Cluj/Napoca pulled off an impressive win against Manresa, winning 110-86, while Besiktas defeated Trento 97-83 in Round 7 of the EuroCup.
Cluj/Napoca had total control of the game from the tip-off to the final buzzer, with an especially effective second quarter that they won 27-17. The Spanish side struggled to keep the new ABA League representative off the glass and that seemed to completely disrupt the tempo of Diego Ocampo’s team, as the Romanian side grabbed 42 rebounds, 9 more than their rival. Leading the way in that department was center Dusan Miletic, who snatched 12 rebounds and added 10 points to record a double-double. He was helped in the scoring section by Trey Woodbury, who scored 26 points, shooting 9-14 from the field, and Daron “Fatts” Russell, who added 23 more.
The rest of the Cluj/Napoca team followed in that segment, as they collectively shot 14-30 from beyond the arc, which tallied an excellent 46,7%, along with distributing 29 assists. Head coach Mihai Silvasan will be very satisfied with this performance, as his side improves their record to 4-3 in the competition and builds confidence ahead of two important games; first against Studentski Centar in the ABA League on Friday, and then four days later in the Eurocup against Hapoel Jerusalem.
Manresa wasn’t able to show any kind of resistance on the defensive end, allowing Cluj/Napoca to shoot 27/43 from inside the arc. They also didn’t take care of the ball, committing 16 turnovers. Their bench was also drastically outplayed, considering Cluj/Napoca had 4 players in double figures and another four close to crossing that mark, whereas Manresa had no such efficiency on their side. They had production from Alfonso Plummer, who scored 17 points, along with a good showing from outside, where he shot 5-6 for three, but it wasn’t enough. Grant Golden added 16 points and Hugo Benitez contributed 13 points along with 11 assists, but had no help outside of the 13 points of Louis Olinde and the 12 from Agustin Ubal.
Manresa falls to 3-4 in the Eurocup, with their next chance to improve their record coming in Round 8 against Venezia.
Claim Now Dusan Alimpijevic and his team were favored to win against the Italian side, but were trailing 45-50 at halftime. They evidently made some good adjustments, considering they had a dominant third quarter, winning 31-13, which allowed to keep Trento away and helped them control the tempo for the rest of the game. The key figures in the victory were certainly Brynton Lemar and Conor Morgan, combining for 42 points and an impressive 8-12 shooting night from three. However, the entire team showed tremendous strength in the rebounding aspect, considering they dominated with a 52-29 advantage. Ante Zizic grabbed 11 rebounds and led the way on the glass.
Besiktas’s record improves to 5-2 in the competition, as they set their sights for a heated local rivalry Turk Telekom in Round 8. The game is scheduled for Wednesday, November 19th.
Trento have plenty of experience in the Eurocup, but did not show it, as evidenced by a very poor selection of shots with a poor 7-26 shooting night from three-point territory. D.J. Steward and Khalif Battle scored 16 points each, but hurt their team with their inefficiency, shooting only 3-13 from three together. It’s even more puzzling for Massimo Cancellieri to understand how his team lost so badly considering they had only 4 turnovers, but the 60,9% from the free-throw line had a big impact on the final score also.
Trento falls to 3-4 in the competition and now travels to Sardinia to face Dinamo Sassari in the Serie A on Sunday afternoon.
