Banvit - Cherkassy 88:90

Banvit extended their desperate start of the qualifying round of FIBA EuroCup in Group B. After two opening losses Banvit needed to shake things up and an opportune moment appeared in the third round as they faced winless Cherkassy in Balikesir. But the curtain finally dropped for the Turkish team as they suffered the third straight defeat in the tournament and remained at the bottom of the ladder.

Banvit got to a slightly better start to the game and were up by 2 points ten minutes into the game 26:24. But Cherkassy bounced back in the second stanza as Martynas Andriukaitis (204-F-81) and Andrei Lebedev (189-G-79) adjusted shooting to fuel a fierce comeback effort for the visitors. Banvit struggled to maintain their opponents defensively and the margin grew to 11 points after three quarters of action. However Nigerian centre Kenny Adeleke (205-C-83, college: Hartford) was virtually unstoppable for Banvit and carried Banvit to a miraculous recovery in the fourth term. But it still was not enough for an overall win. Cherkassy withstood the challenge and sealed the positive outcome at the end.

Andrei Lebedev led Cherkassy with 24 points. Martynas Andriukaitis tallied 23 points and 12 boards, while Edwards provided 15 points for the winners. Kenny Adeleke led all scorers with 28 points and 15 rebounds. Inanc Koc (202-F-79) had 14 points for Banvit as they fell to 0-3 record. Cherkassy shot an outstanding 56% from beyond the arc and outrebounded the hosts 32:30. Banvit will next face Dexia Mons-Hainaut in Belgium. Cherkassy will play against Ural Great away from home on January 15.

Banvit: Kenny Adeleke 28+15 boards, Inanc Koc 14, Umit Sonkol (206-F-82) 12
Cherkassy: Andrei Lebedev 24, Martynas Andriukaitis 23+12 boards