Unics Kazan Upset on Eurocup Opening Night
Russians Struggle in Qualifiers, Two Ties, Swans Surprise Tartu
Oct 15, 2008
Four players scored in double figures as Polish side Energa Czarni won its home leg 76-62 against Unics Kazan of Russia. It was the club's first ever game in a European basketball competition. "To win this game was clearly the dream. We wanted the players to be focused and disciplined and they have played a great game," Miroslaw Lisztwan said on the competition's website after the game.
Bennett, Straight Lead the Troops
Rookie guard Demeric Bennett and Jason Straight both scored 15 points and Rolando Howell had seven points, nine rebounds and eight steals as Czarni took a big step to reaching the regular season of the Eurocup - which replaces the ULEB Cup from last year.
Unics Favored to Reach At Least Regular Season
Unics Kazan came into the qualifiers as probably the most likely bet of reaching the 32-team Regular Season after advancing to the 2008 ULEB Cup Final Eight before losing to eventual finalist Girona in the quarterfinals. And head coach Aco Petrovic added firepower to his team in the likes of Kresimir Loncar, Terrell Lyday, Marko Popovic and Russian national team point guard Petr Samoylenko to go along with Tariq Kirksay, one of the best players in the competition last season.
Shocked By Energa's Energy
But Kazan was not ready for Energa's energy from the home fans, committing 25 turnovers and allowing Czarni to hit 10 of its first 15 three-pointers. And now Unics faces a long uphill battle having to make up a 14-point loss in next week's return legs - a task made a bit easier with Kazan scoring the final seven points of the game. "I was really surprised by the way the host team played today. (Making up) 14 points is a lot, but we will try to find the way to advance," Petrovic said on the competition's website.
Tartu Rocked By Allianz Swans
That 14-point deficit is not the biggest to be made up for a team in the return leg. That fate belongs to reigning Estonian league champions Tartu Rock, which was hammered 86-64 on the road against Austrian side Allianz Swans. Deteri Mayes led the way for Swans with 23 points with Anthony Fisher and Matthias Mayer combining for 29 points.
Two Tie Games
Part of the thrill of two-leg series is that games can end in ties. The other Russian team in the qualifiers BC Triumph - which reached the Last 32 last season - struggled at home in playing to a 78-78 draw against Base BC Oostende of Belgium. Triumph head coach Stanislav Eremin even admitted that he knew little about Oostende, telling the competition's website: "Oostende played better than us, maybe because they had more information about us than we had about them." Rashid Atkins scored 24 points to pace Oostende, which hosts the return leg next Tuesday. Alan Anderson scored 17 points for Triumph while former New Jersey Nets center Nenad Kristic had 13 points and 10 rebounds. The other tie game was between Turkish club Galatasaray Cafe Crown and hosts Siauliai of Lithuania, who played to a 73-73 result.
Panellinios, ASK Riga, Amsterdam collect home victories
The other three results all saw the home side win the first leg. Jurica Golemac had 16 points, six rebounds and six assists as Greek club Panellinios used a big first quarter in winning 69-54 against Telekom Baskets Bonn of Germany. Milutin Aleksic tallied 15 points in Latvians ASK Riga's 69-62 win over French side Cholet. And Teddy Gipson poured in 22 points in helping reigning Dutch champion MyGuide Amsterdam to a 66-60 win against FMP of Serbia.
Return Legs on October 21
The seven return legs will take place on October 21 and the second qualifying round is planned for November 4 and 11.
