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Regular season, Week 1 in review
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With a short, potentially risky six-game regular season staring them in the face, 16 teams started the Eurocup on the right foot with key first victories in Week 1 on Monday and Tuesday. More than a third of them did even more than that by registering good-as-gold wins away from home. Those road warriors were concentrated in Group B, where Unics won narrowly and Dynamo Moscow in a blowout, as did Aris and Turk Telekom, respectively, in Group D. The other road winners were Group C's Benetton, which rallied in style past Besiktas as center Sandro Nicevic led the way against his former team, and Group F's Turow, which dominated by setting a single-game defensive record in a 39-69 victory over Bamberg, the biggest difference in Week 1, too. Among the home winners, a pair needed overtime, Azovmash and Roanne. Blowouts went to few home teams, the exceptions being Pamesa, Khimki and Lietuvos Rytas, which aced the opening game on Monday. All three won by by 21 points or more. However, the average difference among the remaining five home victors on Tuesday - Zadar, Spirou, Nymburk, Bilbao and Artland - was 8 points, which adds up to a challenge when they face the same teams away later in this round. Check out the best of the Week 1 photos and get ready for all 32 Eurocup teams to battle again next week! MORE
Group A
Chorale Roanne registered a successful Eurocup debut with a 79-75 overtime win over ASK Riga. This game was a 45-minute thriller, in which neither team led by more than 7 points the entire game and featured 14 lead changes and 15 ties. Aaron Harper scored the last basket, rebound and free throws to help the hosts escape with the win. He finished with 19 points, while Chris Monroe paced the winners with 20 points and 7 rebounds. The other Group A winner was Zadar, which topped Maroussi Costa Coffee 87-79. Marlon Garnett was 4 for 6 from downtown and 9 for 9 from the line – including a pair that sealed the win – en route to 23 points to lead Zadar.
Group B
 In Group B, Dynamo Moscow established its credentials as a serious Eurocup challenger by blasting Barons/LMT Riga 61-80. Bostjan Nachbar had a strong Eurocup debut with 24 points for Dynamo, which outrebounded the Barons 31-43. Meanwhile Todor Stoykov’s milestone basket was overshadowed by Marko Popovic and Unics Kazan, who handed Lukoil Academic a rare home defeat, 79-80. Popovic stunned the Bulgarian champs with a triple in the closing seconds to win it. Terell Lyday scored 23 and Tariq Kirksay flirted with a triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebound sand 8 assists for Kazan. Stoykov, who became the first player in competition history to reach 1,000 career points during the fourth quarter, had 17 in defeat.
Group C
Khimki Moscow outscored STB Le Havre 28-4 in the second period to set the stage for an easy win in Group C. Carlos Delfino led a well-balanced Khimki attack with 17 points and 10 rebounds. In Istanbul, Benetton Treviso center Sandro Nicevic dominated his former team, Besiktas Cola Turka, to the tune of 19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, a 35 index and Week 1 MVP honors as Benetton won 72-77. The hosts led by 16 at halftime, but Benetton turned things around in the third quarter and then used a 0-8 fourth-quarter run to take the lead for good.
Group D
 In Group D, Keydren Clark's three-pointer with less than 3 seconds to go led Aris BSA 2003 to a 69-71 road win over Panellinios in a matchup of Greek teams. Clark finished with a game-high 22 points on 6-of-12 three-point shooting, outshining Aris’s Ivan Radenovic, who posted 18 points and 7 rebounds off the bench. And Turk Telekom cruised past Bnei Hasharon on the road 54-76. Telekom was in control most of the night and then ran away with a big fourth quarter. Serkan Erdogan led the visitors with 15 points.
Group E
In this season’s Opening Game, Lietuvos Rytas downed Asvel Basket 95-74 in front of 9,750 fans at Siemens Arena. The former ULEB Cup champs enjoyed a career night from veteran Mindaugas Lukauskis, who led the way with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 6 steals. The other Group E contest was much closer with Azovmash Mariupol eaking out a 92-90 overtime win over Kalise Gran Canaria. Sitapha Savane sent the game to the extra session by blocking the potential game-winning shot from Dijon Thompson, but Marc Salyers took over in the extra period to lead Azovmash to victory. Khalid El-Amin had 23 points and 7 assists and Tomas Van den Spigel added 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting for the winners. Carl English had 28 points on 7-of-13 three-point shooting in defeat.
Group F
 PGE Turow thrashed Brose Baskets Bamberg 39-69 in a record-setting road win in their Group F opener. Turow improved on its own defensive record for fewest points allowed in the history of the competition, eclipsing the 42 points Strasbourg scored against the club exactly one year ago this week. Donald Copeland poured in 25 points and dished out 7 assists to lead Turow. Spirou Charleroi bounced back from a poor start to down Red Star 71-65. The trio of Len Matela, Jerry Johnson and Matt Walsh carried the Belgian champs and staved off Red Star, which closed to within 1 point in the closing minutes. Matela finished with 17 points and 5 steals.
Group G
Pamesa Valencia confirmed its status as the team to beat in Group G by downing FMP 83-58 at home. Kosta Perovic led the winners with 16 points and 11 rebounds and Ermal Kuqo added 13 points in 15 minutes off the bench. Victor Claver and Shammond Williams fueled an 11-0 run that put Pamesa ahead 36-27 at halftime and Pamesa controlled the second half to earn the win. Meanwhile, Dirk Madrich scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Artland Dragons past Fortitudo Bologna 87-78. Drew Neitzel and Jan Rohdewald struck from downtown to ignite a 13-0 run to start the fourth quarter as Artland ran away with the game. D.J. Strawberry scored 29 points for Bologna in his debut.
Group H
 In Group H, CEZ Nymburk topped Buducnost 75-70 in a battle between the Czech and Montenegrin champions. The visitors kept it close throughout and had two chances to tie the game, but came up short and Blake Schilb sealed the win from the line. Justin Gray scored 22 off the bench to lead Nymburk. And iurbentia Bilbao bested BC Hemofarm Stada 78-67 thanks to 19 points from Janis Blums for its first win ever in European competition.
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Thursday, November 27, 2008
Eurocupbasketball.com
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