Belgian champion Spirou Basket Charleroi edged closer to a long-awaited return to the Euroleague with a 75-69 victory over Unics Kazan in the Spiroudome in the opening leg of their Turkish Airlines Euroleague Qualifying Rounds series. The teams meet for the return leg on Friday in Russia with the aggregate winner advancing to the third and final qualifying stage to earn a berth to the Euroleague regular season. After cruising in its first round game, Unics ran into trouble against the Spirou defense and was held to just 7 first-quarter points. The offense picked up in the second quarter, but Charleroi also scored more easily and increased the lead to double figures en route to a 39-27 advantage at the break. Kazan never quit, but Spirou held on tight to take the win and the 6-point advantage for the deciding game. Brent Wright starred for Charleroi with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Dwayne Broyles added 14 points and Chris Hill scored 13 and picked up 4 steals. For Kazan, which was without playmaker Terrell Lyday, Maciej Lampe netted 19 and Marko Popovic produced 18 points and 8 assists.

Unics went inside early and got the game’s first baskets from Hasan Rizvic and Lampe, but Spirou answered quickly for a 6-4 lead. Wright stepped up and Hill’s steal set up Joseph Gomis for a basket before Hill capped a 7-0 spurt to give the hosts a 15-7 lead after 10 minutes. Hill made it a 10-point game at the start of the second quarter before Lampe ended a Kazan field-goal drought of nearly five minutes with a basket in the paint. Lampe carried Kazan within 6 only to see the tandem of Hill and Wright restore Charleroi’s 10-point advantage. Rizvic and Valdimir Veremeenko both connected from the foul line to make it 30-25. Broyles answered with a three and soon a pair of free throws to help the hosts grab a 39-27 edge at halftime.

Wright scored inside and then buried a three to further lift the Spirou lead to 17 early in the second half. Slavko Vranes got Unics back on the board before a Demond Mallet three-pointer upped the lead to 49-31. Zakhar Pashutin tried to quite the crown with a score and Popovic his a three as Kazan showed signs of life. Veremeenko further narrowed the gap to 9 with a basket on the offensive glass that capped at 2-10 run. Petr Samoylenko brought his side within 53-46 with one quarter to play. Hill and Greene restored Charleroi’s double-digit cushion, but Popovic responded from downtown. His next three made it 60-55 midway through the quarter and prompted a Spirou timeout. Greene and Broyles fired back and then Wright added a triple for a 70-57 lead. Lampe showed Spirou that it wasn’t over yet and Popovic again had Kazan within 5 in the final minute. Gomis made a basket-plus-foul only to see Popovic score last to keep his side within 6 for the second leg.