After losing back-to-back games, Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv needed a response on Wednesday night against Joventut Badalona and that came through the hands of an extraordinary Xavier Munford. In his team’s 103-99 win at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, the Hapoel guard scored 31 points to come within just 2 from his career-high 

Munford’s brilliant night led Hapoel over Joventut

After losing back-to-back games, Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv needed a response on Wednesday night against Joventut Badalona and that came through the hands of an extraordinary Xavier Munford. In his team’s 103-99 win at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, the Hapoel guard scored 31 points to come within just 2 from his career-high mark after going 5-for-7 (71.4%) from inside the arc, 6-for-7 (85.7%) from downtown and 3-for-4 (75.0%) from the free-throw line. He also registered 5 assists, 2 steals and 3 drawn fouls for a career-high PIR of 35.

Munford hit the ground running and went 4-for-4 from the field to register 10 points in the first 10 minutes. Then, he drilled 3 triples in the second quarter and finished the third one with 27 points – which already was his finest mark this season.

 “Badalona is a good team, so I want to give a hats-off to them,” Munford said after the game. “But this was a must-win \[game\] for us and we came with that type of mentality tonight.”

Xavier Munford scored 31 against Joventut

Munford went on to score just 4 points in the last quarter, but it was his crucial basket with 0:31 left on the clock that made it 101-95 after a heroic Joventut comeback attempt and sealed the victory for the hosts. The 31-year-old guard scored just 1 point in Hapoel’s 98-89 loss away at Prometey Slobozhanske last week. He struggled to find his range, having gone 0-for-6 from the field, with his only point coming from the free-throw line. But on Wednesday night, Munford rediscovered his form and led Hapoel to victory.

“We lost two games and we don’t really sit well with losing,” he added. “So, everybody, from the coaching staff to the players, we had to come with a different mindset and come out and play our type of game because the last couple of games we felt like we got away from our style of play. So, we came out tough tonight and it worked for us.”

This one was a much-needed victory for Hapoel and head coach Danny Franco’s men will look to build on it next week, when they host a Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul side which is coming from a huge 63-68 win away at Paris Basketball on Tuesday night.

Game News

The veteran guard came within 2 of a career-high by scoring 31 points. 

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv v Joventut Badalona (2023-11-22T18:00:00.000Z)

Follow all the BKT EuroCup action from the eighth round of the regular season.

Game Center: Round 8 starts with five games tonight

[Slask Wroclaw 71-75 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/slask-wroclaw-7bet-lietkabelis-panevezys/U2023/77/)

Lietkabelis kept alive its hopes of making the playoffs after a win at Slask. The victory improved the Lithuanian side’s record to 4-4, while the Polish outfit remained rooted to the bottom of Group B on 0-8. A balanced effort saw Gediminas Orelik pace Lietkabelis with 19 points and 4 rebounds and Martynas Varnas added 14 points for the visitors. At the other end, Jakub Niziol posted a game-high 21 points for Slask, who have now lost 17 EuroCup games in a row dating back to midway through the regular season last term. 

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lietkabelis hold on in the 4th quarter to win their 3rd game in a row ✅✅✅<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RoadToGreatness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RoadToGreatness</a> <a href="https://t.co/qUQWb7rw8H">pic.twitter.com/qUQWb7rw8H</a></p>&mdash; BKT EuroCup (@EuroCup) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroCup/status/1727399642403324117?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Prometey Slobozhanske 89-82 Umana Reyer Venice](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/prometey-slobozhanske-umana-reyer-venice/U2023/71/)

Prometey leaned on a strong final quarter and a half to defeat Reyer at Riga Arena in Latvia in Round 8 on Wednesday evening. Thanks to this win, Prometey’s second in as many games, the hosts improved their record to 4-4 while Reyer dropped to 3-5. Ondrej Balvin paced the winners with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Kyle Wiltjer netted 18 for Reyer in defeat. 

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">HARD HITTER INCOMING! 💨🔨<br><br>Ondrej Balvin with the heavy dunk after faking out his man 👀<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MagicMoment?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MagicMoment</a> l <a href="https://twitter.com/BcPrometey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BcPrometey</a> <a href="https://t.co/z5EyGy7lls">pic.twitter.com/z5EyGy7lls</a></p>&mdash; BKT EuroCup (@EuroCup) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroCup/status/1727395761317450103?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Aris Midea Thessaloniki 88-99 ratiopharm Ulm](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/aris-midea-thessaloniki-ratiopharm-ulm/U2023/80/)

Ulm is strong in the race for second place in Group B after fighting past Aris in a back-and-forth overtime thriller on the road. Trevion Williams scored 20 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for Ulm, which ran away in the extra session to improve to 6-2 and 2-2 away from home. LJ Figueroa had 19 points, Juan Nunez tallied 14 points and 10 assists for the winners. Aris dropped to 3-5 and 1-3 at home despite Marcus Carr tallying 20 points and Vassilis Toliopoulos hitting 16 points.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="de" dir="ltr">Overtime-Uuulmer-Time🔥🏀<br><br>In einer hartumkämpften und kuriosen Partie, die eine nervenaufreibende Schlussphase und Verlängerung mit sich brachte, fahren wir gegen Aris Midea Thessaloniki den sechsten EuroCup-Sieg (88:99) im achten Spiel ein. 😤<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/uuulmer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#uuulmer</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/weareone?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#weareone</a> |📸 <a href="https://twitter.com/ARISBCgr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ARISBCgr</a> <a href="https://t.co/e3qiArywZI">pic.twitter.com/e3qiArywZI</a></p>&mdash; ratiopharm ulm (@ratiopharmulm) <a href="https://twitter.com/ratiopharmulm/status/1727427916139762174?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv 103-99. Joventut Badalona](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/hapoel-shlomo-tel-aviv-joventut-badalona/U2023/75/)

Hapoel snapped its two-game losing streak by beating Joventut in its first home game at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall. The rematch from last season's quarterfinals, which Joventut won, was a highly entertaining duel, with Hapoel being in control of the game and withstanding a late comeback attempt by Joventut to clinch the victory. Hapoel improved to 5-2 on the season, while the Spanish side dropped to 3-5. Xavier Munford recorded season-highs in points (31) and PIR (35) to lead the winners. Andres Feliz paced Joventut with 24 points.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="iw" dir="rtl">קצת התקפי לב, מה קרה?<br><br>הפועל מנצחת את בדאלונה בבלגרד ועולה למאזן 2:5 ביורוקאפ.<br><br>המשחק הבא - ברביעי הבא מול בשיקטאש בבלגרד <a href="https://t.co/A51FAbdSTi">pic.twitter.com/A51FAbdSTi</a></p>&mdash; Hapoel Tel Aviv BC (@HapoelTLVBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/HapoelTLVBC/status/1727426072499933300?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[London Lions 101-95 Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/london-lions-cedevita-olimpija-ljubljana/U2023/73/)

The London Lions managed to come out on top in a battle with Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana in Round 8 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season, winning 101-95 at Copper Box Arena. Petar Bozic’s squad improved to 6-2 following this triumph, while Simone Pianigiani’s men fell to 0-8, despite playing well on the night.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The VIEWS! 🤩🦁<a href="https://twitter.com/CopperBoxArena?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CopperBoxArena</a> looks and sounds amazing right now with all of you supporting the squad ❤️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreLondon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreLondon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RoadToGreatness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RoadToGreatness</a> <a href="https://t.co/xXugoM2iZA">pic.twitter.com/xXugoM2iZA</a></p>&mdash; London Lions (@LondonLions) <a href="https://twitter.com/LondonLions/status/1727418663744176312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[U-BT Cluj-Napoca 70-92 Dreamland Gran Canaria](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/u-bt-cluj-napoca-dreamland-gran-canaria/U2023/78/)

Reigning BKT EuroCup champion Gran Canaria remained undefeated this season and won its 16th in a row dating back to last season with a 70-92 rout of U-BT Cluj-Napoca on Tuesday at BT-Arena. Sylven Landesberg shined with 26 points as the visitors stretched their lead in Group B to two wins over second-place Cluj, which slipped to 6-2. After Cluj closed with 1 point early in the second quarter, Gran Canaria ran rampant 19-40 over the game's final 16 minutes. Ethan Happ posted 13 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Bryce Jones paced Cluj with 18 points and 7 assists.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🏀 Final:<br><br>⚫️ U-BT Cluj-Napoca 70<br>🐥 Dreamland Gran Canaria 92<br><br>🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VamosGranca?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VamosGranca</a> <a href="https://t.co/Y84ghkwlVI">pic.twitter.com/Y84ghkwlVI</a></p>&mdash; Dreamland Gran Canaria (@GranCanariaCB) <a href="https://twitter.com/GranCanariaCB/status/1727038106962932100?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 98-96 Dolomiti Energia Trento](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/buducnost-voli-podgorica-dolomiti-energia-trento/U2023/79/)

Buducnost snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Trento 98-96 in overtime in the Montenegrin capital on Tuesday. It was new head coach Andrej Zakelj's first game on the bench. Both teams now have 3-5 records in Group B. Yoan Makoundou paced the winners with 23 points and 8 rebounds and McKinley Wright added 22 points. Prentis Hubb led Trento with 25 points. 

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hard fought win 🔵⚪️<br><br>🔷 Makoundu 23, Wright 22, Magee 14.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KKB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KKB</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HukMora%C4%8De?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HukMorače</a> <a href="https://t.co/lcxku6Iv9Q">pic.twitter.com/lcxku6Iv9Q</a></p>&mdash; KK Budućnost VOLI (@KKBuducnostVOLI) <a href="https://twitter.com/KKBuducnostVOLI/status/1727057761849282818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 86-67 Turk Telekom Ankara](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/mincidelice-jl-bourg-en-bresse-turk-telekom-ankara/U2023/76/)

Bourg remained undefeated at Ekinox this season by beating Turk Telekom on Tuesday night. The hosts outscored the Turkish side 43-25 in the first half and managed to clinch the victory in the last quarter despite a heroic comeback by the visitors. With the win, Bourg improved to 6-2 this season, while Turk Telekom dropped to 1-6. Jeremy Morgan paced Bourg with 17 points and Isiaha Mike and Axel Julien scored 12 each. James Palmer and Steven Enoch netted a game-high 19 points each in defeat.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">𝙻𝙸𝚅𝙴 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️<br><br>JL Bourg 86 🆚 67 <a href="https://twitter.com/TT_Basketbol?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TT_Basketbol</a><br><br>Les gars ont clairement fait le job pour assurer ce dernier quart-temps 🔜 la victoire est à nous &amp; la 2ème place au classement aussi 🤩 <a href="https://t.co/IbgsdCqDni">pic.twitter.com/IbgsdCqDni</a></p>&mdash; JL Bourg Basket (@JLBourgBasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/JLBourgBasket/status/1727063622411853956?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Veolia Towers Hamburg 71-84 Wolves Vilnius](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/veolia-towers-hamburg-wolves-vilnius/U2023/72/)

Wolves improved their record to 4-3 in Group A after breezing past Hamburg in a one-sided. The Lithuanian side led from start to finish and Hamburg, which dropped to 1-7, never threatened to turn the game around after falling behind 0-15 early on. Djordje Gagic, Tre’Shawn Thurman and Kristupas Zemaitis led a balanced effort for Wolves with 14 points each. Regimantas Minotas chipped in with an impressive double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds. Mark Hughes paced a misfiring Hamburg with 14 points.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Away victory for <a href="https://twitter.com/wolves_bc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wolves_bc</a> 💯<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RoadToGreatness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RoadToGreatness</a> <a href="https://t.co/2RAeQr9LVU">pic.twitter.com/2RAeQr9LVU</a></p>&mdash; BKT EuroCup (@EuroCup) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroCup/status/1727063981498745021?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Paris Basketball 63-68 Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/paris-basketball-besiktas-emlakjet-istanbul/U2023/74/)

Besiktas showed its class by slowing down Paris on the road to hand the French side its first loss in the competition. Besiktas came back from 12 points down and used its stellar defense to hold Paris to just 23 second half points to improve to 6-2. Matt Mitchell led the way with 16 points and Yigit Arslan had 15 points. Paris dropped to 7-1 and tasted defeat for the first time despite TJ Shorts scoring 22 points and Nadir Hifi picking up 19 points. 

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">Paris&#39;ten galibiyetle dönüyoruz. 💪 <br><br>Adieu Paris! 👋🇫🇷<br><br>Paris Basketball 63-68 Beşiktaş Emlakjet | Maç Sonucu<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Be%C5%9Fikta%C5%9FEmlakjet?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BeşiktaşEmlakjet</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Potan%C4%B1nKartallar%C4%B1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PotanınKartalları</a> 🦅 <a href="https://t.co/yZuJIrwvL6">pic.twitter.com/yZuJIrwvL6</a></p>&mdash; Beşiktaş Emlakjet (@BJK_Basketbol) <a href="https://twitter.com/BJK_Basketbol/status/1727088632219967762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Game Center: Ulm, Lietkabelis rock on the road! London, Hapoel, Prometey win, too

Aris Midea Thessaloniki v ratiopharm Ulm (2023-11-22T18:00:00.000Z)

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2023-11-21T18:00:00.000Z)

U-BT Cluj-Napoca v Dreamland Gran Canaria (2023-11-21T17:00:00.000Z)

Slask Wroclaw v 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys (2023-11-22T17:00:00.000Z)

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse v Turk Telekom Ankara (2023-11-21T18:30:00.000Z)

Paris Basketball v Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul (2023-11-21T20:00:00.000Z)

London Lions v Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (2023-11-22T19:30:00.000Z)

Veolia Towers Hamburg v Wolves Vilnius (2023-11-21T18:30:00.000Z)

Prometey Slobozhanske v Umana Reyer Venice (2023-11-22T17:00:00.000Z)

ratiopharm Ulm put on an impressive offensive display against a vaunted Aris Midea Thessaloniki defense and even survived an uncommon Aris scoring output to grab an 88-99 overtime victory. 

Ulm's offense shines through in OT to overcome Aris's offensive fireworks 

ratiopharm Ulm put on an impressive offensive display against a vaunted Aris Midea Thessaloniki defense and even survived an uncommon Aris scoring output to grab an 88-99 overtime victory.

The game went back and forth throughout and Ulm prevailed thanks to producing nearly triple figures in points against an Aris team that had allowed a EuroCup-low 70.1 points to its opponents coming into the game.

Ulm shot 68.4% on two-pointers and 40.9% from long range, numbers that were much better than the 47.6% and 31.4% shooting respectively that Aris had given up thus far this season.

“We knew the atmosphere in Greece. We knew they were going to be aggressive. And I think we matched that aggressiveness and that’s why we won,” said Ulm guard Juan Nunez, who collected 14 points and 10 of Ulm’s 31 assists in the game.

“We found our solutions late in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter and overtime, we were able to deal with their pressure. Offensively we shared the ball and found good solutions,” added Ulm head coach Anton Gavel.

Game Videos

Ulm’s offensive performance was not a major surprise as the German side had averaged 88.4 points, 21.3 assists and 39.2% on three-pointers, all ranked fourth in the league.

But Aris produced one of its best offensive showings of the season, scoring a season-high 88 points which were 19.9 points more than its EuroCup-low average. The Greek side also buried 13-of-30 three-pointers (43.3%), which was well above its 27.1% clip, which was also last in the league.

Aris also answered every punch that Ulm delivered. The biggest lead in the first 40 minutes was 9 points (30-21) and that was early early in the second quarter. The rest of regulation was tight and back and forth. It wasn’t until the overtime that Ulm showed its mettle and Aris finally succumbed to its lack of offensive weapons.

“We showed our character. We are a young team but we showed that we have character, that we want to play these kinds of games. I think it was character,” Nunez said.

Ulm can see this win as a strong character test that it passed while Aris will be disappointed it couldn’t grab the home win, which would have been a major help in its fight to reach the playoffs.

Both teams shot quite well in the entertaining thriller. 

ratiopharm Ulm is strong in the race for second place in Group B after fighting past Aris Midea Thessaloniki 88-99 in a back-and-forth overtime thriller on the road. 

Ulm pull away in OT after back-and-forth thriller at Aris 

ratiopharm Ulm is strong in the race for second place in Group B after fighting past Aris Midea Thessaloniki 88-99 in a back-and-forth overtime thriller on the road. Trevion Williams scored 20 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for Ulm, which ran away in the extra session to improve to 6-2 and 2-2 away from home. 

LJ Figueroa had 19 points, Juan Nunez tallied 14 points and 10 assists and Thomas Klepeisz chipped in 12 points and 7 assists for the winners. Aris dropped to 3-5 and 1-3 at home despite Marcus Carr tallying 20 points and Vassilis Toliopoulos hitting 16 points.

### Several lead changes early on

Both teams forced turnovers early on and scored on the break while Nunez assisted on three Ulm scores for a 6-7 lead. Roberto Gallinat and Figueroa swapped three-pointers and it was 10-11 before Silvio De Sousa threw down two big dunks for a 14-11 lead for Aris. Ulm responded with the next 6 points for a 14-17 advantage only to see Nikos Persidis drain a three-pointer and 2 free throws and Aris led 21-19 after 10 minutes.

### Aris take slim lead at the break

Toliopoulos and Dimitris Katsivelis both hit triples and Carr converted a three-point play in the first 3 minutes of the second quarter and the lead was 30-21. Williams countered with 6 points and Nunez knocked down a three-pointer in a 3-13 Ulm run to go ahead 33-34. Aris reclaimed the lead 36-34 after another Toliopoulos three-pointer to start a stretch of 6 lead changes and 4 ties in the final 3+ minutes of the first half, which had the hosts up 42-41.

### An 8-point possession!

Carr’s three-pointer early in the second half extended the lead to 47-41. Williams threw down a dunk and assisted on a Klepeisz score to cut the gap to 47-45. A Gallinat triple helped Aris go up 51-45 but Ulm pulled off an 8-point possession. Klepeisz hit a three-pointer and added 2 free throws on a De Sousa unsportsmanlike foul. Figueroa followed with a triple on the ensuing possession and the guests were up 51-53. The back and forth continued with 5 Aris points and a 57-53 lead. Both teams scored just 2 points in the final 4 minutes of the third quarter, which ended with Aris ahead 59-55.

### Toliopoulos forces overtime

Ulm scored the first 5 points of the fourth quarter to go back ahead and begin another wave of back and forth with 4 lead changes. Philipp Herkenhoff and Pacome Dadiet both knocked down three-pointers as Ulm went up 64-68. It was never say die for Aris with Carr and Eleftherios Bochoridis hitting from deep and Diamantis Slaftsakis making it 72-71 midway through the fourth quarter. Three lead changes followed with a long Nunez triple and Ulm was up 74-77 inside the 3-minute mark. Both teams scored twice - Jallow’s layup with 26 seconds to go to make it 78-81 - but Toliopoulos evened the game 81-81 with a triple with just 6.9 seconds to go. And the game would go to overtime.

### Ulm takes charge in extra session

Aris failed to convert on its first three possessions of the extra session and Ulm scored the first 8 points and went ahead 81-89 on Figueroa’s three-point play with 3 minutes to play. Toliopoulos got Aris going with a triple but Figueroa’s layin had Ulm up 86-93 with 81 seconds to go.

The win sends Ulm into a three-way tie for second place in Group B. 

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv snapped its two-game losing streak by beating Joventut Badalona 103-99 in its first home game at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Round 8 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup campaign. 

Hapoel outscores Joventut, 103-99, in playoff rematch

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv snapped its two-game losing streak by beating Joventut Badalona 103-99 in its first home game at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Round 8 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup campaign. The rematch from last season's quarterfinals, which Joventut won, was a highly entertaining duel, with Hapoel being in control of the game and withstanding a late comeback attempt by Joventut to clinch the victory. Hapoel improved to 5-2 on the season, while the Spanish side dropped to 3-5.

An extraordinary Xavier Munford recorded season-highs in points (31) and PIR (35) to lead the winners. Jaylen Hoard scored 18 points, with J’Covan Brown and Kyle Alexander adding 17 each. Brown also dished 9 assists. Andres Feliz paced Joventut with 24 points, Andrew Andrews netted 23, Deshaun Thomas registered 20 and a debutant Tyler Cook added 15.

There was a constant exchange of leads in the first quarter, with both teams embracing an entertaining fast tempo and offering great spectacle on the floor. Thomas opened the scoring from behind the arc, but Munford scored his first 5 points, with Alexander and Hoard adding another 4 each for a narrow 15-13 Hapoel lead. Cook came off the bench to make his EuroCup debut with Joventut and sank back-to-back baskets to bring the guests within 20-19. Idan Zalmanson made 2 from the line and scored a bucket to allow Hapoel to take a 26-19 lead into the second quarter.

### Hoard helps Hapoel extend lead

Triples by Braian Angola and John Holland extended their team’s lead to double digits, 32-22. Joventut bounced back, as Pau Ribas nailed one from behind the arc, Feliz scored a layup and Thomas took his tally to 8 points to bring them within 34-30. Munford sank his third triple of the night and Hoard skied for a dunk in transition for a 44-35 Hapoel lead. Shortly after, a Thomas triple was followed by a couple of converted free throws by Hoard and Bar Timor scored one from downtown to secure a 54-44 Hapoel cushion heading into the second half.

### Munford remains hot from deep

Feliz knocked down his first triple of the night for Joventut’s first points after the break, but Alexander responded with back-to-back baskets. Andrews and Hoard exchanged buckets before Munford drilled yet another triple to give Hapoel a 63-53 cushion. Then, Munford sank one from the corner to go 6-for-7 from behind the arc and take his tally to 27 points with 5:38 remaining in the third quarter. Ribas, Feliz and Thomas drilled a triple each to cut the deficit to 72-67. Brown sank a fade-away jumper to beat the third-quarter buzzer and gave Hapoel an 83-74 lead.

### Joventut rally comes up short

An Andrews triple was followed by baskets from Feliz and Thomas, with Joventut trimming the difference to 87-83. Andrews and Angola exchanged buckets before Feliz made it a one-possession game, 89-87, with less than 5 minutes left on the clock. Alexander completed a three-point play, but Andrews responded with a corner triple. Feliz drilled Joventut’s 16th three-pointer of the night to match its EuroCup record of triples made in a single game, which made it 94-93. Then, Feliz tied the game with a layup, but Alexander responded with 4 unanswered points on the other end, 99-95. A Munford basket in transition was followed by back-to-back buckets from Cook and Andrews to bring Joventut within 101-99 with 15 seconds to go, but Brown made 2 from the line to seal the victory. 

Xavier Munford pours in 31 points to pace the winners.

Visiting 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys made the most of effervescent shooting streaks to earn a 71-75 win at Slask Wroclaw and stay on course to emulate last season’s success, when the Lithuanian side reached the EuroCup Playoffs.

Fast starts to both halves lifted Lietkabelis over Slask

Visiting 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys made the most of effervescent shooting streaks to earn a 71-75 win at Slask Wroclaw and stay on course to emulate last season’s success, when the Lithuanian side reached the EuroCup Playoffs.

With both teams playing in fits and starts, Lietkabelis showed more consistency and prevailed thanks to superior long-range artillery, having sank 15 three-pointers, albeit from 39 attempts. The visitors sank

4 of their first 5 shots from downtown to romp ahead 9-20 and although the percentages inevitably dropped as the game wore on, they also nailed a flurry of three-pointers in the third quarter when they pulled away into a 36-52 lead on the back of a 16-0 run.

“That was the defining moment of the game because we had fought hard to get back on level terms,” Slask coach Jakub Winnicki said after the game. “They made some really tough shots down the stretch. We did a great job in the fourth quarter but overall, we just didn’t have the momentum as there was no flow on our offense.”

Slask indeed blew hot and cold all night, as it managed to cut the gap to 42-52 only for Lietkabelis to come up with a 16-4 run late in the third to open up its biggest lead of the night, 46-68. The game seemed over as a contest with the visitors 52-73 ahead early in the fourth, but Slask then produced its best streak of the night, 19-2, which fell just short of forcing a final twist.

The home team shot just 8 of 23 from long range and was outrebounded 39-31 by a more athletic Lietkabelis team, which thrived on the extra pass and open looks at the perimeter when the chips were down.

“The most important thing is that we won the game but it’s clear that we should have finished it off in an easier and smarter way,” Lietkabelis head coach Nenad Canak told the post-game press conference. “The last 4 minutes, we stalled on offense and didn’t run back when we lost possession, giving Slask a chance to tie the score. We’ll take the win as it boosts our chances of reaching the playoffs.”

The Lithuanian team took advantage of hot streaks early in the first and third quarters.

7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys kept alive its hopes of making the playoffs after a 71-75 win at Slask Wroclaw in their BKT EuroCup Round 8 clash. 

Lietkabelis beats Slask, 71-75, to boost post-season hopes

7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys kept alive its hopes of making the playoffs after a 71-75 win at Slask Wroclaw in their BKT EuroCup Round 8 clash. The victory improved the Lithuanian side’s record to 4-4, while the Polish outfit remained rooted to the bottom of Group B on 0-8.

A balanced effort saw Gediminas Orelik pace Lietkabelis with 19 points and 4 rebounds. Martynas Varnas added 14 points for the visitors, Donatas Sabeckis chipped in with 13 points and 6 rebounds and Deividas Sirvydis netted 11 points.

At the other end, Jakub Niziol posted a game-high 21 points for Slask, who have now lost 17 EuroCup games in a row dating back to midway through the regular season last term. Daniel Golebiowski scored 14 points for the home side and Kendale McCullum added 11.

### Offenses fire up early 

The opening exchanges treated the fans to vastly entertaining basketball as Lietkabelis sank their opening 6 shots - 3 of them from downtown. The visitors raced into a 9-20 lead thanks to some spectacular offense, getting open looks all around on the back of their quick transition of the ball.

However, Slask was able to slash the deficit to 24-28 at the end of the opening period, largely thanks to a fine solo effort from Niziol who posted 11 points in the first quarter. 

### Lietkabelis takes control with big run

The hosts kept going and nosed ahead 35-34 in the closing stages of the second, at which point their offense came to a screeching halt. With the score tied 36-36 late in the first half, Lietkabelis found its range from downtown again and conjured a 0-16 run which left the home team with a mountain to climb early in the third quarter. 

### Slask's late rally falls short

Niziol kept the Polish side afloat with three fine slam-dunks, but Lietkabelis was seemingly out of sight after extending its lead to 52-73 early in the fourth.

Slask then launched a tremendous fightback as the hosts closed the gap to 65-73 and then 71-75 heading into the final minute of the game. However, they failed to make good defense count late in the game as they threw away their last two possessions. 

All said, Lietkabelis ground out a hard-fought win while it's back to the drawing board for Slask, which once again paid the price for inconsistency.

The visitors were forced to hang on in the closing stages after they nearly blew a 21-point lead.

SC Prometey defeated Reyer Venezia 89-82 in Round 8 of the 2023-24 EuroCup season to improve to 4-4, with the visitors dropping to 3-5.

SC Prometey goes up a gear to down Reyer Venezia, 89-82

Prometey Slobozhanske leaned on a strong final quarter and a half to defeat Umana Reyer Venice 89-82 at Riga Arena, Latvia, in Round 8 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season on Wednesday evening. Thanks to this win, Prometey’s second in as many games, the hosts improved their record to 4-4 while Reyer dropped to 3-5.

Ondrej Balvin dominated inside for Prometey en route to a team-high 15 points, while he also had 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and 0 turnovers. Caleb Agada, Issuf Sanon and Illia Sydorov added 12 points apiece in the win, and Oleksandr Lypovvy contributed 11. For Reyer, Kyle Wiltjer scored a game-high 18 points, with Rayjon Tucker netting 15, Alex O’Connell recording 13, Aamir Simms getting 11 and Davide Casarin adding 10.

### A well-fought first quarter

The game began with a lot of parity, as the two sides exchanged points in the early going. Every time that Prometey scored, Reyer responded and vice versa. Still, it was Reyer that seemed to get the better of the opening proceedings, with Tucker scoring 8 first-quarter points to give the Italian side a 17-21 lead with a minute remaining. But, a powerful basket by Balvin and 1 free throw from Odiase made it a 20-20 ballgame after 10 minutes.

### Reyer started to flex its muscles

Despite being without scorers Marco Spissu and Barry Brown Jr, Reyer's offense started to flow beautifully in the second quarter, with O'Connell, Simms and Wiltjer coming to the fore in particular. In fact, a 2-12 start to the second quarter by Reyer allowed it to open a 22-33 margin, but Rob Gray's first points as a Prometey player — a 1-for-2 trip to the line — seemed to provide a spark for the hosts. Prometey really started to pick up momentum in the second half of the second quarter, as Agada, Balvin and Odiase trimmed the margin before Ronald March's big dunk made it a 3-point game, 34-37. Wiltjer picked things up late and O'Connell added a reverse layup to make it 36-44, but a Sydorov triple and a free throw from March cut it to 40-44 at halftime.

### Prometey flipped the script

Although the third quarter got off to a great start for Reyer, with Wiltjer continuing his heroics to set a 45-52 score with 7:40 remaining, Sydorov and Lypovvy scored layups before Sanon dunked to force a Reyer timeout, 51-52. Eventually, Lypovvy drained a triple to give Prometey its first lead since the first quarter, 59-58, with 4:06 left. From there, Reyer never led again. Although he had been quiet until then, Gray began to put his fingerprints on the contest, scoring three times from mid-range to keep Reyer at arm's length. Balvin dunked with 7 seconds remaining to ensure Prometey led 71-69 entering the fourth quarter.

### The hosts put their foot on the gas

Sanon got the fans off their seats with back-to-back stepback three-pointers on successive offensive possessions for Prometey, 77-71, before Balvin and Agada appeared to give the hosts more breathing room, 84-73. There was a late fightback from Reyer, with Tessitori making it a 4-point ballgame, 86-82, after scoring 4 straight points, but the ever-present Balvin put the win on ice, 87-82, with a free throw. Tkachenko then added the cherry on top of the cake with a mid-range jumper as the game clock ran out.

Tai Odiase of Prometey Slobozhanske scores a basket against Umana Reyer Venice in Round 8 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

After a strong first two and half quarters by the visitors, the hosts found another level to come away with the win.

Prometey goes up a gear to down Reyer, 89-82

A high-profile showdown is taking place in Group A, as Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv plays its first "home" game in Belgrade, Serbia against Joventut Badalona.

Hapoel, Joventut meet again in Belgrade

The BKT EuroCup regular season is about to reach its halfway mark. After four games playing on the road, Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv (4-2) plays [its first home showdown at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall,](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/hapoel-shlomo-tel-aviv-joventut-badalona/U2023/75/) looking to snap a two-game losing streak. Joventut Badalona (3-4) comes off back-to-back home losses but has good news in terms of signings and recovered players.

In [their only EuroCup meeting prior to Wednesday's](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/joventut-badalona-hapoel-vegan-friendly-tel-aviv/U2022/192/), Joventut eliminated Hapoel in last season's EuroCup Quarterfinals, 82-74, in Badalona. [Vladimir Brodziansky](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/vladimir-brodziansky/010458/) and [Ante Tomic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/ante-tomic/002507/) paced the winners with 16 points apiece that night. That duo has been sidelined, however, in the last few games and may miss the rematch in Belgrade, too. Before last season, these teams played only twice in their long histories. Joventut beat Hapoel twice in the 1988-89 Korac Cup, 103-89 at home and 77-82 in Tel Aviv.

### Hapoel has been shooting the lights out

Hapoel opened this season with a four-game winning streak, scoring 97 points or more in all of those games. As such, Hapoel now ranks second in scoring (97.0 ppg.) mainly because of its superb three-point marksmanship, having hit 44.8% of all attempts so far from beyond the arc.

2023-34 EuroCup highlights: Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv

As many as five Hapoel players are making 42.0% or more their three-point shots, led by [Tomer Ginat](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/tomer-ginat/010550/) (62.5% 3FG). [Jaylen Hoard](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/jaylen-hoard/006835/) (57.1%), [Xavier Munford](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/xavier-munford/007759/) (53.1%), [Braian Angola](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/braian-angola/010465/) (44.8%) and [Bar Timor](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/bar-timor/004846/) (42.9%) are also shooting the ball really well from downtown.

Hoard has been all over the place this season, ranking second in PIR at 22.7 per night. He is averaging 17.7 points on 76.2% two-pointers, 4.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 blocks. His matchup against a highly experienced opponent like [DeShaun Thomas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/deshaun-thomas/005094/) should be one of the biggest keys to this game.

### Joventut is dealing with injuries

Joventut has been struggling lately with three injured frontcourt players (Tomic, Brodziansky and Miguel Allen) plus five EuroCup games missed by star playmaker [Andres Feliz](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/andres-feliz/011247/), who returned to action this weekend. Feliz had a remarkable comeback game in the Spanish League, coming off the bench to get 20 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 fouls drawn. Above all, he buried a 21-meter prayer at the buzzer give Joventut an 81-78 home win over Bilbao Basket.

Joventut Badalona started the season with a 3-4 record in Group A

2023-24 EuroCup highlights: Joventut Badalona

Joventut also strengthened its frontcourt recently by signing power forward [Tyler Cook](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/tyler-calvin-cook/012780/), who is set to make his EuroCup debut in Belgrade. He replaced former Hapoel big man Chinanu Onuaku, who parted ways with Joventut earlier this month. It is Joventut's second mid-season signing: it previously brought in guard [Kenny Chery](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/kenny-chery/009572/), who is averaging 13.0 points off the bench in three EuroCup games.

Teenage center [Ruben Prey](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/ruben-prey/010708/) stepped up in the last two games, averaging 7.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks, proving he is ready to keep seeing quality playing time in the near future.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr">📢📣 Així sona l’Olímpic. Així soneu tots els que avui ens heu fet creure en la victòria!<br><br>SOM-HI OLÍMPIC 💚🖤<a href=https://twitter.com/hashtag/Badaloma%C3%89sFutur?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>#BadalomaÉsFutur</a> <a href=https://t.co/RhlEygNHzX>pic.twitter.com/RhlEygNHzX</a></p>&mdash; Club Joventut Badalona (@Penya1930) <a href=https://twitter.com/Penya1930/status/1726332677308239999?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>November 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src=https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js charset="utf-8"></script>

### Both teams need better defense

In a game between two very offensive-minded teams, defense could arguably be the biggest key. Both struggled defensively in the last two games. Hapoel allowed 106.0 points in its last two games against Paris Basketball and Prometey Slobozhanske. Hapoel was outrebounded in both games, too, and allowed those opponents to make 35 of 73 three-pointers (47.9%) while combining for 57 assists against just 14 turnovers.

Joventut did not do not better, allowing 94.0 points on average between losses to London Lions and Paris. After giving their opponents 30 offensive rebounds in those two games, boxing out should be a major concern, as well as shooting the ball better from beyond the arc. Joventut shot only 27.9% from downtown in the those two games.

Two quality teams ready to bounce back from recent losses in one of the most famous arenas in Europe. What's not to like?