Madgen bows out in EuroCup, Broekhoff advances to quarterfinals
Despite another 20 point outburst by Ben Madgen, his Lietkabelis side bowed out of the EuroCup, while Ryan Broekhoff's side qualified for the quarterfinals in first place.
In a tough Round 11 contest against Olympiacos Piraeus, Zalgiris Kaunas fought hard but were unable to edge ahead, going down 64-73 on the road. Zalgiris managed to keep the margin to within 4 points for the entire contest up until the final term when Olympiacos managed to finally break the shackles. Forward Brock Motum was solid, but in this game was restricted to 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 26 minutes.
Zalgiris, who is now 9-13 and in tenth place in the standings, next take on German outfit Brose Bamberg who are just one win further behind as the Lithuanians look to close in on a quarterfinal berth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNMKRGje1rg
Lokomotiv Kuban, who had already sewn up top place in their Group, came from 14 points behind to overhaul UCAM Murcia on the road 85-77. Ryan Broekhoff hit a big three-pointer early in the third team to keep his side ahead, and Lokomotiv withstood a late challenge to hold on for an 8 point win. Broekhoff finish with just 3 points and 6 rebounds in playing 18 minutes in a contest that meant little.
Finishing with a 5-1 record in the Top 16, Lokomotiv will now face fellow Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg in the quarterfinals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAsX84iFf8k
In what was their final EuroCup game of their debut season, Lietkabelis came from behind to defeat Ratiopharm Ulm 86-81. Ben Madgen was instrumental in helping overturn a 20 point deficit, coming up with the big free throws down the stretch to secure the win. Madgen was again in great form, adding an equal game-high 20 points (4-of-10 FG), draining an impressive 10-of-11 from the free throw line. He also collected 3 rebounds and 2 assists to cap off a remarkable first season in EuroCup where he would average 13.7 points, shooting 47.9% from the field and an even better 48.4% from beyond the arc, with 3.4 rebounds and 2 assists per game.