MUNICH (Germany) - The Second Round of the FIBA Europe Cup resumed in style this week with another undefeated record tumbling at the halfway point.
Tofas Bursa suffered their first loss of the competition with defeat at home to Casademont Zaragoza, leaving Bilbao Basket as the only perfect team left as they improved to 3-0, while there was a chaotic finish in Maroussi as they came from behind to edge FC Porto.
Key storylines
Zaragoza dethrone previously unbeaten Tofas Bursa;
Keene hits back-to-back threes for Maroussi in frantic finish;
Bilbao remain the only unbeaten side;
Cholet dismiss winless Sassari.
Weekly highs
Efficiency: Toney Douglas (FC Porto) - 38 Points: Toney Douglas (FC Porto) - 36 Rebounds: Jilson Bango (Casademont Zaragoza) / Toney Douglas (FC Porto) - 10 Assists: T.J. Campbell (Cholet Basket) / Elvar Fridriksson (Maroussi BC) - 8 Steals: Kris Richard (CSM CSU Oradea) - 4 Blocks: Joaquin Rodriguez (Casademont Zaragoza) / Luke Petrasek (Anwil Wloclawek) - 3
Zaragoza let it rain in Bursa; Keene wins it for Maroussi
Casademont Zaragoza began the New Year in spectacular fashion by ending the unbeaten run of Tofas Bursa, winning 97-83 on the road. The Spanish outfit drained an astonishing 17 three-pointers with Jilson Bango's double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds leading the way.
Marcquise Reed led Tofas with 24 but drop their first game of the competition, going to 2-1 - the same record as Zaragoza - in Group K.
Two clutch triples from Marcus Keene including the game-winner with 1.6 seconds left gave Maroussi BC an 82-81 victory over FC Porto in a classic Group K clash. Toney Douglas thought he gave Porto the win by giving them an 81-79 advantage, but Keene had other plans as the Greek side fought back from 17 points down to take their first lead and steal it at the death.
Keene had 16 to lead Maroussi, canceling out Douglas' incredible 36-point, 10-rebound effort as they drop to 0-3.
Bilbao Basket moved to 3-0 in Group L as they held off a spirited fightback from ESSM Le Portel to win 74-65 behind a team-high 18 points from Melwin Pantzar.
Meanwhile, PAOK mateco have created separation at the top of Group M as they beat JDA Bourgogne Dijon 95-81. Shavar Reynolds led a balanced scoring attack with 20 points on 4-for-9 shooting for unbeaten PAOK as they close in on the Quarter-Finals.
BC Kalev/Cramo secured their first win in Group M with an 83-76 road win to CSM CSU Oradea, who suffered their second defeat in three. The Estonians led from tip to the final buzzer with their lead peaking at 19 points, led by Elijah Clarence's 21 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Kris Richard led all scorers for Oradea with 23.
Anwil Wloclawek also got their first win in the Second Round, beating Fribourg Olympic 78-72. Kamil Laczynski led the victors with 17 points as they withstood a 31-point onslaught by Eric Nottage.
On Tuesday night, Cholet Basket piled more gloom on Banco di Sardegna Sassari as 20 points from Bastien Vautier secured an 82-70 win to improve the French side's record in Group L to 2-1, while their Italian counterparts plummet further to 0-3.
FIBA