MUNICH (FIBA Europe Cup) - After a two-week hiatus, the FIBA Europe Cup returned with exciting Second Round action, providing us not only with down-to-the-wire drama and highlight reel plays, but also outstanding statistical performances.

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

While SL Benfica's trek to Siberia got all the social media buzz, it was Lukoil Academic forward Hristo Zahariev, who took center stage from the Portuguese club by posting a FIBA Europe Cup season-record in steals against Donar Groningen.

1

After ending the previous calendar year with two defeats in a row in the FIBA Europe Cup, Sodertalje Kings and Redwell-Gunners both turned a new page and started the 2017 on a positive note.

The Kings earned their first Second Round win by taking care of business against the short-handed BC Mures side 88-68 in Group K, while the Gunners topped APOEL 79-74 in a nail-biting finish to a Group M clash in Oberwart.

These wins gave both clubs a lifeline to stay in contention for a place in the Round of 16, but their path to advancing form the Second Round remains complicated.

2

Antwerp Giants had to chase the visiting Prievidza side for two and a half quarters and were still neck-and-neck heading into the final frame, but a terrific offensive display by Jason Clark and Michael Smith in the fourth quarter allowed the Belgian side to triumph 111-94 in the end.

Both players were among the Top Performers in the FIBA Europe Cup this week, with Clark collecting 26 points and 9 assists and Smith adding 23 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

They were joined by the likes of U-BT Cluj-Napoca guard Aleksandar Rasic, Lukoil Academic big man Maksym Korniienko and Gaziantep's man in the middle Davon Jefferson.

5

Only five teams remain undefeated in the Second Round: Elan Chalon, Demir Insaat, Telekom Baskets, Nanterre 92 and BC Enisey. The three teams that got bumped off the list this week did so with a loud thump to the ground.

Gaziantep were handed a 102-83 defeat by Elan Chalon, Vytautas lost to Telekom Baskets 89-70, while Alba Fehervar got the worst bargain after getting on the wrong end of a 89-63 rout by Pau-Lacq-Orthez.

5

After starting the FIBA Europe Cup campaign on fire with four wins in a row in the Regular Season, BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque are in a complete tailspin right now, having picked up their fifth consecutive loss in the competition after falling 90-85 to Demir Insaat in overtime.

Christian Monschau's side didn't quite have what it takes in crunchtime, as Buyukcekmece dominated in the extra period behind solid play of Osiris Eldridge and Kenneth Hayes.

Six players — Jerry Johnson, Andrija Stipanovic, Angelo Caloiaro, Kahiem Seawright and the duo of Elrdige and Hayes — finished in double figures for the Turkish club, with the remaining squad chipping in with just 6 points.

6

Hristo Zahariev made his presence felt on both ends of the floor, as Lukoil Academic trounced Donar Groningen by a surprisingly big 26-point margin in Sofia. The 26-year-old Bulgarian small forward made 6-of-11 shots from the field, grabbed 5 rebounds and dished out 4 assists, as the hosts triumphed 88-62. However, his most impressive contribution came on defense, as Big Z matched the FIBA Europe Cup season record in takeaways by coming up with 6 steals.

6

Aleksandar Rasic, Chris Warren and Csaba Ferencz have two things in common: they all drained six three-pointers and they all helped their teams start the new year victoriously.

While these performances are shy of the 8 three-pointer mark set by Toni Bizaca and Andrew Barham earlier this season, they are nonetheless impressive, especially in the case of the U-BT Cluj-Napoca man-of-the-hour Rasic, who went 6-of-8 from beyond the arc against Pardubice.

Warren stepped up for Nanterre 92, going 6-of-10 from long-range for a total of 27 points, as the French side defeated Tsmoki Minsk 94-85 in a close escape after still trailing in the fourth quarter. Mystery man Ferencz earned another mention and his performance will be discussed later in the text.

25

Sodertalje finally got on the board in the Second Round by defeating Mures to claim their first win in Group K, having made an incredible 14-of-22 of their three-point attempts against Mures.

However, the Swedish club did commit an unusually high 25 turnovers in the process. Thomas Massamba was the main culprit, having turned the ball over a total of 8 times, only one shy of the worst mark in the FIBA Europe Cup this season.

"I would lie if I said that we are completely satisfied. It was a nice victory, but we had too many turnovers. If we want to compete for the championship, this is one of the aspects we have to improve," noted the competition leading scorer Toni Bizaca after the game.

26

Csaba Ferencz had reached double digits in scoring only once this season for Kormend in the FIBA Europe Cup, but exploded for a season-high 26 points to lead the Hungarian club to an impressive 87-70 victory on the road against Bnei Herzliya in Group M.

The 31-year-old Hungarian forward went 6-of-11 from three-point range and made all four of this two-pointers, also adding 4 rebounds and 3 steals to complete a productive all-around evening.

His previous season-high of 14 points came in the second week of the season against BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque.

30

The nearly 9,000 km trek from Lisbon to the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk turned out to be a fruitless one for SL Benfica. Not only did Carlos Lisboa's side suffer a 99-69 defeat against Enisey, they also had to go all the way back home with the weight of the biggest loss in the competition this week on their shoulders.

Despite a positive start in the opening quarter, Benfica ran out of steam six minutes into the game and simply couldn't keep up with the high-scoring Russians after being knocked off track with a massive 20-2 spurt.

Even with Enisey nearly hitting the century mark, only three Enisey players reached double figures: Frank Elegar had 22 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in just over 20 mintutes, Tony Taylor chipped in with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, while Vladislav Trushkin added 10 points.

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