Perhaps not ULEB Cup victory so far felt so good as the one in Udine, Italy on Tuesday. That's where home team Snaidero Udine has won its first offical game all season defeating BCM Gravelines Dunquerke at PalaCarnera, 84-67, in a double-face game decided in the last minutes of the third period. The team of coach Fabrizio Frates had an incredible two-point shooting performacne (24-for-31, 77%) while Gravelines won the fight under the boards 21-28 and showed in the first two period a deadly fastbreak. But the man of the night who helped the Italian team decide the matter was Demetrius Alexander, who made sure of things with a double-double of 31 points and 10 rebounds. Alexander was seconded by 21 points from Damir Mulaomerovic and 18 of Michele Mian. For the guests Danny Strong posted 13 points and Geoff Lear netted 10 others. Both teams are now 1-1 in the Group A standings.

In the first two quarters, the game had alternating slim advantages for boh teams, with Udine ending the first period ahead 25-19, but going back to locker room at the break ahead only by 3 points, 39-36. Gravelines was controlling the rebounds and running in fastbreak to stay in the match, but Alexander soon took over with two underneath baskets and Mulaomerovic with two straight three-pointers. The home team was feeling momentum for the first time after 6 Italian League losses and 1 in the ULEB Cup. With the crowd behind Udine, there was little resistence that Gravelines could put up. An inspired Snaidero continued playing a tough and intense man-to-man defense and thereby enlarged the advantage to 20 points. After that, it was a question of managing the lead, which Snaidero and Mulaomerovic did to the crowd's delight for the team's first ULEB Cup victory.