Banvit BK opened the Last 16 just the way it wanted with a 77-65 victory over visiting KRKA Novo Mesto in Group K. Serkan Erdogan came off the bench for 14 points to lead the hosts. He scored 6 in a 9-0 run to finish the first quarter that gave Banvit the lead for good. Krka never quit and even fought back from a 16-point deficit to get within 8 in the closing minutes, but Erdogan came up with 4 late points to help seal the win. Chuck Davis and Kenan Bajramovic added 12 points apiece for the winners, Keith Simmons posted 11 points and 7 rebounds and Baris Ermis ran the show with 8 assists. Zoran Dragic paced the Krka attack with 13 points, newcomer Afik Nissim scored 11 and Uros Lucic added 10.

Cliff Hammonds opened the scoring for the hosts before Nissim scored his first points for Krka. Nissim and Jure Lalic extended the visitors to 4-8, but Simmons and Ermis combined for the next 6 points and a Banvit lead. Cemal Nalga kept things even with an offensive rebound and basket to knot the score at 15-15. Erdogan single-handedly put his team in control with a basket-plus-foul and a three-pointer to cap a 9-0 run for a 21-15 lead after one quarter. After baskets by Ben Hansbrough and Nissim, the latter fed Lucic to make it a 1-point game. Bajramovic of the hosts and Edo Muric of the visitors traded threes as Banvit held tightly to its slim lead, 26-25. The Banvit big men helped extend the lead as Davis got to the line and Williams scored inside for 36-29. Simmons extended the lead to 9 before Lucic trimmed the gap to 40-33 by halftime.

Back-to-back triples by Simmons and Hammonds spelled doom for Krka. Nissim hit back with a three of his own, but a Davis slam pushed the hosts even further ahead, 50-36. Jure Blazic connected from behind the arc to give Krka some hope at 52-41 midway through the third quarter. Blazic closed the gap to 9 and Lucic ended the third quarter with a tip-in to score it 57-49. Bajramovic scored from the line and behind the arc as Banvit looked to put the game away with a 7-0 charge to open the fourth quarter. Hansbrough kept Krka alive, but the hosts continued to score. Izzet Turkyilmaz’s basket-plus-foul extended the lead to 16 with just under four minutes to play and signaled the end was near. Dragic helped Krka claw its way back and a Blazic triple capped a 0-8 run that made it 71-63 with two-and-a-half minutes to go. But a Nissim basket proved all Krka could muster the rest of the way and Erdogan helped Banvit seal the win.