Eurocup

We already knew Herbalife Gran Canaria and Virtus Segafredo Bologna had safely booked their passage to the EuroCup Final Four, but two ties were still to be decided. On Wednesday night, we found out which two additional teams were making up the Semi-Finals.

Scores from Wednesday 31st March

AS Monaco 90 – 87 Buducnost VOLI Podgorica

Going in to this tie, the away sides triumphed in the first two games, but AS Monaco managed to turn that around, making their way through to the Semi-Final stage.

It was a close affair, with the game going right to the wire, but it was the French side who just about did enough. The away side had a one-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but Monaco outscored them in the three remaining quarters, taking the win by a slender margin.

Mathias Lessort scored a stunning 24 points in the win, leading by example. Justin Cobbs delivered 17 points in defeat, but with his sides EuroCup action ending for the season, the player can take no joy or comfort in his strong personal performance.

UNICS Kazan 82 – 78 Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar

There wasn’t a lot between these sides, but in the end, home-court advantage counted in this tie. Every game was won by the side at home, and as Kazan held this advantage, they were the side who held their nerve in the end.

Krasnodar were ahead by six at the end of the opening quarter, but UNICS more than turned this around in the second quarter. The size from Kazan outscored their opponents by ten points just before half-time. In the second half, the teams split the quarters, both winning one by a single point. This allowed Kazan to sail home comfortably in the end.

Jamar Smith contributed 19 points in the win, while Jordan Morgan offered 17 points for UNICS. For the losing side, Kevin Hervey notched 22 points and Mindaugas Kuzminskas picked up 19 points in a sore loss.

The EuroCup Semi-Final games, with Game 2 scheduled for Tuesday 6th April, are:

  • AS Monaco vs. Herbalife Gran Canaria
  • Virtus Segafredo Bologna vs. UNICS Kazan