By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Lenovo Tenerife needed a win in France against Cholet Basket to secure a spot in this year’s Basketball Champions Round of 16, and the two-time champs of the European competition made things clear with the 91-85 victory.
Marcelinho Huertas led Txus Vidorreta’s team by almost getting a double-double. The Brazilian specialist put up 15 points and 8 assists. Coming off the bench, Bruno Fitipaldo helped the Canarian side with 15 points, shooting 4/6 from the three-point line.
Giorgi Shermadini scored 11 points in Tenerife’s win, and he’s now only five points away from becoming the second player with 1000+ points in competition history, while Vojtech Hruban has 1.029 BCL career points currently. The Georgian also tied Miro Bilan for 2nd on the BCL all-time rebounders list with 382.
Tidjane Salaun, who became the first player in BCL history to average double-digits in scoring before turning 19 years old, had another impressive showing with 18 points and 4/5 from beyond the arc. Neal Sako went close to a double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
With this victory on the road, the Canarian side got to the Round of 16, while Cholet Basket reached the 2nd position in Group C thanks to VEF Riga’s home loss at the hands of Darussafaka and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, who had a career-high night with 33 points.
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League