Look back at all the action in Round 15 of the 2025-26 BKT EuroCup season by checking out the best photos of the week! 

Top 10 photos from Round 15

Look back at all the action from Round 15 of the 2025-26 BKT EuroCup season by checking out the best photos of the week! 

Noah Kirkwood is the type of person who needs calmness before all that madness. And for that, the Slask Wroclaw player leans on chess.

Slask playmaker Noah Kirkwood uses chess to quiet things before the storm 

The game of basketball throws so many things at a player – offensive game plans, defensive schemes, high energy opponents trying to steal the ball, and giving everything you have on every possession at both ends.

[Noah Kirkwood](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/noah-kirkwood/013920/) is the type of person who needs calmness before all that madness. And for that, the [Slask Wroclaw](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/slask-wroclaw/wro/) player leans on chess.

Catch him on a bus heading to the arena for a game and you will likely see him playing computer chess with one of two apps: [Chess.com](http://chess.com) or Lichess.

Kirkwood explains that there are three different classifications of timed chess: Bullet, which is one minute plus zero; Blitz, which is around three or five minutes; and Rapid Classical, which is longer time controls. And he usually plays bullet or blitz.

“I will usually play either bullet or blitz to have multiple games with shorter amounts of time. So I know I have to get going after the bus, it's not going to be any more than two more minutes or something in the game left to play,” he told David Hein.

It’s all about relaxation for the 26-year-old, who first picked up the game when his aunt would come visit when he was around eight or nine years old.

“For me, it's just a nice way to relax and just think and put your focus, your full attention onto something outside of the reality you're in. Before games, I'm someone who just needs to relax and calm down. I'm not rah-rah, get myself hyped up for a game. I'm kind of the opposite when it comes to my play. I like to be more calm. So I found chess is really a way just to focus exactly on that moment and something else, and it's been really good for me,” he said.

“It really does help me because the last thing you want to do before a game is be overthinking or being unsure about what's on the scouting report. Just trust what you did to prepare before the game. And then when it becomes the game time, I don't want to be thinking too much.”

The Canadian started a chess club at his high school and then he joined the chess club while he was at Harvard. He would attend events on campus and play there.

He told a story about playing regularly one summer against a chess hustler named Billy at Harvard Square at Harvard.

“I ended up being good friends with him after the fact. And it really just changed my idea of how most of the time people think. It’s Harvard, you play chess and maybe it's an intellectual game, but here was a guy who really had nothing going for him at that time and used this game, learned the game and became a really high level player just by repetition and made a living off of it.

“It changed my idea of me thinking I had some limitations of how much I could reach, like hitting a plateau. And then I saw him and I realized there's still a whole lot more I can do.”

The best plays of Slask Wroclaw's Noah Kirkwood through 15 rounds of the 2025-26 BKT EuroCup season.

Noah Kirkwood's top plays in 2025-26

Kirkwood also enjoys playing Sudoku, completing the easy, medium and hard puzzles in the New York Times after practice while eating his prepared meal.

“However long it takes, I just bang them out and it’s a nice little relaxing routine I do,” he said.

Speaking of food, Kirkwood also credits a change in mentality in terms of nutrition last summer to his improved play from last season while he was at French club Saint-Quentin.

“I was really strict with an eating routine. I was kind of fasting in the mornings and then eating clean right after practice and then having another meal that was bigger in the evening time,” he said.

Kirkwood also changed up his off-season training regimen: waking up around 6am and getting to the court at 7am for a session, then weight room, recovery and another session in the afternoon.

“Just doing that consistently for two and a half months really just changed everything for me.”

That allowed him to be ready for more responsibility this season than he had last season in France.

“That's everything for me, and that's a huge reason why I wanted to come here: the way our team was structured and bond we had with a lot of young promising players who are all very hungry and wanting to move up in the European basketball ranks,” said Kirkwood, who is averaging 13.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 15 BKT EuroCup games.

“This summer was really just being ready, knowing that the ball is going to be in my hands. And more importantly, it's just being able to play through mistakes. One thing this season I haven't been too happy with is the turnovers (3.1 per game). And a part of that I know is just having the ball more. But having a coach that even allows you to play through those mistakes gives you even more confidence to just play. And I think that's helped me a huge amount this EuroCup season.”

Kirkwood’s strong play helped Slask to a strong start to the EuroCup season, going 4-4 in the first eight games of the season. Slask had been a club that in its three previous seasons in the EuroCup managed to compile a 6-47 record. So the Polish side appeared to be a good run.

But the team hasn’t won since that Round 8 games at home against Bahcesehir College Istanbul on November 18.

“The frustrating part is we're competitive in all these games, and we have winning chances in most of them. The fact that we just can't figure out a way to close the deal is the toughest part. I think it'd be actually easier if we would lose by 30 points every game because we just know we're not at that level,” Kirkwood said.

“We didn't really have set expectations. So the fact that we were able to get four wins was amazing. And then I think we thought we could have carried it over for a couple in the second round. But it just hasn't worked in our favor. I guess there are some moral victories, but as a competitor, you're always trying to win and never go into a game thinking you already lost or we're just here for fun.”

For Kirkwood, going into a game means he has already played a game or two of chess so he can focus on the task at hand.

More Slask News

He has excelled in his first season in the EuroCup.  

DeVante’ Jones delivered his most explosive performance yet in the BKT EuroCup, powering Dolomiti Energia Trento to a dramatic comeback win and claiming Round 15 MVP honors with a masterful all‑around showing. The Trento guard was unstoppable in a breakout night, recording his first EuroCup double‑double with 24 points and 10 assists, fueling a 93-94 victory over Lietkabelis Panevezys and producing a career‑best PIR of 43 – a mark that also tied the club record and stood as the top performance of the round.

Round 15 MVP: DeVante’ Jones, Dolomiti Energia Trento

[DeVante’ Jones](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/devante-jones/013260/) delivered his most explosive performance yet in the BKT EuroCup, powering Dolomiti Energia Trento to a dramatic comeback win and claiming Round 15 MVP honors with a masterful all‑around showing. The Trento guard was unstoppable in a breakout night, recording his first EuroCup double‑double with 24 points and 10 assists, fueling a 93-94 victory over Lietkabelis Panevezys and producing a career‑best PIR of 43 – a mark that also tied the club record and stood as the top performance of the round.

While it was teammate DJ Steward who finished off the win with a buzzer-beating three-pointer, Jones set the stage with a memorable showing, which also including 3 steals and 10 fouls drawn. He received the MVP honor for the second time this season after being the co-MVP of Round 12. He joins Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem’s Jared Harper, Aris Thessaloniki Betsson’s Bryce Jones and Besiktas GAIN Istanbul’s Ante Zizic as the only players to earn multiple MVP of the Round nods this season.

The second-highest PIR of the round came from Neptunas Klaipeda’s Arnas Velicka. He amassed a PIR of 37 with 25 points and 11 assists in a narrow loss at BAXI Manresa. ratiopharm ulm’s Christian Sengfelder posted a PIR of 34 in his team’s 72-73 road win at the London Lions. Sengfelder was also nearly perfect in his shooting, missing just a single shot, in racking up 23 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals for a PIR of 34.

Zacharie Perrin shined with a PIR of 33 as Veolia Hamburg Towers bested Umana Reyer Venice 95-87 for the club’s first win of the season. The 21-year-old center posted 21 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks in posting his second straight double-double.

Rounding out the top performers of Round 15 Louis Olinde of Manresa and DJ Stewart of Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana, each with PIRs of 32. Olinde had 24 points, 9 rebounds and the game-winning layup in a 97-96 triumph over Neptunas. Steward compiled 26 points, 6 rebounds, 2 dimes and 2 steals in an 86-80 win over U-BT Cluj-Napoca.

### Individual highs: Neptunas’s Arnas Velicka, 11 assists

A pair of Aris Thessaloniki Betsson teammates shared the distinction of scoring the most points in Round 15. Both Danilo Andjusic and Elijah Mitrou-Lon scored 26 points in their team's 107-113 double-overtime win at Slask Wroclaw. Fatts Russell of U-BT Cluj-Napoca remains the competition's top scorer with 20.7 points per game.

Russell’s Cluj teammate Dusan Miletic topped the charts in rebounding for the round with 13 boards in a loss at Cedevita. He is now fourth in the EuroCup with 8.1 boards per game. Austin Wiley of Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem continues to lead the EuroCup with 9.0 rebounds per game.

The 11 assists by Neptunas’s Arnas Velicka were the most recorded by any player in Round 15 and raised his EuroCup-leading average to 7.4 per game.

10 different players recorded 3 steals in the round. None of them were able to overtake Dogus Ozdemiroglu of Turk Telekom Ankara, whose average of 2.1 steals still leads the standings.

Trento’s Peyton Aldridge, Cedevita’s Matthew Hurt and Besiktas’s Ismael Kamagate shared the top spot in the weekly charts with 3 blocks in Round 15. Manresa’s Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu will spend another week as the full-season leader with his average of 1.6 per game.

Five players collected double-doubles in Round 15: Fatts Russell, Devante’ Jones and Arnas Velicka did so with points and assists and Zacharie Perrin and Dusan Miletic did so with points and rebounds.

Jones posts a 24‑point, 10‑assist double‑double and a PIR of 43 to lead Trento’s comeback win in Round 15

Round 15 MVP: DeVante’ Jones, Trento

Turk Telekom Ankara booked its place in the BKT EuroCup playoffs with a historic 106–61 win at Panionios, marking the club’s largest EuroCup victory ever. Led by Michael Devoe’s 15 points and 9 assists and a barrage of three pointers from eight different scorers, Ankara controlled the game from the second quarter onward to improve to 10–5.

Turk Telekom clinches playoff spot with record breaking rout at Panionios

Turk Telekom Ankara maintained its BKT EuroCup momentum, dominating en route to a historic 61-106 road win over Panionios Cosmorama Travel Athens on Wednesday night to improve to 10-5 in Group B and clinch a playoff spot.

Turk Telekom didn’t just secure a ticket to the next stage, it recorded the club’s biggest-ever margin of victory in the EuroCup, topping its previous best of 40 points from 2007 and handing Panionios its worst-ever defeat.

Coming off two straight home wins, Turk Telekom once again relied on its defense on the road.

From the second quarter onward, the visitors took control with tighter defense and strong shooting from beyond the arc, maintaining momentum as Michael Devoe orchestrated the offense with 15 points and 9 assists.

‘‘We played a really good defense tonight,’’ Devoe said after the game. ‘‘We executed really well, but I think we're just playing really well right now and our chemistry is really going far. So, I think for us, we just gotta continue that… Our goal from the beginning of the season is a championship. So, that's our standard.’’

Panionios opened the game with a 7-0 burst, and Turk Telekom struggled early, committing 5 turnovers in the first quarter. The visitors bounced back in the second, finding rhythm on both ends and closing the period with a 21-point lead.

After the interval, Turk Telekom kept up the same pace, attacking the basket and finding easy points in the paint. That inside presence has been a constant force for the Ankara side all season, reflected in a 59.8% two-point shooting rate, second best in the competition.

The visitors shot 15 of 24 (62.5%) from deep, with eight different players knocking down at least 1 triple. Kyle Allman made 3 of them and finished with 23 points. Marko Simonovic added 14 points and 5 rebounds, while Uros Trifunovic chipped in 11 points.

‘‘We knew that we needed to start the game strong, but we couldn't do that in the first quarter, but after that, we picked that up. End of the day, one game we won, it's a long, long time period we have in front of us. The only thing we need to stay focused,’’ said head coach Erdem Can.

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Panionios entered the game riding the momentum of its recent performances, including a second win of the season over Buducnost and a narrow loss to Trento last week. Led by Nate Watson, who dominated the paint in the first quarter and finished with 19 points, the hosts got off to a strong start but couldn’t maintain it.

‘‘I think we stayed totally out of gas for this game after four very good games that we played in a row,’’ Coach Nenad Markovic said in the post-game press conference. ‘‘Players look tired. We have tired minds also. We didn't react well in any kind of situations that was in front of us on the court.’’

Turk Telekom will return home to face Lietkabelis Panevezys next week, while Panionios hosts the London Lions.

Game News

A smothering defensive display and 62.5% three point shooting power Turk Telekom to its largest EuroCup victory ever

Panionios Cosmorama Travel Athens v Turk Telekom Ankara (2026-01-21T17:30:00.000Z)

BAXI Manresa erased a 17 point deficit and defeated Neptunas Klaipeda 97–96 thanks to a last second layup by Louis Olinde. The forward finished with 24 points and 9 rebounds as Manresa improved to 9–6 and bolstered its playoff chances.

Olinde delivers buzzer-beater as Manresa rallies past Neptunas

BAXI Manresa delivered one of its most dramatic wins of the season on Wednesday night, storming back from 17 points down to defeat Neptunas Klaipeda 97–96 at the buzzer. Head coach Diego Ocampo could hardly hide his emotion after the comeback. “It’s big,” he said. “The guys deserve it because they fight a lot. The confidence and the feeling is the key… and the feeling with the fans, because they help us a lot.”

Manresa’s home crowd embodied that spirit, pushing their team through every momentum swing until Louis Olinde delivered the final blow — a game‑winning layup as time expired. The German forward’s heroics capped a night in which Manresa refused to fold despite missing players and a second‑half deficit that threatened to put the game out of reach.

The opening stages hinted at a tug-of-war, but Neptunas gradually seized control, finishing the first half up 7 and exploding early in the third quarter to build a 17‑point cushion. The visitors’ transition game repeatedly punished Manresa, setting the stage for what looked like a decisive breakaway — until the hosts ignited a fourth‑quarter surge that flipped the script entirely.

It was no coincidence that the ball ended up in Olinde’s hands when it mattered most. The 27-year-old had kept his team afloat throughout the contest. Steadily scoring throughout, he finished the game with 24 points and 9 boards.

“Amazing win for us,” Olinde said. “We are four or five people down, but everyone stepped up today. The young guys on our team did an amazing job. We fought back. Today is about celebrating, enjoying and then we have to refocus because we have an important game at the weekend.”

Pierre Oriola also impressed for the home team, recording 14 points and 7 rebounds. Retin Obasohan tallied 11 points and 6 assists, Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu also scored 11 and Marcis Steinbergs added 10.

Arnas Velicka stood out for Neptunas 25 points and 11 assists before fouling out late and Mindaudas Girdziunas scored a personal-best 21 in defeat.

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With the win, Manresa moves to 9-6 for the season and strengthens its hopes of playoff basketball. Olinde hopes his squad can remain composed in the final straight of the regular season.

“Nine wins is good, but we have to keep going,” said Olinde. “We want to make the playoffs for sure. It’s doable, it’s on us now.”

As a result of the disappointing collapse, Neptunas slides to 6-9 and suffers a huge blow in their hunt for qualification. While disappointed, Coach Gediminas Petrauskas remained proud of his guys.

“We played an excellent game, knowing we missed one of our main guys offensively," Petrauskas said.

Table-topping Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem stands in Neptunas’s way next Wednesday, while Ocampo’s side will face U-BT-Cluj-Napoca on the same night.

A 24 point night from Louis Olinde caps a defiant Manresa comeback and keeps the club charging toward the playoffs

BAXI Manresa v Neptunas Klaipeda (2026-01-21T19:45:00.000Z)

ratiopharm ulm remains alive in the race for the playoffs after capturing a hard-fought, thrilling 72-73 victory at London Lions with Mark Smith delivering the game-winner at the buzzer.

Mark Smith game-winner keeps Ulm’s playoff chances alive, eliminates London

ratiopharm ulm remains alive in the race for the playoffs after capturing a hard-fought, thrilling 72-73 victory at London Lions with Mark Smith delivering the game-winner at the buzzer.

Ulm appeared to have the stack decked against it but came back on the final possession as Smith put back a missed layup by Christian Sengfelder to give Ulm back-to-back wins and a 7-8 record in Group B.

Sengfelder paced the winners with 23 points and 7 rebounds, Chris Ledlum and Tobias Jensen had 11 points and Smith finished with 6 points. 

“We were just staying together. Keep fighting, try to tough it out. In the end we are very happy that we got the win here,” said Sengfelder, who set a new career high with his scoring output.

Ulm head coach Ty Harrelson was full of praise for the German big man, saying: “Today was one of his better performances when we needed it the most. It was pretty clear that we would need to win to stay in the playoffs.”

Four points was the biggest lead in the first quarter, which ended with Ulm ahead 18-19. The guests pushed the advantage to a game-high 9 points midway through the second quarter. And Ulm went into the break up 32-36.

London finally was able to tie the game on a big dunk from Tarik Phillip at 42-42. But Ulm remained in front and finished the third quarter with a 45-51 cushion.

London broke through and edged ahead 55-53 and after Ulm reclaimed the lead, Phillip made three straight baskets for a 64-61 edge with under 3 minutes to play. Ulm answered every punch and Ledlum put the guests up 69-70 with a three-point play with 25 seconds to play.

After Phillip responded with a three-pointer, Ledlum could make only 1 of 2 free throws and London’s Shavar Reynolds missed both of his free throws with 6.0 seconds to play. That set up the game-winner.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨 GAME WINNER ALERT 🚨<br><br>Mark Smith delivered the win for his team at the buzzer 🔥<a href="https://twitter.com/ratiopharmulm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ratiopharmulm</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RoadToGreatness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RoadToGreatness</a> <a href="https://t.co/9ZY6fTL34l">pic.twitter.com/9ZY6fTL34l</a></p>&mdash; BKT EuroCup (@EuroCup) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroCup/status/2014094686714015964?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

London has now been eliminated from playoff contention at 5-10 with four straight losses. Phillip poured in 19 points and 5 assists while Deane Williams had 14 points and Reynolds added 13 points and 5 assists.

Ulm’s coach Harrelson was impressed with Phillip’s showing.

“I think Tarik Phillip was amazing for London. We really struggled to stop him. He made what looked like the game-winning shot in the final moments,” he said. “He was amazing in the fourth quarter - one of the best performances I have seen this EuroCup season.”

London’s biggest problem against Ulm was one of its biggest problems all season - free throws. Lions converted just 14 of 28 from the line (50%). The team ranked dead last coming into the game from the charity stripe at 65.2%. Reynolds made 4 of 8, which was surprising considering he came into the game shooting 85.7% for the season.

“It’s self-explanatory when you make 14 free throws from 28 that it’s hard to win a basketball game. But my guys fought,” said London head coach Tautvydas Sabonis.

“With all the injuries we have, we stayed in the game, we made a run. In a game like this, every possession matters and we let them come back with our mental mistakes.”

Smith put back a missed layup just before the buzzer to win it

London Lions v ratiopharm ulm (2026-01-21T19:30:00.000Z)

Veolia Towers Hamburg snapped a 14 game losing streak with a 95–87 home victory over Umana Reyer Venice. Behind standout performances from Devon Daniels and Zacharie Perrin, Hamburg delivered its best offensive display of the season and showed tangible growth under coach Benka Barloschky as it looks to finish the campaign strong.

Hamburg finally breaks through, outlasts Reyer behind big night from Perrin

Having shown glimpses of a team that has been constantly improving as of late, all Veolia Towers Hamburg needed was a win that would serve as a boost in morale, as well as clear evidence of the team’s steady progress. And that victory came on Wednesday night in front of its fans, with Hamburg beating Umana Reyer Venice 95-87 to snap a 14-game losing slide.

Fresh off a narrow home win against ratiopharm ulm in the German League on Sunday, Hamburg got off to a solid start for an early 8-2 lead.

The visitors responded with a 0-8 run that put Reyer ahead, but a 9-2 surge got Hamburg back in front, 21-14. Coach Benka Barloschky’s side would never look back as it pulled off its finest offensive first half of the season, securing a 54-44 advantage at halftime.

Hamburg shared the ball well and found some solid open looks, which it converted to maintain their lead before the break.

The home side shot 15-for-23 (65.2%) from inside the arc and 6-for-11 (54.5%) from deep in the first 20 minutes, showing that it has finally found its spark. More importantly, Hamburg registered just 4 first-half turnovers and ended the game with a season-low 8, earning Barloschky’s praise after the final whistle.

“First of all, we took care of the ball, 8 turnovers probably a season-low is a guess, but I think it's an educated guess,” he said in the press conference. “It was the goal to control the pace, not to allow Venice to play on the open court for most part of the game and I think we did a good job taking care of the basketball and creating good shots, creating the kind of shots that we wanted to take. I think the first half was, especially offensively, the best half we played so far this season. We made shots, but it was the right kind of shots, the quality of the shots I was very satisfied with.”

Reyer bounced back in the third quarter, holding the hosts to just 10 points and tying things up at 64-64 after 30 minutes. When everything indicated that the momentum had shifted, Hamburg fought back by putting 31 points in the fourth quarter past a helpless Reyer side, whose four-game winning streak came to an end.

“Venice tried a lot to fight back \[its way\] into this game, they managed to get back into a tie, but the way we responded and kept our composure, just playing through it, accepting the physicality and just making plays down the stretch, was impressive,” Barloschky noted. “It shows one more time the character of the team, the togetherness of the team and also the development that we’ve been through the last couple of weeks.”

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Devon Daniels and Zacharie Perrin stepped up big time by combining for 42 of Hamburg’s 95 points. The former went 7-for-11 from inside, 1-for-2 from deep and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. He also bagged 5 rebounds and as many assists in a complete outing.

As for Perrin, the French prodigy scored a career-high 21 points, which he paired with 12 rebounds, dominating the paint and taking his revenge against Reyer’s bigs, who forced him to a scoreless night in Round 6’s 90-55 loss on Italian soil.

“I wanted to help my team and I think that I did a great job today, because I grabbed the rebounds, I helped my team to push the ball and at the end the win is there so that’s the most important thing,” he said after the game.

“\[I had to face Amedeo\] Tessitori and also \[Chris\] Horton, one of the best rebounders in the EuroCup too, so I was ready for it. When we played the first game against them, it was tough for me. So today I was really focused on trying to play physical, trying to help my team in the paint and I did a great job so I’m really proud of myself.”

Perrin contributed the most as Hamburg outrebounded Reyer 40-32 on the night. By protecting the boards, the hosts managed to dictate the tempo, a key to their first victory of 2025-26. And with all their last three games of the season set to be played at home, the German side will look to end a rough campaign on a positive note.

Perrin posts a career night with 21 points and 12 rebounds as Hamburg’s offense peaks at the right time

Veolia Towers Hamburg v Umana Reyer Venice (2026-01-21T18:30:00.000Z)

Besiktas GAIN Istanbul reached the BKT EuroCup postseason with three games to spare and will now be vying for a top-two finish and with it a bye into the quarterfinals after romping to a 96-74 home rout of Buducnost Podgorica, which allowed the Turkish side to claim the top spot in Group B. 

Besiktas runs riot to sink Buducnost and reach the postseason 

Besiktas GAIN Istanbul reached the BKT EuroCup postseason with three games to spare and will now be vying for a top-two finish and with it a bye into the quarterfinals after romping to a 96-74 home rout of Buducnost Podgorica, which allowed the Turkish side to claim the top spot in Group B.

Besiktas, which is level with Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse on identical 11-4 records with three games to go in the regular season, holds the head-to-head tiebreak advantage over the French side. Buducnost slipped from third to fifth at 9-6 and still has some work to do in order to secure a berth in the business end of the competition. 

The home team produced a magnificent collective effort garnished by a club record 47 boards and an impressive 24 assists, sharing the ball selflessly as six home scorers finished in double digits. Besiktas dominated on the back of aggressive half-court pressure, which in turn set the path for a flurry of transition baskets in a rampant first quarter, when the hosts served up a blistering 20-0 run.

An early 5-6 deficit thus became a whopping 25-6 lead and although Buducnost worked hard to get back into the game, the writing was on the wall for the Montenegrin side as it never recovered from the first-quarter beating.

Some incisive play by Yogi Ferrell, the game’s top scorer with 18 points, hauled Buducnost back to 49-36 by halftime, but that was as good as it got for the visitors all night after Besiktas put its foot on the gas again in the third quarter. The home players owned the paint at both ends while their backcourt shot the lights out from all over, engineering a 71-44 lead amid wild cheers from the passionate home fans who created a cracking atmosphere.

Anthony Brown tallied 11 points and 6 boards, while Matt Thomas enjoyed a fine home debut for Besiktas as he racked up 12 points and 6 rebounds, shooting 3-of-6 from deep. Vitto Brown sank 14 points for the winners while the homegrown duo of Yigit Arslan and Berk Ugurlu combined for 22. Finally, big man Ismael Kamagate chipped in with 12 and 5, including some spectacular dunks, which galvanized the home side throughout.   

“I am proud of our team, our effort and our aggressiveness,” Anthony Brown said in his postgame comments. “Everybody played well defensively and offensively, everything was great today. I just tried to bring energy today as we lost to them in Podgorica and we just wanted to get that win today.”

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Calendars marked ✍️🦅<a href="https://twitter.com/BJK_Basketbol?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BJK_Basketbol</a> punched their post-season ticket 🎟️ <a href="https://t.co/hG34Q7c1FP">pic.twitter.com/hG34Q7c1FP</a></p>&mdash; BKT EuroCup (@EuroCup) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroCup/status/2014063495491314148?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The home team’s head coach Dusan Alimpijevic praised his men, but also struck a note of caution that Besiktas should take nothing for granted in a neck-to-neck race with Bourg for the group’s top spot. 

“Nothing is over. Bourg has the same number of wins, so there are some important games coming up for us,” said Alimpijevic. “We are going in the right direction though, obviously we played a good game.”

“We controlled the pace, we knew what we wanted and how to achieve it,” he added, before giving due credit to Thomas for working hard to carve out open shots for himself.  “He created those shots himself as he’s a really good player and we also have good shooters in Anthony Brown and Yigit Arslan.”

Alimpijevic’s counterpart Andrej Zakelj had little to cheer about after a performance devoid of fight and energy.

“Congrats to the home team, they were much tougher and better in every department,” Zakelj said. “We were not on the level we should have been for this kind of game and Besiktas deserved to win. We didn’t respond to their physicality and it’s hard to play against a team which gets 16 offensive rebounds on you. There is no excuse.” 

The Turkish side dominated throughout to celebrate a big win with arguably its best performance of the season 

Besiktas GAIN Istanbul v Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (2026-01-21T17:00:00.000Z)

DJ Steward redeemed himself from last week’s missed game-winner by drilling a last-second three-pointer to hand Trento a dramatic 94–93 win at Lietkabelis. Steward scored a career-high 22 points and combined with DeVante’ Jones for 46, keeping Trento firmly in the EuroCup playoff race.

Steward redeems himself with game-winner as Trento edges Lietkabelis

Dolomiti Energia Trento certainly has developed a flair for dramatics of late in the BKT EuroCup as the Italian side prevailed in a second straight must-win game by a buzzer-beater - this time by DJ Steward, who had special motivation for the game-winner.

Steward drained a three-pointer from the top of the key to deliver Trento a 93-94 road victory at Lietkabelis Panevezys after losing a 16-point lead to improve to 9-6, including six wins in the last seven games.

“Just wanted to come out with the win. I made a couple of mistakes down the stretch, but I just focused in and stayed locked in to the game and came out with the win,” said Steward, who finished the game with a career-high 22 points.

The American guard is playing his first season in Europe and it was noteworthy that he took the game-winner. Trento was trailing by one point last week against Panionios Cosmorama Travel Athens in the closing seconds and Steward attempted a jumper but missed. Khalif Battle ended up getting an offensive rebound and putting in the game-winner at the buzzer.

Both Panionios and Lietkabelis were already eliminated coming into these respective games, meaning Trento faced the added pressure of getting a win as it fights for the playoffs.

Steward dedicated the victory to his mother, whose birthday was on Tuesday.

“I am happy for DJ. He deserves to have this kind of responsibility and make these shots that will grow his confidence and his growth,” said Trento head coach Massimo Cancellieri, who also wished Steward’s mother a happy belated birthday.

"I always believe that if you win a game like this, it’s because you are there. If you take a shot, it’s not a lucky shot, it’s a shot you wanted to take. And he made it."

Steward was just one half of a dominant starting backcourt for Trento as DeVante’ Jones poured in 24 points with 10 assists and 3 steals for an index rating of 43. Cheickh Niang added 14 points and Peyton Aldridge chipped in 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Trento had to play the game without starting big man Jordan Bayehe and Selom Mawugbe was limited because of foul trouble. So Cancellieri had to play most of the game with an extremely small lineup.

“It is tough for the players, not only the coaches. I have to congratulate the way that Aldridge and \[Andrej\[ Jakimovski grinded and impacted this big sized team,” the coach said.

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Trento used a 2-20 run spanning the first two quarters to build a 15-31 advantage in the opening stage of the second period. Lietkabelis answered with 5 three-pointers in a 22-3 surge to pull ahead 37-34. But it was Trento that led at the break 49-52.

The visitors managed to extend the lead to 9 points, but Lietkabelis answered with a 15-0 spurt and was up 74-66 before Trento made it 74-69 after 30 minutes.

Trento finally reclaimed the lead at 83-84 and after four more lead changes, Kristian Kullamae looked to have given Lietkabelis the win with a three-pointer for a 93-91 lead with 18 seconds.

But Steward saved the day for Trento.

Lietkabelis was hoping for its first home win since Round 1 but has now lost seven straight games in front of its home fans to fall to 3-12. Jamel Morris scored 24 points, Kullamae had 17 points and Fardaws Aimaq chipped in 10 points and 9 rebounds.

“We lost the game in an unlucky way, but we lost the game before. We played terribly in the first quarter - without running, without playing defense,” said Lietkabelis head coach Nenad Canak.

After missing a potential winner last week, DJ Steward sinks a decisive three and combines with DeVante’ Jones for 46 points in a vital road victory

Lietkabelis Panevezys v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2026-01-21T17:00:00.000Z)