08 October, 2019
04 October, 2020
06/11/2019
Game Report
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Manresa hand Turk Telekom first loss - Gameday 4, Wednesday roundup

MIES (Switzerland) - BAXI Manresa prevailed over Turk Telekom in a very tight clash to end the Turkish side's three-game winning streak and create in the process a three-team tie at the top of the Group A standings, at the end of a highly entertaining Gameday 4.

Meanwhile Hapoel Jerusalem came back from a 15-point deficit to deny Anwil and extend their own unbeaten record in Group B.

Let's have a closer look at each of the seven Wednesday games:

BAXI Manresa 80-75 Turk Telekom -- Group B


A third home game, a third win for Manresa, which this time overcame 80-75 a Turk Telekom side that arrived in town as the only unbeaten team in the group.

The very balanced contest featured 17 lead changes and with neither team ever leading by more than 7 points at any stage in the game, it became obvious early on that the fight would come down to the wire.

Muhammed Baygül made two free-throws to tie the scores at 75-all with just 1:12 remaining on the clock but Manresa run an elaborate play to get an open look for Ryan Toolson in the corner.

The veteran sharp-shooter duly obliged, knocking down a triple on a Frankie Ferrari assist, and the visitors tried to reply as quickly as possible but Baygül was called for an offensive foul.

Turk Telekom then swiftly fouled Ferrari to stop the clock, but the Manresa point guard sunk both free-throws to lift his team to an 80-75 lead with 39 ticks on the clock and, after a time-out by the Turkish side, R.J. Hunter misfired from downtown.

Ferrari and Toolson finished with 19 points each, with the former also dishing out 7 assists to lead a Manresa side that saw its bench players contribute 28 valuable points. Baygül finished with a game-high 20 points in a losing effort.

Manresa, Turk Telekom as well as Dinamo Sassari now stand at 3-1 at the top of the standings.

Teksüt Bandirma 50-68 AEK -- Group B


AEK held Bandirma an incredible 31 points below the Turkish team's  average offensive output over the first three games and cruised to a 68-50 win, the Greek side's first success on the road in this BCL season.

The Athens defense started tightening the screws late in the first quarter and Vasileios Toliopoulos sunk a triple 3:51 from the half-time buzzer to cap a 12-0 AEK run and stretch the visitors' lead to 31-14.

Bandirma, who only shot 8 of 27 from the floor in the first half, scored the first 4 points of the final quarter but Howard Sant-Roos and Keith Langford hit back-to-back threes to kill off any thoughts of a comeback as the gap widened to 59-41 with less than 8 minutes to play.

Lanford finished with 14 points and 4 rebounds while Jonas Maciulis had 11 points, 4 boards and 2 assists. Omar Prewitt finished with 16 points and Emanuel Terry collected a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds in losing efforts.

AEK have improved to 3-1 in the standings while Bandirma dropped to 1-3.

Neptunas Klaipeda 91-73 Casademont Zaragoza -- Group D


Neptunas had suffered from quite erratic three-point shooting in their first three games but on Wednesday they shot a solid 13 of 28 from behind the arc against Zaragoza's zone defense to celebrate a 91-73 win in front of their fans in Klaipeda.

The contest featured 7 lead changes early on but an Osvaldas Olisevicius triple 5:26 from the half-time break capped an 11-3 burst for the hosts and gave them their first double-digit lead, 32-22.

Zaragoza shot just 15 percent (2 of 13) from downtown in the first half but found some open looks in transition after the interval and Nicolas Brussino drilled two three-pointers in quick succession to reduce the gap to 72-62 with 6:51 left on the clock.

Osvaldas Olisevicius however replied immediately, also from behind the arc, and Neptunas went on another run to pull away 80-64 with just five minutes remaining to play.

Olisevicius led six Neptunas in double-digits with his 18 points and also added 4 boards while Deividas Gailius had 15 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds. Zaragiza big man Javier Justiz finished with a near double-double of 17 points and 9 rebounds in a losing effort.

Neptunas have improved to 3-1 on the table while Zaragoza dropped to 2-2

Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 112-94 Anwil Wloclawek -- Group B


Suleiman Braimoh came off the bench and delivered an almost flawless performance with an efficiency rating of 40 to inspire a Hapoel come-from-behind 112-94 victory over Anwil

The Israeli team maintains a perfect record after four games, while Anwil slide to 1-3 despite their spirited display Wednesday at one of the toughest courts in Europe.

The Polish team put on an impressive shooting display early on and started off on 8 of 13 from behind the arc to race to a 48-33 lead midway through the second quarter.

Braimoh and James Feldeine made big plays for Hapoel to snap out of its subdued start, although Chris Dowe hit a jumper almost at the half-time buzzer to keep Anwil ahead 53-52 at the break.

Anwil managed to rebuild a 7-point lead early in the third quarter but Feldeine sunk a triple with 3:12 left in the period to instigate a 14-5 Hapoel run which Braimoh capped with a lay-up at the third buzzer.

J’Covan Brown converted a three-point play and followed up with a triple at the start of the final frame and once the hosts grabbed their first double-digit lead, 87-77, they never looked back.

Braimoh collected 33 points on 13 of 14 shooting from the field, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, Feldeine added 23 points, 5 boards and 4 assists while Brown had 21 points and 5 boards. Anwil's Dowe and Chase Simon finished with 17 points apiece, with the latter going 5 of 9 from behind the arc.

Telenet Giants Antwerp 74-81 RASTA Vechta -- Group B


Vechta went on a mini-run late in the second quarter to pull away from their hosts and secure an 81-74 win over the Giants in Antwerp.

This is the fourth time the German newcomers have scored at least 80 points in as many games in the BCL and they have now improved to 3-1 on the group table, while Antwerp dropped to 1-3.

With the visitors leading 34-32 and 4:37 remaining to the half-time break, Steve Vasturia knocked down a shot from downtown to instigate a 16-8 burst and Vechta went to the locker rooms leading 50-40.

The German side maintained a double-digit margin until a Dennis Donkor triple with just two minutes left on the clock reduced the deficit to 77-70, but Michael Kessens replied immediately on a Vasturia assist and Antwerp were left with impossibly little time to close the 9-point gap.

The Belgian side will take some heart from the fact that they shot 16 of 20 from the stripe, after having struggled from the foul line in the first three games, when they converted only 55.7 percent (44 of 79) of their free-throw attempts.

Ishmail Wainright paced Vechta with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists while Vasturia finished with a near double-double of 15 poit s and 9 assists. Donkor finished with a game-high 19 points in a losing effort.

SIG Strasbourg 81-86 UNET Holon -- Group A


Holon delivered a second consecutive big performance on the road and held off a late rally by Strasbourg to beat the French side 86-81.

With Strasbourg leading 46-43 and 5:33 remaining in the third quarter, Troy Caupain scored with a lay-up and sparked a 17-2 burst by the visitors, who jumped ahead 60-48.

The Israeli side extended the lead to as many as 15 points early in the final stanza, but Gabe York reduced the gap to just 77-75 from the foul line, with two minutes remaining to play.

Troy Caupain split two free-throws but Strasbourg missed a lay-up that would have made it a one-point game and cold-as-ice Marcus Foster knocked down a triple to give Holon an 81-75 cushion with just over a minute left.

Malachi Richardson led all Holon scorers with 17 points and also had 6 rebounds, while Latavious Williams came up with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. For Strasbourg, Gabe York finished with a game-high 23 points after going 6 of 21 from three-point range.

Both teams now stand at 2-2 on the Group A table.

Happy Casa Brindisi 84-72 Besiktas Sompo Sigorta -- Group D


Brindisi led Besiktas from start to finish and punished severely the Turkish side's mistakes after the break to clinch an 84-72 victory at home.

The Italian side forced 19 turnovers, off which they scored 32 points.

The hosts went into the interval leading 41-35 and an Adrian Banks jumper with 4:02 remaining in the third frame lifted them to their first double-digit lead, 53-42.

Brindisi tightened the screws further on defense and extended the gap to 21 points, 77-56, on a Tyler Stone triple with 6:02 left to play.

Luca Campogrande had 16 points on 4 of 4 shooting from downtown to pace Brindisi and Stone finished with 14 points and 3 assists. Shaquielle McKissic and Toddrick Gotcher of Besiktas had a joint game-high 22 points.

This is the Italian team's second success in this edition of the BCL and Brindisi now stand at 2-2 while Besiktas have dropped to 1-3.