European domestic leagues review: December 12-18, 2011

Several showdowns between Turkish Airlines Euroleague and Eurocup sides produced great excitement in domestic action in the middle of December. It was the Euroleague side that had the upper hand in the Belgian League where defending champion  Belgacom Spirou Charleroi edged Mons-Hainaut 76-72 to remain atop the table with an 8-2 record. Demond Mallet led the way with 23 points plus 4 assists and 2 steals and Caleb Green added 15 points. The two competitions shared bragging rights after a pair of duels in the Adriatic League.  KK Cedevita is in second place at 10-2 after a 75-57 win over Partizan mt:s. Cedevita opened with a 21-12 lead and controlled the game throughout, as Dontaye Draper poured in 17 points and nabbed 4 steals and Chris Owens added 13 points. But KK Zagreb continued its march up the table by beating Cibona at home 82-77 behind Krunsolav Simon, who bagged 29 points. The Eurocup got a chance to shine in the Lithuanian League, where BC Rudupis took a thrilling 90-88 win over Lietuvos rytas on Saturday, handing the former Eurocup champions their first loss of the season in the competition. Dainius Salenga was the hero for the winners with 27 points and a perfect 5 for 5 from beyond the arc. And in the German League, the four Euroleague and Eurocup clubs were all winners. Brose Baskets remained tied atop the German League standings after pounding Eisbaren Bremerhaven 90-58 behind Marcus Slaughter and PJ Tucker. Alba Berlin routed BBC Bayreuth 92-53, Bayern Munich topped TBB Trier 76-70 and Fraport Skyliners registered a 70-77 road win at New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig. Follow the 2011-12 European domestic competitions all year round on Euroleague.net and Eurocupbasketball.com!