Girona, Besiktas and Reyer join London in the last four

MUNICH (Germany) - There were celebrations for Spar Girona, Besiktas and Umana Reyer Venice on Thursday night as they advanced to the Semi-Finals to join the already qualified London Lions.

The British side had already booked their spot in the last four of the competition 24 hours earlier with a win in the second leg of their Quarter-Finals tie against Melikgazi Kayseri. The other three clubs all advanced on Thursday as the race for silverware now moves to its penultimate phase. 

Girona get a win double against Galatasaray 

It was a famous win for Spar Girona in the first leg of their Quarter-Finals tie against Galatasaray Cagdas Factoring when they amassed a 13-point lead to take to Istanbul. That was a handy advantage to take the pressure off as they did a double over their rivals with an 83-81 road win - helped by a ruthless 25 points scored from turnovers - even though the hosts only spilled the ball 16 times. 

 
It also proved to be another strong team effort from Girona as they prospered from multiple leading performances including from backcourt duo Sandra Ygueravide and Magali Mendy. The former was on fire again and finished with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, with Mendy contributing 20 points and 7 assists. It proved to be a three-pronged recipe for success as Regan Magarity shone in the frontcourt with a classy 19-point haul. 

Shepard shines as Reyer roll past Riga 

Up by 13 points from the first leg on the road, Umana Reyer Venice relied on a typically brilliant display from center Jessica Shepard to power them to an 88-78 victory against TTT Riga. She was unstoppable and accumulated a stunning double-double of 17 point and 17 rebounds to put her name up in lights.

Riga did their best to keep pace and even briefly held a lead, but Reyer had too much for the Latvians. Martina Fassina also found a high gear for Venice and stepped off court having sunk 19 points, while Francesca Pan and Matilde Villa shared 28 points.

Besiktas bowl over Lattes-Montpellier 

Boosted by having despatched a French team in the previous round, Besiktas added another scalp to that of Tango Bourges Basket as they rode past Lattes-Montpellier and into the last four. Their Semi-Finals place always looked likely after a 14-point home win last week.

It looked even more certain after they built up a double-digit advantage early in this second meeting which eventually saw them complete a 75-72 win. It was China national team center Yueri Li that carried them to the result - coming up with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, while Tijana Krivacevic was just as effective in the paint with 14 points and 8 boards.

Lions finish the job to rack up more history

Having already taken an eight-point advantage against Melikgazi Kayseri last week, London were always favorites to make the last four and they made sure of that with an 82-70 home success on Wednesday evening. It was founded on a terrific start, with the hosts imposing their authority on the contest from the outset with a 17-10 first quarter.

That strong flavor continued across into the break and they never looked back, with Karlie Samuelson and Megan Gustafson coming up with the goods, once again. Samuelson finished with 19 points and 9 rebounds, while Gustafson went for 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting along with 6 boards. 

Highs

Efficiency: 28 – Yueru Li (Besiktas)
Points: 24 – Megan Gustafson (London Lions) 
Rebounds: 17– Jessica Shepard (Umana Reyer Venice)
Assists: 7 – Magali Mendy (Spar Girona)
Steals: 3 – Giedre Labuckiene (Spar Girona); Luize Sila (Umana Reyer Venice)
Blocks: 3 – Giedre Labuckiene (Spar Girona); Tijana Krivacevic (Besiktas)

Thursday, February 29

Galatasaray Cagdas Factoring 81-83 Spar Girona (Aggregate 145-160)
Umana Reyer Venice 88-78 TTT Riga (Aggregate 171-148)
Lattes-Montpellier 72-75 Besiktas (Aggregate 131-148)

Wednesday, February 28

London Lions 82-70 Melikgazi Kayseri (Aggregate 169-149)

FIBA