They also crushed Szczecin in their “castle” and… AEK Betsson BC left for the “16” of the BCL!

Press it too Szczecin in her “castle” and… left for the “16” of the Basketball Champions League n AEK Betsson BC!

Putting on a dream final fifteen minutes, “Union” cruised to a commanding victory with score 86-64 over the Polish team at the Klisto of Ano Liosia, making it “4 out of 4” in their group and securing from tonight the qualification to the next round of the event! At the same time, of course, he embraced the first place in the group which “gives away” the direct qualification to the “16” of the institution!

Thanks to an unlikely partial score 24-1 from the end of the third period until the beginning of the fourth, Joan Plata’s team reached the pink card more easily than he could have imagined in a historic night, having for the first time in eight years in the BCL starts with the absolute of victories after four matches.

The first scorer for the “yellow and black” who had many protagonists was Tillman with 15 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Kuzminskas with 14 points, McRae with 12 points and 8 assists, as of course Campegele with 13 points and 4 rebounds.

The match:

As in most of its home games this year, the AEK Betsson BC, which started with Karabela, Randle, McRae, Kouseloglou and Cabegele, came into the game strongly. By Canadian center to dominate near the two baskets by scoring 7 quick points, the “Union” led 9-7 in the 4th minute, while a little later, with a three-pointer by Randle and the improbable alley-oop nailing by Kouseloglou went at 14-9 at the five minute mark. Szczecin then improved their defensive intensity and pressure, which resulted in AEK finding it difficult to score, allowing the Poles to pull ahead for 17-16 of the first quarter.

Both teams continued to be quite misguided in the second period as well, with Joan Platha’s team going for slow attacks, perhaps as a result of the fatigue from the very demanding match on Monday (20/11) against Panathinaikos. The second quarter turned into a… merry-go-round “one for you and one for me” with the “yellow and black” going to +4 and Szczecin constantly reducing the basket. All this until the last two minutes of the half, where the “Union” with an 8-0 run thanks to the three-pointers of Randle and McRae, but also the two-pointer of the American forward, went to the locker room with the in favor of 36-26in the first double-digit difference of the match!

With… acquired speed, AEK entered the third period, where with Tilman scoring 5 points, he sent the difference to +13 for 43-30 at 22′. Somewhere there, however, the home team “short-circuited” in defense and attack and combined with the “outbreak” of the Poles within four minutes, the difference was reduced to 47-47 in the 26th minute. Despite the “coolness,” Joan Platha’s ensemble not only fought back, but responded with an even more impressive outburst of its own, pushing the lead back into double digits. With Kuzminskas on fire and scoring 9 straight points, AEK went on a 14-1 run to end the quarter at +13 for 61-48!

With the world well into the equation, Platha’s team didn’t seem willing to let their foot off the gas. With McLemore and Kuzminskas finding easy baskets, the Union ran its individual score to 24-1 – late in the third period – blowing the lead to the +23 (71-48)! Somehow, he easily cruised to victory and the pink card with the final score 86-64.

The quarters: 17-16, 36-26, 61-48, 86-64.

See here the statistics of the match.