Hapoel Schlomo Tel Aviv clinched its fifth win a row when it defeated visiting Umana Reyer Venice 100-81 thanks to a 17-2 burst midway through the last quarter as Xavier Munford led the winners with 25 points,

 Hapoel dominates Venice, 100-81 

Hapoel Schlomo Tel Aviv clinched its fifth win a row when it defeated visiting Umana Reyer Venice 100-81 at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade on Wednesday . The game was back and forth for until a 17-2 burst by Hapoel midway through the last quarter broke the game open. Hapoel improved to 9-2 to hold second place in Group A. Venice slipped to 4-8 with its third straight loss.

Xavier Munford led Hapoel with 25 points on 5-of-6 from behind the arc, John Holland posted 20 points and 8 boards in less than 18 minutes, Kyle Alexander registered a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds, Jaylen Hoard went for 14 points and Bar Timor contributed 13 points and 8 assists for the winners. Rayjon Tucker paced Venice with 16 points, Amadeo Tessitori followed with 13 and Jeff Brooks, Kyle Wiltjer and Barry Brown added 10 apiece in the losing effort.

Game Videos

### Venice started strong, withstood Holland

Venice started strong, but Hapoel soon found answers in Alexander and Munford, who combined for 9 points as the hosts took an 11-5 edge. The teams swapped baskets after a Reyer timeout, with Hapoel staying ahead 17-9. Davide Casarin's first three-pointer ignited the visitors' offense. Wiltjer followed from downtown and Casarin soon repeated to build a 0-13 run that turned the tables, 17-22, at the end of the first period. A red-hot Holland helped Hapoel take the wheel again. Hitting a couple of three-pointers among a string of baskets, he let the hosts to recover a 35-29 advantage midway through the second quarter. Despite Venice’s efforts to stop him, Holland kept rocking and amassed 14 points without missing a field goal as Hapoel led 39-36. Fortunately for the guests, Holland had to head the bench with 3 fouls and that gave wings to Venice. A 2-11 run to finish the second quarter granted the visitors a 41-47 lead at the half.

### Hapoel gears up to flip the coin

Tessitori did his job inside to make it 46-54 for Venice right after the intermission. Hapoel increased the pace of the game and found a good offensive momentum thanks to the duo Alexander and Munford, whose efforts reduced the gap to 56-58. The visitors didn’t shrink, though, as Tucker emerged to make a 56-63 edge after 26 minutes. Hapoel took advantage of a TV timeout to punish Reyer with a 12-2 run in the next 4 minutes, including a buzzer-beating circus layup by Munford to take a 68-65 advantage into the last stanza. Munford continued Hapoel’s resurgence with a three-pointer to make it 71-65. Tessitori showed up again to try to keep Venice in the contest, but it soon proved not enough. Munford scored 5 points to start a 14-1 run midway through the final quarter that granted Hapoel a solid double-digit lead, 91-75. When he stroked twice again twice from downtown to make it 97-78, and Holland followed with another triple, Hapoel was on its way to reaching triple-digit scoring for the fourth time this season.

Game News

A back-and-forth first 30 minutes ended with the hosts exploding late for their fourth triple-digit scoring game of the season.

Hapoel dominates Venice, 100-81

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv v Umana Reyer Venice (2023-12-20T17:30:00.000Z)

Joventut Badalona used a strong second half to beat Wolves Vilnius 79-94 on Wednesday in the Lithuanian capital as Andres Feliz paced the winners.

Joventut runs away from Wolves, 79-94

Joventut Badalona used a strong second half to beat Wolves Vilnius 79-94 on Wednesday in the Lithuanian capital. Joventut swept their season series between two, picking up its fourth straight win to improve to 7-5 for a share of fourth place in Group A. Wolves suffered their fourth straight loss, and fifth consecutive home defeat, dropping to 4-7. A 2-18 run bridging third and fourth quarters turned a 62-60 deficit into a 64-78 for the visitors, who cruised the rest of the way. Andres Feliz starred with 18 points, a career-high 10 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Andrew Andrews and Ante Tomic scored 15 apiece, Tyler Cook 12 and Yannick Kraag 11 for Joventut. Djordje Gagic paced Wolves with 16 points, while Tre'Shawn Thurman had 14, Arnas Berucka and Christian Mekowulu 12 each, and Regimantas Miniotas 10. Vaidas Kariniauskas dished 12 assists in defeat.

### Wolves started strong but Joventut recovered

A three-point play from Gagic and a triple from Berucka got the hosts going. The Wolves extended the lead by finding their way to the free throw line often, with Mekowulu going perfect 6-for-6 there to open an 18-9 lead. But a runner from Feliz and a pair of close-range baskets from Tomic filled a 0-6 Joventut run that trimmed the hosts' advantage to 20-15 lead after 10 minutes. Feliz opened the second quarter with a three-pointer, but the hosts answered with a 7-0 run capped by Thurman's triple. That's when Kraag stepped up, knocking down a triple before adding 8 more points to his tally, including a pair of breakaway dunks to put Joventut up 31-32 midway through the second. The two sides traded leads the rest of the half. Back-to-back Feliz triples from the right corner opened a 39-41 Joventut lead, but Mekowulu made sure the hosts took a 43-41 advantage into halftime.

### Joventut made its takeover move late in the third quarter

Joventut scored 3 points on each of its first three possessions after halftime, a three-point play by Tomic followed by back-to-back triples from Pep Busquets and Feliz, to go in front 46-50. The Wolves replied with the next 7 points, then Berucka hit another three-pointer to help make it a 12-3 run and restore the lead for the hosts, 58-53. But it was Joventut's turn again, this time with Andrews scoring 10 points, including 2 triples as the visitors took 64-71 lead into the fourth quarter. Joventut extended its surge into the fourth quarter, with Andrews hitting another three, then picking up a steal and setting up Feliz for an easy fastbreak layup and 64-78 lead. With control of the defensive glass, Joventut was keeping the margin intact, and a pair of close-range baskets from Tomic, both set up by Feliz, made it 70-86 as Joventut eased to victory.

The visitors rallied in the second half for a fourth straight victory while the hosts lost their fourth in a row.

Wolves Vilnius v Joventut Badalona (2023-12-20T17:00:00.000Z)

- Dusan Alimpijevic, Head Coach of BESIKTAS EMLAKJET ISTANBUL has been sanctioned with a fine of €2,000 for the lack of respect towards the members of the officiating crew on occasion of its away game against Promotey Slobozhanske under Article 27.2.b) and c) of the Euroleague Basketball Disciplinary Code

Euroleague Basketball has announced the following disciplinary sanction pertaining to incidents that occurred in Round 11 of the BKT EuroCup regular season.

Round 11 disciplinary sanction

With its season definitely needing a boost, Lietkabelis found on in the return from injury of a veteran guard.

Return of Valinskas boosted Lietkabelis to key win

Around the midway stage of the third quarter [as 7bet Lietkabelis Panevezys hosted ratiopharm Ulm on Tuesday night](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/7bet-lietkabelis-panevezys-ratiopharm-ulm/U2023/119/), it looked likely that the German champ was poised to surge to a resounding victory. 

A superb start to the third quarter from [Karim Jallow](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/karim-jallow/005422/) had seen Ulm establish a 49-57 lead, the biggest of the night. Lietkabelis had fragile confidence after losing three games in a row, whereas Ulm was flying high after winning four of five, including the previous week over previously unbeaten Gran Canaria. The handwriting appeared to be on the wall for the home team. 

But then Ulm playmaker [Juan Nunez](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/juan-nunez/010106/) – who had dazzled until then by dishing 8 assists in 17 minutes – complained a little too long about a refereeing call, earning technical foul...and then complained again to receive another, meaning that he was ejected. All of a sudden, Ulm was without its main orchestrator. 

That moment knocked Ulm off its stride, presenting Lietkabelis with an opening that the Lithuanian team eagerly took to launch a comeback that ultimately resulted in a thrilling 94-90 victory, reigniting the playoffs ambitions of head coach Nenad Canak's team. 

The catalyst for the turnaround was three-point shooting, with Lietkabelis converting 13 of its 24 attempts from beyond the arc (54.2%), including a pair shortly after Nunez's ejection and 4 more in the first 4:14 of the final period to open up an 82-72 advantage that eventually proved enough to secure the victory. 

And the most potent Lietkabelis shooter on the night was [Paulius Valinskas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/paulius-valinskas/004664/), who was returning to action after a month-long absence through injury and exceeded any reasonable expectations by scoring 24 points. What's more, his crucial consecutive scores in the latter stages protected the lead as Ulm attempted a comeback. 

Paulius Valinskas (24 points) Highlights vs. ratiopharm Ulm, 12/19/2023

The 28-year-old guard was sharp from downtown, converting 4 of his 6 three-point attempts, while also adding 3 of his 4 two-pointers and 6 of 8 free throws. Valinskas was also his team's main orchestrator, dishing 10 assists, and he contributed on defense with a pair of steals. 

Perhaps most impressively, he spent more than 33 minutes on the floor – more than any other player – despite coming back after an extended spell on the sidelines. And that was partly out of necessity, because another key player, swingman Martynas Varnas, went down with injury after just 6 minutes on the floor to leave head Coach Canak with eight senior players to call upon. 

After the game Valinskas said he was happy to be back to such great effect, telling EuroLeagueTV: "I didn't play for five weeks. I missed basketball. I only had a couple of practices, but we have a short rotation, so I needed to step up. I'm happy that we won today and I played a really good game."

He also admitted that the win was much-needed for a team that had been lacking in confidence but is still right in the playoffs race.

"We had a five-game losing streak \[three in the EuroCup, two domestically\] so we talked before the game that we needed to believe in each other and bounce back," Valinskas said. "We had an amazing crowd today and they helped us, so we're really happy with the win.” 

Lietkabelis will be very happy to have him back, too. The former Zalgiris Kaunas player has now averaged 13.5 points in his six appearances this season, converting 8 of his last 11 three-pointers. And if he can stay fit for the remainder of the regular season, his team's chances of advancing deeper into the competition look a lot better.

The defending BKT EuroCup champs fell at Gran Canaria Arena for the first time since April 2022, ending a 19-game home-court winning streak.

Jaka Lakovic hopes Gran Canaria can learn from 'deserved' loss

Dreamland Gran Canaria had a chance to clinch a spot in the playoffs and bounce back from its first loss of the season. Instead, the reigning BKT EuroCup champion suffered [a blowout 76-98 loss at home](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/dreamland-gran-canaria-dolomiti-energia-trento/U2023/120/) to struggling Dolomiti Energia Trento. And head coach Jaka Lakovic is left hoping his team can learn from the defeat.

A Gran Canaria victory coupled with a loss for 7bet Lietkabelis Panevezys, Aris Midea Thessaloniki or Buducnost VOLI Podgorica would have locked up a top-six finish for the Spanish side in Group B. All that talk is on pause as Lakovic now must figure out what is happening to a team that started the season with 10 wins in a row and looked like world-beaters, but now is mired in a two-game losing streak.

“It was a very bad game for us, especially defensively. We didn’t have the right mindset. We didn’t play good and we deservedly lost,” Lakovic said after the game.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">📊<a href=https://twitter.com/HiperDino_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>@HiperDino_</a> trae las estadísticas del partido ante Dolomiti Energia Trento <a href=https://t.co/GD4oQxMhRV>pic.twitter.com/GD4oQxMhRV</a></p>&mdash; Dreamland Gran Canaria (@GranCanariaCB) <a href=https://twitter.com/GranCanariaCB/status/1737237056844161438?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>December 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src=https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js charset="utf-8"></script>

Gran Canaria scored a new season low in the game, having previously tallied 81 points in a win over Slask Wroclaw in Round 7 - that coming from the fourth-highest scoring offense in the league.

Lakovic not only has seen his team lose two straight games but both of them were downright poor defensively. Even though ratiopharm Ulm collected a 103-99 win last week, Gran Canaria was still ranked second in scoring defense at just 75.3 points per game coming into the Trento game. The average is now up to 77.2 after conceding 201 points in the last two games.

And it was against a Trento offense that had only produced 75.0 points per game in a recent five-game stretch in which it lost four games.

Gran Canaria seek to restore winning-ways and possibly book their ticket to the playoffs too after seeing their perfect start ended with defeat at Ulm, whilst Trento has slipped down the standings after losing four of its last five European encounters and hope for an improvement in attack from Andrejs Grazulis.

Dreamland Gran Canaria-Dolomiti Energia Trento | Round 12 Highlights | 2023-24 BKT EuroCup

Gran Canaria came out of the gates hot offensively, scoring 31 points in the first 10 minutes. But Lakovic saw his team tally only 45 points the rest of the way.

“Even though the first quarter ended in our favor I thought we came into the game without the right mentality, and we paid the price. It was a big price,” the coach said.

In addition to the defensive and offensive issues, the coach also must look at his team and wonder where the response was. The largest deficit Gran Canaria had faced all season was 9 points against Turk Telekom Ankara in Round 6.

Trento built a 10-point lead in the second quarter and then delivered a knockout punch in the third stanza as the visitors led by 20 points after 30 minutes. And the fourth quarter was never even close.

“I think Trento was better from the beginning until the end, more aggressive, more desire to play and win. And they totally deserved to win. I hope this is a very good lesson for us,” Lakovic said.

A lesson that Gran Canaria can use later this season in the playoffs - assuming the team doesn’t entirely collapse and makes the post-season.

The defending EuroCup champs fell at Gran Canaria Arena for the first time since April 2022, ending a 19-game home-court winning streak.

Lakovic hopes Gran Canaria can learn from 'deserved' loss

Dreamland Gran Canaria v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2023-12-19T20:00:00.000Z)

It was a rollercoaster ride, but Minicidelice JL Bourg en Bresse finished on top with an 89-98 road win over U-BT Cluj-Napoca on Tuesday night.

Historic start catapulted Bourg to 10th win

Even though Bourg eventually needed to fight off a big comeback by the hosts, it was a massive first quarter in which Bourg set several club records and flirted with a competition record that paved the way to victory.

Bourg scored 37 first-quarter points, setting a club scoring record for the first quarter, which is also the third-highest scoring first quarter in EuroCup history. Bourg was 8-of-11 on two-pointers and 5-of-8 on threes in the opening 10 minutes. It was such dominance that Bourg still managed to pull down 5 offensive rebounds.

Isiaha Mike and Jequan Lewis combined for 27 points in the first quarter and it resulted in a 20-point lead after 10 minutes, which turned out to be another club record as the highest margin Bourg ever built in the first quarter of a EuroCup game.

Bourg dominated until midway through the third quarter when it led 40-67 before Cluj mounted a comeback that got the hosts within 78-83, but never closer.

"That's a team with that kind of an identity, they'll never give up", Mike complimented Cluj. "We knew that at some point they will give us their best shot, but we weathered the storm."

Weather the storm they did, registering their sixth straight win and improving to 10-2, tied for the best in Group B with Dreamland Gran Canaria, which Bourg hosts next week. It turned out that a historic first quarter has put Bourg in control of the group.

More Bourg News

U-BT Cluj-Napoca v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2023-12-19T17:00:00.000Z)

Dolomiti Energia Trento shocked Dreamland Gran Canaria, the reigning BKT EuroCup champion, 76-98 for an important win in the fight for the playoffs.

Trento fight and desire provided ‘good night’ against Gran Canaria 

Dolomiti Energia Trento came into its game at Dreamland Gran Canaria in poor form. Maybe it was the island feeling that changed its fortunes, but the Italian club shocked the reigning BKT EuroCup champion 76-98 for an important win in the fight for the playoffs.

Trento had suffered an 86-78 loss at Treviso Basket in the Italian League over the weekend after losing at Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse in the EuroCup for its fourth defeat in the last five games.

### A side transformed

Then came the inspiring fight Paolo Galbiati’s team showed against Gran Canaria.

“We competed and fought all night long. That was the key,” said Galbiati afterward. “We were very solid on defense and we shared the ball on offense. We had some very good performances, but everybody did their part.”

“Winning is always good. We had some problems in the previous weeks, so it was a good feeling to win again. We played a great game. I am more happy about the way we played than anything else,” added Andrejs Grazulis, who led the way with 23 points.

The team’s effort, energy and desire on defense really made the difference. Trento had given up an average of 90 points in its last four EuroCup losses while it won its only game in the last five 69-67. And Gran Canaria was ranked fourth in scoring at 90.5 points while leading the competition in assists at 23.6 per game and two-point shooting at 60.7%. It was fifth in three-pointers at 38.0%, too.

Gran Canaria scored a season-low 76 points while shooting 51.2% on two-pointers and 26.1% on three-pointers, in addition to dishing out 20 assists.

Perhaps even more surprising was Trento scoring 98 points, given that it had averaged only 78.9 points per game for the 15th-ranked team in scoring and was the second-worst three-point shooting team at 30.9%.

In addition, Gran Canaria was the second stingiest defense in the league, giving up just 75.3 points per game – and the Spanish side ranked second in three-point defense at just 31.7%. For the game, Trento nailed 12-of-28 triples for 42.9%.

Trento was very balanced with five players scoring in double figures and the team dished out 23 assists.

“The most important number for me was 23 assists. It was a good night for us,” Galbiati said.

A night for Trento to remember, that’s for sure.

Myles Stephens of Dolomiti Energia Trento in action against Dreamland Gran Canaria in Round 12 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

Paolo Galbiati’s team downed the reigning EuroCup champion, despite the odds.

Dolomiti Energia Trento pulled off a major upset in Group B as it blew out reigning EuroCup champion Dreamland Gran Canaria 76-98 to give itself life in the race for the playoffs. 

Trento shocks Gran Canaria with 22-point win, 76-98

Dolomiti Energia Trento pulled off a major upset in Group B as it blew out reigning BKT EuroCup champion Dreamland Gran Canaria 76-98 to give itself life in the race for the playoffs. After giving up 31 points in the first quarter, Trento conceded just 45 points the rest of the game as it improved to 5-7. Gran Canaria has now suffered two straight losses for a 10-2 record.

Andrejs Grazulis poured in 23 points to pace five Trento players in double figures, with Kamar Baldwin scoring 17 points and Paul Biligha, Toto Forray and Quinn Ellis all chipping in 10 points apiece. For Gran Canaria, Nicolas Brussino tallied 17 points and Roko Prkacin added 11 points in a losing effort.

Brussino put on a show early on with 4 assists and 2 three-pointers in the first 5 minutes. Trento was not impressed, though, as Grazulis hit 2 triples and Biligha scored 6 points to give the guests a 17-18 lead. A three-point play from John Shurna gave Gran Canaria the biggest lead so far at 22-18. Baldwin answered with a three-point play and triple, which put Trento back up 22-24. The hosts maintained their high level by scoring the next 9 points, before Ferran Bassas’s three-pointer set a 31-24 score. Forray’s long ball made it a 31-27 ballgame after 10 minutes.

Ben Lammers’s three-point play started the action for Gran Canaria in the second quarter to reestablish a 7-point lead, 34-27. Trento started getting defensive stops and Forray hit another triple, and Derek Cooke and Grazulis both scored 4 points in a 3-13 run to go ahead 37-40. The push continued with a Baldwin three-pointer and another Biligha basket, as Trento went up 39-49. AJ Slaughter knocked down a three-pointer, but the hosts were still down 44-51 at the break.

Trento continued to score early in the second half, including a Prentiss Hubb three-pointer off the glass and a Grazulis put-back and three-pointer, setting the score at 50-63. Gran Canaria punched back with the next 7 points, which included a Jovan Kljajic three-pointer to make it 57-63. Trento responded in fine fashion with Mattia Udom connecting on a triple and Ellis making it a 57-76 cushion. Trento had the perfect finish to the third quarter with an Ellis three-pointer, as the margin was 20 points, 59-79.

Trento just kept going in the fourth quarter, with Udom getting a flashy basket and then a three-pointer as the lead swelled to 62-86 with 8 minutes to play. The game was all Trento as Ellis hit a three-pointer and Cooke scored after an offensive rebound, which made the gap 66-93 with 4 minutes remaining. Gran Canaria did some final result cosmetics at the end to make it a little close, but Trento was comfortable in the final stages en route to a very impressive 76-98 win.

Kamar Bladwin of Dolomiti Energia Trento in action against Dreamland Gran Canaria in Round 12 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

The reigning EuroCup has now lost back-to-back games after previously winning 18 straight.

Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul snatched 14 offensive rebounds and committed only 9 turnovers in beating Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 83-88 on the road to snap a three-game losing streak.  

 Offensive boards, few turnovers got Besiktas back in win column  

Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul stayed true to its strengths of offensive rebounding and limiting turnovers to fight past Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana and return to its winning ways. 

Besiktas snatched 14 offensive rebounds and committed only 9 turnovers in beating Cedevita [83-88](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/cedevita-olimpija-ljubljana-besiktas-emlakjet-istanbul/U2023/115/) on the road to snap a three-game losing streak.  

“This was not the most beautiful game from our side but the win was important," Besiktas head coach Dusan Alimpijevic said. "In the end, the desire to grab the ball, the desire to go for one more offensive rebound, it was something that decided this match."

### Delgado ruled on the glass

[Angel Delgado](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/angel-delgado/012647/) not only led Besiktas in scoring with 19 points but he also grabbed 12 rebounds, 5 of them coming from the offensive glass. And a pair of them came on one trip down the floor in the final 34 seconds. 

"Cedevita played really good. But we needed offensive rebounds and that's what we did. That is something they can't do well and we knew that. So we attacked that,” said Delgado, who came into the game ranked fourth in the EuroCup with 8.3 total rebounds and second in offensive rebounds with 3.4 per game.Delgado’s excellence under the basket is a big reason Besiktas was ranked fifth in the league in offensive rebounds with 11.9 per game. And winless Cedevita, ranked 17th in offensive rebounds allowed at 12.2 per game, is the worst rebounding team in the competition. 

Besiktas also limits offensive rebounds to its opponents, allowing just 9.0 per game – ranked second fewest. As such, Coach Alimpijevic’s side gave up just 7 boards to the Cedevita offense. 

### Besiktas protected the ball

Another major key for Besiktas was losing the ball just 9 times. The Turkish side had committed only 11.5 turnovers a contest – third-fewest in the league  entering the game.

It was a good matchup in that regard for Besiktas, as Cedevita ranked last in turnovers forced with just 10.5 per game.

Excelling in those two areas helped Besiktas snap a losing skid.

Needing a win to stay strong in the Group A race, the visitors made it happen late.

Offensive boards, few turnovers got Besiktas back in win column 

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana v Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul (2023-12-19T17:30:00.000Z)