Who will reach the semifinals of the Eurocup?
This week Eurocup will determine the semi-finalists of this edition. The only country with 2 teams left in Spain; Turkey, Ukraine, Germany, Greece, Israel and France each send a team to the quarterfinals in a single-match knockout system.
Turk Telekom – Ratiopharm Ulm
The Turks managed to eliminate Brescia 77-69 thanks to a very good 4th quarter 18-11 and dominating in rebounds 43-33, the main scorers were Bouteille 21 points and Jones 14 points, 8 rebounds. Ulm had a much more difficult match with Buducnost after they were led by 33-16 in the 2nd quarter. Thanks to a double-double from Caboclo, 19 points, 11 rebounds and 18 points from Paul, they managed to win 92-83. The Turks are a formidable team at home with a 7-2 record in the regular season and are favorites against a team that finished the regular season 5-4 on the road.
Prometey Slobozhanske – Promitheas Patras
The dream season of the Ukrainians, winners of group A, is starting to turn into a nightmare because captain Denis Lukashov will undergo an operation, DJ Kennedy (10.7 ppg, 5.2 reb) is out for the rest of the season, Caleb Agada (15.4 ppg. 3.8 reb, 3.9 ast) will miss at least 2 more weeks and DJ Stephens (13.9 ppg, 5.2 reb) who played against the Germans with great pain and his exact condition is not known. And with all these problems they managed to win with Hamburg 87-79, thanks to Sydorov’s 21 points and Stephens 15 points and 9 rebounds. Promitheas passed Bourg 89-75 in a game dominated by the duo of Cowan (20 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists) – Kulboka (20 points, 5 rebounds). The Greeks will certainly not give in easily considering the problems of the hosts and they even have a good chance of victory.
Joventut Badalona – Hapoel Tel Aviv
Probably the most interesting match of the quarters, 2 fairly balanced teams with Badalona scoring 84.7 ppg and Hapoel 88.7 ppg. The Spaniards eliminated the London Lions 89-78 with 6 players in double digits and with Ante Tomic on a big day with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. The biggest difference was in rebounds 50-23 in favor of the Spaniards. Hapoel managed to get past Reyer Venice 90-80 but they were about to lose a huge advantage, from 77-55, the score became 84-80 but they had more cool blood at the end. Six players were in double digits with Munford having 13 points and 9 rebounds. The Spaniards have the first chance to qualify, having 8-1 in home matches in the regular season, while Hapoel only 5-4 in away matches.
Gran Canaria – Paris Basketball
Probably the most unbalanced side of the quarter-finals, the trophy favorite, Gran Canaria will try to extend its winning streak at home. After 9-0 at home in the regular season, Bursaspor was the 10th victim of this Eurocup season after 72-66 thanks to Shurna 17 points and Diop 11 points. The French managed a huge victory in Lithuania with Lietkabelis 97-98, with Begarin 22 points, Wallace 19 points and 10 assists. There will also be a duel of rising stars: Diop and Balcerowski vs Begarin and Kamagate.
Valentin Petruta
Photo credit: Eurocup
