Gran Canaria advances, Popovic breaks scoring record

In a do-or-die battle to stay alive in the competition, Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas made it to the 7DAYS EuroCup Quarterfinals by downing Montakit Fuenlabrada 100-76 at home in Group E on Wednesday. Gran Canaria finished the Top 16 with a 4-2 record, second overall, and is set to face Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem in the best-of-three quarterfinal playoffs series. Fuenlabrada was third in the group with a 2-4 record. It was a special night for Fuenlabrada combo guard Marko Popovic, who become the EuroCup's all-time leading scorer with 1,188 points. He needed 15 points to overcome Mire Chatman for first place, and did it with a free throw with 7:37 left. Sasu Salin and Royce O'Neale led the winners with 19 points apiece. Bo McCalebb added 15 and Richard Hendrix had 10 for Gran Canaria. Popovic led Fuenlabrada with 15 points and Luka Rupnik, Ludde Hakanson and Ivan Paunic each scored 10 for the guests. Gran Canaria outrebounded the visitors 31-22 and shot the ball with excellent shooting percentages (68.9% 2FG, 45% 3FG, 91.7% FT).

Bo McCalebb got Gran Canaria going with a circus shot from way downtown and a put-back layup. Salin soon added back-to-back three-pointers to give the hosts a quick double-digit lead, 13-3. Fuenlabrada found a go-to guy in Paunic, who followed a triple with a coast-to-coast layup in a 0-7 run that caused Gran Canaria to call timeout at 13-10. Hendrix and Pablo Aguilar each dunked in a 9-0 run that made it a double-digit game, 24-12. Rupnik, Roland Smits and Popovic brought Fuenlabrada a bit closer, 26-19, after 10 minutes. Popovic scored again and an unstoppable Rupnik kept the visitors within 30-26. O'Neale followed a dunk with a layup, but Rafa Hettsheimeir found a couple of three-point plays and added a jump hook to put Fuenlabrada ahead 34-36. Salin rescued Gran Canaria with a jumper and consecutive three-pointers, but Rolands Smits dunked, Hakanson added a floater and Paunic struck from downtown to tie the game at 47-47 at halftime. McCalebb took over after the break and got help from O'Neale and Salin to give Gran Canaria a 58-49 lead. Fuenlabrada called timeout, but an alley-oop dunk by Anzejs Pasecniks capped a 12-0 run that gave Gran Canaria a 63-49 margin. Popovic struck from downtown, but a 9-0 run that Kyle Kuric capped with a triple broke the game open at 72-52. Popovic followed a layup with a bomb from downtown, which David Wear followed with a jumper to make it 74-61 after 30 minutes. Wear and Smits nailed consecutive triples to bring Fuenlabrada within 76-69 early in the fourth quarter. O'Neale answered from downtown and got help from Hendrix to restore a 85-70 Gran Canaria lead with six minutes left. A three-pointer by a red-hot O'Neale and a layup by Hendrix sealed the outcome, 90-74, as Fuenlabrada did not recover.