First Qualifying Round, first leg RECAP
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 Just as expected, the 2008 Eurocup first qualifying round kicked off with drama, action and thrilling showdowns all around the continent. It also came with some surprising results, as some of the main candidates to reach the next round will have to rally in the second leg to stay alive in the fight to reach the regular season. The fact that there were two ties in this first leg says it all about how close some games were. Base Oostende stole the home court advantage in Matchup F with a 78-78 tie against Triumph Lyubertsy. Meanwhile, Siauliai and Galatasaray Cafe Crown also tied at 73-73, leaving all options open for the second game in Istanbul. Energa Czarni Slupsk and Allianz Swans Gmunden were perhaps the biggest winnrs tonight. Czarni Slupsk upset Unics Kazan 76-62 while Gmunden thrashed Estonian League champion Tartu Rock 86-64 behind an outstanding Deteri Mayes. Panellinios did its homework with a 69-54 home win against Telekom Baskets Bonn, ASK Riga managed to rally from a 12-point deficit to down Cholet Basket 69-62 while EclipseJet MyGuide Amsterdam got a quality 66-60 win against FMP. The second leg of each two-way series take place next Tuesday and, as usual, expect the unexpected.
Siauliai saw its 17-point halftime lead disappear when Galatasaray got a 63-73 margin with 3 minutes to go. Siauliai was not done, however, and capped the game with 10-0 run to tie the series. Gintautas Vileita led Siauliai with 23 points, while Antonio Graves had 25 and Dejan Milojevic added 20 for Galatasaray, which finished fourth in the former ULEB Cup last season. In Russia, Oostende used a near-perfect first quarter to get a 15-31 margin after 10 minutes. Vadim Panin and Kerem Tunceri fired Triumph back into the game while free throws by J.R. Bremer helped the hosts to at least tie at the finish. Rashid Atkins was the player of the game with 24 points and 7 assists for Oostende. Alan Anderson led Triumph with 17 points. Unics arrived in Poland without Marc Jackson and Terrell Lyday, and registered a 14-points loss against Czarni Slupsk. Even when Kresimir Loncar was unstoppable with 26 points and 9 rebounds, he didn't find much help. Slupsk thrived on a team game as four players scored at least 12 points. In Riga, ASK trailed 19-31 midway through the second quarter but Milutin Aleksic and Andrius Mazutis sparked the hosts in the second half to get a seven-point lead in the series. Cholet, however, will have the home court advantage in the second leg. Mayes, the second-best scorer in last year's ULEB Cup regular season, had 23 points to lead Gmunden to a 24-point win against Rock. Panellinios left no doubt about its power, as Jurica Golemac, Anthony Grundy and Brad Newley combined for 42 points in an important win against Bonn. Last but not least, Amsterdam needed an outstanding Teddy Gipson to beat FMP. Gipson had 22 points while Dragan Labovic, already a young veteran, led FMP with 21.
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Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Javier Gancedo, Eurocupbasketball.com
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