Cluj took charge of the game early and never looked back
Cluj stays hot on the road led by red-hot Fatts Russell
Spielbericht
3 Lesezeit
Regular Season
Round 5 of 18
Regular Season
group a
Veolia Towers HamburgHAM
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U-BT Cluj-NapocaUBT
group a
Overview
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U-BT Cluj-Napoca kept its high-powered offense rolling with a 76-95 road win over Veolia Towers Hamburg to improve to 3-2 on the BKT EuroCup.
Coming off a dramatic overtime victory against Umana Reyer Venice last week, Cluj carried that momentum into Germany. Hamburg entered the night still chasing its first victory, but Cluj had showed no signs of slowing down.
Fatts Russell once again dictated the tempo, setting the tone early and leading his team with 26 points, including 5 three-pointers. Russell emphasized the team’s energy after the win: “We came out with more energy. We talk a lot and we had big leads going to the other games, we kind of led up, but with this team, we stayed focused and we kept our feet on the pedal. We can score, we have a lot of guys that’s versatile.”
After a fast-paced first quarter where both teams matched each other’s energy, Cluj gradually took control, especially with contributions from beyond the arc. By halftime, Russell had already reached 21 points, while Cluj shot 8-of-16 from three. The deep roster paid off, with bench players giving meaningful minutes. Hamburg managed just 9 points in the second quarter, allowing Cluj to extend the lead to 22.
Cluj never looked back in the second half, finding outside shooting from different players to maintain the gap. With Russell taking a step back, Karel Guzman stepped up, hitting three triples and finishing with 11 points to keep his team ahead. The team also adjusted its defense, mixing aggressive pressure with a more cautious coverage to protect the paint. Dusan Miletic then took over inside, asserting dominance in the paint. The Serbian center shone with 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
“I think we controlled the game,” said coach Mihai Silvasan, “In the first quarter, we allowed some easy points in transition. We allowed them to make some easy shots, but from the second quarter we came back and we were more consistent with the way we played the defense and that made the difference. I’m satisfied with the win.”
Hamburg committed 16 turnovers throughout the game, and despite strong efforts from Zacharie Perrin, who posted 17 points and 7 rebounds, for a PIR of 25, Leonard Thorpe with 18 points and 6 assists, and Carlos Stewart with 11 points, it wasn’t enough to deliver the win they were searching for.
Coach Benka Barloschky summed up the team’s struggles: ‘‘The story is old for us unfortunately. When we get into these stretches, we lose our minds, we break out the structure. Sometimes it looks like we are giving up and that is unacceptable. It happens over and over, that we lose these games in one quarter and are competitive in the other ones. This is something that we have to fix when we want to get winning ways this season.’’
In Round 6, U-BT Cluj-Napoca will look to carry its momentum home against Cedevita Olimpija Ljubijana, while Veolia Towers Hamburg will continue searching for its first win on the road at Umana Reyer Venice.
