The youngsters are nice and AEK is a breath away from the BCL 8 after the double over Limoges

AEK left France with the double, overcoming the Limoges obstacle (63-69) on the 4th day of the round of 16 Basketball Champions League. Ilias Kanzouris’ team took a 3-1 lead and are now just a touch away from the top eight teams in the competition.

The newbie Bryndon Lemar shared the top scorer title with Janis Strelnieks after both scored 16 points. Pierre Oriola also came close with 12 points and 6 rebounds.

The rating

1. AEK 7 (3-1)
2. Unicaja Malaga 6 (3-0)
3. Galatasaray 4 (1-2)
4. Limoges 4 (0-4)

The race

AEK started the game well and found themselves with a double-digit lead (7-17) just before the 8-minute mark, but Limoges put on a 7-0 run to narrow to 14-17 by the end of the third .

Union responded with their own run of 8 unanswered points to 14-25 (13’30”), but the home side increased their offensive production, going on a 19-6 run and going with a short header lead (33:31, 20′) Contributing to this was Nicholas Lang, who had 12 points in the first half and was the only player to be in double figures between the two teams.

Janis Strelnieks and Pierre Oriola provided valuable solutions in the third period, scoring 8 points each, while a three-pointer from Kenny Williams put AEK at +6 (48-54) 11″ before 30 minutes was up. However, Lucas Ugolin said the last talk , which made it 51-54 (30′) with a buzzer-beater three-pointer from the center of the court.

With Brydon Lemar coming into play and accumulating seven points, Elias Kanzouris’ team found themselves at +9 (54-63) just before the 35-minute mark. The French came close to the basket 1’09” before the final (61-63), but another basket from Lemar and a shot from Strelnieks put them 61-66 with 18″ on the clock. Tomasz Kieslnik reacted with a quick layup (63:66). Again Limoges fouled the Latvian guard from AEK and scored the 63:67 (39’45”) with 1/2 shots. The final 63:69 came after a layup by Dimitris Flionis

THE REFEREES: Lizka, Kozlovskis, Attard

THE DECADES: 14-17, 33-31, 51-54, 63-69

LIMOUSINE (Cancellieri): Miller 3 (1), Graves 5 (1), Gegett 2 (7 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals), Lang 16 (2/5 threes, 5 rebounds, 3 turnovers), Ugolin 12 (3/3 Threesomes), Kaji 2, Gravellink 11, Classes 7 (1/4 3-pointers), Jones 5 (1)

AEK (Kantzouris): Xanthopoulos (6 assists), Flionis 4 (5 assists), Yankovic 2, Miles 5 (1/5 threes, 7 rebounds, 2 assists), Gondikas 4, Williams 6 (2), Strelnieks 16 (2/6 3-pointers), Lemar 16 (2/4 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 5 turnovers), Oriola 12 (2/2 3-pointers, 6 rebounds), Madsen 2, Mitchell 2 (7 rebounds , 3 turnovers)

Limoges team stats: 27.12. 2-hand, 27.9. 3-pointer, 12/20 shots, 30 rebounds (25 defensive – 5 offensive), 20 assists, 9 steals, 4 blocks, 14 turnovers

AEK team stats: 16/35 2-pointers, 9/25 3-pointers, 10/12 shots, 41 rebounds (31 defense – 10 offense), 20 assists, 9 steals, 1 block, 18 turnovers

The next games of the two teams: On Matchday 5 of the BCL Round of 16, AEK Galatasaray host Andrea Pistiolis at Liosia (15/03, 19:30 CET), while Limoges play Unicaja Malaga on Spanish soil (15/03, 21:00 CET). 30).