FIBA Europe Cup domestic round-up: Gaziantep's winning streak continues

MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - While the FIBA Europe Cup is on a two-week hiatus after the completion of the Regular Season, the 24 teams who progressed to the Second Round of the competition have a fortnight to focus all of their efforts on the home front.

Three teams who stand out as having taken full advantage of that are Gaziantep, who added another win to their winning streak after a poor start to the season, and SL Benfica and U-BT Cluj-Napoca who maintained their advantage in the Portuguese and Romanian championships respectively.

Gaziantep take down undefeated Banvit in Turkey

The slow start in the Turkish BSL league is now a distant memory for Gaziantep, as the side picked up its third consecutive victory in the domestic championship this weekend.

Marcus Denmon and Andy Rautins got hot from outside the arc and combined for a 39-point total against the previously undefeated league leaders Banvit Bandirma which proved to be decisive in a low-scoring 69-60 triumph for Gaziantep.

The two sharp-shooters drained five apiece from three-point range, as Denmon finished with a game-high 22 points with 5 rebounds and 5 assists, while Rautins chipped in with 17 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

In large part thanks to their long-range shooting, Gaziantep dominated the game, leading by as many as 14 points (42-28) in the third quarter against the Basketball Champions League (BCL) club from Bandirma.

"We beat the only undefeated team in the league. I want to congratulate my players. Since we did not have a lot of time to prepare for the game, this victory came down to their effort," coach Stefanos Dedas flickered with pride after the victory.

After going winless in the first five fixtures on the home front, the team has now been undefeated for more than three weeks on the home front and in the FIBA Europe Cup, adding up to six wins altogether.

"This was our sixth victory in a row and it was important for us to have a good game. We want to continue this winning streak and fight for the top places in the standings," Dedas added.

The victory allowed Gaziantep to improve to a 3-5 record in the standings, catching up with the other FIBA Europe Cup side from Turkey, Demir Insaat Buyukcekmece, who are currently eighth on the league table.

U-BT Cluj-Napoca remain on top in Romania

On a six-game winning streak in Romania, U-BT Cluj-Napoca climbed to the top of the Liga Nationala standings with a solid victory against CSM CSU Oradea.

Due to their main rivals Steaua CSM having played a game less, Mihai Silvasan's team moved up to the top spot for the time being with an 8-1 record following an 86-72 victory at home against the defending champions from Oradea.

"It is an important victory, especially as we were without one of our most valuable players in Vlad Moldoveanu, who was injured. I'm very happy we have managed to maintain first place in the standings," Silvasan said after the game.

After a back and forth tussle that saw 11 ties and 15 lead changes in the first 35 minutes, the Cluj side took over down the stretch and outscored their opponents 18-4 in the second part of the final quarter.

With the scores tied at 68, Serbian playmaker Aleksandar Rasic ignited the decisive run with five points in a row, with Ousmane Barro also playing a key role in the game-changing stretch.

"It was a good game with very high intensity in which we managed to come out as winners. I am very happy about this, as the guys understood that we have to win against Oradea despite the circumstances," Cluj coach Silvasan reflected following the final whistle.

The guard duo of Kyndall Dykes and Filip Adamovic finished the game with 18 points apiece, Rasic chipped in with 14, while Barro double-doubled with 12 points and 11 boards.

SL Benfica reign supreme in Portugal

SL Benfica bounced back after last week's unexpected loss to UD Oliveirense, their first in the domestic championship, by steam-rolling the bottom-of-the-table Sampaense Basket to stay in pole position in the Portuguese Basketball League.

It was all back to smiles for the Eagles this weekend, as Carlos Lisboa's side administered a 99-65 rout of their still winless opponents to improve their league-best record to a solid 7-1 mark.

The game was close only in the very beginning of the first quarter, when Sampaense took a 15-8 lead, but a 11-0 run followed by a 10-0 stretch in the second quarter allowed Benfica to take a commanding 52-35 heading into the halftime break.

Despite the absence of one of the team's top scorers Carlos Morais, the red-hot Eagles also turned in a solid second half after the intermission to claim an easy victory.

Tomas Barroso used his chance to shine, collecting a game-high 26 points for the winners and adding 3 rebounds and 5 assists, while veteran Carlos Andrade chipped in with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists.

After being the only team from Portugal to progress to the Second Round of the FIBA Europe Cup, Benfica will be happy about leading against their main rivals and defending champions FC Porto in the domestic league this season.

The Dragons, who defeated Ovarense 79-66 this week, have registered five wins in seven games and still have a game in hand.

 FIBA