BC Donetsk improved its chances to make it to the Eurocup Last 16 in competitive regular season Group A by thrashing Cibona 98-81 in Ukraine on Tuesday. Donetsk moved up to 2-1 in Group A while Cibona dropped to 0-3. Cibona will be mathematically out of the competition if it loses against Donetsk in Zagreb, Croatia next week. Ramel Curry led the winners with 23 points. Ivan Radenovic and Vyacheslav Kravtsov each added 15, Michael Lee had 13 while Maksym Pustozvonov got 10 for Donetsk. Davor Kus led Cibona with 14 points. Antwain Barbour and Andrija Zizic each added 12 while Brian Chase had 10. A free throw by Marin Rozic gave Cibona its only lead, 10-11, midway through the first quarter. Curry and Lee stepped up to make Donetsk get a 21-17 margin after 10 minutes. Curry and Pustozvonov fueled a 16-3 run that broke the game open, 39-23, late in the second quarter. Donetsk boosted its margin to 59-39 behind an outstanding Radenovic and then again to 88-66 with over 4 minutes to go, enough for the hosts to control the game until the final buzzer.

Darnell Jackson got Donetsk going with a layup, as Cibona went scoreless for more than 2 minutes until Zizic split free throws. Radenovic quickly answered from downtown and Lee copied him soon after that to give the hosts an 8-1 lead. Barbour rescued Cibona with a triple, igniting a 0-6 run that Rozic capped with a layup for a 8-7 edge. Curry scored down low but a three-pointer by Kus tied it at 10-10. Rozic completed the guests' comeback with a free throw, 10-11. Curry and Kravtsov stepped up for Donetsk but free throws by Damjan Rudez and Chase tied it at 17-17. Back-to-back layups by Dmytro Glebov and Lee restored a 21-17 Donetsk edge after 10 minutes. Glebov scored again early in the second quarter but Chase answered from downtown for a 23-20 score. Pustozvonov took over with consecutive three-pointers that boosted the hosts' lead to 29-20. Curry sank a jumper but Tomislav Zubcic improved that with a three-point play. It didn't last long, however, as Curry and Pustozvonov fueled a 7-0 run that broke the game open, 39-23. Kus and Rozic tried to change things for Cibona but free throws by Radenovic and a basket by Curry kept Donetsk way ahead, 44-29. Zizic followed free throws with an easy basket and Kus nailed a jumper but an unstoppable Curry and free throws by Vule Avdalovic gave the hosts a 51-35 margin at halftime.

Radenovic sank jumper immediately after the break but Zizic stepped up with 4 unanswered points for a 53-39 score. Radenovic kept pacing Donetsk with back-to-back baskets and soon added free throws to make it a 20-point game, 59-39. Jackson scored around the basket to cap an 8-0 run. Jure Lalic scored down low and Zubcic buried a three-pointer but Cibona only managed to trade baskets midway through the third quarter. Lee shined with consecutive baskets and Curry erased Rozic's triple with his own shot from downtown, good for a 68-47 score. Barbour tried to change things for Cibona with 6 points late in the third quarter but an unstoppable Curry allowed Donetsk to get a 79-56 margin after 30 minutes. Cibona tried to ignite a comeback early in the fourth quarter, as Lalic scored twice and three-pointers by Zubcic and Chase got the guests within 84-66. Jackson shined with a put-back layup and Radenovic also scored in the paint to seal the outcome, 88-66, midway through the fourth quarter. Cibona kept trying but only managed to erase its deficit in the final minutes, when all Donetsk fans were celebrating that their team is a bit closer to get to the Last 16.