Andy West previews the second round of the 2025-26 EuroCup season
At a glance: Early bragging rights up for grabs
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9 Lesezeit
Perfect starts and opening victories are being targeted around the continent as Round 2 of the BKT EuroCup takes flight on Tuesday and Wednesday. Here’s your overview of this week’s action.
Tuesday, October 7
Neptunas Klaipeda vs. U-BT Cluj-Napoca (18:00 CEST)
Neptunas (0-1) will look to pick up its first win with a visit from a Cluj team (0-1) faced with the same mission. Both teams will be focusing on defensive improvement after allowing 90+ points last week, as all-action guard Arnas Velickas’s double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) wasn’t enough to prevent Neptunas from falling at Slask. Cluj was humbled at home by Bahcesehir in the season opener, despite big man Dusan Miletic showing he is ready to enjoy another big season as he compiled 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, and the visiting team also needs to cut down the 19 turnovers lost in that game.
ratiopharm Ulm vs. Panionios Athens (19:00 CEST)
Prolonging a perfect start to the season is the incentive as Ulm (1-0) welcomes Panionios (1-0). The German team benefitted was propelled by 24 points and 7 assists from newly signed guard Mark Smith to triumph over Turk Telekom last week, and summer signing Malik Osborne showed that he can patrol the paint by grabbing 9 rebounds including 4 off the offensive glass. Panionios survived an overtime thriller against Chemnitz last week, and will look for more long-range scoring heroics from star guard Jaylen Hands after he netted two three-pointers in the last 30 seconds of overtime to secure the victory.
Besiktas GAIN Istanbul vs. London Lions (19:00 CEST)
Two teams aiming to bounce back meet in Istanbul as Besiktas (0-1) welcomes London (0-1). The Turkish team will look for more toughness after surrendering several leads to lose last week at Lietkabelis, despite summer signing Devon Dotson making a strong early impression with 14 points on his debut. London also suffered defeat in its opener, going down 59-86 at home against Buducnost, so desperately needs more offensive efficiency after committing 15 turnovers and seeing only Kameron McGusty (13 points) reach double digits in scoring. In particular, forward Joel Scott needs to find his range after making just 2 of his 11 field goal attempts last week.
Wednesday, October 8
Bahcesehir College Istanbul vs. Umana Reyer Venice (18:00 CEST)
After starting the season with a bang, Bahcesehir (1-0) will look to keep on rolling against visiting Reyer (0-1). The ambitious Turkish team delivered an offensive showpiece to roll past Cluj in Round 1, as summer signing Malachi Flynn made an instant impact by combining 24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Attempting to slow down the dangerous home team will be a tough task for Reyer, which narrowly lost at home to Aris last week. Center Chris Horton delivered a strong start with 13 points and 7 rebounds on his debut, and his ability to protect the rim and deny Bahcesehir second chances will be crucial.
NINERS Chemnitz vs. Lietkabelis Panevezys (19:00 CEST)
Lietkabelis (1-0) will look to build more momentum with a testing trip to a Chemnitz (0-1) team gunning for its first victory. The Lithuanian team showed great character to earn a morale-boosting win over Besiktas in Round 1, with newcomers Kristian Kullamae and Augustine Rubit (17 points apiece) showing they are respectively ready to lead the team in the backcourt and frontcourt. Chemnitz was on the receiving end of an agonizing overtime loss at Panionios last week, and will hope that Corey Davis Jr, who netted 24 points in that game, can again score freely to mark an historic first ever home game in the competition.
Aris Thessaloniki Betsson vs. Veolia Towers Hamburg (19:00 CEST)
Aris (1-0) is aiming for its second straight win with a visit from a Hamburg team (0-1) looking to kickstart its season. The Greek team took an impressive triumph at Reyer in the opener, in large part thanks to an explosive debut from guard Bryce Jones with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. He will attempt to repeat those numbers against a Hamburg team which couldn’t keep pace with Hapoel last week, allowing 100 points to underline the need for defensive improvement. Carlos Stewart sparkled at the other end with 21 points, and Hamburg will need a similar contribution this week.
Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse vs. Turk Telekom Ankara (19:30 CEST)
Two teams with strong ambitions go head to head as Bourg (1-0) receives a visit from Turk Telekom (0-1). The visiting team is searching for a first victory of the season after being edged out by Ulm in Round 1, when 24 points from Jordan Usher – who faces his former team this week – wasn’t quite enough. Bourg started strong with a comfortable win at Trento, and the rebounding power of big man Kevin Kokila (10 points and 8 boards last week, including 5 at the offensive end) will play an important part in trying to give the home team control of the paint.
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem vs. Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (20:00 CEST)
Two fast starters with high targets for the season will target advancing to 2-0 as Hapoel (1-0) receives a visit from Cedevita (1-0). Hapoel demonstrated all its firepower by blasting 100 points to overcome Hamburg last week, with six double-digit scorers propelled by big man Austin Wiley’s double-double of 14 points and 11 boards. Cedevita’s opening week victory over Manresa was a much more defense-dominated game, with the Slovenian team forcing 22 turnovers and then relying on Aleksej Nikolic to lead the offense with 17 points and 6 assists, so this will be a bog showdown between the home offense and the visiting defense.
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica vs. Dolomiti Energia Trento (20:00 CEST)
Buducnost (1-0) will aim to make it two wins out of two against a Trento (0-1) in desperate need of major improvement. The Italian team suffered a humbling 48-79 home loss to Bourg in Round 1, recording more turnovers (17) than field goal conversions (16), with big man Selom Mawugbe’s dominant 10 rebounds a rare bright light. Improving those numbers will not be easy travelling to a Buducnost team which produced a strong all-round team display to comfortably overcome London last time out, and can lean on the all-round talents of big man Nikola Tanaskovic (13 points, 6 boards and 3 assists in Round 1) to chase another win.
BAXI Manresa vs. Slask Wroclaw (20:45 CEST)
In its competition home debut, Manresa (0-1) will seek an historic first victory against confident Slask (1-0). The Polish team gained plenty of confidence with an offensive exhibition last week against Neptunas, and guard Jakub Niziol will attempt to keep his hot hand after compiling 15 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in that game. The Spanish team needs to improve upon the 69 points it mustered in the Round 1 loss at Cedevita, and will look for new paint patroller Grant Golden to continue the promising start that saw him combine 10 points and 9 rebounds last time out.