A strong second quarter from Bourges was enough to blow open their game against EuroLeasing Soporon and also put a serious dent into the Hungarian side’s play-off hopes.

The scores were tied at the end of the first quarter, 18:18, but Bourges turned on the gas in the second. The outscored Sopron 24:12 and maintained control for the remainder of the contest.

Sopron’s woes were compounded by the fact that Pays Basket beat Barcelona, leaving both sides with an 8-4 record. In the event of a tiebreaker between the 2 teams, Pays would advance as they defeated Sopron 71:47 at home and lost 83:79 away.

Other than Gordana Kovacevic who scored 21 points, most of the Sopron players struggled with their shot. They hit 41% of their 2-point shots and 2/6 three pointers.

Bourges relied on their inside strength and both Iveta Marcauskaité (16 points and 13 rebounds) and Elodie Godin (10 points and 12 rebounds) recorded double doubles. As a whole Bourges outrebounded Sopron by a massive 30 rebounds, 51-21.

Sopron will face UKS Blex Praha at home in their final game of the season. They defeated the Czech side by 30 points, 57:87 in the first game so will be confident of a win. However, they need to rely on Aix losing to MBK which may be also be unlikely, as in their first game, Aix won 39:93.

Game MVP: Elodie Godin

Pierre Vincent, Head Coach Bourges Basket :
"In the beginning of the match, we have had some feeblenesses. We feel more comfortable when the game moves fast and when we controll our defense perfectly. It is the first game where we were dangerous, we have succeded in changing the game’s sequences, even if there was still some precipitation. We played with more serenity and the team has well performed but nevertheless some progress has to be made."

Natalia Hejkova, Head Coach Orsi Sopron:
"Our team didn’t play its best basket; apart from Kovacevic the other players didn’t succeed in performing at their level. We were not lucky and with the tiredness of the travel, it was to much. We hope that Bourges will win against Barcelona because then we will still qualify for the quarter final."

Céline Dumerc, Player, Bourges:
"We did it. I had a bad memory of the first match in Sopron, it was important not to make the same mistakes again and we succeded. We worked hard and that let us keep the control of the game. We have respected the instructions of the coach and that’s why our defense worked out so well."