BancaTercas Teramo will aim for a share of the Group A lead when its hosts Alba Berlin in the team’s first game after the winter break. Both teams are coming off losses and know that wins now could help extend their seasons. Berlin will become the first team from the group to seal a Last 16 berth if it wins and it can even clinch first place with a victory and a Galatasaray Café Crown defeat at Azovmash. Teramo fell 90-82 at Azovmash in its last game before the break to see its record slip to 2-2. The bright spots in the loss where the play of Drake Diener, who erupted for 29 points and 10 rebounds for his first Eurocup double-double, and center Virgil Stanescu, who netted a career-high 21 points in just 25 minutes. Berlin lost 93-79 at Galatasaray in Week 4 to fall to 3-1. Despite the loss, head coach Luka Pavicevic could hang his hat on the fact that Berlin boasted six scorers in double figures. Now Berlin is even deeper with the addition of big man Jurica Golemac to the mix. When these teams last met in Week 1, Berlin edged Teramo 75-73 on a Dragan Dojcin layup at the buzzer. Berlin guard Julius Jenkins shined with 18 points to lead his team, while his counterpart Ryan Hoover drilled 5 three-pointers off the bench for Teramo. The matchups in the backcourt could once again be crucial to the outcome. Teramo is led by Diener and point guard Giuseppe Poeta plus Hoover off the bench, while Berlin features Jenkins and Rashard Wright as starters and Steffen Hamann off the bench. At small forward, Berlin’s Immanuel McElroy pits his all-around game against Bobby Jones. In the paint, the Berlin rotation has Blagota Sekulic, Dojcin, Adam Chubb and Golemac to take on Valerio Amoroso, Stanescu and Goran Jurak. Teramo’s rebounding – second in the league at 36 per game – is a key for head coach Andrea Copabianco’s men. But Berlin will be hungry for its second road win as it targets a ticket to the Last 16.
REFEREES: Ilija Belosevic, Matej Boltauzer, Joseph Bissang