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Samokov, Bulgaria – From September 19 through September 25, the brand new SamElyon Arena in Samokov, Bulgaria hosts the Basketball Champions League Qualification Round Tournaments. 24 teams will compete for the last three regular-season spots in an exciting format of three tournaments in single-game elimination, from the Quartefinals to the Final.
CSM Oradea and Windrose Giants Antwerp opened up the tournament in Quarterfinals 2 with an interesting game which the team from Belgium won – 79-71. The game was practically decided in the third quarter (30-12 Antwerp) where Antwerp significantly leveled up their defensive intensity and forced many turnovers, came up with steals, scoring easy points on the other side.
Joel Murray, a six-foot point guard, led the game in scoring with 20 points (3-of-7 on threes), turning up on both ends especially in the third quarter. The West Texas A&M standout recorded also four dimes and two steals, committing only one turnover, controlling the offense of his team and pace of the game. Andrew Funk, a 26-year-old designated shooter, helped his team win the game with 16 points, shooting 4-of-10 from long distance, keeping defenders of Oradea on their toes and opening up space for his teammates to operate. Kris Richard, a long-time guard of Oradea, in his fifth consecutive season with the Romanians, led his team in scoring with 18 points (being perfect from the charity stripe, hitting all his seven shots), while his teammate Thomas Bropleh added 17 points (3-of-6 on threes) in a losing effort.
In the second game from the daily program, the Italian’s Pallacanestro Reggiana dominated from the start to finish to win 99-87 against KK Pelister Bitola from North Macedonia. Kwan Cheatham Jr., a 6-foot-10 alum of Akron and an experienced pro player, had an impressive shooting performance for the winners, hitting 6-of-9 from long range, leading the game in scoring with 22 points, adding to his stats with five boards and four assists.
Reggiana controlled the paint, scoring 44 points against 30 of Pelister. Both teams shot the ball pretty well from deep, 14-of-33 for Reggiana against 14-of-28 for Pelister, but Reggiana managed to have way more field goal attempts – 40-of-83 against only 30-of-55 for Pelister.
In the next game Bursaspor from Turkey prevailed over Lowen Braunschweig from Germany, 81-74. The Turkish team controlled the game, leading in more than 36 minutes of it, showing very good efficiency from long distance, hitting 11-of-27, while Braunschweig scored only six three-pointers from 21 attempts.
Almost half of the shots from long range (five three-pointers) for Bursaspor were scored by Wake Forest standout, Bryant Crawford. The 6-foot-3 American guard led his team in scoring with 19 points, while his Estonian teammate Artur Konontsuk, a 6-foot-7 small forward helped with 17 points, being also a threat from outside (2-of-7 on threes). The German 6-foot-6 small forward, Joshua Obiesie from Lowen Braunschweig had a solid all-around game, recording 20 points, eight boards, two dimes and two blocks.
Despite some expectations to get a close game in the last game of the day between the Greek’s PAOK and Montenegrin’s SC Derby, the Greek team took the lead early in the game and never looked back, delivering to us a one-sided affair – 79-67. PAOK displayed great defensive intensity from the beginning of the game, especially from their starting unit in a combination with good ball movement and good efficiency from long distance (10-of-23).
Ben Moore, a solid 6-foot-8 frontcourt journeyman controlled the paint on both ends, showing very good positioning and instincts to lead the game in scoring with 17 points, adding six rebounds. In addition, he moved very well on defense for his size and position, covering the handler in pick and roll plays, getting low. His teammate Stephen Brown, a 5-foot-11 point guard and an alum of Bucknell, added ten points and five dimes, showing a good blend of playmaking and scoring skills mixed with solid perimeter defensive ability. The Montenegrin veteran floor general, Nikola Pavlicevic recorded 13 points, six assists and five steals in a losing effort.
The second day of the tournament will continue with the Quarterfinals from the third group.
This article was written by Simeon Marinov, Director of European Scouting for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter. We are looking for those interested in our basketball scout apprenticeship program. For information contact us and forward your resume.
