20 October, 2020
09 May, 2021
12 Robin Benzing (ZARA), 21 Rodrigo San Miguel (ZARA), 8 D. J. Seeley (ZARA)
21/10/2020
Game Report
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Zaragoza snatch victory from jaws of defeat at Lublin, Spissu lifts Sassari over Galatasaray - Wednesday roundup

MIES (Switzerland) - Casademont Zaragoza outscored Pszczólka Start Lublin 15-6 in the final three minutes and needed DJ Seeley to hit a triple at the final buzzer to edge the Polish newcomers on the road, in the opener for both teams in the 2020-21 Basketball Champions League Regular Season.

Meanwhile in the other Wednesday game, over in Group A, an inspiring performance by Marco Spissu helped Dinamo Sassari dominate BCL debutants Galatasaray and secure a valuable home victory in their season premiere.

Pszczólka Start Lublin 85-86 Casademont Zaragoza -- Group D


Casademont Zaragoza rallied from an 11-point deficit with less than five minutes left on the clock and a DJ Seeley triple at the buzzer lifted the Spanish team to an 86-85 victory on the road over a shell-shocked Pszczólka Start Lublin, the BCL debutants from Poland.

Jason Thompson converted a three-point play right before the three-minute mark in the opening quarter and Seeley followed up with a triple to give the Spanish team their biggest lead of the night, 23-10.

Lublin had given up 11 points off turnovers up until that point but they drastically reduce mistakes in the second quarter, started chipping away at the gap and Lester Medford scored four quick-fire points to cap off a 10-0 run and give the Polish side their first ever lead in the BCL, 52-51 with 5:45 left in the third quarter.

Joshua Sharma scored with a layup and Martins Laksa followed up with a triple 6:10 from the final buzzer to trigger a new Lublin run and the hosts stretched the lead to 77-66, their biggest lead of the game, on a Mateusz Dziemba jumper 4:40 from the end.

With Zaragoza's backs to the wall, Nicolas Brussino pulled off a few heroics to out the Spanish team back into game but, after the Argentinian international fouled out 21 seconds from time, Medford made it 84-80 for the hosts from the foul line.

Luka Rupnik however drew a foul on a three-point attempt, made all three free-throws and, after Kamil Laczynski split a pair on the other end, the Slovenian international run down the floor, drew a double team and kicked out in the corner to Seeley, who knocked down the winner right as the buzzer was sounding off.

Brussino finished with 21 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds, Dylan Ennis chipped in with 17 points while Jason Thompson had 13 points and 8 boards for Zaragoza. Laksa scored 17 points and Medford had a near double-double of 10 points and 9 assists in losing efforts.

Dinamo Sassari 93-84 Galatasaray -- Group A


Dinamo Sassari took the lead roughly a minute into the game and never looked back, as an amazing display by Marco Spissu fueled them to a 93-84 victory over Galatasaray in the game that concluded Gameday 1 action in Group A.

Sassari started off the second frame on a 15-5 run which Spissu capped off with a triple 4:56 from the halftime buzzer, stretching the lead to 18 points, 35-17.

The Italian side, which held Galatasaray to just 12.5 percent shooting from three-point range during the first half, outscored the visitors 52 to 32 in the paint and outrebounded them 43 to 30.

Daryl Macon hit a three with exactly four minutes left to the end of the third period to reduce the gap to five points, 57-52, but Spissu replied swiftly with a triple of his own from the corner

Filip Kruslin hit a triple 7:19 from the final buzzer to restore a double-digit lead for Sassari, 75-65, and the hosts led from a safe distance the rest of the way.

Spissu finished with 22 points on 6 of 9 three-point shooting, 8 assists, 6 rebounds for an efficiency rating of 33, just short of his BCL career-high of 34. Justin Tillman was key off the bench and had 17 points and 7 rebounds, while Miro Bilan chipped in with 16 points and 9 boards.

For Galatasaray, Brock Motum had a team-high 24 points and 7 rebounds, while Daryl Macon collected 20 points and 4 rebounds in defeat.