Canadians in Europe: October 19th - 21st

The new EuroCup season got underway this week, one of the many places Canadian players found themselves in nail-biting basketball, with big victories and thrilling finishes being the order of the week.

EuroCup

In Melvin Ejim's EuroCup debut for Cedvita Olimpija he faced fellow Canadian Dylan Ennis and Gran Canaria on their home court, with both players finishing the game on twelve points. The home team had the better start, finishing the first quarter leading by ten, before their opponents struck back and quickly closed the gap before going in front after the start of the second half.

The lead went back and forth between the teams in the fourth quarter, but five points in a row from Nicolas Brussino put Gran Canaria in front ahead of the last two minutes. Ejim tightened the gap and in the last minute put Cedevita up two. Ennis led Gran Canaria in trying to save the game, but they were denied each time and it was Cedevita who celebrated a winning start to their EuroCup campaign.

Meanwhile, with two twenty-point performances, Lokomotiv Kuban were on an upward trajectory against Andorra, for whom Connor Morgan scored six points. Greater shot success from the Russian team saw them go up 72 points to 49 after three quarters and a late attempt from Andorra to turn the game around reduced the final damages to 93-82 in Lokomotiv's favour.

FIBA Europe Cup

The Canadian duo of Kenny Cherry and Philip Scrubb suited up for Avtodor Saratov in a tight contest with Reggio Emilia, where the teams were closely matched on offence, resulting in fifteen lead changes throughout.

With six minutes to go Saratov began a nine-point run which gave them the only double-digit lead of the game, leaving Reggio with no time to make up the difference. Scrubb had 16 points and Cherry finished as joint top scorer with 21, alongside Zeljko Sakic, in their team's 91-84 win.

EuroCup Women

The game with the biggest Canadian contingent also had the highlight moment of the week. Aislinn Konig and Quinn Dornsteader's Castors Braine hosted Stars Keltern and their compatriot, Alex Kiss-Rusk. There was nothing to choose between the teams on offence and the advantage constantly going back and forth, increasing the tension as the game went on with no clear idea who would emerge as victors.

Castors looked like they had it sewn up with a seven-point lead as the game entered the final stretch, only for Keltern to respond with seven points unanswered and go back in front. A three from Konig put Braine back ahead in the final shot clock, while on the other end Kiss-Rusk missed the last chance to save the game for Keltern. It was heartache for the Germans but their opponents got the win and in dramatic fashion.

It was a mixed bag for other Canadians this week: Abigail Fogg had six poitns and rebounds for Fribourg, whose early three-piont lead over Bourges soon turned into a routing by the French team.

Dropping the next two quarters 61 points to 16 and going nine minutes without scoring, the Swiss team were left floundering and helpless as Bourges romped home to a 102-49 win.

Ruth Hamblin had 12 points this time out for Olympiacos, who initially were on the back foot against Crvena Zvezda before seizing control of the game in the second quarter following seventeen points unanswered. With stronger defence the Greek team built a double-digit half time lead and maintained their dominance for the second half to continue their strong start to the EuroCup, their second win in a row finished 82-66 in their favour.

Euroleague

Dyshawn Pierre managed just one three-pointer for Fenerbahce who held a healthy advantage over Real Madrid but a steady course gave way to a thrilling finish. The Turkish did a lot of damage from close range early on, but their opponents closed the gap from three-point range in the third quarter, leading to a tight and heated final phase of play.

A slender lead went back and forth but in the end Fenerbahce's highlight heroics were outdone by Madrid keeping a cool head and making the best shot selections. Two from the line by Vincent Poirier, followed by Marial Shayok missing on the other end sealed the one-point win for Real Madrid.