VEF Riga from Latvia secured a 105-88 victory over Absheron of Azerbaijan. Key contributors for VEF included Sirs with 38 points and 5 rebounds, Rodriguez adding 21 points and 9 rebounds, and Silins scoring 13. On the Absheron side, Jackson led with 21 points, Polait scored 19, and Perkins contributed 12 points along with 5 assists. Unfortunately, Issuf Sanon of VEF will be sidelined for several more weeks as he continues to recover from injury.
In another matchup, Opava from the Czech Republic fell 99-116 to Poland’s Dzikie Warszawa. For Opava, Shirina scored 22 points, Svandrlik added 19, and both Montgomery and Tucker contributed 16 each. Dzikie Warszawa’s top performers were Luke with 22 points, Girard who posted 18 points and 7 assists, and Ossunui with 16 points and 5 rebounds.
The Spanish side Breogan dominated Bulgaria’s Rilski with a 126-80 win. Brankovic led Breogan with 19 points and 7 rebounds, Alonso also scored 19, while Brown and Mavra contributed 16 points each, with Mavra dishing out 13 assists. Aranitovic added 12 points. For Rilski, the highest scorer was Alan Arnett with 16 points; notably, Arnett had previously played for Cherkaski Mavpy during the 2018/19 season. Other contributors included Richards with 14 points and 5 rebounds, Bachkov with 9 points, and Johnson.
In a tight contest, Germany’s Wurzburg edged out England’s Manchester 74-73. Griffin was the standout for Wurzburg, scoring 26 points and grabbing 5 rebounds, supported by Jones with 9 points and Thompson who added 8 points and 8 rebounds. Manchester’s leading scorers were Thompson with 14 points and 5 assists, Johnson with 12 points, and Piggle also contributing 12.
Looking ahead to the next stage, VEF Riga will face off against Dzikie Warszawa, while Manchester is set to meet Breogan.
