A huge performance in a winning effort allowed Jaleen Smith of Bahcesehir College Istanbul to earn Round 14 MVP honors with a PIR of 32. Smith led Bahcesehir to a 95-93 overtime home win over Buducnost VOLI Podgorica.

Round 14 MVP: Jaleen Smith, Bahcesehir College Istanbul

A huge performance in a winning effort allowed [Jaleen Smith](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/jaleen-smith/011192/) of [Bahcesehir College Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/bahcesehir-college-istanbul/bah/) to earn Round 14 MVP honors with a PIR of 32. Smith led Bahcesehir to a 95-93 overtime home win over Buducnost VOLI Podgorica.

He finished the game with 19 points on 3-of-6 two-pointers, 2-of-4 three-pointers and 7-of-7 free throws, plus 3 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 8 fouls drawn, for a career-high PIR of 32, the highest in Round 14. Smith earned EuroCup MVP of the Round honors for the first time and is the second Bahcesehir player to do so; Axel Bouteille was Round 5's co-MVP along with Marko Pecarski of 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys.

Bouteille had the second-highest PIR of the round with 28 against Buducnost. He had 23 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting and 4-of-5 free throws, 9 rebounds and 4 fouls drawn. [Jared Harper](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/jared-harper/011970/) of Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem, [Jaroslaw Zyskowski](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/jaroslaw-zyskowski/013295/) of Trefl Sopot and [Bruno Caboclo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/bruno-caboclo/012096/) of Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv, each of whom had a PIR of 26, complete the top individual performances in Round 14.

Harper had 21 points on 10-of-10 free-throw shooting, 6 rebounds and 7 assists in his team's 79-91 road victory over U-BT Cluj-Napoca. Zyskowski led Trefl to its first win, 74-97 over Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius, with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Caboclo put his fingerprints all over Hapoel’s 89-68 win against Dolomiti Energia Trento, netting 19 points – shooting 5 of 5 on two-pointers and 3 for 4 from deep – and grabbing 9 rebounds in 22 minutes on the floor. He also had 2 steals, 1 block and drew 2 fouls.

### Individual highs: Yoan Makoundou, Turk Telekom, 4 blocks

[DJ Seeley](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/dennis-seeley/004862/) of Cluj led all players in scoring in Round 14 with 27 points. Jerusalem’s [Jared Harper](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/jared-harper/011970/) leads the EuroCup in this category with 23.2 points per game.

[Mike Tobey](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/mike-tobey/008966/) of Dreamland Gran Canaria and [Tai Odiase](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/tai-odiase/011823/) of Bahcesehir each grabbed a round-high 10 rebounds. Umana Reyer Venice’s [Mfiondu Kabengele](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/mfiondu-kabengele/012796/) tops the rebounding charts with 9.5 boards per night.

[Sergio de Larrea](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/sergio-de-larrea/010750/) of Valencia Basket and Bahcesehir’s [Jaleen Smith](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/jaleen-smith/011192/), this round’s MVP, each dished 9 assists, the most in Round 14. Cluj playmaker [Zavier Simpson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/zavier-simpson/013302/) is the EuroCup’s leading assist provider with 7.0 dimes per contest.

Ten different players recorded a round-high 3 steals. Valencia’s [Jean Montero](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/jean-montero/010042/) and Gran Canaria’s [Andrew Albicy](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/andrew-albicy/003425/) sit together atop the steals charts this season with 2.0 per game.

Turk Telekom Ankara’s [Yoan Makoundou](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/yoan-makoundou/011935/) had a career-best 4 blocks in this round, the most of any player. Makoundou’s teammate, [Kyle Alexander](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/kyle-alexander/011973/), is atop the season leaderboard in blocks with 2.1 per night.

Mike Tobey (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Tai Odiase (16 points, 10 rebounds) were the only two players to record double-doubles in Round 14.

The guard recorded his first such honor after helping his team to an overtime win


Congratulations to Iraklis Christou, our 14th winner in the 2024-25 EuroCup Fantasy Challenge! Israklis's team, 'μελισσες', posted a score of 197.30.

EuroCup Fantasy Challenge: Round 14 winner

Congratulations to Iraklis Christou, our 14th winner in the 2024-25 [EuroCup Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/)! Israklis's team, 'μελισσες', posted a score of 197.30.

Iraklis had the following starting lineup: Jared Harper of Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem as team captain, then Zavier Simpson of U-BT Cluj-Napoca, Anthony Cowan of Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius, and Bahcesehir College Istanbul duo Axel Bouteille and Tai Odiase. Sergio de Larrea of Valencia Basket was the sixth man.

The head coach of Iraklis's team was Jerusalem play-caller Yonathan Alon, while the four bench players were Kur Kuath of Veolia Towers Hamburg, Grantas Vasiliauskas of 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys, Ali Yuceoral of Bahcesehir, and Giga Janelidze of Umana Reyer Venice.

The prize for finishing first in Round 14 is a free subscription to Euroleague TV for the 2025-26 season, so congratulations, Iraklis!

The leader in the overall standings remains Milos Mihajlovic and his squad, 'BallIsLife', which has a total of 2,411.80 points after the first 14 rounds. Trades are now open for Round 15. Remember, four trades are allowed before each round until the end of the regular season.

Make new teams now or improve your existing ones and try to become EuroCup Fantasy Challenge's next winner!

EuroCup Fantasy Challenge offers weekly prizes to the top team manager, so get in the game and go for the gold!

Umana Reyer Venice exhibited the veteran leadership it possesses by fending off a valiant comeback attempt by Veolia Towers Hamburg to keep its sights set on a top-two finish

Reyer 'stayed with it' to fight off Hamburg rally 

[Umana Reyer Venice](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/umana-reyer-venice/roster/vnc/?season=2024-25) exhibited the veteran leadership it possesses by fending off a valiant comeback attempt by [Veolia Towers Hamburg](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/veolia-hamburg-towers/roster/ham/?season=2024-25) to keep its sights set on a top-two finish. 

Reyer watched a 25-point cushion get trimmed down to 9 points in the fourth quarter but finished the deal for [a 77-90 road victory](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/reyer-downs-feisty-hamburg-77-90-to-remain-in-top-form/) to improve to 8-6. Reyer’s sixth victory in the last seven games has the team just one victory behind second-placed team [Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/hapoel-jerusalem/roster/jer/?season=2024-25) at 9-5. 

“We’ve been stepping up our defense. We have guys healthy now. Offensively we are moving the ball and we’re starting to play with the team that we signed up to play,” said [Kyle Wiltjer](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/kyle-wiltjer/008052/), who scored 16 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the victory. “We’re excited. We have a good rhythm and we hope to continue this success moving into the new year.”

Game Videos

Wiltjer was not concerned about the team giving up so much of the big advantage. 

“We just tried to stay with it. It’s tough to play with the lead. We kind of got complacent for a couple minutes. But we stayed with it, we made it tough for them. We got some steals and did enough to get the victory,” he said. 

Reyer did a good job shooting the ball from the outside, hitting 11 of 28 three-point attempts. That 39.3% percent is 7.1% better than the team’s percentage coming into the game - which was ranked 14th in the competition. But Reyer was also facing the second-worst team in defending the long ball as Hamburg’s opponents shot 38.5% on three-pointers. 

Reyer coach Neven Spahija was not pleased that Hamburg made things interesting, but he was not surprised.

“At halftime, I said to my team that Hamburg would not give up. They are so competitive. They are physical and they scored 29 points in the third quarter which is not acceptable for us,” the coach said. “But we controlled the game for three quarters and found a way to bring it to the end.”

Game News

Reyer showed class by not letting Hamburg finish comeback 

Veolia Towers Hamburg v Umana Reyer Venice (2025-01-08T18:30:00.000Z)

Joventut Badalona did not find much trouble to beat Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul 93-70 and go up to 5-9 in the standings. 


Joventut's quiet day in the office 

[Joventut Badalona](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/joventut-badalona/roster/jov/?season=2024-25) did not find much trouble in securing [a 93-70 victory](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/joventut-thrashes-besiktas-93-70/) over [Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/besiktas-istanbul/roster/bes/?season=2024-25) and improving to 5-9 in the standings. 

It was a key game for Joventut in its goal to reach the playoffs, as it needed to win and to get the potential head-to-head tie-break advantage, as [it lost 82-76](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/ec2425-rs5-report-bes-jov/) against Besiktas in Istanbul. For a change, Joventut fans had a chance to enjoy a quiet night, as their team dominated from start to finish, never trailing at any point.

[Yannick Kraag](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/yannick-kraag/010161/) was the first to score, igniting a 12-1 game-opening run that [Adam Hanga](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/adam-hanga/005099/) capped with back-to-back three-pointers. Joventut was far from being done, playing one of its best first halves of the season despite being without star forward [Sam Dekker](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/sam-dekker/009672/). It led 22-11 after 10 minutes and extended its margin to 49-27 at halftime.

Joventut Badalona beat Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul 93-70, using a 12-1 opening run to get the lead and never look back.

Joventut's 12-1 opening run

Stats left no doubt about Joventut's dominance before the break. The hosts made 12 of 19 two-pointers (63.2% 2FG) and 7 of 13 three-pointers (53.8% 3FG), getting 12 assists with only 6 turnovers. On the other hand, Besiktas struggled to score from all angles (28.6% 2FG, 33.3% 3FG), tallying more turnovers (9) than assists (7). Five Joventut players scored at least 6 points before halftime, with [Devon Dotson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/devon-durrell-dotson/013285/) (11) and [Kassius Roberson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/kassius-robertson/012740/) (10) already in double digits.

Joventut managed to keep a double-digit lead all the way in the second half. All 11 players who stepped on court scored, including [Ian Platteeuw](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/ian-platteeuw/012226/), who received a warm ovation in his first EuroCup home game of the season. Joventut finished the game with a season-high team PIR of 120. Its previous record was 116 in [a 92-89 home victory](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/joventut-survives-trefl-rally-wins-92-89/) over Trefl Sopot. [Ante Tomic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/ante-tomic/002507/) needed just 18 minutes to get 5 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists for a PIR of 16.

"We played a great game, surely one of our best games. I am happy because we played with consistency and good basketball for 40 minutes. I think we deserved this victory and also won the tie-breaker, which was very important for us," Joventut head coach [Dani Miret](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/joventut-badalona/jov/miret-daniel/?season=U2024) said. 

"We still have \[playoff\] chances if we stay at a good level and win all of our games. We have to focus on what we can control, which is playing at this level. If we do that and keep winning games, we will have a chance."

The hosts never trailed in recording a comfortable home win

Joventut had a quiet day at the office against Besiktas

Joventut Badalona v Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul (2025-01-08T18:30:00.000Z)

Cedevita Olimpija trampled Aris all over

[Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/cedevita-olimpija-ljubljana/roster/lju/?season=2024-25) took a big step toward securing a postseason berth in the BTK EuroCup with a 98-79 whitewash of [Aris Midea Thessaloniki](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/aris-thessaloniki/roster/ari/?season=2024-25), which lifted the Slovenian side to an 8-5 record in [Group B](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/standings/) of the competition.

The hosts thrived from a fast-paced offense which generated a barrage of assists and high percentages, as Cedevita made 26 of 42 shots from inside and 5 of 10 from long range, while forcing 17 turnovers from Aris at the other end.

Aris held its own early on as the visitors sank their first 5 three-pointers but missed 8 of their next 9, allowing Cedevita to pull away by halftime and stay in cruise control in the second half.

Among a pack of players who made an impact, [Brynton Lemar](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/brynton-lemar/013261/) stood out with a game high 18 points as he shot 5 of 8 from the floor and 6 of 7 from the foul line. 

“They are a pretty good team but we fought hard and played together,” Lemar said in his postgame comments. “We knew how important this game was so we just wanted to come out and get the win,” he added.

The home team’s head coach [Zvezdan Mitrovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/cedevita-olimpija-ljubljana/lju/mitrovic-zvezdan?season=U2024) praised his men for a smooth effort.

“The players showed great energy for the full 40 minutes at both ends of the court. It’s a very important win for our bid to reach the playoffs as we controlled the game throughout, except for early in the second half, said Mitrovic. “We were able to pull away by making some shots from deep, while long-range shooting kept Aris in the game early on.

“This was one of our more notable performances of the season and I am really happy for the players. We now face some tough road games and hopefully the physios can keep the team in shape for the upcoming challenges.”

Aris head coach [Ioannis Kastritis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/aris-midea-thessaloniki/ari/kastritis-ioannis?season=U2024) pointed out that his team was undone by a cartload of fouls committed, which made it difficult for the visitors to play stronger defense.

“After the first half, we were in foul trouble so we couldn’t be more aggressive,” he said. “Cedevita was very physical and congratulations to them for the victory. We tried to do a better job but Cedevita is a really good team and very well coached.”

In [Round 15](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/game-center/?round=15&season=U2024), Cedevita [visits Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/game-center/2024-25/hapoel-bank-yahav-jerusalem-cedevita-olimpija-ljubljana/U2024/146/) while Aris, which slipped to 3-11 in what has so far been a poor season for the Greek outfit, is [at home to Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/game-center/2024-25/aris-midea-thessaloniki-cosea-jl-bourg-en-bresse/U2024/147/).

The home side was head and shoulders above its Greek rival at both ends of the court

Cedevita Olimpija trampled all over Aris 

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana v Aris Midea Thessaloniki (2025-01-08T17:45:00.000Z)

Umana Reyer Venice continued its surge upwards in the standings in Group B with a 77-90 victory at Veolia Towers Hamburg

Reyer downs feisty Hamburg 77-90 to remain in top form 

Umana Reyer Venice continued its surge upwards in the standings in Group B with a 77-90 victory at Veolia Towers Hamburg. Reyer was cruising and built a 25-point lead early in the second half before Hamburg trimmed the gap to 9 points in the fourth quarter. But the visitors never gave up control and collected their sixth win in the last seven games for an 8-6 record.

Jordan Parks paced Reyer with 19 points and 7 rebounds, Kyle Wiltjer had 16 points and Mfiondu Kabengele added 11 points and 9 rebounds. Jordan Barnett and Brae Ivey both scored 16 points for Hamburg, which fell to 3-11 after having won three of its last four home games. With the loss, Hamburg has been eliminated from playoff contention.

Wiltjer scored 5 quick points for a 4-7 cushion for the visitors. Triples from Ivey and Osaro Rich had Hamburg up 10-9. The hosts’ offense dried up for 4 minutes and Wiltjer added a second triple in a 0-9 Reyer run for a 10-18 lead. Hamburg netted 5 points but then watched Reyer run off a 0-12 surge to go up 15-30 and the gap was 17-30 after 10 minutes. 

Alessandro Lever started the second quarter with a triple for the visitors and the advantage grew to 17 points. Ivey tried to keep Hamburg within striking distance with 10 points but Davide Casarin’s three-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer made it 29-48. Wiltjer added another basket to extend the margin to 20 points and it was 36-57 at the break. 

Parks twice made triples in the first half of the third quarter as Reyer’s cushion pushed out to 25 points. Hamburg was not ready to just roll over and mounted a 17-3 charge with Barnett draining 3 three-pointers to close within 63-74. The score was 65-76 after 30 minutes.

A Barnett dunk to start the final frame got the game into single digits and Hamburg three more times had the margin down to 9 points at 73-82 as Reyer could not put it away. Tyler Ennis drained a massive three-pointer to make it 73-87 with just more than 2 minutes to play and that proved to be the backbreaker.

The Italian side allowed Hamburg back into the game but never lost control 

Jared Harper and Khadeen Carrington delivered on the court for Hapoel Jerusalem BC at U-BT Cluj-Napoca. The two guards combined for almost half (44) of their team’s points, inspiring Jerusalem to a statement 79-91 win.

Jerusalem's Jared Harper, Khadeen Carrington proved Too Hard to Handle for Cluj

Despite coming back from 15 points down to [beat Aris Midea Thessaloniki](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/jerusalem-fights-back-to-down-aris-90-85-and-snap-skid/) at home last week, head coach [Yonatan Alon](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/hapoel-bank-yahav-jerusalem/jer/alon-yonatan/?season=U2024) was anything but satisfied with the performance of the [Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/hapoel-jerusalem/roster/jer/?season=2024-25) players. Alon warned them that such a display could “[never happen again](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/jerusalems-coach-alon-warned-his-team-this-can-never-happen-again/)” and urged them to “learn from this”.

[Jared Harper](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/jared-harper/011970/) and [Khadeen Carrington](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/khadeen-carrington/008912/) were the first to receive the message, both delivering on the court at [U-BT Cluj-Napoca](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/u-bt-cluj-napoca/roster/clu/?season=2024-25). The two guards combined for almost half (44) of their team’s points, inspiring Jerusalem to [a statement 79-91 win](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/jerusalem-powers-past-cluj-79-91/). Coming into Wednesday evening’s duel, the Israeli side had lost three of their previous four games, with their only victory in that stretch being the aforementioned win against Aris that failed to convince Alon.

Khadeen Carrington scored a career-high 23 for Hapoel Jerusalem against Cluj-Napoca

Khadeen Carrington scored a career-high 23 against Cluj

Jerusalem’s response came with one of their most solid defensive quarters of the season, holding the the team that entered Round 14 as the BKT EuroCup’s [second-best offense](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/stats/key-stats-teams/?size=1000&misc=&seasonCode=U2024&category=Score&seasonMode=Single&sortDirection=descending&aggregate=perGame) (89.3 ppg.) to just 9 points in the first 10 minutes. Meanwhile, Carrington had taken over on the other side of the floor to lay the foundation for a career night. The Jerusalem guard hit the ground running and scored 10 of his team’s 17 points in the first quarter. He finished the game with a career-high 23 points, including a dagger from beyond the arc to make it 74-87 and seal it in crunch time.

In the meantime, Harper was producing one of his most complete outings this season. The league’s top scorer registered 21 points, 7 assists and a career-high 6 rebounds for a PIR of 26. Unsurprisingly, Harper stepped up big time in the last 7 minutes, where he had 6 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists to lead Jerusalem to a hard-fought victory.

More importantly, the visitors received a much-needed boost in morale ahead of a tough final stretch of the 2024/25 campaign. 

“\[This win means\] a lot,” Alon said after the game. “The situation for our team right now \[is that\] we are a little bit hurt like a wounded animal. And we needed \[the win\] for us. We needed to know that still with the players we’ve got here, we can do great things.”

Having proved a point to themselves, Jerusalem also managed to claim the potential head-to-head tiebreak advantage over Cluj, taking a massive step in the race for a top-two spot in Group B. Next up comes a home clash against fellow playoff contenders [Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/cedevita-olimpija-ljubljana/roster/lju/?season=2024-25), which will be called to contain the red-hot guard duo of Harper and Carrington if they want to have a chance against Jerusalem.

The two Jerusalem guards combined for almost half of their team’s points in the road win

U-BT Cluj-Napoca v Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem (2025-01-08T17:00:00.000Z)

Coach Dani Miret's team dominated from start to finish 


Joventut thrashes Besiktas, 93-70! 

Joventut Badalona returned to winning ways in Group A by thrashing Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul 93-70 at home in Round 14 on Wednesday. Joventut improved to 5-9 in the standings and earned the potential head-to-head tie-break advantage against Besiktas, which dropped to 7-7. 

Kassius Robertson paced the winners with 17 points. Devon Dotson added 16, Artem Pustovyi had 12 while Adam Hanga got 11 for Joventut. Jonah Mathews led Besiktas with 18 points.

Yannick Kraag got Joventut going with a layup and Pustovyi added a jump hook for a 4-1 lead. Dotson took over with a follow-up layup before Hanga struck twice from beyond the arc to cap a 12-1 opening run. Kyle Allman rescued Besiktas with a jumper and Conor Morgan added a triple to bring the visitors within 12-6. Dotson buried a close jumper and Robertson followed a driving layup with a bomb from downtown to boost Joventut's lead to 19-8. Yigit Arslan hit a triple and Robertson insisted from beyond the arc to fix the score at 22-11 after 10 minutes. 

Berk Ugurlu joined the three-point shootout early in the second quarter. Pustovyi followed a five-meter jumper with a reverse layup to keep Joventut out of trouble, 26-14. After Dustin Sleva found his first points, Kaiser Gates answered with a backdoor layup. Robertson scored again to make it 30-16. Mathews downed a floater, then Ante Tomic sent a wild behind-the-back assist to Gates for a layup. Pau Ribas improved on Sleva's dunk with a triple. Mathews buried a long two-pointer and Tomic set a 38-22 Joventut lead. Hanga hit a jump hook, Ribas insisted from downtown and Dotson's driving layup broke the game open, 46-24. Derek Needham and Dotson traded three-pointers for a 49-27 score at the break.  

 

Uros Plavsic and Mathews brought the visitors within 50-31 soon after the break. Pustovyi stepped up for Joventut and Hanga's tip-in restored a 22-point Joventut lead. Sleva made free throws, Plavsic sank a jump hook and Arslan's turnaround jumper caused the hosts to call timeout at 54-38. Miye Oni buried a three-pointer and Tomic found space for a wide-open layup that forced Besiktas to stop the game at 59-38. Emanuel Terry scored in the paint and Mathews matched Kraag's dunk with a jumper. Allman and Mathews soon gave Besiktas hope at 61-46. Kraag scored again, Arslan answered with a tip-in and Robertson's fallaway jumper gave the hosts a 68-48 margin. Kelan Martin bettered Kraag's dunk with a triple that got Besiktas within 71-51 after 30 minutes.

Allman struck from downtown early in the fourth quarter and Derek Needham added a driving layup for a 73-56 score. Dotson took over with a three-point play that Martin erased with a corner triple. Ribas downed his third three-pointer and Pustovyi added a layup in transition that all but sealed the outcome, 81-59, with over 6 minutes left. Pustovyi and Dotson kept pacing Joventut and by the time Gates buried a three-pointer, everything was said and done. Joventut had plenty of time to celebrate its first EuroCup win in 2025, while improving its playoff chances in the process. 

Joventut thrashes Besiktas, 93-70

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana stayed on track for a postseason berth in the BTK EuroCup after improving its Group B record to 8-5 with a comfortable 98-79 home win over Aris Midea Thessaloniki, which dropped to 3-11 following another lackluster display.

Cedevita Olimpija breezes past Aris, 98-79

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana stayed on track for a postseason berth in the BTK EuroCup after improving its Group B record to 8-5 with a comfortable 98-79 home win over Aris Midea Thessaloniki, which dropped to 3-11 following another lackluster display.

A balanced workload on offense saw five home players finish in double figures in points with Brynton Lemar pacing Cedevita with 18. Devante Jones chipped in with 14 while DJ Stewart, Devin Robinson and Jaka Blazic added 13 each for the hosts, who dished out a team total of 21 assists and forced 17 turnovers from Aris.

At the other end, Sharife Cooper paced Aris with 17 points and Darral Willis posted 10 for the visitors, who never looked like getting anything from this game despite hitting their first 5 shots from downtown.

Aris only made 1 of their next 9 and Olimpija romped away into a 50-35 halftime lead as the Slovenian outfit dominated all over, showing lethal efficiency with a barrage of dunks while forcing 10 turnovers from Aris at the other end of the floor in the first half.

The visiting team showed signs of recovery early in the third quarter when it slashed the deficit with a 0-7 run, but Cedevita moved up a gear instantly and pulled away to 71-57 ahead of the final 10 minutes.

Aris fought hard to stay in touch, closing the gap to 82-69 midway through the fourth, but an 8-1 run from Cedevita left the home team firmly in the driving seat in the closing stages. The Greek side simply had no reply for Cedevita’s high-tempo offense, with the hosts generating an array of fast breaks as they also benefited from a smart shot selection. Cedevita sank 5 of 10 from deep and 26 of 42 from inside, while its victory might have been even more emphatic but for modest free throw shooting, 31 of 46.  

The home team led from start to finish in a lop-sided contest 