Tuesday night was an evening for the home teams in the first leg of the Eurocup quarter finals but things were a bit different on Wednesday night. This is because it was the away team that took the initiative in both games, giving them something to defend in front of their own fans next week.
These two results will have an impact on player’s confidence levels going into the second leg of these games but nothing is done and dusted just yet.
Stelmet Zielona Gora 82 – Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas 93
Grabbing an away win is always an aim for the travelling team in the first leg but winning by 11 points is definitely something that ranks highly for many fans. Gran Canaria will know that they have a job to do next week but they will be confident of reaching the semi-final for a second year in a row after winning this game so strongly.
The hosts were in charge early on, and at half-time, in a game that ebbed between both sides. With ten minutes left on the clock, the hosts moved to a 65-67 lead but there was still time for Zielona Gora to push into a 71-70 lead and there was still more time for the away team to push on and take full control of the first leg.
Alen Omic was the top man for the winners, grabbing 20 points and 8 rebounds, Sasu Salin provided 16 points, Xavi Rabaseda grabbed 12 points and Pablo Aguilar provided 11 points. Dee Bost was the main man for the hosts with 20 points, Karol Gruzecki provided 13 points, Lukasz Koszarek grabbed 12 points and Vlad Moldoveau picked up 10 points in the loss.
Nizhny Novgorod 85 – Strasbourg 94
This away win sees Strasbourg on the brink of becoming the first French side to reach the quarter finals of the Eurocup. While the away team were mainly in control, an 11-0 scoring run across the first two quarters gave the hosts some hope that they were going to stay in the game. At half-time there were just two points in it, 48-50, but this quickly stretched to a 50-63 record and the away team were on a roll to the end of the game.
Mardy Collins picked up 24 points in the win, Romain Duport provided 18 points, Jeremy Leloup grabbed 14 points, Rodrigue Beaubois offered 11 points and Louis Campbell notched 10 points for the winners. For the hosts, Evgeny Baburin offered 20 points; Semen Antonov provided 18 points, Dmitry Khvostov notched 14 points and Vladmir Ivlev grabbed 11 points in the loss.
The second leg of the Eurocup quarter finals conclude next week, with the games scheduled for:
Tuesday 22nd March
- Galatasaray Istanbul (89) v FC Bayern Munich (99)
Wednesday 23rd March
- EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (73) v Dolimiti Energia Trento (83)
- Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas (93) v Stelmet Zieolona Gora (82)
- Strasbourg (94) v Nizhny Novgorod (85)
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