2002-03Regular SeasonRound 2
October 22, 2002 CET: 00:00
Local time: 00:00 LA MEILLERAIE

Say hello to one of the big surprises of the Uleb Cup Week 2! The Ricoh Astronauts of Amsterdam came from 14 down in the second half to conquer Cholet of France with a loud 72-74 road win capped by a buzzer-beater from Chris "Mighty Mouse" McGuthrie, one of the smallest players in the league. The victory lifted Astronauts to 1-1, while Cholet fell to 0-2 in Group D. Astronauts believed in themselves all the way, and thanks to a great 1-13 run to finish the third quarter, had the confidence to manage the tigh finish until McGuthrie's big shot. Mindaugas Burneika led the winners with 14 points, McGuthrie and Joe Spinks added 13 each. There was no luck for Cholet guard Tony Stanley, who led all scorers with 19 points, nor for K'Zell Wesson, who was top rebounder with 15, giving him a double-double figure thanks to his 13 points. Cholet led throughout the first two quarters, thanks to full speed basketball. The French League leaders exploited the great job beneath the basket byWesson, who dominated the boards, grabbing 11 rebounds to go with 6 points in the first 20 minutes. Guards Scooter Barry and Stanley enjoyed themselves in open court situations, pushing Cholet to leads that reached 10 point, 38-28, with 3 minutes to go in the second quarter. But even when Cholet tried to run and forward Deron Hayes could not miss on his first 4 shots, Astronauts played good defense otherwise and kept the score close. The Dutch team played smart, keeping the tempo from getting out of control and getting the ball in good spots to Spinks and Burneika, who combined for 18 points. Cholet's led by just 5 points, 42-37, at the half.

Pushed by the home crowd, Cholet tried to give the decisive hit in the third quarter, hitting big shots with ease over 3 minutes to amass a 56-42 advantage. But as they had already done a week earlier against KK Zadar, Astronauts showed great pride and were able to outscore Cholet 1-13 in the last 3 minutes of the quarter to step back into the game at 57-55 after 30 minutes. Everything was still to be decided on court. The guests tied the score at 57 with the first possession of the final quarter, and then took their first important lead of the game at 59-60. The remaining 7 minutes of the quarter were an breathtaking thriller, with teams alternatively leading by one point. Things seemed to go in Cholet's favor as the hosts led 72-69 with 1 minute, 30 seconds left, but Astronauts were able to steal and score the 3 points needed to tie the score on a three-pointer with about 40 seconds left. Cholet wasted the last possession, and with 10 seconds remaining, Astronauts had the unrepeatable chance to get an unexpected road win. McGuthrie did not waste it the opportunity, but sank the winning jumper, to give Dutch fans a huge smile.

Tuesday, October 22, 2002
Eurocupbasketball.com
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Referees: ARAUJO, JOSE; ROCHA, FERNANDO; BICHON, PIERRE YVES
Attendance: 2500
By Quarter1234
Cholet Basket24181515
Ricoh Astronauts18191819
End of Quarter1234
Cholet Basket24425772
Ricoh Astronauts18375574
Cholet Basket
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 WESSON, K'ZELL 26:00 13 4/7   5/9 4 11 15 3   3     3 8 26
5 SYLVERE, BRYAN 12:00 2 1/2       3 3     1 2   3   2
6 JEANNEAU, AYMERIC 22:00 6 2/5 0/1 2/2   1 1 3   1     3 1 3
7 BARRY, RICHARD 24:00 12 4/5 1/3 1/2   3 3 5 1 3     1 3 16
8 KRASIC, IVAN 16:00 6 1/3 1/3 1/2   2 2 1         3 2 3
9 FERCHAUD, CEDRIC 10:00   0/1     1   1           1   -1
10 BILBA, JIM 29:00 2 1/1 0/2     4 4 2 1 3     2 1 3
11 MARQUIS, CLAUDE 13:00 4 2/2   0/2 1   1 3 1       3 2 6
12 STANLEY, TONY 26:00 19 2/4 4/9 3/4 2 2 4   1   1 1 2 5 19
13 MALET, ROMAIN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
14 HAYES, DERON 22:00 8 4/8 0/3   1 3 4 2   1     1 1 6
Team             2 2               2
Totals 200:00 72 21/38 6/21 12/21 9 31 40 19 4 12 3 1 22 23 85
        55.3% 28.6% 57.1%
Head coach: MARTIN, JEAN FRANCOIS
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Ricoh Astronauts
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 FAYDHERBE, PATRICK 5:00   0/1                         -1
5 TOMELJAK, IVAN 20:00 8 3/3   2/4   1 1 4   1     2 2 10
6 VAN DER HOLST, SANDER 10:00 4 1/1 0/1 2/2 1   1 1         1 2 6
7 BENNES, MARIO 27:00 11 4/7 1/2   2   2   1 2     5 4 7
8 SPINKS, JOE 37:00 13 4/10 1/5 2/4 1 5 6 2 3 1     3 3 11
9 McGUTHRIE, CHRIS 40:00 13 4/9 1/8 2/2   2 2 7   2   1 1 5 11
12 ROUWHORST, KOEN 12:00 2 1/2       1 1       1   5 1 -1
13 BURNEIKA, MINDAUGAS 21:00 14 1/2 3/5 3/6   4 4           4 3 11
14 RIDL, ZVONIMIR 28:00 9 2/6 0/3 5/6 3 6 9 2   2   1 2 2 9
15 OOMS, JOOST DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team                                
Totals 200:00 74 20/41 6/24 16/24 7 19 26 16 4 8 1 2 23 22 63
        48.8% 25% 66.7%
Head coach: TOROMAN, RAJKO
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

MARTIN, JEAN FRANCOIS
Cholet Basket
"I knew that Amsterdam was not a small team and they proved it tonight. There were errors of coaching and management at the end of game. We were not vigilant enough defensively and we were short of consistency on defense, notably in the inside game. It is clear that with plus-14 points we should keep this difference, but the loss of our lead broke our dynamic. Now, we should win against Zadar!"
TOROMAN, RAJKO
Ricoh Astronauts
"It was very hard. By winning here, we showed that we could win against good teams. You know, it was not so easy for us. We have just integrated two new players into the team, but we were able to fight against a very athletic and powerful team like Cholet Basket. We won the match in the second half, when we took more rebounds and stopped Cholet Basket's offensive rebounds."

Players

STANLEY, TONY
Cholet Basket
"It is a disappointing defeat. We led by 14 points but we collapsed defensively in the second half. It will be necessary to work tomorrow in practice to be ready for the next game. Everybody made mistakes, we did not well play together, not so much on offense as on defense."
McGUTHRIE, CHRIS
Ricoh Astronauts
"It has been several years that we have been close to winning against big teams from outside Hollan. There was so many big games where we lacked luck. Tonight, Cholet had the chance to increase its lead, but they were not able to make it. We are just lucky! I already had put a shot in at the end of a game two years ago in the Saporta Cup, to win in a preliminary tour against a Hungarian team."
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