Benetton Basket held on after a strong Alba Berlin comeback to register a 72-64 win in the teams’ Last 16 Group L opener in Treviso, Italy. Jobey Thomas shot 3 for 4 from downtown to lead the hosts with 14 points. A 16-0 first-quarter lead gave Benetton the lead for good. It stood at 44-31 at halftime, but Alba rallied in the third quarter and Derrick Allen opened the fourth quarter with a score that narrowed the gap to 58-56. However Benetton regrouped in time and pulled away to take the victory. Ben Ortner added 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 2 blocks, Jeff Viggiano tallied 12 points and 4 assists and Sani Becirovic scored 11. DaShaun Wood paced Berlin with 18 points, Kyle Weaver scored 13 and Bryce Taylor had 10 in defeat.

Berlin got off to the start it wanted as Torin Francis stopped Marcus Goree inside and Taylor and Farncis made it 0-4. Gino Cuccarolo grabbed an offensive rebound and turned it into Benetton’s first points. Back-to-back triples by Heiko Schaffartzik and Wood enabled the visitors to pull out to 4-12. Viggiano helped ignite the hosts with a basket-plus-foul and then a steal, which led to an Andrea De Nicolao layup. Thomas drilled a triple from the corner to put the hosts on top 14-12. Viggiano added a triple and Ortner spun to the basket for a left-handed layup to cap a 16-0 charge for a 20-12 lead. A steal and slam by Weaver and a basket by Wood kept Alba within 22-17 after 10 minutes. Weaver connected form downtown to narrow the gap to 2 early in the second quarter. Goree came alive with a basket-plus-foul, a steal and an assist to Ortner as Benetton restored an 8-point lead. Ortner returned the favor with a dish to Gorre for a dunk and a 33-25 lead. Wood kept Berlin as a safe distance until Viggiano connected from downtown, Jobey Thomas did the same before the former set up the latter for free throws that resulted in a 40-26 lead. Taylor nailed a three, but an Ortner slam kept Benetton ahead 44-31 at the break.

Thomas stretched the lead out to 15 with a three-pointer two minutes into the second half. Wood countered with a pair of baskets that prevented the hosts from pulling away. Weaver then scored 5 straight points and Marko Simonovic notched his first basket on the offensive glass as the lead shrunk to 51-45. Goree scored 2 from the line to keep Benetton in control, but Berlin had found its touch and before long Schaffartzik connected from long distance to make it 57-52. Taylor tacked on 2 free throws before a single Becirovic free throw made it 58-54 through three quarters. Allen put Benetton on the ropes with the first basket of the second half. Massimo Bulleri came to the hosts’ rescue and a Viggiano three gave Benetton breathing room at 63-56. An unsportsmanlike foul on Wood saw Berlin unravel and Ortner put his team ahead 9 halfway through the fourth quarter. Weaver dropped in 3 free throws to make it 65-61 with just under three minutes to play only to see Vlad Moldoveanu score. Free throws by Bulleri and Becirovic kept Alba at bay after the visitors next two baskets as Benetton marched to victory.