Nahariya Scrape Past Asesoft

Ironi Iscar Nahariya held off a battling CSU Asesoft Ploiesti to record a narrow 88-87 victory in Group A.

Nahariya now have a 3-2 record, while Romanian side Asesoft remain rock-bottom of the group after falling to their fifth successive defeat.

It was not for the want of trying that Asesoft were unable to record their
first win though, and they were in contention right until the end.

Asesoft had looked dead-and-buried when a Vedran Vukusic three-pointer left them 10 points adrift at 60-50 towards the end of the third period.

But a 7-0 run got the home side back into the contest, and they battled Iscar all the way to the finish line before falling agonisingly short.

Asesoft had also started the better of the two sides, and boasted a five-point lead early on and a 29-27 advantage midway through the second period.

However, with Juan Mendez and Raviv Guy Limonad in inspired form, visitors Nahariya managed to turn that around and were ahead 46-37 by half-time - an advantage they would never lose.

Mendez and Limonad, who both netted 15 points each in the first half, were undoubtedly the key duo in Nahariya's win.

Guard Limonad poured in a match-high 27 points overall as well as collecting six rebounds and handing out six assists, while forward Mendez weighed in with 26 points and nine rebounds.

The duo also poured in six of Nahariya's nine successful three-point attempts.

Overall, the Israeli side shot 45% from behind the arc, compared to Asesoft who made just four of their 23 efforts (17.3%), a statistic that proved costly for the beaten hosts.

Asesoft's leading player was again Bojan Obradovic who poured in 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds before fouling out with four seconds left on the clock.

Obradovic also scored 33 points and collected eight boards as unlucky Asesoft lost 117-111 to Group A leaders Estudiantes in their last EuroCup outing.