By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Joventut Badalona had suffered a tough loss in the hands of Ratiopharm Ulm at home last season in the EuroCup eighthfinals after winning Group A. This season, and after such a lesson, they made sure that such a thing won’t happen again this year.
Ante Tomic led six Badalona players in double figures with a diverse output (19 points, nine rebounds, four assists) as his team defeated the London Lions 89 – 78 to move to the quarterfinals. The Spanish side will face Hapoel Tel Aviv at home for a spot in the semis.
In their first-ever appearance in the EuroCup eighthfinals, the Lions put up a fight for 30 minutes against a much more battle-hardened team but didn’t manage to escape with a win. Tomislav Zubic (19 points), Aaron Best (18 points) and Jordan Taylor (14 points) stood out from the British side that came back from a 16-point deficit (39-23) in the first half to enter the fourth quarter down 64-58.
That was as far as the Lions went though. Badalona made a 10-0 run with Tomic scoring five points and preserved a safe margin until the final buzzer.
Apart from Tomic, Henry Ellenson had 14 points and Kyle Guy pitched in 13 points plus seven assists to pace Badalona’s offense. Andres Feliz also scored 13.