MUNICH (Germany) - The first four teams stamped their ticket to the FIBA Europe Cup Quarter-Finals on Wednesday.
PAOK mateco, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg, Cholet Basket and Bilbao Basket all sealed their passage into the last eight, with the final four spots to be decided over the last two weeks.
On Tuesday, Fribourg Olympic secured a crucial win over Spirou Basket in a tightly contested Group N, while FC Porto got their first win of the Second Round; overcoming Group K leaders Casademont Zaragoza.
Key Storylines
PAOK hold their nerve to qualify with fourth win;
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg win and seal Quarter-Final spot on the road;
Bilbao and Cholet comfortably advance with big victories;
Porto topple Group K leaders Zaragoza for first win.
Weekly Highs
Efficiency: Marcquise Reed (Tofas Bursa) - 32 Points: Marcquise Reed (Tofas Bursa) - 32 Rebounds: Kristeon Bankston (Tofas Bursa) - 12 Assists: Jonathan Kazadi (Fribourg Olympic) - 10 Steals: Devyn Marble (FC Porto) - 6 Blocks: Multiple players - 2
PAOK, Ludwigsburg, Cholet and Bilbao seal last eight spots
PAOK mateco nearly fluffed their lines but eventually advanced to the Quarter-Finals with an 87-85 win against BC Kalev/Cramo. Leading by 13, the Greek side went scoreless for three minutes in the final quarter, allowing their Estonian counterparts to go on a 9-0 run and lead 75-74 with 3:07 left.
It was the last time BC Kalev/Cramo led as PAOK regrouped and hung on for the win. Cedric Henderson Jr led the victors with 22 points. Stefan Vaaks had a game-high 28 for BC Kalev/Cramo.
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg also advanced to the Quarter-Finals by sealing a 92-84 win away to Anwil Wloclawek to improve to 4-0 in Group N.
Yorman Polas led the victors with 24 points, with 12 of his points coming from the free throw line. DJ Funderburk paced the Polish side with 20 points as they slipped to 1-3.
Cholet Basket were the fourth team to seal their qualification with a comfortable 92-60 win over ESSM Le Portel. Bastien Vautier led the way with 21 points on 6-for-7 shooting in a solid showing inside. Deandre Gholston led Le Portel with 16 points but were outclassed from the opening tip, trailing from tip to buzzer.
Bilbao Basket completed the quartet of teams to punch their ticket to the last eight as 15 points from Melwin Pantzar secured a 77-60 win over Banco di Sardegna Sassari, who remain winless in Group L.
Elsewhere, Tofas Bursa survived a late scare to edge Maroussi 77-74 in Group K and restore top spot. Uros Trifunovic sunk the game-winning free throws with three ticks left. Marcus Keene put up a long three-point attempt in desperation to take the game to overtime, but his shot hit the back iron.
Marcquise Reed was once again outstanding for the Turkish side as he exploded for 32 points and 5 assists. Keene had 20 for Maroussi.
JDA Bourgogne Dijon needed a miraculous tip-in at the buzzer from Markis McDuffie to score an 87-86 win over CSM CSU Oradea after a period of overtime.
Kris Richard forced the extra five minutes with a clutch three-pointer with a second left of regulation, denying Dijon the win. The Romanian side led 86-80 with 1:07 remaining until an incredible 7-0 finish from Dijon capped by the game-winner sealed matters. David Holston led Dijon with 22 points, canceling out Richard's 27 points for Oradea.
Fribourg, Porto boost qualification hopes
Fribourg Olympic boosted their chances of progressing to the Quarter-Finals but had to overcome a nerve-racking last two minutes to beat Spirou Basket 95-87 in Group N. The Swiss side were comfortable, leading 87-71 with four minutes left, until a late rally from Spirou, highlighted by a frantic 9-0 run, narrowed the gap.
However, a dunk from Arnaud Cotture and back-to-back scores from Jonathan Kazadi saw Fribourg home, as they improved to 2-2, while Spirou drop to 1-3. Anthony Williams dropped 22 points, going 53 percent from the field for the winners, with Chris Lykes impressive for the Belgian outfit with 25.
FC Porto breathed life into their Second Round campaign with an 84-75 win over Casademont Zaragoza as the Portuguese side secured their first win in Group K.
Leading by 10 at the half, Porto were pegged back in the third quarter as Zaragoza reduced the gap to as little as 59-58 with 2:03 to go. But the hosts recovered and stretched their lead back to as many as ten in the final period for the victory.
Phillip Fayne was dominant inside, as he led Porto with 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting. Wes Washpun added 19, while Zaragoza - who drop to 2-2 - were led by 16 points each from A.J. Slaughter and Emir Sulejmanovic.
FIBA