Surne Bilbao has significantly advanced in its FIBA Europe Cup semi-final tie, following a commanding 81-98 victory last week in Hungary against Falco Szombathely. This result greatly eases the path for the return leg, scheduled for next Wednesday at 8:00 PM in the Bilbao Arena. However, coach Jaume Ponsarnau has made it clear that he wants no hint of overconfidence among his players.

Meanwhile, the Hungarian team, led by Milos Konakov, faced considerable difficulty last Saturday to secure a win in their domestic league. They eventually triumphed over ZTE, the eleventh-placed team with only a two-win margin over the bottom team, by a narrow 76-80. To achieve this, they needed to complete an impressive 13-28 run in the final quarter. Similar to their encounter with the Bilbao team, Falco allowed too many easy points from long range, conceding a total of 15 three-pointers with 60% effectiveness from ZTE.

Without their star player, Zoltan Perl, Konakov's squad gave their best in the final act to turn the game around in the decisive minutes, securing the victory with two three-pointers from Benedek Varadi, who had been struggling with his shooting until then, and free throws from Patrick Whelan. Aleksa Novakovic was the top scorer for the Szombathely team with 14 points and four three-pointers, while Kristof Bognar (12 points and nine rebounds) led in efficiency with 21 credits.

Falco Szombathely now faces a demanding week; in addition to visiting Surne Bilbao, they will host Szolnok, the leader of the Hungarian league, on Saturday in the final matchday of the regular season. Konakov's team, currently in second place, can no longer catch the leader, as they are three victories behind with a record of 19 wins and six losses.