3   3   1 3 1 11
9 VIDAL, SERGI 21:15 8 1/1 2/3   1 3 4 1 2       2 2 14
11 ERDOGAN, SERKAN 23:30 11 1/3 3/7 0/1   2 2 3 2 2   1 4 2 6
12 TELETOVIC, MIRZA 31:15 14 2/6 3/9 1/2 3 5 8 2 3   1   2 3 18
14 PEKER, KAYA 8:45 7 3/4   1/2 2   2   2       1 2 10
20 ESLAVA, ARIEL 5:00 1 0/2   1/2   1 1         1 3 1 -4
32 HOUSE, FRED 18:00 6 3/3 0/3     1 1 1 3 1     1   6
Team           2   2   1           3
Totals 200:00 86 17/30 15/34 7/12 12 23 35 21 18 10 1 3 20 15 106
56.7% 44.1% 58.3%
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: COLLET, VINCENT
Le Mans
# 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 BOGAVAC, NEBOJSA 17:15 6 1/2 1/1 1/2   1 1   1 1     1 1 5
5 GREGORY, KENNY 29:30 9 3/8 1/2     6 6 3 1 2     1 2 12
6 AMAGOU, PAPE PHILIPPE 26:45 10 2/3 1/5 3/5 1   1   1 2     1 3 5
7 KOFFI, ALAIN 13:30 2 1/4     1 1 2     2 2   2 2 1
8 BATUM, NICOLAS 21:30 9 4/7   1/3 1 2 3     3     1 2 5
9 BOKOLO, YANNICK 25:00 2 1/2 0/2     1 1 1   4   1     -4
10 NICEVIC, SANDRO 19:00 3 1/5   1/2   3 3     3     2 3 -1
11 ADJIWANOU, FREDERIC 21:30 2 1/2   0/4 3 3 6 3 1 3     5 3 2
12 CEL, AARON DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 CAMPBELL, ERIC 26:00 11 5/6   1/1 1 2 3   2   1   2 4 18
Team           2 2 4     1         3
Totals 200:00 54 19/39 3/10 7/17 9 21 30 7 6 21 3 1 15 20 46
48.7% 30% 41.2%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

PERASOVIC, VELIMIR
Tau Ceramica
"I think we came out very focused and concentrated and with the will of playing serious basketball. That helped us a lot because we amassed a good advantage in the beginning that made the game easier to play for us. We played great for the first two quarters and we managed to keep pushing in the third. It was very important to get back to a good mood. We focused on playing balanced basketball and strong defense. We made a lot of three-point attempts, but I don't think they were bad selected because we found many open shots due to its closed deffense."
COLLET, VINCENT
Le Mans
"I'm very disappointed because of the way we finished our Euroleague participation. Our record was good in the first leg of this round, and we lost several games by short differences, but our second leg was too bad. We could not play since the tipoff tonight. Our game was a disaster. I think we paid all the anger of Tau after its defeat in the domestic competition. They played very aggressive and collapsed our offensive game. We made a poor job tonight mainly because of their aggressiveness."

Players

TELETOVIC, MIRZA
Tau Ceramica
"I don't think the game was easier than expected. We tried to play our best especially after our last defeat in Murcia so we came up focused on playing a hard game. We didn't take this game as revenge but to prepare the next games because the Spanish league is also a very tough competition and always demands the best of you. I'm not especially satisfied with my performance in the last games because we lost many of them and nobody can feel good when the team loses. I must try hard everyday and try my best at practices."
BOGAVAC, NEBOJSA
Le Mans
"It was quite a hard defeat for us but we faced a very well-organized team tonight. They played really hard despite this game had no reward for anybody as they already made it to the Top 16 and we were already eliminated. I think Tau is one of the favorites for the title, even more than CSKA or Panathinaikos. I think we were a bit unlucky in our first Euroleague participation because we lost two or three games by few points but I think it was a very good experience for us in order to prepare ourselves for the next challenges like Week of the Aces and the French championship."
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