May 24, 2013
Semi-Final Game 2 - March 27, 2013 CET: 20:00 Local time: 20:00 - BILBAO ARENA
Uxue Bilbao Basket 75 - 53 BC Budivelnik Kiev

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final 0-0
1-0 Semi-Final 0-1
1-1 Quarter Final 1-1
4-2 Last 16 4-2
6-0 Regular Season 4-2
12-3 Overall 9-6

Referees

Crew Chief
CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS, Greece
Referee
KOWALSKI, MARCIN, Poland
Umpire
CHIARI, ROBERTO, Italy

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
82.3 Points 78.9
34.9 Rebounds 35.2
10.0 O. Rebounds 10.4
24.9 D. Rebounds 24.8
15.5 Assists 13.4
7.8 Steals 6.6
2.3 Blocks 3.6
11.4 Turnovers 13.9
51.7 % 2PT 54.6 %
34.5 % 3PT 34.3 %
77.3 % FT 79.0 %
91.7 Index 87.9
Team Stats - Uxue Bilbao Basket
Team Stats - BC Budivelnik Kiev

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
13.9 / Hamilton Points 16.8 / Delaney
6.3 / Hervelle Rebounds 7.5 / Lyons
2.1 / Hervelle OR 2.3 / Lyons
4.2 / Hervelle DR 5.1 / Lyons
3.3 / Zisis Assists 4.1 / Tsintsadze
1.1 / Hervelle Steals 1.4 / Drozdov
0.8 / Hamilton Blocks 1.3 / Anisimov
2.1 / Mumbru Turnovers 2.9 / Tsintsadze
58.1 % / Hamilton 2PT 70.0 % / Anikiienko
50.0 % / Pilepic 3PT 41.9 % / Drozdov
88.9 % / Pilepic FT 100.0 % / Gorbenko
15.5 / Hamilton Index 18.3 / Delaney
Team Roster - Uxue Bilbao Basket
Team Roster - BC Budivelnik Kiev

THE TAKE

The chance to play for the first-ever European trophy by either club is on the line Wednesday when Uxue Bilbao Basket of Spain hosts Budivelnik Kiev of Ukraine in the second and last game of their Eurocup Semifinals series. In Game 1 last week, Bilbao won 83-93 in Kiev to give itself a good chance to reach the title game in Charleroi, Belgium on Saturday, April 13. After having made the semifinals twice before without reaching the final, Bilbao (12-3 overall) needs only to avoid losing by 11 points in order to win the semifinal series. After having won three road games on its way to the semifinals, Budivelnik (9-6 overall) needs one more, and by a big margin against a strong home crowd at Bilbao Arena, to keep its Eurocup season alive.

Budivelnik struggled from beyond the arc and was overwhelmed in rebounding during Game 1, two points that need to be addressed if the visitors are to turn around the aggregate result. In contrast, Bilbao played a near-perfect game last week, combining great shooting percentages and 22 assists with great ball control that saw it concede just 9 turnovers. The positive to be taken from that game for Budivelnik was the performance of a player who hit peak form: point guard Malcolm Delaney set Eurocup semifinals records with 36 points and a performance index rating of 47. Bilbao veterans Nikos Zisis and Raul Lopez will have to use all their experience to stop Delaney when he has the ball, but Budivelnik has Leo Lyons and Michailis Anisimov as threats inside to balance its attack. Bilbao frontcourt features Lamont Hamilton, who scored a season-high 26 points in Game 1 and will have help from Axel Hervelle, Adrien Moerman and Milovan Rakovic to limit the Budivelnik big men. The Ukrainian visitors will have to contain Kostas Vasiliadis, a shooter who thrives on clutch plays and is a hero to the home fans in Bilbao, as well as another veteran, former world champion Alex Mumbru. While Delaney was setting records, the Bilbao defense held three of Budivelnik's double-digit scorers – Lyons, Anisimov and forward Artur Drozdov – to 15 points below their combined average. Budivelnik will need all of them to be on their games to overcome a host that has a victory, 10 points and the homecourt advantage on its side.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Eurocupbasketball.com

Quotes Head Coaches

KATSIKARIS, FOTIOS
Uxue Bilbao Basket
"We are 40 minutes from making history and being in the final, which is the maximum for a fan who sees that every year we are doing things. This team is playing for something. Our job is to make people happy and make them proud. We are near an end and that makes us very excited. The start of the game really helps remove all those feelings of pressure and tension. It’s sure that playing at home from the opening tip in the atmosphere at our arena will be very hot and that will help us.”

Players

VASILEIADIS, KOSTAS
Uxue Bilbao Basket
“There is only one more game before the end and we have ten points in our favor, but we have a lot of respect for Budivelnik. It will be very hard. We are well prepared, we are not afraid and we will give everything to win and go to Charleroi."
Lamont Hamilton - Uxue Bilbao - EC12 (photo Bilbao Basket)Uxue Bilbao Basket has reached the Eurocup Final! Bilbao advanced to the Eurocup Final for the first time in club history by sweeping its two-way series against BC Budivelnik Kiev. On Wednesday, Bilbao defeated Budivelnik 75-53 to win the two-way series by a total margin of 32 points and will face PBC Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar at the RTL Spiroudome in Charleroi, Belgium on Saturday, April 13. Lamont Hamilton and Alex Mumbru paced the winners with 13 points apiece. Fran Pilepic, Mamadou Samb and Kostas Vasileiadis each added 10 for Bilbao. Leo Lyons led Budivelnik with 20 points. Artur Drozdov added 12 for the guests. Malcolm Delaney, who scored 38 points in Game 1, was held scoreless for 31 minutes. Bilbao had a strong start, as Hamilton and Axel Hervelle led their team to a 20-9 lead. Budivelnik used a 0-8 run that return to the game, 20-17, early in the second quarter. It didn't last long, however, as Roger Grimau and Samb stepped up to boost the hosts' lead to 37-23 at halftime. Nothing changed after the break, as Bilbao boosted its margin to 43-23 and had plenty of time to celebrate a historical win in front of a sellout crowd of over 10,000 fans at Bilbao Arena.

Both teams struggled to score early until Drozdov stepped up with a three-pointer. Vasileiadis made free throws and Mumbru struck from downtown to give Bilbao its first lead, 5-3. Hervelle joined the three-point shootout, Michail Anisimov hit a jumper and a put-back basket by Hamilton boosted the hosts' lead to 10-5. Budivelnik kept struggling to score and a layup-plus-foul by Hamilton ignited the crowd at 13-5. Anisimov tried to change things with a running hook that Hamilton erased with a wild turnaround jumper. Lyons shined with an acrobatic layup but Hervelle his second three-pointer with a fast break layup that forced Budivelnik to stop the game at 20-9. The guests could not find the way to the basket but Drozdov rescued Budivelnik with a triple. A huge driving basket by Lyons brought the guests a bit closer, 20-14, after 10 minutes.

Sergey Gorbenko struck from downtown early in the second quarter to cap a 0-8 Budivelnik run. Hamilton made free throws and a driving layup by a recovered Grimau gave Bilbao some fresh air at 24-17. Pilepic took over with a fast break layup, as Bilbao held its opponent scoreless for more than 3 minutes. Grimau kept pacing Bilbao with a fast break slam that forced coach Aigars Bagatskis to call timeout at 28-17, after an 8-0 run. Lyons stepped up with a jump hook and a close basket by Anisimovas kept Budivelnik within 28-21. Pilepic set the crowd on fire with a three-pointer, Lyons made free throws and an electric driving layup by Vasileiadis restored a 33-23 Bilbao edge. Samb scored around the basket and followed up with an acrobatic layup that allowed all Bilbao to start celebrating, 37-23, at halftime.

Mumbru took over with an alleyoop layup immediately after the break and a jumper by Hamilton gave Bilbao a 43-25 lead. A jumper by Nikos Zisis made it a 20-point lead, 43-23. Drozdov tried to ignite the guests' comeback with a jumper and a driving layup and Anisimov soon brought Budivelnik within 43-29, after a 0-6 run. Vasileiadis struck from downtown and Zisis sank his trademark stop-and-pop jumper to keep Bilbao way out of trouble at 48-29. Lyons nailed a three-pointer, Zisis split free throws and Gorbenko nailed one from beyond the arc for a 49-35 Budivelnik deficit. Hamilton sent the crowd to their feet with a slam, as Bilbao had started to use longer possessions to run the game clock down. Drozdov scored down low but Samb matched that with a jumper. Lyons took over with a three-point play and a buzzer-beating baseline jumper by Volodymyr Iegorov fixed the score at 53-42 after 30 minutes.

Lyons swished a jumper early in the fourth quarter to bring Budivelnik within single digits, 53-44. Mumbru scored in a low post and followed that with free throws for a 57-44 Bilbao lead. Delaney buried a triple - his first points tonight - erased Mumbru's easy basket with a driving layup. Pilepic nailed his second three-pointer but Lyons kept pacing Budivelnik with a tip-in and a driving basket to keep the geusts within 62-53. Mumbru - who else? - hit a jump hook and Bilbao kept running the game clock down, backed by an amazing crowd. Pilepic scored in penetration and by the time Zisis hit a jumper, everything was said and done already. Budivelnik had a bitter end to an otherwise fantastic Eurocup season and more than 10,000 Bilbao fans celebrated that their team will fight for its first-ever continental title at the RTL Spiroudome on April 13!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Eurocupbasketball.com
Referees: CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS (GRE), KOWALSKI, MARCIN (POL), CHIARI, ROBERTO (ITA)
Attendance: 10006 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
Uxue Bilbao Basket20171622
BC Budivelnik Kiev1491911
End of Quarter1234
Uxue Bilbao Basket20375375
BC Budivelnik Kiev14234253
Head coach: KATSIKARIS, FOTIOS
Uxue Bilbao Basket
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
6 ZISIS, NIKOS 25:25 7 3/6 0/1 1/2   2 2 5           2 11
7 RAKOVIC, MILOVAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 PILEPIC, FRAN 20:07 10 2/3 2/2           3 1         11
11 HAMILTON, LAMONT 24:15 13 5/7   3/3 1 2 3 2   1     3 4 16
15 MUMBRU, ALEX 22:56 13 4/5 1/2 2/2   4 4 1 4 4       1 17
17 HERVELLE, AXEL 21:59 8 1/2 2/3     5 5 2 1 3     2 2 11
18 MOERMAN, ADRIEN 18:01   0/2 0/2   3 1 4 1 1       2 1 1
24 SANCHEZ PEREZ, SERGIO 2:07   0/1               1         -2
31 LOPEZ, RAUL 14:35     0/2     4 4 3 1 3     1 1 3
33 SAMB, MAMADOU 15:45 10 5/7   0/2 3 3 6   1 1 2   3 2 13
34 VASILEIADIS, KOSTAS 22:54 10 1/2 2/7 2/2 2 1 3 1 1 1 1   2 2 9
44 GRIMAU, ROGER 11:56 4 2/5       2 2 1   1   2 4 1 -2
Team           2 4 6               6
Totals 200:00 75 23/40 7/19 8/11 11 28 39 16 12 16 3 2 17 16 94
57.5% 36.8% 72.7%
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Head coach: BAGATSKIS, AINARS
BC Budivelnik Kiev
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
4 LYONS, LEO 37:25 20 7/10 1/4 3/3 1 4 5   2     1 2 4 22
5 HERASYMCHUK, VIKTOR 9:00     0/1   1   1                
6 TSINTSADZE, GEORGE 23:13   0/2 0/2   1 2 3 2 2 2     1 3 3
8 DROZDOV, ARTUR 32:25 12 3/5 2/6   1 6 7     2 1   1   11
9 IEGOROV, VOLODYMYR 14:38 2 1/4 0/1   3 1 4 1 1 2   1 2   -1
10 GORBENKO, SERGIY 17:31 6   2/6     3 3 1     1   2   5
14 ANISIMOV, MICHAILIS 19:06 8 4/5       1 1 1 2 5     2 1 5
15 ANIKIIENKO, KOSTIANTYN 8:32   0/2 0/1   1 1 2     1   1 2   -5
23 DELANEY, MALCOLM 37:20 5 1/6 1/6   1 2 3   1 5     4 9 -1
25 KRIVTSOV, IGOR 0:50                   1         -1
Team           2 1 3               3
Totals 200:00 53 16/34 6/27 3/3 11 21 32 5 8 18 2 3 16 17 41
47.1% 22.2% 100%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

KATSIKARIS, FOTIOS
Uxue Bilbao Basket
"We showed a lot of intensity and Budivelnik did not have the strength to match that intensity. We had a fluid offense despite our three-point shooting percentage. We missed some shots but managed to control the game after the break. It is really nice to make it to the final - the first European final for this team. We keep making history and this is great for everyone in this club and of course for all of our fans. Even people who are not into basketball are proud to see a team from their city in an European final. This is a team sport and players are the main characters. We try to give them a philosophy and prepare them physically and tactically but in the end, players are the main characters. Of course, I am happy and proud because this club means a lot to me. We have managed to achieve new goals every year and make our people happy. We are a competitive team - some time ago we said this was the strongest Eurocup in some time - 32 teams started and we are one of the two teams in the final. That makes you feel proud and satisfied with the job you did. We played really well but defense was the key. We collected many steals, were really active and managed to stop Delaney, who scored 38 points in Game 1."
BAGATSKIS, AINARS
BC Budivelnik Kiev
"First of all, congratulations to Uxue Bilbao Basket for making it to the final. It has been great to a member of such a good basketball atmosphere. Two of our main players, Salenga and Kuksiks, were injured andthis is maybe one of the reasons why we played this way. None of the surprised we had prepared for this game worked for us and that limited us in the end. It is difficult to succeed without two of the main players in our rotation. I think I also have to congratulate Budivelnik. This is the greatest achievement in club history. As for the favourite to win the final, it is 50-50. Bilbao is more experienced but who know? Nobody has the home court advantage and it goes down to one game."

Players

HERVELLE, AXEL
Uxue Bilbao Basket
"I am very happy to have the chance to play this great final for our team in my home country. I hope that Belgian fans will support us! We did a great defensive job against their key players. It all started from defense and that helped us to get a historical win for the club and its city. Our fan support was unbelievable. The 'Miribilla effect' always helps us and this achievement is shared with them."
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Europe: EUROSPORT 2
Ukraine: SPORT 1
Spain: ETB 1