Gran Canaria moved into first place in Group B by downing Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 84-64 at home on Wednesday.
Gran Canaria moves atop Group B after beating Buducnost 84-64



Gran Canaria improved to 12-4 in the standings and needs one more win - or Valencia Basket to lose once - to clinch the top spot for the regular season. Buducnost dropped to 9-7. With this win, Gran Canaria locked at least a second-place finish in Group B and with it home-court advantage in the eighthfinals and - if it gets that far - the quarterfinals. Olek Balcerowski led the winners with 15 points. Dylan Ennis added 14, Nico Brussino had 13 and John Shurna 11 for Gran Canaria. D.J. Seeley paced Buducnost with 19 points and Justin Cobbs added 12.
Related Videos
Marko Jagodic-Kuridza got Buducnost going with a three-pointer and Edin Atic also struck from downtown in a 0-9 opening run that Kendrick Perry capped with a turnaround jumper. Andrew Albicy buried a jumper and fed Balcerowski for a dunk. Khalifa Diop hit a jump hook and Miquel Salvo got the hosts even closer, 8-9. Balcerowski struck from downtown to complete Gran Canaria's comeback, 11-10. Salvo took over with a three-point play and Balcerowski added a turnaround jumper, but Cobbs singlehandedly kept Buducnost within 16-15 after 10 minutes.
Willie Reed dunked early in the second quarter. Javi Lopez matched it with a put-back floater. Balcerowski followed a fastbreak slam with a layup that caused Buducnost to call timeout at 22-17. Seeley followed a three-pointer with a mid-range jumper to bring Buducnost within 24-22. Zoran Nikolic took over with a tip-in and a red-hot Seeley scored in penetration to give Buducnost a 24-26 edge. Brussino found his first points and Pustovyi matched Zoran Nikolic's dunk with a jumper. Perry hit a triple and Jagodic-Kuridza added a turnaround jumper, but Brussino kept Gran Canaria within 32-33. Pustovyi followed a jumper with a put-back layup, giving the hosts a 36-33 edge at halftime.
Pustovyi scored down low soon after the break and Ennis matched Reed's tip-in with a jumper that boosted the lead to 40-35. Cobbs hit a floater and then Albicy followed a driving layup with a three-pointer for a 45-37 Gran Canaria margin. Reed kept pushing Buducnost with a jump hook and Seeley struck from beyond the arc to give the visitors hope at 45-42. Shurna nailed a catch-and-shoot triple which Ennis followed with a fastbreak layup to keep the hosts out of trouble, 50-42. Brussino and Ennis also struck from downtown to cap an 11-1 run. Shurna took over with a three-point play and a bomb from downtown in transition, breaking the game open, 62-45, after 30 minutes.
Shurna scored again early in the fourth quarter. Seeley and Ennis traded three-pointers and Perry also struck from downtown to bring Buducnost within 67-51. Lopez joined the three-point shootout. Petar Popovic buried a baseline jumper and Ennis made it 72-53 with less than 6 minutes remaining. Seeley banked in a running shot and soon brought Buducnost within 73-57. Brussino scored in penetration and by the time Balcerowski buried a three-pointer, Gran Canaria was well on its way to a very important win.







































































































