The Slovenian club has the chance to defend its title in Friday’s showpiece event, while the Romanian side and Greek outfit both responded well to secure their spots in the last four
Domestic cups: Cedevita makes final; Cluj, Aris into semis
Cedevita into the final
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana has reached the final of the Slovenian Cup following an 81-95 triumph over Kansai Helios Domzale. Having won the last two editions of the Slovenian Cup, Cedevita has the chance to defend its title in Friday’s final. Gregor Glas paced Cedevita with 28 points, with Alen Omic notching a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double. Luka Scuka netted 14 points and Nikola Radicevic and Jaka Blazic had 10 points each. Blazic had 9 assists, too.
Cluj books place in semifinals
Despite trailing 48-43 at halftime, U-BT Cluj-Napoca went to another level after the break to beat CSO Voluntari 92-96 and reach the Romanian Cup semifinals. Team captain Patrick Richard led Cluj with 17 points, while D.J. Seeley and Bryce Jones had 16 apiece. Adam Mokoka netted 12, and both Andrija Stipanovic and Emanuel Cate recorded 10 each.
Aris completes comeback to reach semifinals
Things did not look good for Aris Midea Thessaloniki in the first half of its quarterfinal clash with PAOK BC, as it trailed 25-11 and 43-29 after the first and second quarters, respectively. The score did not look too promising entering the fourth, with Aris down 57-46, but a late surge saw the BKT EuroCup side cut the gap before Vassilis Toliopoulos gave his team its first lead of the game with the final bucket of the game, 74-76. Toliopoulos led the way with a game-high 24 points, while Ronnie Harrell was the only other Aris player to hit double figures, scoring 11.
Buducnost falls short in Montenegrin Cup final
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica has failed to retain the Montenegrin Cup for the first time since the 2012-13 season after losing 80-81 in overtime to SC Derby in Thursday's final. After winning the first quarter 15-12, Buducnost was outscored 19-24 by Derby in the second, making it 34-36 at halftime. Buducnost made up that 2-point deficit in the third, winning that quarter 17-15 to set a 51-51 score. Both teams netted 19 points in the fourth, forcing overtime. In the extra period, Derby scored 11 points to Buducnost's 10. In defeat, McKinley Wright paced Buducnost with a joint game-high 19 points. Kenan Kamenjas had 16 and Nikola Tanaskovic netted 10.
Gran Canaria loses in OT thriller
Dreamland Gran Canaria has been eliminated from the Spanish Cup following its 81-89 overtime loss to Valencia Basket. A Nico Brussino three-pointer at the buzzer forced the overtime period in the first place, but Gran Canaria could only score 4 points to Valencia's 12 in the extra session. Sylven Landesberg had a game-high 25 points for Gran Canaria, with only Ethan Happ joining him in double figures with 11.