Australian Mitch Creek scores 28 as Cluj moves within one win of Romania’s championship series

Australian Boomers wing Mitch Creek has Romanian Liga Națională club U-BT Cluj-Napoca on the verge of the 2025-26 championship series after pouring in 28 points in 28 minutes in Game 2 of the best-of-five semi-finals series against SCM Craiova today (AEDT).

The 34-year-old former Adelaide 36ers and South East Melbourne Phoenix star joined Cluj for the start of their four-competition campaign in late 2025 after vowing to never again play in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL).

Creek, who played for the Boomers against Guam in the 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifiers in March, led the No1 ranked Cluj to a 3-0 sweep of CSU Sibiu in the quarter finals and, now, to a 2-0 lead SCM Craiova. Game 3 is on May 21, 2026.

He led U-BT Cluj-Napoc to the Romanian SuperCup this season.

U-BT Cluj-Napoca 85 def. SCM Craiova 74 – May 17, 2026

Romania Divizia A Playoffs – Semi-finals (Game 2)

Cluj-Napoca moved within one win of the finals after riding a dominant performance from Mitch Creek to an 85-74 road victory over SCM Craiova to take a 2-0 series lead.

Creek controlled the game from the opening quarter, finishing with 28 points, six rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes while shooting 12-from-18 from the field and 11-from-16 from the free-throw line. The Australian veteran consistently attacked mismatches in transition and half-court sets as Cluj separated after halftime.

Cluj built its advantage through interior scoring and rebounding, with Dusan Miletic adding 15 points and 18 rebounds while Zavier Simpson contributed 10 points and 14 assists. Nikola Ceaser also finished with 15 points on 6-from-7 shooting.

SCM Craiova stayed within striking distance through the first half behind 24 points from Ira Leggett, who added five assists, while Vladimir Nistor knocked down three triples for 11 points.

But Cluj’s size and offensive efficiency eventually wore Craiova down. Cluj shot 50% from the field and generated repeated second-chance opportunities behind Miletic’s work on the glass, while Creek repeatedly got downhill to pressure the defence.

By the NumbersMitch Creek (Cluj-Napoca): 28 points │ 6 rebounds │ 3 assists │ 12-from-18 FG │ 28:52Dusan Miletic (Cluj-Napoca): 15 points │ 18 reboundsZavier Simpson (Cluj-Napoca): 10 points │ 14 assistsIra Leggett (SCM Craiova): 24 points │ 5 assistsCluj-Napoca: 50% FG │ 42 reboundsSCM Craiova: 39.7% FG │ 29 reboundsMitch Creek – U-BT Cluj-Napoca: All Competitions in 2025-26

‍48 GP │ 27.9 MPG │ 17.1 PPG │ 4.6 RPG │ 2.2 APG │ 0.8 SPG

‍Romanian Liga Națională Playoffs (DIV): 5 GP │ 26.4 MPG │ 19.6 PPG │ 6.2 RPG │ 2.8 APG │ 0.4 SPG‍ ABA League: 26 GP │ 28.6 MPG │ 16.6 PPG │ 4.0 RPG │ 2.1 APG │ 0.9 SPG‍EuroCup (EUR): 16 GP │ 30.7 MPG │ 18.0 PPG │ 4.0 RPG │ 2.1 APG │ 0.8 SPG‍Romanian Cup / SuperCup: 4 GP │ 24.3 MPG │ 10.5 PPG │ 4.8 RPG │ 2.0 APG │ 0.3 SPG

Mitch Creek’s Liga Națională Playoffs Scoring28 points vs Craiova20 points vs Craiova18 points vs Sibiu16 points vs Sibiu16 points vs SibiuMitch Creek’s Biggest ABA Games35 points vs Igokea33 points vs Dubai28 points vs Cedevita Olimpija23 points vs KK Bosna22 points vs Crvena zvezdaMitch Creek’s EuroCup Highlights

Creek produced some of his biggest offensive games in continental play:

40 points vs Neptunas27 points vs Manresa27 points vs Aris26 points vs Hapoel Jerusalem20 points vs HamburgRomanian Cup18 points vs Dinamo Bucharest16 points vs Steaua Bucuresti2 points in the final vs Oradea