Beşiktaş, Banvit march in FIBA Champions League
Beu015fiktau015f was able to bounce back late in the fourth quarter as it tied the game (60-60) with one minute left on the clock and closed it the right way.

Beşiktaş Sompo Japan downed Zielona Gora to clinch its second Basketball Champions League victory while Banvit picked up an important away win against AEK



Another overtime in a FIBA Basketball Champions League game marked Tuesday night in the tournament's third week of action. Beşiktaş got its second win in the FIBA Basketball Champions League against a more than feisty opponent as they beat Zielona Gora 65-60 at home. The host had a double-digit (23-13) lead early in the game, making five threes in the first quarter.

After the "hot" start, the Turkish team had problems in the offense as they scored just 20 points combined in the second and third quarter, trailing 46-43 after 30 minutes of action. However, Beşiktaş was able to bounce back late in the fourth quarter as it tied the game (60-60) with one minute left on the clock and closed it the right way. Can Maxim Mutaf hit a three-pointer with 17 seconds left in the game to give the Turkish side the final lead. Thomas Kelati tried to tie the game with a contested three-pointer but missed. Jon Diebler scored 19 points for Beşiktaş, making five threes. In more good news for the Black Eagles, Turkish international center Semih Erden is close to signing for the club. Erden, who played for Hacettepe Üniversitesi, was a free agent following his exit from Darüşşafaka. But now the 31-year-old is poised to make a return for Beşiktaş, according to Eurohoops.

Meanwhile, the other Turkish club in the competition, Banvit got an important away victory against AEK in an exciting game that ended 74-70. The win improved Banvit's records to 2-1 while the Greeks were left at 1-2 following the defeat. Banvit defense kept the hosts in low-shooting percentages from the field in the first half. The Greeks didn't give up, but Banvit was leading 38-33 at the break. The last quarter proved to be the most decisive as the guests controlled it after leading by 15 and despite the final score, they had things under control.

Andy Rautins made his debut for Banvit and scored six points on two threes. Gasper Vidmar and Angelo Caloiaro paced the winners while AEK was led by Manny Harris, who had 18 points.

In the other matches on Tuesday night, Monaco was the team to beat following its home win. The French team led for the entire game and managed to get the 89-73 win at home against Enisey for a 3-0 record.

PAOK prevailed over Capo D'Orlando on the road 63-56. Nymburk got one more win in an exciting game. The Czech side prevailed against Bonn 89-87 after overtime. Ludwigsburg got the job done against Neptunas.

It was not easy at all, but Ventspils got its second home win. The hosts got a crucial win in Latvia as they managed to beat Elan Chalon 78-77. The game was close from wire-to-wire and it was decided in the last minutes.