By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Falco Szombathely secures a major win, 89-83, against AEK in Athens Tuesday.
Captain Benedek Varadi logged his first Basketball Champions League double-double combining 20 points with 12 assists in Regular Season Gameday 5. Dialing in 6/9 from beyond the arc equaled the six three-pointers team total for the hosts.
Zoltan Perl threw in 18 more points. Szilard Benke and Boris Barac added 15 points apiece. Akos Keller posted an 11-point, 15-rebound double-double before fouling out.
The visiting team at AEK Ano Liosia Arena was in control for nearly the entire 40 minutes. The lead peaked at 13 points before the Queen got in shooting distance. Keeping composure and holding on down the stretch eliminated the opponents from Play-In contention.
Next week, the Hungary champions will host VEF Riga to wrap up the Regular Season. Winning would book a direct ticket from Group D to the Round of 16 for the team coached by Milos Konakov. If AEK defeats NutriBullet Treviso on the road, the game opposite the Latvia champions will not even matter.
After the emotional jersey retirement ceremony in honor of Stevan Jelovac, the team led by Stefanos Dedas dropped to 1-4. Eric Griffin registered 24 points and Braian Angola ended up with 22 points to his name. Nikos Pappas packing 13 points and Ian Hummer with 12 points rounded up the double-digit scoring pack in the losing effort.
Currently carrying a 5-5 W-L tally, the Greek side is forced to focus on Greece’s Stoiximan Basket League for the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign.
Postgame press conference:
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League