AEK Betsson BC completed its obligations in the first phase of the BCL with a painless defeat

With a marginal and painless defeat, it completed its obligations in its 4th group Basketball Champions League the AEK Betsson BC.

Having secured first place and direct qualification to the “16” phase of the competition, Union was defeated by 83-79 at its headquarters Ludwigsburgwhich was “burning” for the victory, thanks to which it finished in second place in the group.

Leaders for AEK, which paid for its poor percentages in three-pointers and shots, as well as its inactivity in the fourth and decisive period, were McRae (20p), Kuzminskas (16π) and Quebecele (11p, 7 rib), while the winners stood out Graves (24pts, 8 assists) and Bui (16p).

The match

Platha started the game with Karabela, Randle, McRae, Kouseloglou, Netzipoglu and Tilman, while Ludwigsburg lined up with Graves, Bui, Lewis, Polas and Edgin. Union were sluggish offensively in the opening minutes, clawing their way back to an 11-3 lead before Tillman’s back-to-back points of his own cut it to 13-8. Cabegele entered the court and gave solutions to AEK, scoring for 13-11, but then the Germans restored the +8 in their favor (19-11) with consecutive three-pointers by Hammond and Pola. Cabegele dunked and McRae emphatically nailed the other end of the floor for 21-18, which was the score as the first period ended.

AEK took its first lead of the game (22-23), with five straight points by Kuzminskas and a 12-3 run from 19-11 on. Despite their very poor free throw percentage (12/23 in the first half), Platha’s team had 22 rebounds (10 offensive) against their opponent’s 14, thus managing to maintain their small lead. Randle scored with a three-pointer, putting AEK at +5 (30-35) for the first time, before coming to 35-38, at the end of the second quarter.

Kuzminskas and Randle brought AEK back to +5 (37-42) at the start of the third period, while the Lithuanian with his big three-pointer reached 10 personal points, putting his team at +6 (39-45) for the first time. However, Ludwigsburg responded by going on a 10-2 run to retake the lead (49-47). Karabelas put AEK ahead again (51-54) with a basket and a foul, while the “hot” Bui scored 9 points in a row and his team entered the fourth period with the smallest lead (57-56).

AEK entered the fourth quarter numb, unable to score and allowing the home team to take leads of 62-56, 64-58 and 73-65 before AEK made its final comeback, cutting it to 74-71 with a very difficult McRae’s three-pointer and 79-77 with shots by the same. However, Ludwigsburg held on and kept their cool in the final shots, eventually taking the win 83-79.

The quarters: 21-18, 35-38, 57-56, 83-79

The match statistics

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