Parnu joy in comeback victory on opening night of Qualifiers

MUNICH (Germany) - The 2021-22 FIBA Europe Cup season got underway on Tuesday with Gmunden Swans, Naturtex-SZTE-Szeged and PSD all picking up wins to advance to the next stage of the Qualifiers.

The three teams move into the Semi-Finals of their respective groups with the four winners on Friday securing spots in the Regular Season alongside two lucky losers.

PSD wiped out an 11-point deficit heading into the fourth as they came back to defeat GGMT Vienna 72-67 to the delight of the home crowd in Parnu. The Estonian side rallied with a pivotal 19-4 spell to start the final quarter and had a big three from Andris Misters late on to keep their opponents at bay.

Kasey Hill top scored with a team-high 17 points in the win with Robert Valge adding 15 points, while Misters finished with 13 points. Setting up an encounter with the defending champions Ironi Ness Ziona on Wednesday evening is the Estonian team's reward.

One side from Austria did advance as Gmunden Swans raced out of the blocks to quickly build a double-digit lead on their way to beating Kumanovo 83-60. Branden Aughburns top scored with 17 points to help his side set up a showdown with group hosts, Donar Groningen.

Earlier, Naturtex-SZTE-Szeged opened the new season with a 92-76 triumph over TFT with their American quartet leading the way in Krasnoyarsk. Jesse Hunt posted 16 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists in the win with Justin Alston top scoring with 22 points, while Tayler Persons added a 16-11-9 line and Keandre Cook had 15 points.

TFT had Amir Smith, Landrius Horton and Aleksandar Kostoski score 20+ points in defeat, but they lacked scoring depth as the trio accounted for 64 of the 76 points total. 

The action continues on Wednesday as the Semi-Finals take place with eight games across the four groups as teams battle it out to edge a step closer to the Regular Season.

FIBA