Only Lokomotiv remains unbeaten in Eurocup
Round 4 of the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season saw two more teams suffer their first losses, leaving only Lokomotiv undefeated through for games. Lokomotiv achieved its fourth win with a 30-point road win at Slask. Mitchell Watt scored 25 points to lead Reyer to a 72-67 victory over Buducnost for the latter’s first loss, leaving Group B without any undefeated teams. Andorra edged Partizan 61-60 to hand coach Zeljko Obradovic his first loss at Partizan. There were three road winners in addition to Lokomotiv; Hamburg bested Lietkabelis for its first EuroCup victory, Ulm survived a 2OT thriller in Ljubljana and Valencia came back to edge Virtus. Elsewhere, Promitheas gained its first win after overtime in Coach Ilias Zouros’s debut, and Metropolitans, Joventut and Gran Canaria protected their home courts.
GROUP A
Boulogne Metropolitans 92 93-80 Dolomiti Energia Trento
Boulogne Metropolitans 92 used a big second half to put away Dolomiti Energia Trento 93-80 on Tuesday night in 7DAYS EuroCup in Group A. The hosts gave up just 13 points in the third quarter and then scored 29 points in the final frame to improve to 2-2. Will Cummings paced six Metropolitans players in double figures with 17 points. At the same time, Vince Hunter had a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds, Jordan McRae scored 14 points, Tomer Giant and David Michineau both tallied 11 points, and Keith Hornsby chipped in 10 points. Trento remained winless at 0-4 despite Cameron Reynolds scoring 18 points, Johnathan Williams adding 16, and Jordan Caroline 13 points.
Lietkabelis Panevezys 96-100 Hamburg Towers
Hamburg Towers made history by defeating Lietkabelis Panevezys 96-100 on the road for its first victory ever in the 7DAYS EuroCup. Lukas Meisner came off the bench for an injured Maik Kotsar and scored a game-high 20 points, while Jaylon Brown poured in 18. Robin Christen added 13 points for the winners, including the game-deciding free throws with 7.4 seconds left; Seth Hinrichs chipped in 12, and Caleb Homesley had 10 points. Hamburg improved to 1-3 in Group A while Lietkabelis dropped to 2-2. Hamburg could not stop Gediminas Orelik, who drained seven three-pointers in scoring a career-high 31 points for the hosts. Nikola Radicevic collected 13 points and 12 assists, Djordje Gagic had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Panagiotis Kalaitzakis was held to 11 points on just three field-goal attempts.
Slask Wroclaw 68-98 Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar claimed a convincing 68-98 road win over Slask Wroclaw at Hala Orbita on Wednesday evening. The visitors used a 3-15 run to go ahead 13-26 in the first quarter and another 0-14 spark early in the second to confirm a 32-49 halftime advantage that the hosts never jeopardized. Errick McCollum paced the winners with 22 points — including 17 in the first half — while Jonathan Motley had 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Zakhar Vedischev provided four three-pointers in his debut game this season, Darius Thompson chipped in 11 points. Alan Williams collected 11 boards in 10 minutes for Lokomotiv, which remains unbeaten at 4-0 in Group A. Slask Wroclaw, whose record dropped to 0-4, was led by Travis Trice, who signed off 14 points, four rebounds, and five assists. He was followed by Kodi Justice and Lukasz Kolenda, who scored 12 and 10, respectively, while Cyril Langevine posted ten rebounds in the losing effort.
MoraBanc Andorra 61-60 Partizan NIS Belgrade
MoraBanc Andorra held on to defeat Partizan NIS Belgrade 61-60 in a back and forth battle, which leaves both teams at 3-1. After a low-scoring start, Partizan went on a 0-14 spurt early in the second quarter to take charge, leading 24-32 at the interval. Andorra hit back by winning the third quarter 24-8 before Partizan bounced back and went ahead again. But the Serbian side went scoreless for three minutes near the end, and Andorra had just enough offense to win. Victor Arteaga led all scorers with 15 points, while Codi Miller-McIntyre had a double-double of 11 points and ten rebounds. Oriol Pauli and David Jelinek both had 10 points in victory. Zach LeDay registered a double-double for Partizan with 12 points and ten rebounds, while Kevin Punter scored 13.
Joventut Badalona 76-67 Turk Telekom Ankara
Joventut Badalona got back to winning ways by defeating visiting Turk Telekom Ankara 76-67 at Palau Olimpic de Badalona on Wednesday night. Joventut improved to 3-1 in Group A, while Turk Telekom dropped to 2-2. Joventut took control in the first quarter, using seven assists to open a 21-10 lead. It increased the margin to 17 points with a 12-0 run in the second quarter. Turk Telekom did not go away in the second half but never got closer than 5 points. Joel Parra led Joventut with 17 points and eight rebounds. Pau Ribas scored 12, Ante Tomic collected 11 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, and Vladimir Brodziansky also scored 11. Aaron Harrison and JaJuan Johnson scored 17 apiece for Turk Telekom, and Aubrey Dawkins scored 10 in a losing effort.
GROUP B
Umana Reyer Venice 72-67 Buducnost VOLI Podgorica
Umana Reyer Venice took charge late to hand Buducnost VOLI Podgorica its first loss of the 7DAYS EuroCup season, 72-67, on Tuesday night at Palasport Taliercio. Mitchell Watt scored 8 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter – including three baskets after he was called for his fourth foul – to help propel Reyer to its first home win and a 2-2 record on the season. Victor Sanders contributed 11 points and tied the club record with four steals, and Stefano Tonut added 10 points for the winners. D.J. Seeley paced the Buducnost attack with 18 points and Justin Cobbs and Edin Atic each scored 12 for Buducnost, which saw its record slip to 3-1.
Promitheas Patras 83-80 Frutti Extra Bursaspor
In a thriller that went to overtime, Promitheas Patras recorded its first win in Group B by rallying to down Frutti Extra Bursaspor 83-80 at home on Wednesday. Promitheas improved to 1-3 in the standings while Bursaspor dropped to 2-2. Jerai Grant led the winners with 18 points. Charis Giannopoulos, Kendrick Ray, and Nikolaos Rokgavopoulos each added 14, while Dario Hunt had 10 for Promitheas. Allerik Freeman led Bursaspor with 20 points. Derek Needham added 19 while David Dudzinski got 11 points and 16 rebounds for the guests. Freeman had seven first-quarter points as Bursaspor took a 12-19 lead. Dudzinski and Egemen Guven stepped up for the guests as they went up 30-40 at halftime. The hosts found a go-to guy in Hunt, who got plenty of help from Ray and Dimitris Agravanis to bring Promitheas within 51-53 after 30 minutes. Giannopoulos had 9 points early in the fourth quarter to put Promitheas ahead, 60-57. Bursaspor bounced back, and Metin Turen dunked to force overtime, 68-68. Grant and Ray made the difference down the stretch.
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 96-101 ratiopharm Ulm
ratiopharm Ulm blew a 21-point lead and then hung on through two overtimes to edge Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 96-101 at Arena Stozice on Wednesday night. Jaron Blossomgame shined with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks, and Semaj Christon tallied 24 points, nine assists, and four steals for Ulm, which won its second straight game to improve to 2-2. Thomas Klepeisz amassed 14 points, ten rebounds, and six assists, Cristiano Felicio posted 13 points and ten boards, and Karim Jallow had 10 and 7 for the winners. Jaka Blazic paced Cedevita with 26 points, Edo Muric tied his career-high with 21, and Jacob Pullen scored 20 on his birthday. Zach Auguste added 12 points and ten rebounds, and Melvin Ejim posted 10 and 8. The loss was Cedevita’s second in a row and dropped its record to 2-2.
Virtus Segafredo Bologna 96-97 Valencia Basket
Valencia Basket fought back from a 21-point deficit to defeat Virtus Segafredo Bologna 96-97 on the road in a game that lived up to its billing with two of the 7DAYS EuroCup’s main favorites going head-to-head. Virtus raced ahead 46-25 midway through the second quarter before Valencia started to chip away back into the Group B battle. The guests finally managed to get ahead with under 3 minutes left and then converted all six free throws in the final 35 seconds to secure their first road win of the season for a 2-2 mark. Klemen Prepelic scored 20 points – including a three-pointer in the final minute – to pace Valencia, while Sam Van Rossom scored 15 points, Martin Hermannsson and Jasiel Rivero both had 11, and Bojan Dubljevic finished with 10 points. Virtus dropped to 2-2 in wasting a 30-point fireworks show by Kyle Weems. Milos Teodosic added 18 points and nine assists, and Marco Belinelli chipped in 10 points in the loss.
Gran Canaria 78-49 Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse
Gran Canaria overcame injuries and recorded its third consecutive win in Group B by downing Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 78-49 at home on Wednesday. Gran Canaria improved to 3-1 in the standings while Bourg dropped to 1-3. Dylan Ennis led the winners with 19 points, Ilimane Diop added 11, and Chris Kramer and Artem Pustovyi each scored 10 for Gran Canaria, which was without John Shurna, Nicolas Brussino, and Oliver Stevic. Eric Mika and Calvin Harris led Bourg with 7 points apiece. Ennis had 15 points in the opening 6 minutes to help Gran Canaria on an early 21-1 run. Gran Canaria held a 21-3 margin after 10 minutes, boosted it to 36-17 at halftime and then again to 57-28 at the end of the third quarter, enough to seal the outcome long before the final buzzer.