MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - Tensions are rising in the FIBA Europe Cup once again as teams approach the second cut-off point in the competition at the end of the Second Round, but that has only added an extra layer of excitement to the contests.

After last week’s upset bonanza, there was less drama this time around, but it did not get in the way of Dru Joyce of Tsmoki Minsk setting a new FIBA Europe Cup season record in assists or Demir Insaat equaling the best scoring night of the season against Prievidza.

Like at the end of every week, we take a closer look at what took place across European arenas through a lens of numbers.

1

Elan Chalon became the first FIBA Europe Cup team to book a place in the Round of 16 after improving to a 5-0 record with a dominant 74-45 victory against Sodertalje Kings at Le Colisee in Chalon-sur-Saone.

John Roberson put together another strong display against his former team, collecting 22 points on 6-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in just 23 minutes of action.

7

With Elan Chalon already qualified, there are seven more spots up for grabs in the knock-out stages of the FIBA Europe Cup. However, the competition for these places is rather fierce, with 12 more teams having bigger or smaller hopes of reaching the Round of 16.

It is no longer mathematically possible for teams with three losses to progress from the Second Round, meaning that 11 teams have already been eliminated: Sodertalje Kings, Mures, BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque, Prievidza, Redwell-Gunners, APOEL, Tsmoki Minsk, Bnei Herzliya, U-BT Cluj-Napoca, Pardubice and SL Benfica.

9

Lance Jeter stole the show in the week’s early game on Tuesday with a performance to remember in the fourth quarter and overtime, helping Donar Groningen fend off SL Benfica for an 81-78 victory in Group P.

Aggressive play by the 28-year-old Donar star was rewarded with five trips to the free-throw line in the fourth quarter alone, during which Jeter went 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.

He added six more points in overtime. All in all, the point guard scored 28 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, dished out 6 assists and registered 2 steals.

15

Lukoil Academic might have thrown their qualification ticket out the window, coming away empty-handed against Enisey after wasting a 15-point third-quarter lead and falling short 97-92 against the visitors from Krasnoyarsk in the end.

The Bulgarian side led 72-57 after Stephen Zack’s bucket, but Enisey mounted a 10-0 run to end the third period and continued their strong play in the final frame. The game could have swung either way at the end of regulation, but Suleiman Braimoh came up with a couple of big scores in a time of need for the Russians, who went on to seal their win from the stripe.

17

Although Tsmoki’s victory against Kormend proved to be meaningless in terms of their Round of 16 aspirations, Dru Joyce made sure that the Belarusian side bowed out in style by setting a new FIBA Europe Cup season record in assists.

The 31-year-old playmaker had reached 12 assists at the halfway point of the game and finished the evening with 13 points and 17 assists, as the Minsk side got their second win in Group N after coming out on top 91-84.

Joyce surpassed Pau-Lacq-Orthez’s floor general D.J. Cooper’s 16-assist mark that he posted earlier this season and was only one dime short of matching Teemu Rannikko’s all-time FIBA Europe Cup best of 18 assists.

20

An unlikely name stepped up for Nanterre 92 in a home blowout victory against Bnei Herzliya, as Hugo Invernizzi scored 20 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 7 assists for a total efficiency ranking of 27 to lead the French side to a 109-71 rout against the visitors from Israel.

The 24-year-old small forward, who got an extra run due to the blowout nature of the game, had reached double digits only once previously this season and was happy about his side's performance.

"We managed to pass the ball well, played with intensity and got out on fast-breaks. I felt good in the game, as I had opportunities right from the beginning of the game. This result is a good one for use and our complete performance gave us our confidence back," Invernizzi told the media in the press conference after the game.

32

Hugo Invernizzi’s game of the season was not the only positive takeaway for Nanterre 92 this week, as the club also posted a season-high 32 assists in the FIBA Europe Cup, joining three other clubs at the top of the list: Antwerp Giants, Elan Chalon and Vytautas. Turkish outfit Demir Insaat also came close to joining the special club of teams, with 30 assists against Prievidza this week.

96

It hasn’t been the best stretch of games for Sodertalje Kings recently, with the Swedish club slumping to already their second straight big defeat in as many weeks. After losing 93-51 to Gaziantep last time around, Sodertalje got thrown under the bus again by Elan Chalon, who celebrated a 74-45 victory.

The team’s offensive struggles are highlighted by the fact that Nanterre 92, Alba Fehervar, Pau-Lacq-Orthez, Telekom Baskets, Demir Insaat, Gaziantep and Enisey all scored as much or more points this week than Sodertalje Kings combined in their past two games – 96.

111

Demir Insaat matched the FIBA Europe Cup season high-scoring mark of 111 points against Prievidza and joined Alba Fehervar and Antwerp Giants at the top of the leader board with identical offensive displays. Interestingly enough, the Belgian side also reached the mark playing against Prievidza, raising quite a few questions about the Slovakian side’s defensive capabilities.

However, no teams have come close to equaling the competition’s all-time record 121 points posted by CEZ Nymburk the previous season.

FIBA