MUNICH (Germany) – The FIBA Europe Cup Regular Season began its penultimate week on Tuesday night, with plenty to be decided in the race to the Second Round.
ESSM Le Portel's road win over Alba Fehervar booked BC Kalev/Cramo's place into the next phase. The Estonian side join CSM CSU Oradea and Banco di Sardegna Sassari in the teams confirmed as advancing so far.
Meanwhile, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg still controls its own destiny, as they recovered from a setback last week, with 16 more games to follow on Wednesday.
Key Storylines
Le Portel hit 15 three-pointers in road win, as BC Kalev/Cramo advance;
MHP RIESEN still control their Second Round fate;
Oradea, Sassari also already qualified so far.
Weekly Highs
Efficiency: Jeriah Horne (Alba Fehervar) - 34 Points: Jeriah Horne (Alba Fehervar) - 31 Rebounds: Fardaws Aimaq (NHSZ-Szolnoki Olajbanyasz) - 15 Assists: Ezra Manjon-Van Ewyk (MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg) - 8 Steals: Digue Diawara (ESSM Le Portel) / Justin Simon (MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg) - 4 Blocks: John Nunge (ESSM Le Portel) - 3
Le Portel still has hope of Second Round, MHP RIESEN dominant
A solid first-half showing paved the way for ESSM Le Portel's 104-80 road win over Alba Fehervar in Group F. The French side dominated over the opening twenty minutes, racing to a 55-31 lead as they left their Hungarian counterparts for dust. Kristers Zoriks led Le Portel with 22 points, draining four three-pointers, as the team hit 15 overall. Jeriah Horne impressed with 31 points for Alba who are now eliminated from Second Round contention with defeat.
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg recovered from last week's shock loss to the Caledonia Gladiators with a thumping 87-54 win over BC Trepca to stay on course to advance from Group H with their 4-1 record.
Justin Simon didn't have a great shooting night - going 3-of-10 - but made up for it with 11 free throws among his 17 points, whilst adding 4 steals.
In the night's other game, Hubo Limburg United defeated NHSZ-Szolnoki Olajbanyasz 77-74 in a close battle, though both teams are already eliminated from contention to qualify.
FIBA