Veikalas late heroics rally Bonn on the road

Benas Veikalas hit four three-pointers in the last 4 minutes of the game, rallying Telekom Baskets Bonn from a 12 points down to stun Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia on the road 84-85. Tadas Klimavicius sank a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left to win the game, but Veikalas was the hero. With Reggio Emilia holding 79-67 lead, Veikalas got hot and in the remaining time hit 4 triple on as many attempts, leading the way to a huge comeback victory. Bonn improved to 3-2 in Group A, while Reggio Emilia, which held as much as a 19-point advantage in the third quarter, dropped its fourth consecutive game, and now holds 1-4 record. Bonn hit 5 of its 14 three-pointers in the last 4 minutes, as Veikalas finished with 18 points on 5-for8 from downtown. Dirk Madrich and Mickey McConnell scored 13 apiece, while Klimavicius and Steve Wachalski each had 12 points in victory. Achille Pollonara had 19 points plus 8 rebounds for the hosts, and Donell Taylor also finished with 19 points. Federico Mussini netted 15, and Ksistof Lavrinovic added 10 in defeat.

Madrich had a triple, and Veikalas a basket-plus-foul for Bonn’s 6-8 in the early going, but what followed was a huge run by the hosts. Mussini hit a triple, before Taylor nailed back-to-back for 17-10. Mussini added his second from downtown, before Ricardo Cervi and Polonara scored on fast breaks to get the hosts to 27-10. McConnell snapped a 16-0 run, then added a layup and a triple to his tally in the final minute of the quarter, cutting it to 32-20 after 10 minutes. Three-pointers from Andrej Mangold and Wachalski got Bonn within 34-28 after only 2 minutes in the second. The visitors cut it to 39-34 mid way through the quarter, but the hosts did not allow a basket for 4 minutes as Pollonara, Mussini and Lavrinovic extended the margin to 50-36 at halftime.

Veikalas hit a three-pointer in the third quarter, but Pollonara nailed a jumper and Mussini followed it with a triple as the lead went up to 59-43. Klimavicius had a put-back-plus free throw for the visitors, but Lavrinovic had a layup, then a triple, before a fastbreak basket from Taylor made it 68-49, largest margin of the night. Bonn finished the quarter with a 0-7 run, and a triple from Ryan Brooks to open the third quarter cut the deficit to 68-59. Amedeo Della Valle knocked it down from downtown for Reggio Emilia, but Wachalski hit a pair of three-pointer for Bonn, 74-67. Della Valle hit from long range again, and the hosts had 79-67 entering the final 4 minutes. But Veikalas hit a triple and McConnell followed it with one of his on the next possession. Veikalas and Polonara traded three-point shots for 82-76, but Veikalas third triple in a short span made it 82-80 with 56 seconds to go, and his fourth cut it to 84-83 with 13 seconds remaining. Eugene Lawrence stole the ensuing in-bound pass, and Klimavicius drew a foul, sinking both foul shots for 84-85 with 10 seconds to go. On the final possession, Andrea Cinciarini and Polonara missed potential game-winning shots, as Bonn celebrated an improbable victory.