To say Yarone Arbel likes basketball would be an understatement of epic proportions.  He eats, sleeps and breathes it and gives his EuroCup impressions every week in Good News, Bad News.

After the fifth week of the EuroCup qualifying round there are no more undefeated or winless teams. Ural Great and Tartu Rock lost for the first time, while PAOK Thessaloniki and Banvit BC won their first game, although it was already too late for them.

Dexia Mons-Hainaut, Proteas EKA AEL and Barons LMT qualified for the quarter-finals this week and leave only two spots open for the last week. KK Zagreb will host Olympia in Group C while in Group D Khimik Yuzhny will host Lokomotiv Rostov in two winner-take-all battles. A one point win will be more than enough.

The Good News

Banvit found their winner

After four games in the Qualifying round Group B's Banvit held an 0-4 record that meant the team won't make it to the next round, but surely that didn't tell the whole story. In the first two weeks Banvit lost by a difference of three points in each of the games. The following week came a two point loss, while last week, the loss that set their destiny this season, was a big one - still by just four points. Because of different foreigner rules in the Turkish league and the EuroCup Banvit had to rotate between their four foreigners and pick two for each EuroCup game. Adeleke's spot was secured, so the other was shared between Donnell Harvey who played the first few games, and Joe Crispin who played his first game last week.  This week it was the turn of the US guard Chris Hill to experience the EuroCup, and it seems it was one week too late. After four seasons at Michigan State, Hill landed in Europe for the first time in the 2005/06 season to play in

Joseph Smith and Spartak St. Petersburg have left a lot to be desired in the fourth quarter.

Close to perfection Koumbouras

Theophanis Koumbouras was never a big star. He was a member of the U20 Greek national team that won the gold in Lithuania in 2002, but hardly came off the bench to replace the stars of that team - Vassilis Spanoulis and Nikos Zisis. His career hasn't really picked up since, but at the age of 24 he's having his break-through season in the EuroCup with Olympia. So far he's averaging 12.9 ppg and adds three rebounds per game although he's only 187cm tall. But what stands out is that after seven games he stands on 32 made free throws out of 34 attempts, second in the standings only to Ural Great's center Brindley Wright who made all 20 of  his free-throws. Koumbouras actually missed his first attempt in the competition, and enjoyed a streak of 29 accurate shots in a row. This week, in Olympia's 64-63 home win over KK Zagreb the streak came to an end, but he still had a reason to celebrate a great day. With 2:30 on the clock Zagreb held a 57-62 lead, but then our friend got busy. Up to that point he had 17 points but all in the first half, but once he got going there was no stopping him. He nailed a three-pointer and followed with, obviously, a perfect four for four from the line, the last of them with six seconds on the clock, to cap an individual 7-1 run that won the game for his team and set his career high on 24.

Mons on the edge

Dexia won their first game with Ukrainian side Cherkaski Mavpy by five points, and held a two wins advantage coming to their encounter this week. The locals needed a six point win or more to still have a chance, but Dexia showed their big heart and experience. Apart from one possession with around eight minutes to go Cherkaski never reached the needed margin. When Darren McLinton nailed a single shot from the line with 30 seconds to go the margin was reached once again, 76-70. Benjamin Ebong, the massive 202cm Nigerian center, who played a key part in the closing minute of the first game with Cherkaski as well, made the crucial shot to make it only a four point loss with 12 seconds on the clock. Until that point Ebong was only three out of 12 from the field, but the most important shot went in. Cherkaski had one last chance and they too didn't go with the hot hand. The forward of FYROM, Gjorgij Chekovski, hit only one of his seven shots that night, before missing the last deciding ball, which sent Dexia to the next round.

The Bad News

Spartak are champs of the 30 minutes game

In group C Spartak St. Petersburg dropped to 1-4 and lost any chance to qualify after another home loss, this time 81-77 to Proteas EKA AEL. Spartak entered the last quarter with a 63-53 lead but that still wasn't enough. Since this scenario seemed a little familiar, it was time to go back and check Spartak's previous games in the group. After five games the Russian side stands on a single win and four losses, and that matches exactly their last quarter performances. In all four losses Spartak finished the first three quarters with a lead, but fell apart in the deciding period time after time. The 24-16 fourth quarter loss in the first week at Zagreb was their best fourth quarter performance of all their losses. In week two they were outscored 25-11 at Olympia, last week it was Zagreb again to beat them 35-24 and this week it was AEL's turn to write a 28-14 win in the quarter that matters most. In their only group win Spartak entered the last quarter down by five, but managed to change the game and win the final stage of the game 16-6. If basketball was a 30 minutes game Spartak would be on the run for the gold. Until the rules will be modified, Spartak finish the season earlier than expected.

Samara did only half a job

Samara and Tartu Rock qualified to the quarter-finals already last week. Their encounter this week was to clear the picture in the fight for the top spot in the group. Tartu arrived in Russia with a perfect 4-0 record but more importantly a 20 point lead over the locals thanks to a 77-57 win in the first leg. So Samara won, and Tartu is no longer undefeated, but the 20 point difference wasn't even tickled. Samara, scored 77 points in the win as well, but it was enough only for a 12 point win, which means Tartu will win Group A and hold the home court advantage in the quarter-finals with a one point home win over Lappeenranta next week. Samara used a short seven players rotation in the game, but never picked up the pace needed for a 21-point difference. A road win in the quarter-finals will probably be a must in order to make it to the Final Four.