Fuenlabrada beats Rytas to claim Top 16 ticket

Montakit Fuenlabrada led from start to finish en route to an 81-70 win over visiting Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius to qualify for the Top 16 on Wednesday night. Fuenlabrada knew it needed a win to clinch a Top 16 spot from Group B, while Rytas learned an hour before tip-off that it qualified thanks to Khimki Moscow Region defeating RETAbet Bilbao Basket. Fuenlabrada jumped to an early lead, and Rytas did not come closer than 4 point the entire night as the hosts cruised to victory. Pako Cruz had 15 points, Ian O’Leary added 11 and Blagota Sekluic 10 in a balanced effort that improved Fuenlabrada to 4-4 and into second place in Group B. Fuenlabrada had the same record as ALBA Berlin, but won the head-to-head tiebreaker. The same is the case with Lietuvos Rytas, whose 3-5 record in fourth place is the same as RETAbet, but Rytas had the advantage in their head-to-head games. In this clash, Corey Fisher had 16 points and 6 assists for Rytas, Arturas Gudaitis collected 12 points and 7 rebounds, and David Logan 11 points and 7 assists.

Fuenlabrada had a strong start to the game behind Ivan Paunic who had 6 points and 4 assists as the hosts opened the game with a 15-9 advantage. Rytas hit 3 early triples, but Fuenlabrada used its energy to open a double-digit margin, and Sekulic made it 25-14 after the first quarter. Fisher, Gudaitis and Drew Gordon kept Rytas in range with close range baskets, before three-pointers from Josh Akognon and Deividas Gailius cut it to 35-31. The hosts forced 10 turnovers in the first two quarters, and Luka Rupnik’s three from way downtown opened a 44-31 cushion. The hosts went into the half up 44-35 and then had a strong opening of the third quarter with 5 points from David Wear to take a 14-point margin. Fisher and Gudaitis got Rytas going, but Cruz and O’Leary made sure Fuenlabrada keep the visitors at bay, 64-50 after three quarters. Nothing changed in the final 10 minutes, as the hosts cruised to victory.