The Ukrainian club, which scored 35 first-quarter points, led from start to finish in season-opening win
Prometey starts strong to thump Hamburg 97-77



Prometey Slobozhanske never trailed in starting the season with an impressive 97-77 victory over Veolia Towers Hamburg at Arena Riga in the Latvian capital. Marcus Keene starred for the winners with 19 points and 6 assists, Davon Reed, Illia Sydorov and Vyacheslav Bobrov each scored 11, Ronald March had 10 and Ondrej Balvin tallied 8 points and 11 rebounds. Eleven different Prometey players scored.
Al Durham led the Hamburg attack with 15 points, Mark Hughes and VJ King both contributed 11 points and Terrell Gomez 10. All 11 Hamburg players scored.
How Prometey took control
Prometey led 5-0 before Hamburg even took a shot and needed less than 5 minutes to take its first double-digit lead, 21-9, after Keene's second triple. Hamburg fought hard and made some noise with offensive rebounds, but struggled to find the bottom of the net. The Prometey run reached 14 unanswered points before Gomez stroked a triple for the visitors. Ivan Tkachenko's triple left Prometey comfortable in control, 35-15, after 10 minutes.
Issuf Sananon's three-pointer to open the second quarter made him the 10th Prometey player to score. Hughes heated up for Hamburg, though after a timeout, an assist and a layup from Keene kept Prometey cruising. Hamburg continued to play hard and, behind King, rallied to within 10 in the final minute of the half. Free throws by Sydorov left Prometey on top 54-42 at the break.
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Late Hamburg run falls short
Strong play by Balvin kept Prometey's comfortable lead intact despite the best efforts of Hughes and Durham. Sydorov fed March for an alley-oop and scored himself as the lead swelled to 73-52. William Christmas scored the next 7 points to give Hamburg hope and the sides parted ways after three quarters at 78-62.
Back-to-back threes early in the fourth by Keene and Reed restored a 20-point lead and prompted a Hamburg timeout. The closing minutes saw one final push from Hamburg, which using full-court pressure trimmed the gap to 90-75. Keene helped Prometey finish the game with a 20-point victory.