MUNICH (Germany) – The opening week of the FIBA Europe Cup Regular Season saw a game-winning bucket and wins for seven teams competing for the first time.
PAOK mateco, Maroussi BC, Tofas Bursa, Basketball Lowen Braunschweig, JDA Bourgogne Dijon, and Fotbal Club Arges won on Wednesday, joining MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg, who were victorious on the opening night.
Key Storylines
Romanian clubs leave it late to win home openers in Group E;
Seven FIBA Europe Cup debutants seal wins;
Baldwin drops 39 points for Sabah in defeat;
2019 winners Sassari mark return with a big road triumph.
Weekly Highs
Efficiency: Deandre Baldwin (BC Sabah) - 43 Points: Deandre Baldwin (BC Sabah) - 39 Rebounds: Fardaws Aimaq (NHSZ-Szolnoki Olajbayasz) - 17 Assists: Elvar Fridriksson (Maroussi BC) - 13 Steals: Multiple Players - 4 Blocks: Nate Renfro (Banco di Sardegna Sassari) - 5
Richard the hero for Oradea, double Spanish success
Kris Richard's crisp jumper from just inside the free throw line with 1.1 seconds left gave CSM CSU Oradea a dramatic 77-75 win over PGE Spojnia Stargard in Group E. Donatas Tarolis paced the Romanian side with 22 points in the win.
Two free throws from Austin Price with 29.6 seconds left sealed a 67-65 victory for Fotbal Club Arges in a nail-biter against BC Parnu Sadam in the other Group E clash. Corey Allen-Williams led the Romanians with 17 points, but Price was the hero from the stripe.
There was joy for the Spanish clubs as Casademont Zaragoza used a strong second quarter to topple Bursaspor 106-84 thanks to 18 points and 7 assists from Trae Bell-Haynes, while there was a convincing success for Bilbao Basket, who beat BC Balkan 95-55.
BC Kalev/Cramo outlasted ESSM Le Portel for an impressive 66-63 win in Tallinn, while former champions Anwil Wloclawek got their campaign off to the best possible start with a 114-71 home success over BC Dnipro as Justin Turner's 22 points led the 2023 winners.
It was a mixed night for the Belgian clubs as PAOK mateco came from behind to win 74-70 over Hubo Limburg United, Windrose Giants Antwerp won 88-70 away to CSM Constanta and Spirou Basket endured a 39-point explosion from Deandre Baldwin to edge BC Sabah 82-81.
Former champs start strong, MHP RIESEN send early message
On Tuesday, Banco di Sardegna Sassari marked their grand return to the FIBA Europe Cup with an 82-69 road victory over Sporting CP in Group D.
The Italian side, making their first appearance in the competition since lifting the title in 2019, made an explosive 12-2 start to stun their opponents early on, and soon raced into a 32-14 lead - and did not look back.
Michal Sokolowski amassed 14 points to lead the Italian side. Andre Cruz had a game-high 15 for Sporting CP.
Meanwhile, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg led from tip to buzzer, dominating Caledonia Gladiators 86-62 in their Regular Season opener in Group H. Joel Scott paced the winners with 17 points, going 7-for-11 from the field. Tanner Stuckman had 16 for Caledonia.
Former runners-up Cholet Basket powered past Fribourg Olympic 90-75 as Cleveland Melvin led the way with 15 points - hitting four of his side's 11 three-pointers in the contest, as the team shot a sublime 55 percent from the field.
FIBA