|Arturs Berzins shared a team-high 13 points for BK Ventspils in the Baltic League over the weekend|
BK Ventspils extended their winning streak to 10 games on Saturday, after breezing past Rapla at home, 76-57.
The victory over the Estonians was the eighth consecutive success for the Latvian side in the Baltic League and they remain at the top of Group A with a three-win cushion over Siauliai, in second place.
Arturs Berzins and Folarin Campbell led the way for Ventspils with 13 points each and Martins Meiers chipped in with 12.
Ventspils, who have tasted defeat only once in 18 games in three competitions this season, are facing Tampereen Pyrintö in EuroChallenge Group C action on Tuesday.
The Finns also enjoyed a quiet afternoon at home, cruising to a 92-66 win over Nakima Lahti in their domestic league on Friday.
Lamonte Ulmer and Carl Lindbom were in great form for Pyrintö.
The American small forward finished with 23 points and nine rebounds whilst the Finnish international contributed 22 points and eight boards.
The other Tuesday game in Group C is the all-Swedish clash between Södertälje Kings and Norrköping Dolphins.
Weekend action in their domestic league provided both Swedish teams with plenty of food for thought.
The Kings avoided an embarrassing loss to bottom-of-the-table Nassjo on Friday, thanks to a comeback in the fourth quarter that allowed them to edge out their hosts, 70-69.
Toni Bizaca led all scorers with 17 points while Kenneth Simms picked up a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds.
On Sunday, the Dolphins were also playing on the road and slumped to a 71-65 defeat to Sundsvall.
Latvian point guard Edgars Jeromanovs had 12 points in a losing effort
BCM GO THIRD IN FRANCE
BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque are enjoying solitude in third place in the French Pro A standings, pending Lyon-Villeurbanne's Monday night game at Poitiers.
Christian Monschau's team made easy work of their big game on Friday against Cholet by already establishing a 21-point lead by the half.
BCM won 88-67, behind a dominant 12-point, 15-rebound display by Ludovic Vaty and 17 points from Julius Johnson.
On Saturday, Dijon registered their fourth win in the Pro A, 71-61 over Roanne at home.
Jeremy Leloup led the way for the hosts with 22 points while Zach Moss contributed 13 points and nine rebounds.
On Sunday night, Paris Levallois slipped to fifth place on the table after losing 91-79 to reigning champions Elan Chalon on the road.
The Parisians led for the first 30 minutes of the encounter but collapsed in the final quarter, despite another double-double performance by center Sean May, with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and a season-high 28 points from Jawad Williams.
Nancy suffered a similar fate to the Parisians on Friday, as they gave up an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter, losing 72-66 away to Strasbourg.
Marcellus Sommerville had 17 points in defeat for Nancy, who are at the bottom of the Pro A table with three wins in nine encounters.
New signing Claude Marquis, who only penned his contract a few hours before the game, did not feature and is expected to make his debut on Tuesday in the EuroChallenge Group G clash with BCM.
KARSIYAKA MARCH ON
|Steven Burtt's figures for Tofas SC in the Beko Ligi have been just as impressive as those he has been posting in the EuroChallenge, with the Ukrainian piling on 26 points and 8 assists on the weekend.|
Pinar Karsiyaka found themselves trailing Hacettepe Üniversitesi 19-18 after the first quarter in their Saturday encounter in the Turkish BEKO Ligi.
The Izmir side then remembered just how good they can be on defence and only gave up 33 points to their hosts in the remaining 30 minutes, to take a 79-52 win in Ankara.
Abdul Aminu, with 13 points and nine rebounds, led Karsiyaka to their sixth success in eight games in the domestic league.
Tofas Bursa meanwhile put up a fight against Banvit on the road, but fell 85-77.
Point guard Steven Burtt was once again the main option for Tofas on offence and finished with 26 points and eight assists.
The Bursa outfit have slipped to tenth in the BEKO Ligi standings with three wins in eight games
MONS-HAINAUT, AALSTAR THROUGH TO BELGIAN CUP SEMIS
Okapi Aalstar were carrying a 17-point advantage over CUVA Houthalen from the first leg of their quarter-final tie and did just enough in the return game to stamp their pass to the Belgian Cup semi-finals.
Ryan Thompson collected a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds and Aalstar won 100-97 in a game where coach Brad Dean gave plenty of time on the court to 10 of his players.
In another high-scoring contest on Saturday, Belfius Mons-Hainaut overcame a four-point deficit from the first leg in dominant fashion, defeating second division outfit Gembo Borgerhout 109-85 at home.
Mons-Hainaut will take on Telenet Oostende in the semi-finals while Aalstar are paired up with VOO Verviers-Pepinster.
MIXED FORTUNES IN GERMANY
Telekom Baskets Bonn bounced back from last Tuesday's shock defeat to Port of Antwerp Giants with a 100-74 thrashing of Neckar RIESEN Ludwigsburg in German BEKO Bundesliga action on Sunday evening.
Bonn's Robert Vaden made 10 of his 14 shots from the floor and finished with 24 points.
On Saturday, EWE Baskets Oldenburg fell 74-67 at TBB Trier in a battle to go fourth in the domestic league standings.
Robin Smeulders was the top performer for Oldenburg, with 14 points and seven rebounds in defeat
SAMARA, KIEV LOSE IN VTB LEAGUE
Krasnye Krylia struggled on offence, especially in the second half, in their Sunday game against UNICS Kazan in the VTB United League and succumbed to a 69-56 loss at home.
The Samara outfit had a bad shooting night, only making two of their 23 shots from long range (9%).
Even Chester Simmons, the league's leading scorer going into the Sunday clash, could only summon 10 points and was one of just two Krasnye Krylia players, along with Nikita Balashov, to make double digits.
A day earlier in the same competition, Tsmoki Minsk were also in action.
The Belarusian side travelled to Latvia to take on VEF Riga and suffered a 98-73 defeat despite Ja Juan Smith's season-high 21 points.