Proteas EKA AEL uses a punishing second quarter to beat BC Khimik

MILUTIN Aleksic scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Proteas EKA AEL over BC Khimik of Ukraine 70-65 in the first game of the FIBA EuroCup Quarterfinal Round on Tuesday night at the Melford Arena in Limassol.

Proteas EKA AEL’s head coach Charles Barton, satisfied with his team’s performance on the night said “It was one of our toughest tests so far. Khimik is a great team but we played really well. If we play our next game that way we will go in the final four. Our fans were great tonight and we need them each game”.

Looking to make the EuroCup Final Four for the first time in their history the Cypriot champions trailed 15-6 with just over two minutes to play in the opening period. Ali Bouziane scored five points to inspire a 10-3 run by the hosts to close the first period down by two at 18-16. Proteas EKA AEL then went on a decisive 15-2 run over a span of seven minutes in the second quarter to take a nine-point lead at 31-22. The Serbian international Sasa Bratic scored four consecutive free-throws to reduce his team’s deficit to five points at 31-26 going to the half-time break. The closest the visitors could get in the second half was four points when two minutes into the final quarter Oleksandr Kolchenko nailed a three-pointer to make it 52-48, but the Cypriots had no difficulties staying in front for the remainder of the game.

Duane Woodward scored 15 points for Proteas EKA AEL, while Ryan Randle chipped in with 11.
“It was a great game. The first period we started off slow. There was a lot of emotion and energy.  We had great defense throughout the game! We had a lot of support from the fans. They were just fantastic!” Woodward commented after the game.

Wykeen Kelly and Sasa Bratic each had 14 points for BC Khimki.

The second game of this best-of-three series is scheduled for next Tuesday in Ukraine, while if necessary the final game will be played in Limassol on 4th of March.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.