Trento and Valencia both won on the road on Tuesday night
Game Center: Key road wins for Cedevita, Lietkabelis, Ulm among Wednesday's 8 games
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Wednesday, December 11
Turk Telekom Ankara 87-77 Aris Midea Thessaloniki
Turk Telekom took an important step towards qualifying for the eighthfinals by topping Aris in the Turkish capital on Wednesday. Turk Telekom improved to 6-5 in Group B and now has a 2-0 record against Aris, which dropped to 2-9. Ismet Akpinar led the winners with 19 points and Anthony Brown added 18. Sharife Cooper paced Aris with 20 points.
Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius 104-100 Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv
Wolves tightened up the Group A playoff picture by coming back to beat Hapoel. Both teams are now tied at 6-5, with Hapoel narrowly claiming the head-to-head advantage after winning by 5 earlier in the season. A 12-0 run at the start of the fourth gave Wolves the lead for good. Anthony Cowan was the hero with a double-double of 28 points and 10 assists, while Andrew Andrews and Tre’Shawn Thurman combined for 9 triples as they totaled 20 and 23 respectively. Yam Madar powered Hapoel with 28 points and 7 assists.
U-BT Cluj-Napoca 89-86 Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse
Cluj battled to pull out a dramatic win over visiting Bourg. This marks the fourth consecutive home win for Cluj, which improved to 6-5 in Group B, the same record as Bourg. However, Bourg has a tiebreaker advantage thanks to its 11-point win between the sides in Round 2. Zavier Simpson starred with 27 points and 11 assists and De'Shawn Stephens stepped up with 17 points in a winning effort. Xavier Castaneda led Bourg with 17 points and 8 assists.
Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul 89-82 Bahcesehir College Istanbul
Besiktas held on for a hard-earned home win over Bahcesehir in Group A, prevailing in a thrilling city derby on the back of a strong first-half performance. Besiktas improved to 7-4 after its fourth win in the last five games, having also snapped Bahcesehir’s seven-game winning streak as the visitors, who top the group, dropped to 9-2. Conor Morgan paced Besiktas with 17 points and 7 boards and Kyle Allman scored 16 points for the hosts. At the other end, Tai Odiase poured a game-high 20 points to go with 8 boards in defeat.
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 87-93 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys
Lietkabelis earned a well-deserved road win at Samokov Arena in Bulgaria by downing second-placed Jerusalem. Jerusalem slipped to 7-4, while Lietkabelis improved to 3-7 to stay alive in the playoff race. Martinas Rubstavicius led the winners with 19 points in 22 minutes and Oleksandr Kovliar followed with career-high 18 points plus 6 assists. Jerusalem's Jared Harper was the game's top scorer with 24 points.
Umana Reyer Venice 75-80 Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana
Cedevita took a crucial step towards reaching the playoffs from Group A by downing Reyer on the road on Wednesday. Cedevita improved to 7-4 in the standings and has a 2-0 record against Reyer, which dropped to 5-6. Brynton Lemar led the winners with 23 points and Andrija Stipanovic added 10 for Cedevita. Jordan Parks and Mfiondu Kabengele led Reyer with 20 points apiece. Parks added 10 rebounds for a double-double.
Joventut Badalona 88-102 ratiopharm Ulm
Ulm remained in the running for third place in Group A as it swept the season series against Joventut. Ulm collected its third straight win since the national team break after having lost four of the previous five games for a 7-4 record. Ben Saraf led the way with 18 points and Justinian Jessup had 16 points and 4 three-pointers. Joventut’s nightmare season continued with a third straight defeat and seventh in the last eight games for a 3-8 record - three wins away from the playoff ranks. Kassius Robertson paced Joventut with a career-high 23 points.
Dreamland Gran Canaria 82-71 Buducnost VOLI Podgorica
Gran Canaria extended its winning streak to four games by beating Buducnost at Gran Canaria Arena on Wednesday. The hosts led from start to finish and improved their record to 9-2, moving top of Group A along with Bahcesehir College Istanbul. Buducnost recorded its second consecutive loss to drop to 4-7. John Shurna led all scorers with 18 points and Pierre Pelos netted 14. For Buducnost, Yogi Ferrell had 16 points and Fletcher Magee recorded 14.
Tuesday, December 10
Trefl Sopot 70-82 Dolomiti Energia Trento
Trento celebrated its first road win this season by defeating Trefl in Round 11 at Ergo Arena on Tuesday night. The visitors led by double digits for large parts of the game and outscored Trefl in each of the first three quarters. With this victory, Trento improved its record to 4-7, keeping its playoff hopes alive. Meanwhile, Trefl has yet to register a win this season. Jordan Ford led all scorers with 19 points in a winning effort. Marcus Weathers paced Trefl with a double-double of 14 points and 12 assists.
Veolia Towers Hamburg 78-86 Valencia Basket
Valencia was challenged more than it expected but grabbed another victory, beating Hamburg on the road to remain undefeated in Group B. Valencia laid the foundation for the win with a 2-21 surge in the third quarter to improve to 10-0. Josep Puerto hit 4 three-pointers in scoring a career-high 17 points to lead the Spanish side while Chris Jones added 12 points and 4 rebounds. Hamburg saw its modest two-game home winning streak snapped to fall to 2-9 at the bottom of the group. Recent addition Johnathan Stove was Hamburg’s leading scorer with 17 points.