Trento stands tough, books Top 16 ticket

Dolomiti Energia Trento booked its ticket to the Top 16 as it staved off a tough fight with Promitheas Patras to secure an 80-89 road victory. Victor Sanders came off the bench to score a career-high 22 points, while Gary Browne tallied 15 points, Jeremy Morgan scored all 14 of his points in the second half and Kelvin Martin added 13 points as Trento improved to 6-0 in Group D. Promitheas has now dropped two straight games to fall to 2-4 despite Dimitris Agravanis scoring 22 points and Ian Miller picking up 22 points and 7 assists. Mouhamad Faye chipped in 8 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks in the loss.

After Vangelis Mantzaris's free throws started the scoring, JaCorey Williams had two inside baskets for the guests, which were answered by back-to-back three-point plays from Danny Agbelese and Miller to make it 8-4. Maximilian Ladurner came off the bench for 5 points in a 0-9 spurt for Trento, but Lefteris Mantzoukas hit for 5 points at the other end and the game was even 17-17 after 10 minutes. Luca Conti opened the second quarter with a three-pointer for Trento, but the hosts could not pull away as Faye hit from deep to even it at 24-24. Promitheas was held scoreless for about 3 minutes, but Trento only led 24-28. Agravanis came on and tallied 10 points in a 14-6 spurt, including a four-point play to make it 38-34. Promitheas had a final minute to forget with Sanders hitting a three-pointer and Martin and Browne both scoring after steals for a 38-41 lead. Miller saved it for the hosts by hitting a triple at the buzzer to make it 41-41 at the break.

After going scoreless in the first half, Morgan drained back-to-back three-pointers and Martin added a three-point play as Trento opened the second half with a 0-11 run to move ahead 41-52. Agravanis finally stopped the bleeding after nearly 5 minutes to start a 5-0 run and later Sanders, Agravanis and Miller hit 4 straight three-pointers at either end and 2 Sanders free throws had Trento up 59-69 after 30 minutes. Michalis Lountzis's 4 points sparked an 8-1 start to the fourth quarter to pull Promitheas within 67-70. Mantzoukas grabbed his own rebound off a missed three-pointer and put it back to make it 72-73. Morgan helped Trento pull away with a layup, block, an assist on Browne’s layup and a three-pointer for a 76-82 advantage with under 4 minutes left. Trento held Promitheas without a basket for the final 3:50 minutes and Sanders hit a big three-pointer for an 80-87 lead to decide the game.

Another Top 16 berth

2016 semifinalist Trento has now reached the Top 16 for the second straight season and fourth time in its last five appearances in the competition.

Late game defense

Trento came into the game with the number one defense in the competition, allowing just 66.6 points per game. The Italians gave up 80 points for the second straight week, but they held Promitheas without a basket for the final 3:50 minutes to secure the win.

Telling numbers

Trento committed only 6 turnovers for the game while forcing Promitheas into 13 turnovers and turning them into a 17-4 advantage on points off turnovers. Trento also shot 10 of 21 (47.6%) on three-pointers while Promitheas connected on only 8 of 26 (30.8%) from long range.

Next games

Promitheas will remain at home for Round 8 with a big game against Frutti Extra Bursaspor on Wednesday, November 18. Trento will look to remain perfect when it hosts Nanterre 92 the same evening.