Hapoel see off Ventspils

Mario Austin won the tip for Hapoel and immediately gave the home side the lead but Ventspils was quick to respond and despite being swamped by Hapoel for much of quarter managed to stay within touching distance before being left behind during the second quarter.

Hapoel lead 51-37 at the interval but suffered from a lapse in concentration that saw them caught by Ventspils and even lose the lead.

Despite this brief revival, the home side were too strong in the end and helped along by Austin - who scored 21 points - and Dror Hagag - who came off the bench to score 16 - Hapoel put themselves in a strong position heading into the second leg.

Elsewhere, Siena moved to the brink of the last eight with a comprehensive 79-62 away win against PAOK.

The French derby between Strasbourg and Nancy is left fascinatingly poised after the former side won their home leg 89-86.

Zeleznik claimed a valuable 88-84 win at Gran Canaria, while Uniks also won away, defeating Hemofarm 90-73.

There were home wins for Crvena Zvezda 89-77 against Khimki and Udine 75-27 against Lietuvos Rytas.