The first 7DAYS EuroCup game ever in Cluj, Romania, had it all, starting with 9,300 fans at sold-out bt-arena who saw their team put up some auspicious numbers against a "veteran" club of the competition.
Cluj had the goods in first-ever EuroCup victory
Article
2 Mins read
U-BT Cluj-Napoca finished off visiting Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 94-76, but only after a scare thrown up by the visitors. Having been ahead by 29 midway through the third quarter, Cluj fans watched that lead dwindle over the next 10 minutes to 73-66 before the hosts found their second wind and prevailed, 94-76.
It was Cluj's first wind, however, that was so impressive. It seemed that the hosts could do nothing wrong early in the game. By halftime, when it led 48-31, Cluj had attempted 43 field goals to just 26 for Cedevita thanks to a 12-5 advantage in offensive rebounds and fewer turnovers (3-5). And that was before a 14-2 run to start the third quarter put the lead at 62-33 with barely 15 minutes left to play.
True to its character, Cedevita fought back behind a virtuoso performance from Josh Adams, who finished with 25 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds, grazing a triple-double before he left the floor with a hand injury with 5 minutes left.
Cluj had more contributors, however, with a fearsome quintet made up of Stefan Bircevic, Leonardo Meindl, Karel Guzman, Emanuel Cate and Jordan Taylor, whose plus/minus numbers all ranged between +16 and +35 on the night. Victor Sanders helped lift up the defensive pressure for Cluj in key moments, taking Cedevita completely out of its game for long stretches.
It was a resounding victory over a standard-bearer in the EuroCup by a team full of newcomers, but one of the stars was realistic about the reasons and modest about drawing conclusions.
"I think we played very good on defense today," Meindl said after the win. "We have to keep working on this, and keep improving. If we play like this on defense, we can win more games at home."
If Cluj plays like in the first half on Wednesday, those ambitions might grow higher, too.