The Ukrainian side will face JL Bourg in the quarterfinals next week.
Prometey advances with 95-67 rout of Aris
Prometey Slobozhanske marched into the BKT EuroCup Quarterfinals with a convincing 95-67 victory over Aris Midea Thessaloniki at Arena Riga in the Latvian capital on Wednesday. Caleb Agada scored 8 points in a 10-2 Prometey start to set the tone and the Ukrainian side remained in control the rest of the way.
Agada, Gian Clavell and Ivan Tkachenko scored 16 points apiece to pace the winners. Ronald March contributed 15 points and 7 assists and Ondrej Balvin balled out with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks. Prometey will face Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse in the quarterfinals next week in France. Ronnie Harrell led the way with 20 points and 7 rebounds and Vassilis Toliopoulos scored 13 for Aris, which bows out for the competition after a strong return season to the competition.
After both teams come up empty on their first two possessions, Agada stole the ball from Toliopoulos, who was whistled for an unsportsmanlike foul. Agada then scored 6 straight points before Kris Bankston opened Aris’s account. Agada put Prometey up by as many as 8, but Harrell kept Aris in the picture. After Bankston’s dunk made it 12-10, Agada responded with a three-point play. Prometey made a series of substitutions that paid off quickly as March blocked a shot and Clavell netted a jumper to cap a 7-0 run. Despite a triple by Harrell, Clavell free throws stretched the margin to double figures and his three-pointer made it 28-17 after 10 minutes.
Threes by Issuf Sannon and March prompted an Aris timeout at 34-18. Baskets by Toliopoulos and Ismael Sanogo kept Aris in the fight, but March and Balvin kept the home side rolling. A three by Clavell from the corner extended the difference into the 20s with 2 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Harrell’s layup made it 51-32 at the break.
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Prometey picked up where it left off, with Tkachenko upping the lead to 57-34. Aris hit back with a Sanogo slam and a dunk by Roberts Blumbergs. It was to no avail as Tkachenko responded from deep and it was 63-41 midway through the third quarter. The home side seemed to have an answer for every Aris move as Tai Odiase pushed the margin to 26 before Dimitris Katsivelis put 74-50 on the scoreboard at the end of the period.
March opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back three-pointers to make it a 30-point game. Aris called a timeout to regroup, but the outcome was all but certain by this point. Things got even worse for Aris as Sanogo and Eleftherios Bochoridis both fouled out. The lead peaked at 31 on multiple occasions before a late Aris flurry when the game was already decided. The game ended with some concern for Prometey as Sannon was helped off the floor and straight to the locker room with an apparent ankle injury.