Buducnost alone atop Eurocup Group B, Slask celebrates first win
The 7DAYS EuroCup returned to action on Tuesday night of Round 6 after a two-week hiatus and saw Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse and Valencia Basket march to lopsided victories. Then Wednesday saw plenty of offensive fireworks with eight teams scoring at least 89 points – including two in losing efforts. Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar and Partizan NIS Belgrade were among the big scorers and won to remain jointly together atop Group A, while Joventut Badalona fell back after it lost at Lietkabelis Panevezys. In Group B, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica is alone in first place thanks to ratiopharm Ulm, which scored 96 in winning in Gran Canaria. Elsewhere, Slask Wroclaw won its first game of the season, MoraBanc Andorra protected its home floor, and Virtus Segafredo Bologna won a high-scoring affair in Ljubljana.
GROUP A
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 97-95 Dolomiti Energia Trento
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar rallied from a double-digit deficit in the final 5 minutes to beat Dolomiti Energia Trento 97-95 at home in Group B on Wednesday. Lokomotiv improved to 5-1 in Group A, while Trento dropped to 1-5. Johnathan Motley led the winners with 33 points and 11 rebounds, Errick McCollum added 29 points and 13 assists, Darius Thompson scored 12, and Stanislav Ilnitskiy got 10 for Lokomotiv. Wesley Saunders and Desonta Bradford paced Trento with 18 points apiece, Diego Flaccadori added 17, Andrea Mezzanotte 16, and Jordan Caroline 13. Trento’s led 66-74 after 30 minutes and 70-83 early in the fourth quarter before an outstanding McCollum rallied Lokomotiv to a 95-93 edge with 40 seconds remaining. Thompson sealed the deal with a critical steal.
Lietkabelis Panevezys 87-77 Joventut Badalona
Lietkabelis Panevezys gained its first home win of the 7DAYS EuroCup season by downing Joventut Badalona 87-77 on Wednesday night after leading from start to finish. Strong defense gave Lietkabelis an early advantage, and the host was able to stay ahead, 41-37, at the interval. The lead grew to double digits early in the third, and Lietkabelis never looked like losing. Nikola Radicevic led the home team’s offense with 12 points and nine assists, while Panagiotis Kalaitzakis top scored with 16 points, and Vytenis Lipkevicius added 14. Pau Ribas paced Joventut with 15 points, while Brandon Paul and Guillem Vives both scored 11. Lietkabelis improves to 3-3 while Joventut drops to 4-2.
Slask Wroclaw 87-71 Hamburg Towers
Slask Wroclaw captured its first victory over the 7DAYS EuroCup season by blasting Hamburg Towers 87-71 on Wednesday night at Hala Orbita. The hosts led by as many as 26 before easing up late in the game. The result left both teams with 1-5 records and tied for eighth place in Group A alongside Dolomiti Energia Trento. Travis Trice ran the Slask attack with 18 points and nine assists. Aleksander Dziewa also scored 18 and collected ten rebounds and two blocks. Kodi Justice added 15 points on 4-of-10 three-point shooting, and Kerem Kanter tallied 9 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Seth Hinrichs paced Hamburg with 16 points and eight rebounds, Maximilian Di Leo added 14 points, and Caleb Homesley tallied 13 points and six assists in defeat.
Morabanc Andorra 98-75 Turk Telekom Ankara
Morabanc Andorra found no trouble to collect another home win when it defeated Turk Telekom Ankara 98-75 at Poliesportiu D’Andorra on Wednesday night. The hosts used a 15-0 run bridging the first and the second quarter to build a 40-18 margin that the visitors never threatened. Codi Miller-McIntyre paced the winners with 14 points, five rebounds, six assists, and three steals for a PIR of 25. Clevin Hannah followed with 14 points and five assists, and Conor Morgan and Nacho Llovet scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, for Andorra, which improved to 4-2. Turk Telekom, whose record dropped to 3-3, was led by Aaron Harrison, who provided 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from behind the arc. Anthony Clemmons added 13 points and six boards, and Octavius Ellis posted 12 points and six rebounds in the losing effort.
Boulogne Metropolitans 92 82-89 Partizan NIS Belgrade
Partizan NIS Belgrade used a big fourth-quarter surge to collect an 82-89 victory at Boulogne Metropolitans 92 and hand the French side its first home loss of the season. Partizan wrestled away control with a 4-15 surge late to improve to 5-1 in Group A. Kevin Punter paced Partizan with a career-high 28 points while Zach LeDay poured in 15 points, Alen Smailagic scored 14 points, and Aleksa Avramovic added 12 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the win. Metropolitans dropped to 3-3 despite five players scoring in double figures. Keith Hornsby led the way with a career-high 22 points, with David Michineau and Vince Hunter both scoring 16 points, Will Cummings adding 13, and Steeve Ho-You-Fat picking up 11 points in the loss.
GROUP B
Promitheas Patras 60-89 Buducnost VOLI Podgorica
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica shrugged off a whirlwind first half and ended up running away with a 60-89 victory over host Promitheas Patras on Wednesday to remain one of the top teams in Group B. Buducnost started hot and used a 2-17 run to take a 10-27 lead. Promitheas punched back with a 21-2 surge to pull ahead. The guests responded with a 6-20 run spanning halftime to reestablish control and never looked back in moving to 5-1. DJ Seeley led the way with career highs of 29 points and a 30 performance index rating. Zoran Nikolic also set personal bests with 20 points, ten rebounds, and 30 PIR, while Justin Cobbs chipped in 17 points. Only eight players played for Buducnost. Promitheas saw its two-game winning streak snap in falling to 2-4. Kendrick Ray scored 16 of his team-high 22 points in the second quarter, and Jerai Grant added 10. But the hosts did not have enough other options, scoring just 8 points in the third quarter.
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 101-104 Virtus Segafredo Bologna
On Wednesday, Virtus Segafredo Bologna grabbed its fourth win in Group B by downing Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 101-104 in the Slovenian capital. Virtus improved to 4-2 in the standings while Olimpija dropped to 2-4. Marco Belinelli led the winners with 21 points, Milos Teodosic added 19, Mam Jaiteh 17, Kyle Weems 15, and Ty-Shon Alexander 10 for Virtus. Yogi Ferrell paced Cedevita with 24 points and 11 assists in his debut. Edo Muric and Alen Omic each scored 18 points, Jaka Blazic had 15, and Jacob Pullen 10. Jaiteh, Weems, and Teodosic shined early to give Virtus a 10-18 lead. Omic and Pullen helped Cedevita get within 25-29 after 10 minutes. Ferrell and Muric took over in the second quarter, getting help from Omic to bring the hosts closer, 53-54, at halftime. Ferrell and an outstanding Omic put Cedevita ahead, 70-67, midway through the third quarter. Weems dunked to tie it at 82-82 after 30 minutes. Belinelli, Teodosic, and Weems made the difference in crunch time; Cedevita fought back, but Pullen missed from downtown at the buzzer.
Gran Canaria 81-96 ratiopharm Ulm
With a masterful roadshow, ratiopharm Ulm stopped red-hot host Gran Canaria in its tracks for an 81-96 win in Group B on Wednesday. Ulm lifted its record to 3-3 while Gran Canaria fell to 4-2, with a second home loss bracketed around a four-game winning streak. Ulm trailed for just one possession in the first quarter and was ahead by as many as 15 points in each half, including at the end. Jerome Blossomgame missed just two shots on his way to 25 points to lead the winners. Semaj Christon followed with 18 and 5 assists. Sindarius Thornwell celebrated his EuroCup debut with 17 points, and Philipp Herkenhoff came off the bench for 12 more. AJ Slaughter scored 18 points and Dylan Ennis 17 for Gran Canaria, while Chris Kramer added 15 and Miquel Salvo 10. Gran Canaria narrowed the difference to 80-86 with a late run before Ulm used a 1-10 finish to pick up a good-as-gold road win.