Azovmash Come Back To Defeat Lemesos

Privatbank EKA AEL Lemesos remain rooted to the bottom of Group L in Round II of the EuroCup after suffering a 70-64 reverse at Ukrainian giants Azovmash Mariupol, their third defeat in three games.

Lemesos trailed 19-16 after the first quarter but a run of nine unanswered points in the second period saw them establish a 25-19 lead.

At that stage it looked promising for the Cypriot side but Azovmash hit back and managed to turn that deficit into a three-point lead at half-time, going into the break 36-33 ahead.

Kenan Bajramovic then took the game by the scruff of the neck at the start of the third period, scoring a three-pointer and two free throws in quick succession to extend Azovmash's advantage.

Azovmash rode that momentum throughout the third period and boasted a 57-50 lead with under eight minutes left in the final quarter.

But Lemesos refused to give up and managed to haul their opponents in before re-taking the lead on Rolandas Jarutis' three successful free throws.

Those points, which were happily snapped up by Jarutis after Oleksandr Skutyelnik had committed a personal shooting foul, helped put Lemesos 62-60 ahead with just over three minutes left.

However, the visitors could only contribute two more points in the remaining time and Azovmash, with Miroslav Beric and Khalid El-Amin both downing three-pointers, took advantage to secure their second win in three matches.

Bajramovic led all scorers with 16 points while five other Azovmash players scored in double figures.

In contrast, Lemesos had only three players make double-digits in scoring, with Polish forward Michal Hlebowicki pacing his side with 15 points and five rebounds.