EuroCup: London Lions become first British team to reach quarter-finals with win over Turk Telecom

London Lions made history as the first British team to reach the EuroCup quarter-finals after a dominant 100-77 win over Turkey’s Turk Telekom.

The British Basketball League side opened up a lead early on and never looked back at the Copper Box Arena.

Former NBA guard David Nwaba top-scored for the Lions with 19 points, while hometown centre Gabe Olaseni had 18 points and eight rebounds.

Lions now face a one-off tie at Cluj-Napoca in the play-off quarter-finals.

The Romanian side were handed a bye to the last eight after finishing second in Group B in the regular season.

Having gone out at this stage last season, the Lions were determined not suffer the same fate this time around and made a quick start in front of a vocal home crowd.

They piled on the points to lead 60-44 at half-time before their defence took over after the break, keeping Turk Telecom, from Ankara, to just 33 points in the second half and shutdown any hope of a comeback.

“Unbelievable. Everyday spent with this group is unbelievable for me,” Lions coach Petar Bozic told TNT Sports.

“The guys came out ready to play. The first half was very efficient and the second half our defence was amazing.

He added: “The guys really show willingness to play together and share the ball. That’s the best quality of this team.”