20 October, 2020
09 May, 2021
2 Raymar Morgan (KSK)
27/01/2021
Game Report
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Karsiyaka earn final Play-Offs spot - Week 12 Wednesday roundup

MIES (Switzerland) - Pinar Karsiyaka picked up the 16th and final ticket to the 2020-21 Basketball Champions League Play-Offs after defeating RETAbet Bilbao on the day that the curtain fell on Regular Season action.

Also in Group F, Brose Bamberg signed off the Regular Season as the only unbeaten team while over in Group H, reigning champions Hereda San Pablo Burgos edged out Happy Casa Brindisi for first place in the standings.

Pinar Karsiyaka 85-76 RETAbet Bilbao -- Group F


Pinar Karsiyaka used a 14-0 run early in the second quarter to pull away from RETAbet Bilbao and reach an 85-76 win at home, earning a trip to the Play-Offs upon their return to the BCL this season.

The Turkish team finished at 4-2 in the Group F standings and took second place behind Brose Bamberg, maintaining therefore their perfect postseason record in the BCL as they've reached the Play-Offs all three times they have participated in the competition.

Bilbao scored the first basket in the second frame to take a 21-20 lead, but it proved the last time the Spanish team would enjoy the view from the driver's seat, as Karsiyaka held their visitors scoreless during the next five minutes.

Raymar Morgan, who was superb for the winners on both ends of the foor, sunk two free-throws 4:55 from the halftime buzzer to cap off Karsiyaka's 14-0 run and the Turkish team went ahead 34-21.

Bilbao, needing a 10-point win in order to advance, never managed to muster enough energy for a comeback attempt and the hosts even led by as many as 25 points before the visitors reduced the gap somewhat in the final minutes.

Amath M`Baye paced Karsiyaka with 23 points and 3 assists while Morgan finished with 20 points and 3 steals, as Karsiyaka forced 15 Bilbao turnovers off which they scored 22 points.

For Bilbao, who finished their maiden BCL campaign on a 2-4 record and in third place in the group, Alex Reyes had 14 points and 7 rebounds in a losing effort.

Brose Bamberg 83-68 Fortitudo Bologna -- Group F


Brose Bamberg are the only team to conclude the 2020-21 Regular Season on a perfect 6-0 record after stifling Fortitudo Bologna to clinch an 83-68 win at home in the final game of Group F.

Fortitudo, who were hoping to avoid bowing out of their maiden BCL campaign without even a single tick in the win column, grabbed a 26-24 lead with 5:32 left in the second stanza.

But Mateo Seric drilled a triple to ignite a 15-0 Bamberg run that David Kravish capped off with a dunk and made it 39-26 for the German team.

The visitors climbed their way back within one point, 45-44, midway through the third stanza, but Alex Ruoff knocked down a three-pointer 5:28 from the end of the period to spark an 11-0 Bamberg burst, and this time around the Italian team had no answer.

Kravish was the only Bamberg player to score in double digits and he finished with 11 points and 4 rebounds, but 10 more players on the German team wrote their name on the scoreboard, in a demonstration of their depth in offense. Wesley Saunders finished with a game-high 16 points for Fortitudo in a losing effort.

Happy Casa Brindisi 86-90 Hereda San Pablo Burgos -- Group H


Hereda San Pablo Burgos edged out Happy Casa Brindisi 90-86 in a tight clash that featured 18 lead changes and took first place in Group H ahead of the Italian team, who saw their star player D'Angelo Harrison suffer a knee injury.

The two teams traded buckets for most of the first half but the reigning BCL champions, who had led for most of the night albeit with slight margins, appeared to be finally creating some separation early in the fourth frame.

Jasiel Rivero drilled a triple 7:42 from the final buzzer to cap off a 10-4 start to the period and Burgos claimed the first double-digit lead in the game, 76-66, which proved shortlived.

Despite playing the entire second half without Harrison, who stayed on the court for only 16 minutes before picking up the injury, Brindisi found a way to halt the Spanish side and bring the gap back to single digits.

After Alessandro Zanelli knocked down a 3 to reduce the deficit to 88-86 though, 11 seconds from time, Vítor Benite drew a foul and calmly made both his free-throws to secure the win for Burgos.

Maksim Salash had his best game since joining Burgos back in December and paced the champions with 20 points, while Rivero finished with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds. Nick Perkins had a near double-double of 19 points and 9 boards for Brindisi in defeat.

Filou Oostende 77-67 Darüssafaka Tekfen -- Group H


Filou Oostende held Darüssafaka Tekfen scoreless during a six-minute stretch in the third quarter and created a 14-point cushion that lifted them to a 77-67 win and third place in Group H.

After Emircan Kosut scored with a layup 8:43 from the end of the third period to tie the scores at 46-46, Thomas Welsh replied with a dunk to spark Oostende's 14-0 burst.

Welsh again capped off the run with a layup right at the three-minute mark to stretch the Belgian lead to 60-46, when and Erkan Veyseloğlu finally stopped the rot for Darüssafaka by hitting a triple shortly before the final stanza.

The Turkish team managed to momentarily trim the deficit to five points, 70-65 with two minutes left to the final buzzer, but Jean-Marc Mwema scored 7 quick-fire points to seal the deal for Oostende.

The hosts shot an eye-popping 76.5 percent from two-point range as Loic Schwartz finished with 14 points and Mwema added 12 points and 5 boards, while Berk Demir and Grant Jerrett had 13 points apiece for Darüssafaka.