CAI beats Szolnoki, advances to the eighthfinals

CAI Zaragoza made it to the Eurocup eighthfinals for the first time in club history by downing Szolnoki Olaj 70-80 on the road on Wednesday. CAI finished Group N with a 4-2 record and will keep fighting for Eurocup glory while Szolnoki was fourth at 1-5. Stevan Jelovac led the winners with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Slava Kravtsov added 15 points and 8 rebounds for CAI. David Vojvoda led Szolnoki with 20 points. Strahinja Milosevic added 17 and 9 rebounds while Goran Vrbanc had 10 points for the hosts, that led 18-6 and kept a 26-17 margin after 10 minutes. Kravtsov and Pere Tomas fueled a 0-9 wun that gave CAI its first lead at 28-29. Milosevic allowed Szolnoki to tie it at 37-37 as both teams headed back to the locker rooms. Tomas Bellas and Henk Norel helped CAI get a 41-49 lead soon after the break which an outstanding Vojvoda soon cut to 50-51. Norel and Jelovac allowed CAI to restore a 57-62 margin after 30 minutes. Kravtsov shined early in the fourth quarter and got help from Jelovac to seal the outcome, 65-77, long before the final buzzer.

Krisztian Wittmann got Szolnoki going with a three-pointer and Milosevic scored in the paint for a 5-0 lead. Henk Norel split free throws and Pere Tomas added a layup but Wittmann and Dino Gregory kept the hosts ahead, 9-3. A three-pointer by David Vojvoda made CAI call timeout at 12-3. Gregory scored again but a three-pointer by Robin Benzing gave the guests hope at 14-6. Milosevic stepped up with a layup and free throws by Milos Borisov made it a 12-point game, 18-6. Tomas Bellas and Vrbanc traded triples and Slava Kravtsov banked in a close shot for a 21-11 score. Stevan Jelovac followed a big basket with a triple but an outstanding Vrbanc gave Szolnoki a 26-17 margin after 10 minutes. Jelovac struck from downtown early in the second quarter. Vrbanc scored in penetration but Kravtsov had 4 points in a 0-9 CAI run that Tomas capped with a three-pointer that gave the guests their first lead, 28-29. Milosevic and Kravtsov exchanged layups and Tomas scored off a steal for a 30-33 CAI lead. Milosevic hit a jump hook and Peter Kovacs better Joan Sastre's free throws with a triple for a 35-35 tie. Free throws by Isaac Fotu and a dunk by Milosevic fixed the halftime score at 37-37.

Vojvoda shined with a put-back basket right after the break but Norel and Tomas each dunked in a 0-6 run that put CAI back ahead, 39-43. Milosevic stepped up with a layup that Fotu bettered with a three-point play and Bellas struck from downtown to make Szolnoki call timeout at 41-49. Vojvoda tried to change things with consecutive baskets and improved Norel's dunk with a three-point play that brought the hosts as close as 48-51. Wittmann banked in a shot in transition but Norel followed a slam with a tip-in in a 0-7 run that Jelovac capped with a triple for a 50-58 CAI lead. Vojvoda followed a triple with a layup but Jelovac and Sek Henry kept the guests ahead, 57-63, after 30 minutes. Kravtsov dunked early in the fourth quarter and Jelovac soon made it a double-digit game, 57-67. Kravtsov scored again and even when Milosevic shined with a three-point play, Jordan Swing kept CAI way ahead, 62-71. Borisov struck from downtown but Kravtsov and Jelovac allowed CAI to seal the outcome, 65-77, with 3 minutes left. Vojvoda hit another three-pointer but all CAI players were already celebrating a historical win!