BC Kyiv stormed back from a 12-point second-half deficit to record a 61-65 road win over Telindus Oostende on Tuesday at Sleuyter Arena, making it the favorite to win the ULEB Cup Last 32 series when the sides meet for the second leg next week in the Ukrainian capital. Marko Maravic scored 8 clutch points in the fourth quarter as Kyiv rallied for the win. Now the team can look forward to the Last 16 of it wins next week or even loses by fewer than 4 points. After Kyiv started nicely, the Belgian champs used an 11-0 run to close out the first half and take a 35-31 lead at the break. Oostende was the stronger team in the third period as well and when Chuck Davis caught fire, the lead peaked at 12. However the fourth quarter belonged to Kyiv and while Oostende struggled to generate points, Maravic, Pooh Jeter and Manu Markoishvili guided the visitors to the win. Jeter paced the winners with 15 points, Markoishvili added 12 and Maravic 11. Meanwhile Chuck Davis led Oostende with 18 points, Sam Van Rossom posted 15 and Elvir Ovcina finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Ovina got Oostende on the board first, but Ryan Stack answered inside for Kyiv’s first score. The opening minutes had an exciting feel with the lead often changing hands on each possession. Jeter jetted Kyiv to 6-9, but Chuck Davis scored the next 4 points to put Oostende on top. Jeter responded with a three-point play and soon drilled a three-pointer to make it 12-17. Van Rossom and Ovcina carried the hosst back to within 1 only to see Markoishvili finish the first period with 5 points to make it 19-25 after 10 minutes. The pace tailed off early in the second period, with both teams misfiring time after time. At the midway point of the second period, each team had only scored 3 points. Finally some shots started to fall as Vladimir Krstic and Chris McCray traded threes. McCray then trimmed the gap to 30-31 after drawing a foul while attempting a three and making all 3 free throws. Veselin Petrovic then stood up with a bomb and Chuck Davis added a basket inside to end the half on an 11-0 charge that put Oostende up 35-31.
Oostende’s run grew by 3 more points as Ovcina drilled a triple to open the second half. Josh Davis seemed to get Kyiv going, but Chuck Davis and Petrovic kept the hosts up 7. Chuck Davis continued to rock inside with two more baskets and a free throw to push Oostende’s lead to double digits for the first time. Jeter came back with 5 points of his own before Jerry Green capped the period with the home team on top 51-42. Kyiv retained its sudden momentum as Maravic scored inside and Markoishvili from downtown to get within 4. Then a Stack three and a Maravic three-point play, met only by a Van Rossom basket, allowed Kyiv to get to 55-53. After a Petrovic free throw, it was Maravic’s turn to hit from downtown, tying the score at 56-56. Ovcina countered with a triple of his own before Markoishvili kept it tight with a basket for the visitors. Then Markoishvili added a triple to give Kyiv its first lead of the second half and while Oostende faltered, Artur Drozdov converted a three-point play for his first points of the game that made it 59-63. Jeter stretched the lead from the line.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
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