EA7 Emporio Armani beat Belgacom Spirou 81-79: Snap their two-game losing streak – Part 1
In a back and forth game at the RTL Spiroudome on November 10, EA7 Emporio Armani managed to snap their two-game losing streak with an 81-79 victory over Belgacom Spirou. The hosts had the upper hand for the most game but Emporio
Armani pulled away in the very last minutes of the game to snatch a win.
Armani are now in a tie with Real Madrid and Anadolu for the second position in Group C and need just one more victory to stay in the upper half of the standings. Spirou dropped to 3-1 in the group with second straight loss of
this season.
"It was very important for us to win this game. Everybody in my team knew it would be difficult and the game was in fact very tough. However, we defended very well in the two last minutes after some great 3 points shots. This a
good success for the confidence," Armani Centre Ioannis Bourousis said.
Antonis Fotsis played a steady game this time and ended with a team-high 19 points on 4 for 8 shooting from three-point range. Fotsis also grabbed four rebounds in the victory. Danilo Gallinari tallied 17 points on 6 for 9 shooting
from free throw line, Ioannis Bourousis added 11 points while Drew Nicolas racked up 10 points for Emporio.
Spirou’s guard Demond Mallet led all scorers with 21 points on 7 for 8 shooting from the line and grabbed four rebounds. Caleb Green posted 12 points and pulled down eight rebounds while Christophe Beghin came off the bench with
11 points in the loss. Both teams shot 55.5 percent from two-point range.
First Quarter
Jiri Welsch opened the scoring for Belgacom and soon Christophe Beghi hit a baseline jumper to make it 4-0 for Spirou. Fotsis then cut Belgacom’s lead into half with a terrific put back in the paint. Bourousis replied with a reverse
lay-up followed by a bucket from Fotsis that put EA7 ahead for the first time with a 6-4 lead.
Mallet however struck from downtown to regain the lead for Spirou at 9-8. Beghin drove to the rim, but it was answered by Leon Redosevic as Spirou maintained a one point lead, 11-10. Malik Hairston swung the momentum again when
he putted a loose ball under the glass for a 12-11 Emporio lead. Gallinari then closed the opening quarter on a two-pointer for a 14-11 lead after 10 minutes.
Second Quarter
Randy Oveneke put the ball in two times to put Spirou ahead by 15-14 early. Gallinari however knocked down a three-pointer immediately for 17-15. Oveneke made two free throws tot ie it again but a two-pointer by Hairston kept Belgacom
away.
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