Domestic cups: Paris, Cluj, Lietkabelis, Ulm to the final!

Paris Basketball, 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys, U-BT Cluj-Napoca and ratiopharm Ulm are set to battle for domestic cup titles tomorrow!

Paris advances to Leaders Cup final

Paris Basketball reached the French Leaders Cup final by downing AS Monaco 93-98 in Saint-Etienne. T.J. Shorts led the winners with 25 points. Nadir Hifi added 14, Justin Simon 13 and Mehdy Ngouama 10 for Paris. Mike James led Monaco with 18 points. Elie Okobo added 15, Alpha Diallo 13, Yakuba Ouattara 11 and Donta Hall 10. Monaco led 24-21 after 10 minutes and extended its margin to 43-33 on Hall's dunk. Simon and Ngouama rescued Paris, then Sebastian Herrera struck from downtown to fic the halftime score at 54-53. Diallo and Mam Jaiteh allowed Monaco to regain a 77-68 lead late in the third quarter. Shorts and Simon gave Paris hope, 83-81, with over 7 minutes left. Hall dunked again, then Shorts and Ngouama fueled a 2-13 run that Hifi capped wih a three-pointer that gave Paris a 87-94 margin. Shorts and Herrera took care of business in crunch time.

Cluj gives Constanta no chance

U-BT Cluj-Napoca earned the right to fight for its sixth Romanian Cup title in nine years by beating CSM Constanta 92-67 in the semifinals. Cluj-Napoca is set to face CS Rapid Bucharest in tomorrow's final. Adam Mokoka led the winners with 15 points. D.J. Seeley and Bruce Jones each added 14, Andrija Stipanovic 13 and Patrick Richard 12 for Cluj. An early 11-0 run that Mokoka capped with an alley-oop dunk allowed Cluj to get a 14-4 lead. Cluj kept a 27-21 lead after 10 minutes, then Jones and Seeley allowed their team to extend its margin to 52-36 at halftime. Cluj kept full control of the game throughout the second half, keeping a 65-49 margin after 30 minutes and extended it to 77-55 to seal the victory.

Williams takes Ulm to German Cup final

ratiopharm Ulm reached the German Cup final by downing ALBA Berlin 79-87 in Munich on Saturday. Ulm has a chance to win its first-ever German Cup title after losing back-to-back finald against ALBA in 2013 and 2014. Trevion Williams led the winners with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Tommy Klepeisz added 12 points, Karim Jallow had 11 while L.J. Figueroa and Georginho de Paula each got 10 for Ulm. Gabriele Procida and Matteo Spagnolo led ALBA with 14 points apiece. Williams and Nunez gave Ulm a 13-19 lead but Malte Delow and Justin Bean fueled a 6-0 run that tied the game, 19-19, early in the second quarter. Phillip Kerkenhoff's tip-in gave Ulm a 40-42 edge at halftime. ALBA got a 68-60 lead with 8 minutes left but Tommy Klepeisz and Georginho De Paula combined for all points in a 4-17 run that restored a 72-77 Ulm lead. Williams scored his team's last 10 points to put the victory on ice. Ulm faces FC Bayern Munich in tomorrow's final.

Gagic leads Lietkabelis to Lithuanian final

7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys made it to King Mindaugas Cup final for the third time in four years by edging Rytas Vilnius 86-94 in one of the semifinals on Saturday. It will look for its first title after losses in te 2017, 2021 and 2022 finals, all of them against Zalgiris Kaunas. Djordje Gagic led the winners with 31 points and 10 rebounds. Deividas Sirvydis added 18, Gediminas Orelik had 13 and Dovis Bickauskis 11 for Lietkabelis, which trailed 71-70 midway through the fourth quarter. Bickauskis, Sirvydis and Orelik each struck from downtown in crunch time, as Lietkabelis got a 76-86 margin in the next-to-last minute and never looked back. Lietkabelis faces Zalgiris in tomorrow's final.

Panathinaikos stops Aris

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens reached the Greek Cup final by topping Aris Egalia Thessaloniki 76-65 behind 20 points from Kendrick Nunn. Jerian Grant and Dinos Mitoglou each added 10 for the Greens. Vassilis Toliopolulos led Aris with 21 points while Ronnell Harrell added 11. Toliopoulos had 7 quick points to give Aris a 5-9 lead. Kostas Sloukas and an unstoppable Nunn made Panathinaikos get a 19-16 edge after 10 minutes. Mathias Lessort took over early in the second quarter and Mitoglou soon made it a double-digit game, 32-22. Panathinaikos boosted its margin to 44-28 but Kris Bankston and Jonathan Stark gave Aris within 44-33 at halftime. Panathinaikos kept a safe margin throughout the second half and Kostas Antetokoumpo's back-to-back dunks sealed the outcome, 68-53, midway through the fourth quarter.

Milan eliminates Reyer in semis

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan made it to the Italian Cup final by thrashing Umana Reyer Venice 100-77 in Turin, Italy. Shavon Shields led the way with 28 points. Shabazz Napier added 17 while Diego Flaccadori had 13 for Milan. Mfiondu Kabengele led Reyer with 18 points. Rayjon Tucker had 15, Marco Spissu added 14 and Aamir Simms 10. Amedeo Tessitori gave Reyer a 2-6 lead. Milan started rolling right after that, using a 13-2 run that Shields capped with a three-pointer to take the lead for good, 15-8. Milan boosted its margin to 31-20 after 10 minutes and then again to 60-37 at halftime, enough to keep full control of the game throughout the second half.

Bourg loses in French semis

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse could not make it to the French Leaders Cup final due to a 95-100 loss against Nanterre 92. Ibrahima Fall-Faye led Nanterre with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Isiaha Mike led Bourg with 23 points, Zaccharie Risacher added 16 and Bodian Massa 14. Bourg led 77-65 late in the third quarter but a 0-16 run allowed Nanterre to get the lead for good, 77-81. Bourg got within 95-98 in the final minute but Massa and Jeremy Morgan each missed from downtown and Joel Ayayi sealed the outcome with a dunk.