🏀 As the Eurocop Last 32 reaches its halfway point in Round 3, all teams enter a crucial stretch that starts with a first of the two consecutive games against the same opponent, home and away. Interestingly, all seven 2-0 teams play on the road this week knowing that another win puts them in full control of their respective groups. Among those teams, two of them - Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar and Herbalilfe Gran Canaria Las Palmas – are hoping to extend what have been perfect 12-0 records, including the regular season, so far. Meanwhile, seven 0-2 teams are entering desperation mode, and face must-win games. Action in Last 32 Round 3 starts with three games on Tuesday, and the remaining 13 games are scheduled for Wednesday. Group G In an all-Russian showdown, Unics Kazan (1-1) hosts group leader Zenit St. Petersburg (2-0), led by Walter Hodge, one of most productive players this season. Hodge has scored the most points this Eurocup season (204), and ranks among the best five players in scoring average (17.0), assists (6.8), free throw shooting (95.5%), minutes played (32.1) and performance index rating (18.7). In their VTB United League clash earlier this season, Unics rallied to win 73-66, and could use a repeat of that outcome to remain in control of its own destiny. Zenit has won two of its last three on the road. Meanwhile, Strasbourg (1-1) will try to get back to its winning ways when it plays host to CEZ Basketball Nymburk (0-2) for the first time. Strasbourg has been solid at home, registering five wins in six games, while Nymburk is in search of its form from the start of the season. The Czech champs started the regular season with a 4-2 record, but have lost five of six games since then. Group H In a high-profile game on Tuesday, Banvit Bandirma (1-1) welcomes undefeated Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas (2-0). The hosts have lost their last two home games, and have dropped four of their last five games in the competition. Meanwhile, unbeaten Gran Canaria has scored 90 or more points in four of its last five games, and averages 85 points per game for the season. It’s a must-win game for Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (0-2) when Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari (1-1) comes to town on Wednesday. Sassari aims for its second road win in as many weeks, while Buducnost wants to avoid a 0-3 record with two home losses, a situation which would minimize its chances of progress, by any means. Group I Krasny Oktyabr Volgograd (0-2) faces a must-win game when it hosts CAI Zaragoza (1-1), which has won only one of six road games this season despite averaging 83.7 points away from home. Oktyabr has had a great Eurocup debut, but lost its last two games by 16 and 18 points, respectively. Virtus Roma (1-1) will protect its perfect home record in the Eurocup when Cedevita Zagreb (2-0) and coach Jasmin Repesa arrive to town, aiming for a win that would give the Croatian champs full command of the group. Repesa comes back to the Italian capital where he spent two and a half seasons at Romes helm, and in 2007-08 led the club to its most successful season this century. While the hosts have won all of their six home games this season, and make competition-best 10.1 three-pointers per game, Cedevita has been a true road warrior. Dating back to the last season, Cedevita has won five of its last seven Eurocup road games. Group J In the only Last 32 group where all four teams have 1-1 records, the action starts Tuesday when the French champ Limoges CSP (1-1) hosts FoxTown Cantu (1-1), reviving their rivalry. It’s been 27 years since they last met. They faced each other four times during the mid-1980s, in the semifinals of the Champions’ Cup and quarterfinals of the Korac Cup, with Cantu holding 3-1 all-time record. This season, in each of its last four home games (in Turkish Airlines Eurolague and Eurocup combined), Limoges has held the visitors to less than 73 points, while Cantu arrives into this matchup with only one road win this season. PAOK Thessaloniki (1-1) faces Khimki Moscow Region (1-1) and one of the Eurocups most potent offenses. Khimki ranks among the best five teams in points (86.6), assists (21.3), steals (8.3), and three-pointers made (10 per game). PAOK will try to stick to its strength and slow down the tempo of the game. Over six home games so far, the Greek side is one of only six teams in this Eurocup campaign that has allowed fewer than 70 points per game (68.7). The two sides previously met during 2011-12 season, when Khimki swept their regular season series. Group K On Tuesday, Union Olimpija Ljubljana (1-1) and Last 32 Round 2 co-MVP Halil Kanacevic meet FC Bayern Munich (2-0) in the Slovenian capital. Two teams have not played each other for 46 years, since Olimpija easily swept Bayern in the second round of the Cup Winners’ Cup. This time around, Bayern is coming off a 38-point thrashing of Brose Baskets Bamberg away from home, and will try to grab another road win that would give it a firm hold of the first place in the group. On Wednesday, Bamberg (1-1) hosts JDA Dijon (0-2) as both teams try to bounce back from last weeks home defeats. Its the first official game between these two clubs, and Bamberg - which has lost two straight in front of its fans - hopes to restore its early-season home floor dominance. Group L In a battle of two national champions, the Polish titlist PGE Turow Zgorzelec (1-1) welcomes its Belgian counterpart Telenet Ostend (2-0). The Belgian champion is on a five-game Eurocup winning streak, and that includes a 31-point road win in Seville, one of the two most lopsided road victories of the season. Turow will look to snap that streak, and build one of his its following an 87-84 decision over that same Seville side last week. Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius (1-1) plays host to Baloncesto Seville (0-2) as it tries to use its home court to get back in the victory column following a dramatic loss in Ostend last Wednesday. Rytas has five wins and a single loss this season at home, while Seville is on a three-game losing streak, and has dropped its last five road games. Group M On Tuesday, Paris Levallois (1-1) welcomes Pinar Karsiyaka (2-0), which has the most productive Last 32 offense so far, averaging 102 points in the last two games. Karsiyaka is the only team in the competition that has three players – Bobby Dixon (16.7 ppg), Juan Palacios (15.2 ppg) and Jon Diebler (15.2 ppg) – averaging over 15 points this season. Paris, however, will rely on Blake Schilb to stay on fire, as he averages Eurocup-best 19.7 points over the last three games, and Sharrod Ford to keep dominating the glass. Ford is pulling down 10.3 rebounds in the last three games. Two great three-point shooting teams square off when Neptunas Klaipeda (1-1) hosts Besiktas Integral Forex Istanbul (0-2). Neptunas leads the Last 32 after making 25 three-point shots on 41% accuracy in the last two games, while Besiktas holds a league-best average of 10.1 threes (on 40.5% shooting) during the 12 games so far this season. The two teams met last season during Eurocup regular season and split road victories. Group N SLUC Nancy (1-1) will have a tough task when it welcomes the unbeaten former champion Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar (2-0). Nancy has won five of its six home games this season, but Lokomotiv has won 13 consecutive Eurocup fixtures, and has won nine times in a row away from home, a streak that dates back to the Last 16 phase of 2012-13 season. The two teams played each other 13 years ago in 2002 Korac Kup finals, when Lokomotiv was still based in Mineralnye Vody and Nancy took its first ever club title by winning home-and-away series. Valencia Basket (1-1) hosts CSU Asesoft Ploiesti (0-2) searching for a win that would put it back on a winning track. Asesoft could be in for a long night in their first visit to Pabellon Fuente de San Luis, where few teams had found success over the years. The three-time champion Valencia has won its last home game by 31 points, while Asesoft is on a three-game losing streak, and has lost those games by an average margin of 21 points. Source : Worldofbasketball
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 09:56:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015