Canadians in Europe: November 5th - 8th
An action packed week of pan-continental basketball saw Canadian players put in impressive performances in the thick of some of the most intense and exciting games of the season so far.
Euroleague
Nik Stauskas led Baskonia with 15 points off the bench, but despite that and a good start for the Spanish club, Olimpia Milano turned the game around in the second quarter and with greater all-around offence held on to that advantage to see out victory, 81-74. Starting for Valencia, Aaron Doornakemp had six points and four rebounds but with opponents Panathinaikos making over 50% of all their shot attempts and five players finishing in double digits, they would see out a comfortable win, 91 to 80.
Euroleague Women
Incredible scenes in Lyon as ASVEL trailed Sopron 31-15 at half time, but came out of the locker rooms with more intensity on close ranger and greater accuracy from their shooters to completely turn the game around and win out 62 points to 59. Michelle Plouffe had 14 points for ASVEL in the win.
Elsewhere, 8 points and 7 rebounds was Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe’s contribution in a dominant performance by Nadezhda as they hosted Reyer Venezia. Dominating the scoring and leading by as many as 30 points, the Russian club move up to third in Group A after the 78-51 win.
EuroCup
The EuroCup's Canadian contingent were both a part of the week's most exciting games.
Conor Morgan had seven points and rebounds for Joventut Badalona who overcame an early eight point deficit to win over Nanterre which came down a last-minute block from Luke Harangody. Another thriller in the Montenegrin capital saw Malaga down to Buducnost by four points but snatch victory in the closing seconds. Melvin Ejim had eight points off the bench in Malaga’s crunch one-point win which sees them stay on top of Group D.
EuroCup Women
Outscoring Gorzow by twelve points in the third quarter gave Brno room to breathe for the rest of the way. Emily Potter started and had six points and rebounds as the Czech team picked up their first win, 71 points to 67. Meanwhile, Katherine Plouffe started and posted six points and seven rebounds for Landes, while Miranda Ayim had eleven points off the bench as they kept the team’s unbeaten record in Group H alive after beating Cadi La Seu 71-57.
FIBA Champions League
Owen Klassen had the best individual results for Antwerp, finishing with 14 points and 8 rebounds as the team's starting centre. However, Vechta's slight edge on offence kept them in control of the game, in which they led by as many as sixteen. It was the second straight loss for Antwerp, this time by a final score of 81-74.
Dyshawn Pierre had just three points for Dinamo Sassari in a tight road game against Torun, until the fourth quarter where the visitors captured victory by outscoring Torun 32-15 to win by 113-95. Similarly, there was little to choose between Oostende and Lietkabelis for much of the way, but seizing control of the fourth quarter the Belgians secured a comfortable 80-66 win. MiKyle McIntosh contributed seven points for Oostende.
Aaron Best had only a single bucket for PAOK as they tried to turn the game around after trailing for three quarters, but in the end Dijon were able to get the points they needed to secure victory, 81-76. Thomas Scrubb had four points for Strasbourg as they gave their all against Holon to try and come back from a twelve-point deficit at the end of three quarters. Holon's bench players, who contributed 49 points, made sure the victory would be theirs, and it was, 86 points to 81.
FIBA Europe Cup
Ryan Wright had 14 points for Levski who started the fourth quarter against Dnipro trailing by one point, but ended the game with the win, 85 points to 78. Meanwhile, Kormend trailed early and by as much as 14 points to Kataja, but turned the game around in the third quarter and finished ahead 81-75. Justin Edwards posted nine points for Kormend in the victory.
