FIBA Basketball

    Avtodor Saratov, Bakken Bears and Pinar Karsiyaka through to the Play-Offs

    MUNICH (Germany) - Three more teams confirmed their Play-Off berths in the FIBA Europe Cup, with Avtodor Saratov, Bakken Bears and Pinar Karsiyaka clinching qualification with a week to spare.

    MUNICH (Germany) - Three more teams confirmed their Play-Off berths in the FIBA Europe Cup, with Avtodor Saratov, Bakken Bears and Pinar Karsiyaka clinching qualification with a week to spare in the Second Round.

    After missing excellent opportunities to lock in their future in Group L last week, Avtodor Saratov and Bakken Bears left no prisoners this time around, registering resounding wins on Wednesday to get the job done.

    With the newly-appointed Evgeny Pashutin at the helm, Avtodor put together a near-perfect fourth quarter performance to come away victorious 105-81 against the visiting ZZ Leiden, as Trae Golden and Boris Savovic combined for 51 points.

    Golden posted 26 points and 12 assists in the qualification-clinching victory, as Savovic scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to complete a double-double of his own.

    "I want to congratulate the players for the very important win. Everything was not going well in the beginning, we allowed 47 points in the first 20 minutes and didn't play good defensively," Pashutin said after the win.

    "We made corrections in the second half. In the third quarter we began to play better defense and won the final quarter 36-13. The quality of our defense gave the confidence to our offense. We began to move the ball better and to trust each other."

    Having come out of the gates with 18 first-half points, Worthy De Jong finished the contest with a team-high 20 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists for ZZ Leiden.

    In the other Group L fixture, Bakken Bears rolled all over Kataja Basket 102-58 to get the necessary separation from the other two teams in the standings to secure a top-two finish alongside Avtodor.

    Tobin Carberry fueled the Danes with a team-high 17 points, while Hayden Dalton and Ryan Evans chipped in with 16 points apiece. Adrian Diaz collected 18 points and 8 boards for Kataja Basket.

    Meanwhile, Pinar Karsiyaka earned a place in the Play-Offs despite picking up a 104-91 defeat against the already-qualified s.Oliver Wurzburg in Group I, with group rivals Szolnoki Olaj doing them a favor by knocking out Z Mobile Prishtina from top-two contention.

    The Hungarians celebrated their first win since the start of the Second Round, beating the visitors from Kosovo 89-76 after outscoring them by double digits in the final frame of action.

    The two other winless teams, Lukoil Levski and Petrolina AEK, also ended their cold streaks. Lukoil Levski handed Alba Fehervar an 84-80 blow in Group J, while Petrolina AEK surprised Donar Groningen with an 80-70 win in Group K with Tyreek Duren leading the way with 26 points.

    In the other game in Group K, Rashawn Thomas willed Dinamo Sassari to a 79-69 victory over Pallacanestro Varese with 24 points and 6 rebounds, as the Sardinians moved into the top spot of the standings after securing the head-to-head tie-breaker. Both teams are already through to the Round of 16.

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