Newley guides Gran Canaria to Eurocup semifinals
Australian Boomer Brad Newley has helped guide Herbalife Gran Canaria to their first ever semifinal berth in the prestigious Eurocup competition after they accounted for Turkish side Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir 2-0 in the quarterfinal home and away series.
After winning the first leg of the quarterfinal series at home 76-66, Gran Canaria travelled to Turkey and earned a thrilling 74-75 road win in front of more than 5,000 parochial Karsiyaka fans to win the series 2-0 and improve to a competition best 19-1 overall record in the 2014/15 Eurocup season.
Brad Newley - Credit Miguel Henriquez Cruz via Herbalife Gran Canaria
The first quarter proved to be a tense affair, with both teams locked at 19-all after the first period. It was in the second quarter where Gran Canaria managed to gain the ascendancy, with Newley delivering 9 of his team-high 15 points to ensure that the visitors would go into the main break with a 9 point advantage.
As one would expect, the home side continued to fight back in the second half. Newley was again prominent late in the game, pulling down 4 key defensive rebounds in the final 2 minutes to help close out the win for Gran Canaria. Newley would finish with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals with no turnovers.
“We played a very tough game in a very, very tough environment," stated Newley after the big win. "We are happy with the result. We were a little bit nervous but at the end we had a great game. Thank you for hosting us.”
Gran Canaria will continue to create history when they next take on Russian side Unics Kazan in the semifinals. Unics Kazan overcame 2014 Eurocup runner-up Lokomotiv Kuban, breaking their opponent's 20-game winning streak in the second leg of their quarterfinal series to win on aggregate (+8). They will prove to be a formidable opponent, with the series set to be televised live on Eurosport Australia (see below for times).
https://youtu.be/402JK3WsXhQ
Don't miss all the Eurocup and Euroleague hoops action this week on Eurosport Australia via Foxtel who once again provide exclusive coverage of all the semifinals and Top 16 action.
Here is the Eurosport Australia TV schedule for next week!
It's semifinals action time! With a home and away series, everything is one the line for the final four teams in action as they look to progress to the final.
Thursday, April 2
4:15am LIVE: Unics Kazan (RUS) vs Herbalife Gran Canaria (ESP) - featuring Brad Newley!
6:00am LIVE: Banvit Bandirma (TUR) vs Khimki Moscow (RUS)
It is down to the final two groups of eight teams known as the 'Top 16', this stage is a round robin format with each team playing a total of 14 games. The best four teams will advance to the playoffs and continue their pursuit of the 2014/2015 Euroleague title!
Friday, April 3
4:00am LIVE: Nizhny Novgorod (RUS) vs Unicaja Malaga (ESP)
5:45am LIVE: FC Barcelona (ESP) vs Real Madrid (ESP)
Saturday, April 4
4:00am LIVE: Anadolu Efes Istanbul (TUR) vs Emporio Armani Milan (ITA)
* Times are subject to change. Times and Dates are AEDT. See http://tv.au.eurosport.com/ for details.