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Haribo London Towers travelled to Greece to meet Group D leaders PAOK on Wednesday night - but left, in the words of Anne Robinson, with nothing.
However the BBL outfit pushed their hosts all the way before falling 70-58 in Thessalonki, Steve Bucknall notching a game-best 22 points.
PAOK started the brighter with a 7-0 tear from the tip. A 9-2 run brought the Towers back into it. The Greeks though, finished stronger to lead 18-12 at the end of the first period. London fought their way back - five points from Steve Bucknall and back-to-back jumpers from Eric Taylor, closed the gap to two. PAOK rallied to take a slender 30-26 half-time advantage.
Towers closed to within one point at 36-35 during the third quarter, but poor shot selection allowed PAOK to go on an 11-3 run to lead 47-38 at the break. Towers stayed in touch early in the fourth - two three pointers from Bucknall and baskets from Taylor and Perry Carter, reduced the deficit to four. However, a 10-4 run at the end of the final period secured the win for the hosts.American Joseph Blair had his best game of the season for the group leaders with 20 points and 17 rebounds.
"I didn't think it was a very good game," remarked Towers' coach, Nick Nurse.
"I didn't think there was much energy or life from either team. From my perspective, this is our third week in a row that we've had four games in a week, so we've played 12 games in the last three weeks. Our guys are really tired from the travel schedule we've had and things like that. I know it's hard for a team like PAOK to get up for a team like London. I guess that explains a little bit why their energy wasn't great either."
Elsewhere in Group D, Verona suffered a 86-91 defeat at home to Buducnost, while Barcelona trounced Frankfurt 86-60, a situation which does not surprise Nurse."I would say there's a three-way battle for the first position between PAOK, Verona and even Barcelona. Since we've been through it all, I was very impressed with Verona, especially. They seemed athletic, quick, big, deep and had a very good chemistry.
"But, it all depends on what happens to PAOK obviously. PAOK was the best team through the first round. If they play to their capabilities, they certainly have a chance to win the group. If I was betting I'd bet on PAOK or Verona."
Towers release van Elswyk, get Carter
The Londoners parted company with Dutch forward Peter van Elswyk prior to the match "following a mutual agreement". The 6'10" import - who had only been registered to play in the Euroleague and NEBL - had not provided Towers with the extra rebounding power they required to match with continental opposition.In his place comes in 2.00m Spanish-American centre Perry Carter, a graduate of Ohio State, who started the season at Shamuel in Israel. The debutant notched 13 points and won praise from Nurse.
"Perry Carter did a nice job. He's only been with us since Sunday and he has not had a practice with us yet. He came in Sunday night and we played a game on Monday. He hit 13 points and 13 rebounds, so I'm pretty happy with him."
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