Fehervar rally to beat Cluj-Napoca as Nanterre suffer first loss

MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - An electric finish from Alba Fehervar saw them seize control of Group O in the FIBA Europe Cup with an 86-81 road win over U-BT Cluj Napoca.

With the two teams going head-to-head for top spot in the group following Pau-Lacq-Orthez’s upset loss to Pardubice on Tuesday, the stakes were high in Romania.

The hosts looked on course for victory when Filip Adamovic’s three-pointer put them 79-74 up with 2:07 left to play. 

But Bradford Burgess’ basket was the first in eight unanswered points as Alba Fehervar roared back, taking the lead on James Farr’s three-pointer 26 ticks from time as part of a 12-2 run to the finish. 

It was left to Peter Lorant to score the final points of the game from the free-throw line on his way to a team-high 19 points for the visitors. 

Justin Edwards added 16 points and Brandon Taylor scored 13.

"It was a good game!" said Farr, who finished with 12 points. "We were down most of the game, but we showed that we have resilience. We trusted our coach’s game plan, we had some turnovers but we saved the game."

Maksym Pustozvonov led all scorers with 23 points in a losing cause, but gave credit to the visitors.

"We prepared for this game the last week, we know this team, we have met them already twice before and lost. We knew they are very physical, especially in rebounds, they do fast-breaks.

"They out-rebounded us and this was the difference. It’s a hard defeat because it’s on our home court. It’s hard to lose here but we don’t have time to cry. We have to fight to win the last two games."

Kormend stun Nanterre to inflict first loss

Nanterre's status as the last unbeaten team in the competition did not survive a trip to Kormend, where they suffered a surprisingly comfortable 91-74 defeat.

Kormend hit more than 50% from three-point range, with Terry Allen making five-of-seven on his way to 27 points. Parrish Petty collected 19 points, eight assists, five boards and four steals for the victors, who took the lead early in the first quarter and never looked back.

"We put a lot of effort into this game and played like a real team," said Kormend coach Gasper Potocnik.

"If you want to beat an unbeaten team like Nanterre you must really play like a team and tonight we showed signs of a good team." 

Elsewhere in the group, Bnei Herzliya beat Tsmoki-Minsk 88-77 to leave both teams at 1-3.

Around the League

APOEL shook up Group M with an upset 84-78 win over Telekom Baskets Bonn - APOEL’s first win of the Second Round and Bonn’s first loss.

The Cypriots scored the final eight points of the game to come from behind and stun the visitors, who beat them 96-58 in the reverse fixture on game day 1. After Vasilios Kounas tied the game with a pair of free throws with 75 seconds, Murphy Burnatowski put APOEL in front and Theron Bussey salted the game away with four points in the final 15 seconds. 

"It was a great win against the unbeatable team and leader of the group," said Kounas. "It was a big night for us and Cypriot basketball. We showed our potential on the court and we will give all our strength now to the domestic championship and cup competitions."

Bonn coach Predrag Krunic had no complaints about the outcome as he rued his team’s inability to replicate their display from the first meeting. "APOEL played well, defended very well and gave more energy and managed to win the game in Nicosia," Krunic said. "In the first game on our home court we won with a great points difference but today we didn’t play at the same level."

Bonn’s loss gave greater meaning to Prienu-Birstono’s 85-81 road win over Redwell-Gunners. The visitors led from late in the first quarter onwards, but still had to hold off a late rally as a 24-point third-quarter lead was wiped out in the fourth before Prienu-Birstono could edge clear once more. Prienu-Birstono are now level with Bonn at 3-1. 

Demir Insaat’s first loss in Group L came in comprehensive fashion as they went down 86-64 to Antwerp Giants, having been outscored 53-22 in the second half. However, the two teams continue to sit one and two in the group as BCM Gravelines' 79-68 road win over Prievidza left both at 1-3. 

Elan Chalon continued their unbeaten march through Group K, moving to 4-0 with an 88-66 romp over BC Mures behind 22 points and 10 rebounds from Cameron Clark.  

BC Enisey suffered an 81-67 home loss to Donar Groningen to leave them level with Lukoil Academic at 3-1 in Group P after the Bulgarians beat Benfica 76-67 on the road.

FIBA