Group A: UCAM Murcia leave Bursa with smiling faces
All eyes were on the matchup in Turkey to finish off proceedings in Group A. Tofas Bursa and UCAM Murcia battled for second place in the group, and home court advantage in the Play-In Series in January.
MIES (Switzerland) - All eyes were on the matchup in Turkey to finish off proceedings in Group A. Tofas Bursa and UCAM Murcia battled for second place in the group, and home court advantage in the Play-In Series.
UCAM Murcia carried over a three-point win from the reverse fixture, but no calculators were needed on the day. Sito Alonso's boys won the game in Bursa 87-77, claiming second place in Group A, knowing they will play Games 2 and 3 (if needed) in their arena against Pinar Karsiyaka in best-of-three series in January.
| GAMES | STREAK | GAME POINTS | POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | P | W | L | % | Last 5 | For | Agt | +/- | FA | AA | |
| 1 | SIG Strasbourg * | 6 | 4 | 2 | 66.7 | 485 | 481 | 4 | 80.8 | 80.2 | 10 | |
| 2 | UCAM Murcia ** | 6 | 4 | 2 | 66.7 | 487 | 487 | 0 | 81.2 | 81.2 | 10 | |
| 3 | Tofas Bursa ** | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33.3 | 480 | 462 | 18 | 80 | 77 | 8 | |
| 4 | Falco Vulcano Szombathely | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33.3 | 472 | 494 | -22 | 78.7 | 82.3 | 8 | |
* Qualified for Round of 16
** Qualified for Play-Ins
The Spaniards came out of the blocks faster, building an eight-point advantage after the first quarter. Even though there were still 30 minutes to play, Tofas never bounced back, not leading for a single second of this game. UCAM's biggest advantage was by 16, securing a comfortable finish to the game.
Travis Trice and Thaddus McFadden provided the one-two punch in the backcourt, combining for 48 points on the night. Artem Pustovyi had a big game inside with 17 points in less than 20 minutes of work. Rob Gray's 26 points went to waste for Tofas.
This defeat means the Turkish squad finished third in Group A, and will have to steal (at least) one game on the road in Athens against AEK in the Play-In Series.
Falco sign out with a win
The other group game was played in Hungary, where both teams knew their faith even before tip-off. Falco Vulcano Szombathely were locked in fourth place, SIG Strasbourg already won the group, so it was a matter of prestige.
The Hungarian champions gave their fans one last night of joy, with a dominant 89-71 win over the French juggernauts. Four players scored in double digits for Falco, led by Zoltan Perl's 17. For coach Luca Banchi, this game provided a nice test to Rodions Kurucs' form.
The latest arrival in Strasbourg led the scoring with 14 points, while also getting 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
SIG Strasbourg will now move to Round of 16 Group I, where they will face Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem, and the winners of the D3 v C2, and G2 v H3 Play-in pairings.