Week 3 Regular Season update
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Week 3 of the ULEB Cup saw six undefeated teams survive as the competition continues to get tougher and more exciting. There was plenty of excitement across the continent as Tuesday's 27 game produced eight road winners and eight teams that won by at least 20 points. On the other hand, when all was said and done, only four teams – DK Joventut, Besiktas ColaTurka, Triumph Lyubertsy and BC Kyiv – hold sole possession of first place in their respective groups. The tightest battles are in Groups C and G, where four teams all share the top spot at 2-1, while in Group D, Pamesa Valencia and Khimki are both undefeated and in first place. The biggest win came in Jerusalem, where Hapoel Migdal topped Unics Kazan 107-68, while the best defensive effort came from PGE Turow, which held Strasbourg to just 42 points.
Jerusalem's Jamie Arnold earned Week 3 MVP honors with 28 points and 6 rebounds. The power forward is second on the all-time ULEB Cup scoring charts. But there were two other performances that will go down in the record books. Gregory Stempin of Ovarense Aerosoles drilled 8 three-point shots against Elan Chalon to tie the ULEB Cup all-time record, which he now shares with seven other players: Jurica Ruzic, Pedro Robles, Kristaps Valters, Charles Smith, Hurl Beechum, Chris McGuthrie and Michael Watson. Meanwhile Ken Johnson of Benetton Olympic Fribourg had 8 blocks this week against Buducnost, tying the ULEB Cup record for most blocks in a game, shared with Andre Riddick of Spirou Charleroi, who also had 8 against Alba Berlin on December 8, 2004.
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Who's hot:
Playing in the ULEB Cup for the first time, Manu Markoishvili of BC Kyiv has improved from week to week, hitting 5 of 7 three-pointers for 27 points in his third game, a 91-55 drubbing of Pau-Orthez, to keep his team undefeated.
Adam Hall of Spirou Charleroi came off the bench for 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals in less than 15 minutes to help his team beat Galatasaray Cafe Crown on the road in Istanbul.
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Who's not:
Azovmash Mariupol did not have its best game against Sluc Nancy, as five of its players finished the game with a negative index: Aubrey Reese (-1), Igor Loktionov (-1), Yevgeniy Podorvannyy (-1), Rodney Buford (-3) and Panagiotis Liadelis (-7).
Andrzej Pluta had a -10 index against Pamesa and went scoreless. He was averaging 15.5 points per game entering this game. In 18 previous games in the ULEB Cup, he had scored in double digits 16 times and is generally one of the best scorers in Polish basketball.
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Week 3 surprises:
In what was expected to be a thriller between two recent ULEB Cup semifinalists, Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem recorded its biggest win in European play ever by crushing Unics Kazan 107-68 behind Jamie Arnold, whose performance earned him Week 3 MVP honors.
Asvel Basket playmaker Aymeric Jeanneau fired up 8 three-point attempts in his team's 91-98 road win at Panionios On Telecoms. Jeanneau a noted pass-first guy, finished with 2 made triples and 13 points, a career-best for him in both ULEB Cup and Euroleague games. In comparison, Jeanneau attempted just 13 threes in 165 minutes in his last ULEB Cup season.
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Week 4 Games to watch:
ASCO Slask Wroclaw hosts Asvel Basket with a share of first place on the linein Group G. However for fans of these teams, it will also be a fond memory of the team's recent Euroleague past. Between 2000 and 2004, these teams met six times at Europe's highest level. Slask won four of those battles.
The Deutsche Bank Skyliners welcome SLUC Nancy and former player Mike Bauer to Frankfurt in Group D. The Skyliners will try to use their knowledge of Bauer to their advantage inside as they chase their first win. Bauer joined the Skyliners midway through last season and averaged 11.5 points and 6 rebounds in 14 games.
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Did you know?
Andre Riddick of Spirou Charleroi picked up 3 steals in a road win at Galatasaray Cafe Crown to move into a tie with former Amsterdam star Joe Spinks for the all-time ULEB Cup lead in that category with 102. Riddick also blocked 4 shots Tuesday to pad his all-time lead with 109. One of the top performers in the history of the competition, Riddick is second in total rebounds (350), just 18 behind overall leader Felipe Reyes and is 5 boards behind Milenko Topic (215) for most defensive rebounds.
When Mario Austin of Benetton Treviso came off the bench this week, it marked the first time in 33 career ULEB Cup appearances that he did not start the game. Austin, the 2005-06 regular season MVP, also matched his career-low in points (9) and failed to record a rebound for the first time.
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Key stats:
The Akasvayu Girona attack was cooking in a 96-63 win over Hanzevast Capitals, but the key was how the squad won the game as a team. Not only did 11 of the team's 12 participating players score a basket, but 11 also recorded an assist as Akasvayu amassed 26 assists on 31 field goals. The hosts also set a ULEB Cup record for most defensive rebounds in one game with 40.
Don't let it be said that defense doesn't win games. The four teams that have not yet surrendered a total of 200 points in their three games this season – Triumph Lyubertsy (187), PGE Turow Zgorzelec (192), BC Kyiv (195) and Akasvayu Girona (195) – have a combined 10-2 record.
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Thursday, November 22, 2007
ULEBCup.com
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