Semaj Christon led ratiopharm Ulm to eliminate host Joventut Badalona by registering a career-high performance index rating of 31.
Christon's magic night boosted Ulm
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Ulm's starting point guard won't soon forget his 7DAYS EuroCup Eighthfinals showdown against top-seeded Joventut Badalona. Christon became the best player on the court by scoring 21 points, grabbing 5 rebounds and dishing 6 assists in 34:04 minutes of playing time. That was good for a career-high PIR of 31 for Christon, who is playing in his second EuroCup season.
Christon was even more lethal when the game was on the line. He took over in the last quarter and provided Ulm with 12 points, with half of them coming within a 3-16 run that allowed the visitors to take the lead for good, 63-72, entering crunch time. Altogether, Ulm outscored Joventut 19-28 in that final 10 minutes, accounting for all of the difference – and more – in the 73-79 final score.
"We stuck together. In the first half, we knew that if we kept it close, we would have a chance to make it a good game and that's what we did," Christon said afterward. "We played a good game and that was the goal, to make it through the first round."
After knocking off the top seed in the EuroCup Playoffs on the road, Christon was not about to predict what might come next for Ulm, which will face the winner of Wednesday's game between Virtus Segafredo Bologna and Lietkabelis Panevezys in the quarterfinals.
"Anything can happen, anything is possible right now," Christon said. "We just grabbed the first win so let's see what happens next. But tonight, we have to celebrate."