No Champions League this season for Bergen. The vice champion was eliminated by the Dutch champion Leiden in the first qualifying round of the Champions League. The Henegouwers are fished out in the FIBA Europe Cup and end up in group F with, among others, … Antwerp Giants.
After a balanced first quarter (21-21) Bergen was unable to take any distance in the second slide. The Henegouwers remained in the lead through, among others, Dutchman Emmanuel Nzekwesi (ex-Leiden) and that resulted in a 39-38 bonus halfway through. The third quarter was also for the team of coach Vedran Bosnic. Marcus Tyus and Adjin Penava pushed Bergen to 59-52. In the final quarter, Bergen was on roses after 68-63 and 72-63. Leiden, however, took a 0-12 intermediate sprint in money time: 72-74. Marcus Tyus made it 74-74 in the final seconds, but Worthy De Jong managed to win the winning basket for Leiden at the buzzer. So no Champions League for Mons, but the FIBA Europe Cup.
Bergen-Leiden 74-76
Bergen: (27 on 55 shots, including 7 on 18 three-pointers, 13 on 20 free throws and 18 errors) CAGE 0-2, HENSON 2-8, MORTANT 2-0, NZEKWESI 11-4, TYUS 15-6, Mintogo 1-0, Pasalic 3-3, Penava 2-12, Torres 3-0
Quartz: 21-21, 18-17, 20-14, 15-24
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