EUROCUP 98-99
GROUP A

1st round (22/09/98)
Atletas Kaunas - Tcherno More Varna 70:77 (V.Stiga 22, G.Aidietis 17 - T.Stoikov 19, L.Belberov 18, E.Volchev 16)
"Tcherno more" began to play effectively- they were leading the game 24:4. But "Atletas" managed to improve it's playing and even led in the middle of the second period (52:49). The end of the match was rather chaotic because of the fact that both the teams were unable to score even from favourable positions. R.Grigas (the coach):" We lost already at the very beginning."
Estrelas Lisbon - Kalev Tallinn 82-76 ((Muse 21, Moore 17, Cerezo 4, Nascimento 11, Arcega 11, Toledo 18, Cruz - Liivak, Kuusmaa 2, Bayless 7, Kriisa 2, Metstak 14, Pärn 4, Rumma 6, Gramatikov 17, Kullamäe 12, Daniels 27)
Sony Milano - Kovinotehna Polzela 66-67 (Booker 12, Wuchere 19, Materic 0, Johnson 21, Baldi 7, Portaluppi 4, Jovanovic 1, Mordente 0, Cazzaniga 2, Michelori 0 - Kobale 12, Trifunovic 9, Cmer 3, Cizej 2, Stevic 24, Milic 8, Rituper 7, Kadic DNP, Nikitovic DNP, Udrih DNP)

2nd round (29/09/98)
Savinjski Hopsi - Estrelas 80:68 (44:37). Jagodnik 17 (2x3P)+6 rbs, Stevic 16+6 rbs, Kobale 15 (1x3P), Cizej 12+8 rbs, Cmer 9 (3x3P), Trifunovic 7, Rutuper 4+8 rbs - Arcega 14 (2x3P), Moore 12 (1x3P)+9 rbs, Barros 12 (2x3P), Toledo 12, Muse 7, Nascimento 7 (1x3P), Cerezo 4. FT: 16/25 - 14/21. 2P: 24/43 - 18/33. 3P: 6/13 - 6/16. RBS: 33 -23. Attendance 700.
Savinjski Hopsi easily won. They lead during all the match and some problem had just in 34.minute, when was score 64:63.
Sony Milan – Tcherno More 86-63 (Wuchere 20, Jovanovic 2, Booker 14, Baldi 2, Johnson 21, Mordente 3, Portaluppi 15, Materic 0, Michelori 5, Cazzaniga 4 - Veltchev 0, Bjadskj 2, Natov 14, Belberov 8, Stojkov 24, Stojanov 2, Valtchev 8, Drumev 5, Pavlov DNP, Handijev DNP)
Kalev Tallinn - Atletas 81-63 (Kuusmaa 20, 8 steals, Kullamäe 18, 7 ast, Daniels 15, 14 reb, Pärn 10, 5 reb, Metstak 8, Bayless 6, Liivak 4 - Morgunov 17, 6 reb, Stiga 14, Masilionis 12, Rimkus 8, Staniulis 8, Aidietis 4)
Kalev destroyed Atletas at the end of the game. Atletas led the first 30 minutes of the game when Kalev had problems. In the beginning Kalev let Staniulis make four consecutive three-pointers, Morgunov caused trouble in the first half, too. To say directly: Kalev had a poor first 30 minutes. Atletas coach Rimantas Grigas said after that Kalev doesn't have much chances if it continues to play like that.
Of course there were much bitterness in Grigas' talk. Kalev was trailing 51:59 in the middle of the second half and finished the game with 30:4 spurt!!! Lineup Kuusmaa-Kullamäe-Liivak-Daniels-Pärn was superb, Atletas lost their head. Kuusmaa and Kullamäe made steals and fast breaks, Liivak controlled the ball and led the attacks, Daniels and Pärn got the rebounds. Inexperienced Atletas collapsed completely.
"Of course, it was not a good game from Kalev. We have very much room for improvement. Many players played under their abilities today," Kalev coach Maarten van Gent told. "All the game I was searching the right lineup for the end. I made tremendous risks with some substitutions."
"Atletas" began the match rather impressively.Nikita Morgunov was at his best. "Kalev" was only able to catch up with "Atletas" only at the beginning of the first period. At the second period "Atletas" was a bit ahead. At the 16th minute of the second period "Kalev" brought the game to a draw :60:60. At this moment "Atletas" lacked the leader--Morgunov got tired while "Kalev" was perfectly led by Gert Kullamae, who actually brought his team to a secure victory.

3rd round (6/10/98)
Atletas Kaunas - Sony Milano 62-77 (Maskoliunas 2, Staniulius 2, Morgunov 22, Stiga 4, Aidietis 8, Kavoliunas 12, Jurgilas 2, Rimkus 9, Tribe - Booker 20, Baldi 4, Materic 7, Johnson 20, Wucherer 11, Portaluppi 5, Jovanovic 0, Michelori 10, Cazzaniga)
Before the match, both the Atletas players and basketball specialists were saying that "Atletas" , playing at home, should win a victory over "Sony", though there wasn't much confidence in their voices and nobody could foretell a sure victory. During the whole match Atletas was trying to catch up with "Sony". The result was equal only at the very beginning (2:2). Then "Sony" went ahead. "Atletas" was only able to change that difference only at the very last seconds of the first period, after a successful 3-point throw of Nikita Morgunov (N.Morgunov from Portland "Trail Blazers" plays for "Atletas", Kaunas until the NBA lochout is over) During the whole first period "Atletas" has only made a single foul!! The second period was like the first one. "Sony" was leading the game, "Atletas" seldom managed to cut the point difference to 8-14 points. At the 19th minute of the second period E.Kavoliunas (Atletas) brought the score difference to 8 points by 2 3-point throws in a row. "Atletas" began to make fouls on purpose, but it didn't work--"Sony's" penalty throws vere precise. That was the third failure of "Atletas" in a row. "Atletas " was the only team in its group who lost all three games in Saporta Cup. It looks like "Atletas" isn't strong enough for Saporta Cup yet.
Kalev Tallinn - Kovinotehna Polzela 79-62 (Daniels 21+10reb, Kullamäe 12, Metstak 12, Kuusmaa 12 - Stevic 14, Jagodnik 12, Trifunovic 11)
Kalev won because they played very good defensive game. In the beginning of second half Kalev drived 19:2.
Tcherno More Varna - Estrelas Lisbon 75-81

4th round (13/10/98)
Kovinotehna Polzela - Atletas Kaunas 73-88 (Jagodnik 26, Cizej 17, Kobale 14, Trifunoivic 6, Rituper 6, Cmer 2, Stevic 2 - Staniulis 24, Jurgilas 23, Tribe 18, Morgunov 11, Stiga 7, Rimskus 3, Aideitis 2)
Estrelas Lisbon - Sony Milano 78-77, OT (Arcega 16, Barros 6, Bridges 15, Cerezo 3, Freitas 3, Gouveia 0, Muse 19, Toledo 16 - Baldi 0, Booker 18, Cazzaniga 3, Johnson 16, Jovanovic 0, Materic 4, Michelori 8, Monti 0, Portaluppi 13, Wucherer 15)
Kalev Tallinn - Tcherno More Varna 92-80 (Kuusmaa 26 points (2p: 1/2, 3p: 5/6, ft: 9/10), Daniels 17
points, 14 reb, Metstak 14 points (2p: 6/7, ft: 2/2), Bayless 12, Rumma 11, Liivak 7, Kullamäe 4, Kriisa 1 - Stojkov 29, (2p: 5/8, 3p: 3/7, ft: 10/11), Natov 14, Veltchev 10, Stojanov 9, Belberov 7, Drumev 6, Bojadijski 3 & 7 reb, Valtchev 2)
It was a very tight match till the end. Kalev dominated the whole game, but Varna got the 57:54 lead 10 minutes before the end. Three-pointers from Indrek Rumma and baskets from Jaanus Liivak and Margus Metstak finally broke Varna down in the final minutes.

5th round (20/10/98)
Atletas Kaunas - Estrelas Lisbon 68-62
Kovinotehna Polzela - Tcherno More Varna 67-65 (Jagodnik 26, Kobale 14, Cmer 9, Cizej 8, Trifunovic 6, Nikitovic 2, Rituper 2 - Belberov 13, Stojanov 11, Drumov 11, Stojkov 10, Natov 7, Veltchev 6, Velchev 5, Bojadjinovski 2)
Savinjski Hops played without injured center Dusan Stevic and lead all the match. In 10.minute was 20:8 and then Cerno more started with defense man to man. In 34.minute was 63:49, Cerno more made partial result 0:10 and 0,10 secunds before the end scored for 65.65. In last action captain Cizej scored for third victory.
BC Kalev Tallinn - Milano Sony 69:51 (Daniels 20, Metstak 13, Kullamäe 9, Kuusmaa 8, Bayless 5, Liivak 4, Rumma 4, Kriisa 3, Pärn 2, Noormets 1 - Booker 15, Baldi 14, Michelori 10, Cazzaniga 10, Materic 5, Monti 4, Portaluppi 3)
Kalev's defence was like Great Chinese Wall...said one of journalists. Larry Daniels had 20points, Margus Metstak 13 points, Aivar Kuusamaa shoot from 10 meters and Gert Kullmäe 2 times from 8 meters... Marek Noormets made his first game in Eurocup this year. He had 6 rebounds and 1 point, 1 block...
Good defense of Kalev was too much for Milan. For example Denis Wucherer had 0 and Flavio Portaluppi 3 (shot 1/9 from the field) points. Kalev won boards 32:21. Milan coach Marco Crespi was only satisfied with the first ten minutes. Then Kalev made 12-0 spurt in the middle of the first half and got 25:14 lead. Kalev was leading with such a margin most of the time. "After the first half I thought that if ew continue playing defense like that, then Milan doesn't have much chance," Kalev coach Maarten van Gent said.
Larry Daniels was difficult to stop for Milan, he shot 7/10 from the field and 6/7 free throws. He and Margus Metstak dominated inside. Gert Kullamäe and Aivar Kuusmaa both shot two wild three-pointers from 8 meters. "If they make shots like that, then only thing left is to congratulate the shooter," Crespi said. Against Kalev Milan played without American DeMarco Johnson, the leader of the team. He had to left to USA where his daughter had a serious surgery.
In Kalev Marek Noormets made come-back. Noormets who is recovering from injury had his first game in Saporta Cup this season. "He is in 60 percent form yet," van Gent said. Noormets replaced Macedonian Goran Gramatikov in the roster. There are some rumours that Gramatikov might begin to play for SK Polaris.

6th round (3/11/98)
Tcherno More Varna - Atletas Kaunas 79-78 (Stoykov 24, Belberov 17 - Aiditis 16, Morgunov 13)
Nikita Morgunov brought the win to Cherno More by scoring basket 7 sec. before the end. In fact, during the whole game Cherno More lead. The head coach of Varna has expected to beat by 15 points. The Lithuanian coach commented that they are going to make a contestation against the approval of Morgunov's last basket.
17/10/98 Kalev - Estrelas Lisbon 72:61 (Kuusmaa 17, Daniels 16, Metstak 13, 6reb, Kullamäe 8, Bayless 8, 6reb, Pärn 7, Liivak 3 - Moore 22, 9reb, Simao 10, Nascimento 7, Arcega 7, Barros 6, Cruz 5, Toldeo 4)
Kalev played very good defense all the game. Larry Daniels and Margus Metstak were very good against Doug Muse who had no points and fouled out after playing 16 minutes. Ron Bayless stopped Estrelas playmaker Joaquin Arcega. Kalev led most of the game. Estrelas made it 45:46, but steal from Jaanus Liivak and three- pointer from Gert Kullamäe again secured the lead. In the end Estrelas made many stupid fouls and Kalev was very good on the free-throw line (23/27 - 85%). In the first game between these two teams Flavi Nascimento stopped Aivar Kuusmaa successfully. This time Kuusmaa showed his old days form and made foru three-pointers out of five. 3050 people were visiting the game in Kalev hall. Last time it was so full was when Tiit Sokk had his retiriment performance.
"Kalev played extremely good in defense. With such a game it will capture the first place in the group. No doubt," said Estrelas coach
Mario Palma. "I hope it will be this way," answered Kalev coach Maarten van Gent. "But there is still long way to go."
Kalev have won four conscutive matches and is leading group A in Saporta Cup.
The game between Kalev and Estrelas was played earlier than other 6th round matches because of Kalev USA-tour in the beginning of November.
Kovinotehna Polzela - Sony Milano 63-66 (Kobale 2, Trifunovic 14, Rituper 12, Milic 2, Jagodnik 18, Cmer 0, Stevic 1, Cizej 14 - Portaluppi 9, Wucherer 13, Michelori 7, Jovanovic 1, Booker 22, Baldi 2, Cazzaniga 0, Johnson 12). 2P: 19/43 - 18/32. 3P: 3/12 - 5/13. FT: 16/24 - 15/21.
Sony lead during almost all the match. In last minute was just 55:58. Italian players was good in FT, Slovenian tried with 3P and lost.

7th round (10/11/98)
Atletas Kaunas - Kalev Tallinn 70-69 (- Kuusmaa 18, Metstak 17, Daniels 14, Boyless 14)
Tallinn Kalev got his second lost in Saporta Cup . They lost to Kaunas Atletas 69:70(29:30).This was the worst play by Kalev this season. The defence was ok. but offence was bad...
Tcherno More Varna - Sony Milano 85-87 (K,Veltchev 5, Biadskij 1, Natov 15, Belberov 12, Stojkov 30, Stojanov 1, E.Veltchev 4, Drumev 17 - Booker 21, Wucherer 21, Baldi 0, Johnson 18, Portaluppi 13, Michelori 7, Materic 5, Jovanovic 0, Cazzaniga 2)
Estrelas Lisbon - Kovinotehna Polzela 57-60

8th round (17/11/98)
Sony Milano - Atletas Kaunas 82-62 (Wucherer 10, Jovanovic 4, Booker 15, Johnson 24, Monti 5, Portaluppi 15, Michelori 2, Baldi 7 - Kavoliunas 12, Staniulis 4, Morgunov 3, Stiga 10, Tribe 19, Gulbinas 6, Masilionis 4, Aidietis 4)
Savinjski Hopsi - Kalev 78:63 (Jagodnik 25, Kobale 23, Stevic 11, Cizej 10, Trifunovic 4, Cmer 3, Rituper 2 - Bayless 17, Metstak 12, Daniels 8, Kuuzmaa 7, Noormets 7, Rumma 6, Liivak 2, Kriisa 2, Parn 2). FT: 23/35 - 18/21. 3P: 5/11, 1/12.
Savinjski Hopsi lead all the match and easily won. But not enough (first match 62:79) and Kalev has better position.
Estrelas Lisbon - Tcherno More Varna 94-84

9th round (8/12/98)
Atletas Kaunas - Kovinotehna Polzela 76-83
Sony Milano - Estrelas Lisbon 73-61 (Booker 7, Jovanovic 1, Wucherer 21, Johnson 17, Monti 4, Portaluppi 13, Michelori 10, Baldi 0 - Muse 16, NMoore 10, Nascimiento 2, Arcega 13, Toledo 9, Barros 6, Cerezo 0, Simao 3, Cruz 2)
Kalev Tallinn - Tcherno More Varna 80-66 (Gert Kullamäe 18 (21 minutes, 7/9 field goals, 4/4 free throws), 5 ast, Margus Metstak 13, Larry Daniels 12, Ron Bayless 11, 4reb, 4ast, Aivar Kuusmaa 10, Indrek Rumma 8, Marek Noormets 4, Andre Pärn 2, Jaanus Liivak 2 - Todor Stoikov 19, Spas Natov 12, 11reb, Emil Bojadiski 10, Eduard Valtchev 8, Leven Belberov 7, Kamil Veltchev 5, Boriss Stojanov 5)
Varna was persistent and never gave up againts Kalev which was better team. In the second half Kalev led by 5-7 points all the time partly thanks to very smart game from Gert Kullamäe. After Todor Stoikov fouled out 5 minutes before the end Varna had no one who would have taken the game on own shoulders. Stoikov made some trouble for Kalev in the beginning but then Indrek Rumma and Andre Pärn made good job on him. Kalev was never in much trouble as Margus Metstak and Larry Daniels made some key baskets in the last minutes. "Varna played much better than in the first game in Bulgaria. If we want to win the next game against Sony away, we have to play much more patient and get rebounds much better," Kalev coach Maarten van Gent
told after the game.

10th round (15/12/98)
Estrelas Lisbon - Atletas Kaunas 86-72 (Muse (21), Moore (21), Barros (7), Cerezo (3), Flávio (12), Arcega (11), Paiva (1), Toledo (10), Simão and Cruz - Kavoliunas (5), Masilionis (8), Staniuls (17), Jurgilas (13), Bulvydas, Stiga (9), Tribe (7), Rimkus (5) and Aidietis (8)). In 1/16 Finals Estrelas will play against Cholet.
Tcherno More Varna - Kovinotehna Polzela 81-72
Sony Milano - Kalev Tallinn 86-83 (Portaluppi 11, Wucherer 7, Booker 29, Baldi 0, Johnson 19, Materic 6, Michelori 0, Jovanovic 0, Cazzaniga 0, Monti 14 - Bayless 7, Rumma 4, Noormets 10, Kullamae 18, Daniels 17, Litvak 4, Kuusmaa 14, Kriisa 0, Metsak 9)