Zvezda beat Partizan after overtime drama, while Real Madrid, Milan, Monaco and Zalgiris all won their semifinal games
Domestic Cups: Zvezda wins trophy after OT; Real, Monaco, Milan, Zalgiris into finals
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Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade has won the Serbian Cup for the fifth consecutive time after a thrilling 89-83 overtime win over arch rival Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade on Saturday night in Nis, Serbia. Carlik Jones starred for Partizan with 34 points, but missed a chance to win the game in regulation. Meanwhile, Codi Miller-McIntyre scored 7 of his 9 points in the last 2 minutes of overtime as Zvezda finished the game on a 9-2 run to celebrate a win.
Filip Petrusev paced Zvezda with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Isaiah Canaan scored 13, Nikola Kalinc had 12 points, and Milos Teodosic 11 in a victory. Vanja Marinkovic, returning from a two-month absence due to Achilles injury, scored 13, Tyrique Jones scored 12 and Streling Brown 11 points in a loss.
It was a back-and-forth affair in which Partizan led 20-29 in the second quarter, but Petrusev and Dos Santos combined for the next 11 Zvezda points to it to 31-33, before Dejan Davidovac and Milos Teodosic each hit a three-pointer to give Zvezda a 40-37 halftime lead. Partizan restored its lead behind Carlik Jones fueling a 0-9 run to make it 47-50. Zvezda got back in front and teams traded blows as the game was going down to the wire. Kalinic scored a fastbreak layup to make it 77-74, but Carlik Jones scored a tough runner, than forced two free throws with 3.9 seconds left and Partizan down 77-76. But Jones missed the first, then made a second, to send the game into overtime.
In the extra session, Carlik Jones scored 4 points to put Partizan up 80-81, but Zvezda stepped up defensively allowing only one field goal in the final 3:48 of overtime, while Codi Miller-McIntyre drove twice to the rim, and scored 7 points by himself in that final 2 minutes to lift Zvezda to a victory.
France: Monaco runs past ASVEL into finals
AS Monaco is continuing its quest to win the Leaders Cup for the first time since 2018 after a 91-78 semifinal win over a fellow Turkish Airlines EuroLeague rival LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on Saturday night at Caen, France. On Sunday, Monaco will face Le Mans which beat Saint Quentin 88-85 in the other semifinal.
Monaco led from start to finish, had a 14-6 lead in the early going, then opened the second quarter with a 12-0 run to build a 36-18 margin, which grew to 21 points on several occasions in the second quarter. ASVEL did manage to cut to 47-37 in the final minute of the second quarter, and got within 53-45 in the third, but Monaco responded with an 11-1 run and paved its way to victory.
Mike James was Monaco’s top scorer with 17 points, Elie Okobo had 14, Alpha Diallo scored 12, while Matthew Strazel and Mam Jaiteh scored 10 apiece in a win. Nando De Colo led ASVEL with 18 points, Melvin AJinca had 13 and Theo Maledon 10 in a loss.
Spain: Los Blancos march on
Real Madrid is one step away from its Spanish Cup crown defense after downing tournament host Dreamland Gran Canaria 63-80 on Saturday night. In the final, Los Blancos will face Unicaja Malaga.
Gran Canaria had a better start to the semifinal, and held Real to just 10 first-quarter points. The margin grew to 26-12 after a 10-2 run, which included a triple from John Shurna, to open the second quarter. But Real answered with a 1-14 run, fueled by 8 points from Mario Hezonja and capped by a triple from Facundo Campazzo. Gran Canaria led 31-30 at the break, but Campazzo hit back-to-back triples to start Real’s 0-13 run to give it a 45-53 lead. Los Blancos never looked back, and Sergio Llull took over in the fourth as he fueled another spurt, increasing the margin to 54-73 midway through the fourth quarter, sealing the deal.
Hezonja had 14 points and 6 rebounds, Campazzo 13 points and 7 assists. Llull scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, while Walter Tavares collected 7 points and 11 rebounds. Caleb Homesley was the only Gran Canaria scorer in double figures with 15 points.
Italy: Big fourth quarter sends Milan into finals
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan has downed Germani Brescia 74-69 to reached the Italian Cup finals. Milan will be looking to lift its first Cup trophy since 2022 on Sunday, against either Dolomiti Energia Trento or Pallacanestro Trieste. The only two players scoring in double figures in this semifinal clash were Shavon Shields with 19 points and Nikola Mirotic with 14. Maurice Ndour had 20, and Miro Bilan 17 points for Brescia.
In a low-scoring first half, Brescia went in front behind Bilan who sparked a 1-8 run bridging the first and second quarter. But a three-pointer from Shields put Milan back in front before baskets from Mirotic and Neno Dimitrijevic secured Milan a 34-33 halftime lead. Brescia restored its lead quickly in the third quarter, and led 43-47, but Mirotic scored 8 straight points for Milan, to cut within 51-52 after 30 minutes. In the fourth, Stefano Tonut hit a three-pointer to get Milan back in front, before Diego Flaccadori and Gimapaolo Ricci combined for 9 points to open a 67-54 lead with 4:39 to go and Milan held off Brescia's attempt to rally.
Lithuania: Zalgiris handles Lietkabelis for another final appearance
Zalgiris Kaunas is back to the Lithuanian Cup final and will be playing for sixth straight crown after a 79-56 semifinal win over 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys on Saturday night. This is also the 11th consecutive time Zalgiris will play in the finals, where it will face Neptunas, which edged Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius 87-83 in the other semifinal. Lonnie Walker finished the game with 19 points, Ignas Brazdeikis had 16, Sylvain Francisco 14 points and Deividas Sirvydis 10 points and 7 rebounds. Mantas Rubstavicius scored 14 and Djordje Gagic 10 points for Lietkabelis.
Zalgiris went in front early, building a 14-4 lead with Brazdeikis, Francisco and Edgaras Ulanovas scoring all points. Zalgiris extended it to 23-10 before the end of the first quarter and kept the margin safe. Gagic helped Lietkabelis get the margin into single digit, but Zalgiris ended up holding a 38-27 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Brazdeikis scored the first 5 points, followed by back-to-back triples from Francisco. Ulanovas scored the next 5 points, including a three-pointer, extending the margin to 54-36. Rubstavicius and Oleksandr Kovliar got life back into Lietkabelis, and the margin was 58-48 early in the fourth, but Sirvydis scored 5 points, including a three-pointer and Zalgiris never looked back.
Germany: Bayern out in the semis
Syntainics MBC ousted FC Bayern Munich 93-95 in a dramatic semifinals of the German Cup. The hero was Martin Breunig who scored a last-second put-back. Before that, Nick Weiler-Babb gave Bayern a 91-90 lead in penultimate minute, only for Michael Devoe to hit a triple for MBC with 46 seconds left. Carsen Edwards’ free throws tied things at 93-93 with 27 seconds to go, but Breunig made sure it was MBC celebrating. Breunig had 13 points and 9 rebounds, Spencer Reaves scored 23 and Devoe 22 points. Edwards was Bayern’s top scorer with 21 points, Andreas Obst netted 17, while Vladimir Lucic had 16. Also scoring in double digits were Oscar Da Silba with 13 and Johannes Voigtmann with 12 points. Weiler-Babb had 9 points and 11 assists.