Peristeri was able to break, he looks back to Dijon for the equalizer

Ready for a big fight, the bwin Pigeon traveled to France for the first game of the Basketball Champions League Play-In best-of-three series and he really delivered. In the end, however, it was Dijon who had the composure needed to claim victory (89-80) and take the first step towards qualifying for the TOP-16 of the tournament, which will be played in four groups of four.

Marcus Denmon was great in execution, with little effort, Miro Bilan scored with efficiency, Dimitris Agravanis followed but that was about it. Peristeri came up short on the perimeter shot and Marquis McDuffie’s Dijon and Holston, Ware, Hrovat deservedly got the result thanks to their creation and better percentage.

Despite not entering the match with the efficiency needed, Peristeri quickly found his balance. In the second half, he went 17-24, with Bilan doing a great job near the basket (12 points in 14:42 in the first half), covering his three-point error (4/14) and playing good outside defense. Spanoulis’ team capitalized on their opponents’ mistakes and scored nine of them, had six more than offensive rebounds and proved adept at breaking the streak.

The picture of the game did not change significantly at the beginning of the second half. Peristeri maintained the lead until the end of the third period when Dijon scored 58-57 with Hrovat and Ducote. A surprise nail from Agravanis early in the fourth quarter (64-62) was met with a three-pointer from McDuffie for a +5 for the home side, but once again Peristeri had the solutions. Agravanis put them ahead (73-74 at 34′) after which Dijon launched a 7-0 run that gave them a two-possession lead.

From there, Peristeri failed to find the defense it needed and Ware wrote 86-78 in the 39th minute, which finally decided the game.

THE REFEREES: Listska, Lukis, Baki

THE DECADES: 17-16, 34-40, 64-60, 89-80

DIZON (Markovic): Brebley 4 (4 rebounds), Holston 15 (3/4 2-pointers, 3/9 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 steals), Hrovat 18 (4/7 2-pointers, 1/ 2 3-pointers, 7/7 shots, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, McDuffie 27 (7/11 2-pointers, 3/7 3-pointers, 4/5 shots, 7 rebounds, 4 steals), Ware 15 (7/ 10 2-pointers, 5 rebounds), Alling 6, Ducote 5, Gauthier

DOVE (Spanoulis): Agravanis 22 (8/12 2-pointers, 1/6 3-pointers, 3/5 shots, 5 rebounds, 3 steals), Denmon 21 (1/2 2-pointers, 5/7 3-pointers, 4/5 shots), Francisco 9 (4/13 shots, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 5 errors), Moraitis, Persidis, Bilan 18 (7/10 two-pointers, 4/5 shots, 7 rebounds, 2 Steals), Juston 6 (3/4 two-pointers), Kaselakis 2, Poulianitis 2, Radanov 2

Dijon team stats: 28/40 2-pointers, 7/20 3-pointers, 12/14 shots, 43 rebounds (32 defense – 11 offense), 22 assists, 7 steals, 16 turnovers, 22 fouls

Peristeri’s team stats: 23/40 2-pointers, 7/24 3-pointers, 13/18 shots, 31 rebounds (21 defensive – 10 offensive), 17 assists, 11 steals, 4 blocks, 12 turnovers

The next games of the two teams: Dijon and Peristeri play at Andreas Papandreou on January 10th, while if a third game is required it will be in France on January 18th.