iurbentia Bilbao Basket became one of the three teams to reach the Last 16 undefeated by downing Buducnost 69-66 at home in Group H on Tuesday. Bilbao Basket, a newcomer in European club competitions, was already the Group H champion and stays as one of the few teams undefeated, along with Pamesa Valencia and Unics Kazan. Bilbao is now ready to face Spirou Basket, Artland Dragons and Lietuvos Rytas for two Final Eight spots. Meanwhile, Buducnost finished fourth in Group G with a 1-5 record and had previously run of chances to advance to the Last 16. Marko Banic led the winners with 15 points on 7-for-9 two-pointers. Drago Pasalic added 12 while Janis Blums had 11 for Bilbao. Vladimir Dasic led Buducnost with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Nemanja Gordic added 11 points while Vladimir Micov had 10 for the guests, that led 28-30 at halftime. Buducnost stayed in the game throughout the third quarter until Banic stepped up to make Bilbao break the game open, 62-49. Buducnost only rallied once the outcome was clear.

Suad Sehovic got Buducnost going with free throws while Dasic added a three-point play for a 3-5 lead. Vladimir Micov struck from downtown while a layup by Ivan Maras kept the guests ahead, 5-10. A free throw by Quincy Lewis ignited a 8-0 run in which Pasalic followed a layup with a dunk to give Bilbao its first lead, 13-10. Free throws by Maras and a dunk by Dasic put Buducnost back ahead, 13-14. Blums made free throws and added a layup off a steal to restore a 17-16 Bilbao lead after 10 minutes. Predrag Savovic scored right at the start of the second quarter while Javi Salgado nailed a triple for a 22-16 Bilbao margin. Buducnost did not panic, however, and Milos Bojovic scored down low while Sehovic added a three-pointer for a 25-21 deficit midway through the second quarter. Both teams went scoreless for almost 2 minutes until Dasic stepped up with a put-back layup. Marko Popovic shined with a triple and soon added a put-back basket to tie the game, 28-28. Bilbao kept struggling to score late in this half while free throws by Sehovic allowed Buducnost to get a 28-30 edge at the break.

Micov scored right after the break but consecutive layups by Pasalic and Renaldas Seibutis tied the game at 32-32. Gordic, however, followed a three-pointer with a layup off a steal while Popovic also struck from downtown to put the guests back ahead, 34-40. Blums tried to change things with a layup and Lewis soon added a jumper but Micov and Sehovic will kept Buducnost ahead, 40-43. Banic took over with consecutive layups and added a dunk off a steal to make Buducnost call timeout at 46-43. Micov brought Buducnost within 46-45 after 30 minutes. Banic kept pacing Bilbao with a layup early in the fourth quarter. Salgado added a three-pointer while Luke Recker shined with a fast break layup for a 53-45 Bilbao edge. Free throws by Salva Guardia and a layup by Banic broke the game open, 57-47, with 6 minutes to go. Banic stayed unstoppable while a three-pointer by Savovic sealed the outcome, 62-49, midway through this period. Buducnost kept trying but all Bilbao fans were already celebrating yet another home win.