FIBA Europe Cup domestic round-up: Gunners top standings in Austria

MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - The build-up to the final week of action in the FIBA Europe Cup Regular Season took place in the domestic championship over the weekend.

Some of the teams, either qualified for the Second Round or eliminated from contention, did not feel any extra pressure, but for others it was the final test before the do-or-die battles on the international front.

Gunners top standings in Austria after first round

Having already punched their ticket to the FIBA Europe Cup Second Round even before their final Regular Season fixture against Pau-Lacq-Orthez, Redwell-Gunners Oberwart have quietly been getting their business done on the home front as well.

Despite early-season home losses to WBC Raiffeisen Wels and Kapfenburg Bulls, the defending Austrian Basketball Bundesliga champions have rebounded nicely and finished the first round of play at the top of the standings with a 6-2 record.

Over the weekend, Chris Cougaz's young side inscribed their latest victory after topping the visiting BC Hallmann Vienna 101-89 in a high-scoring affair at the Sporthalle Oberwart.

Derek Jackson Jr. and Andell Cumberbatch shouldered the biggest scoring load, scoring 23 and 22 points respectively.

However, it was Jamari Traylor’s incredible double-double that stole the spotlight, as the 24-year-old American forward finished the game with 18 points, 15 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks for a season-high efficiency index of 37.

Christopher McNealy, the team's leading scorer this season in the domestic championship, also scored 18 points, as the starting unit combined for 89 of the Gunners' 101 points.

Unexpected defeats for Lukoil Academic, Rilski Sportist in Bulgaria

A five-game winning streak by Lukoil Academic to start the domestic championship came to an unexpected end, as the defending Bulgarian NBL league champions slumped to a memorable upset in the hands of the sixth-placed Spartak Pleven on Saturday.

In a battle between David and Goliath, the underdogs from Pleven held on for a 108-104 overtime victory after surprisingly looking the more likely side to come away with the win for most of the contest.

Having managed only a single game in four tries before the big weekend upset, Spartak kept up with the high-scoring visitors throughout regulation and ran away to an 86-79 lead with six minutes remaining.

Academic, who had defeated their previous opponents by an average margin of 24.6 points, did manage to force overtime after outscoring their opponents 10-3 in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, but fell behind in the extra period once again.

Konstantin Koev led the winners with 27 points, while Pavlin Ivanov had the same amount for the losing side. Asen Velikov chipped in with 17 points for Academic.

Despite the loss, the Sofia club maintained its grip on first place in the standings with a 5-1 mark, as fellow FIBA Europe Cup side Rilski Sportist also suffered defeat this weekend, dropping to a 4-2 record after an 88-72 loss to Beroe.

Winning continues for Alba Fehervar and Kormend in Hungary

The in-form Alba Fehervar stayed hot over the weekend and inscribed its eighth consecutive victory across all competitions. Having won four games in a row in the FIBA Europe Cup, Branislav Dzunic’s side extended their winning streak to four games in the domestic championship as well.

Following a 94-86 win against Varas Budapest, the club from Fehervar go second in the Hungarian League Standings with a 7-1 record. Undefeated Egis Kormend lead the standings with two games in hand over Alba Fehervar.

Justin Edwards paced the winners with a team-high 20 points and added 5 rebounds and 5 assists, while point guard Brandon Taylor chipped in with 15 points.

"We started very badly, not the way we usually do. Despite our poor defence, we took an important victory," spoke Alba coach Branislav Dzunic after the game, emphasising the poor first quarter.

Elsewhere, Kormend got the better of Sopron in a duel between two FIBA Europe Cup sides, celebrating a 61-56 win in what can only be a described as a defence-first type of game on Sunday.

After a nip-and-tuck first half, Sopron broke away after the intermission and had a double-digit 52-41 lead heading into the final quarter of play after outscoring the visitors from Kormend 21-9 in the third period.

However, Teo Cizmic's men formed a seemingly unbreakable defensive wall in front of their basket in the final quarter, as they raced from behind to claim the win after allowing Sopron to only score 4 points in the period.

"It was a hard-fought and stressful match. It was very important for us to win, but I am sure Sopron thought so as well. Although we didn't have a good offensive game, we played well on defence and that brought us the victory," Cizmic said in the post-game press conference.

Terry Allen and Parrish Petty were the only two players in double figures for the winners with 15 and 13 points respectively. For Sopron, Norbert Takacs had 11 points.

Despite being the only undefeated team in the domestic championship, Kormend are only fourth in the standings with a 6-0 record, but have two games in hand. Meanwhile, Sopron are fifth with four wins in eight games.

FIBA