FIBA Europe Cup teams top domestic league standings across Europe

MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) – Across the continent, FIBA Europe Cup teams have got off to tremendous starts in their domestic championships and are leading the standings in as many as 11 different countries.

During their last weekend before the beginning of the FIBA Europe Cup, some teams continued their undefeated runs, others bounced back from early-season upsets, while the rest already have some catching up to do.

France

After a stellar start of the LNB Pro A season, FIBA Europe Cup participants Nanterre 92 did not cool down and preserved their unbeaten record over the weekend by claiming a convincing 90-70 victory over Le Mans Sarthe Basket.

Chris Warren and Talib Zanna finished the game with 14 points apiece for the winners, while Heiko Schaffartzik chipped in with 13 points and 7 assists.

Elan Bearnais are also enjoying a good start of the season and are one win behind in the standings after improving to a 3-1 record with a 78-65 win against fellow FIBA Europe Cup side BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque, who are 1-3 so far.

Turkey

In an extremely competitive Turkish BSL league, Demir Insaat Buyukcekmece are among five teams who share the first place in the standings, all with a 2-0 record. After blowing out Trabzonspor in the season-opener, the Buyukcekmece side nipped Balikesir 80-77 in the second round of action with 27 points from Kenneth Haynes paving the path to victory.

Belgium

Port of Antwerp Giants lead the Belgian EuroMillions Basketball League as the only undefeated team in the domestic championship after four rounds of action, having defeated Liege 91-80 over the weekend.

Scoring 16 points each, Ryan Anderson and Demetrius Conger were the outstanding players for coach Roel Moors, who will hope the strong start in the national league will transform to the FIBA Europe Cup as well.

Hungary

Another FIBA Europe Cup side is on top of the standings in Hungary, as Alba Fehervar were victorious once again for their third victory in as many tries in the new Hungarian Division A season.

Justin Edwards scored 23 points and Brandon Taylor added 20 as the Fehervar club topped MAFC Budapest 81-70 on the road in the country’s capital.

Another team in the FIBA Europe Cup competition, Egis Kormend, are also still undefeated at 2-0, but have a game in hand as they did not play over the weekend.

Romania

Romania is another country that has a FIBA Europe Cup team among its leaders, as Steaua CSM Eximbank are the only undefeated team in the Liga Nationala with a perfect 3-0 record. However, the Group F side currently sits only third due to having a game in hand.

The Bucharest side topped BC SCM Timisoara 85-71 for the third victory in the domestic championship on Saturday evening. Nikola Jevtovic was simply majestic for Steaua, collecting 27 points and adding 7 rebounds, as Cameron Long chipped in with 18 points and 5 assists.

Kosovo

The horrific start of the season continued for the defending Kosovar Superliga champions Sigal Prishtina who slumped to an 81-73 defeat against their main rivals KB Peja, who are also taking part in the FIBA Europe Cup this season.

 

It was the second loss for last year's victors, who had also lost to Bashkimi the previous week. Peja and Sigal now find themselves on opposite ends of the standings, with inverse 2-0 and 0-2 records respectively.

Estonia

Two Estonian sides also find themselves on opposite ends of the Estonian KML standings, with BC Tartu maintaining a perfect win record and TLU/Kalev still searching for its first victory.

In a rematch of last year’s gold-medal series, Tartu one-upped the defending champions Kalev/Cramo 77-76 and improved to 2-0, at the same time sending their rivals to the bottom of the standings with zero wins in three games.

Meanwhile, TLU/Kalev lost a 68-67 nail-biter against TTU KK and haven’t won in the first two contests.

Portugal

The schedule has been kind to basketball-lovers in Portugal, as the country’s basketball giants FC Porto and SL Benfica met for the second weekend in a row after the SuperCup clash last Sunday.

However, the result of the Portuguese LPB league meeting came to a different conclusion, with SL Benfica earning a 78-76 road victory behind 27 points from forward Damian Hollis.

The win puts the Lisbon side atop the league table with two wins in as many games, while it was the first defeat of the season for Porto, who are now 1-1.

Netherlands

There are three unbeaten teams in the Dutch Basketball League, but FIBA Europe Cup participants Donar Groningen currently rank first with three wins to their name after a thumping 97-65 victory against Amsterdam.

Last year’s Dutch Basketball League Finals MVP Lance Jeter put on an incredible show for the winners, scoring 27 points, dishing out 9 assists and recording 3 steals as well.

Sweden

Defending champions Sodertalje Kings are one of the four teams atop the Swedish Basketball League standings with an identical 2-1 record. The Kings added their second win of the domestic campaign against Boras Basket, topping their opponents 77-72. Toni Bizaca led the field in scoring with 28 points and 12 rebounds.

FIBA