Patrick Richard and Bryce Jones combined for 20 points in the last period to help U-BT Cluj-Napoca erase an 11-point deficit and wrest the win away from KK Buducnost Podgorica.

Cluj’s backcourt made the difference in Podgorica

Only a few would have bet on a win by U-BT Cluj-Napoca at the halftime of the road game it played against Buducnost VOLI Podgorica on Wednesday night. The visitors trailed by 14 points at that moment, having displayed an erratic offense from which it only got 31 points, while also committing 12 turnovers.

The scenario wasn’t much better entering the last period, as Buducnost had resisted without big effort a timid comeback attempt in the third period and ruled 65-55 with 7 minutes remaining. But all of a sudden, Cluj reacted in a tremendous way.

The visitors gave the keys to their perimeter players and all of them responded in style. A 2-12 run fueled by Karel Guzman, Dennis Seeley, Bryce Jones and, especially, Patrick Richard, made it a brand new game, 67-67, in just 4 minutes.

Game News

Even though Buducnost tried to hold on, it was too late against a full-of-confidence Cluj, which managed to take its first lead of the night through Jones, 69-71, entering crunch time, and sealed the victory from the line from the hands of Richard, who stayed cold-blooded in the last minute to confirm the comeback.

“It’s a game in which my team, my players showed a lot of character and that’s why we won this game”, Mihai Silvasan, Cluj head coach explained. “After being minus 14 at half, after turning the ball over 12 times \[in the first half\], we didn’t give up and we fought, possession by possession to win this game. That’s how the character of this team should be. We showed it \[tonight\] and we showed it in almost all games this season in the EuroCup.”

Game Videos

After scoring just 31 points in the first 20 minutes, Cluj netted 29 in the last 10, which turned the tables when nobody expected it. In that final quarter, Cluj’s backcourt players had a key role combining for 25 points, 14 of which came from Richard, who finished as the game's top scorer with 16.

“It was difficult, but we showed the heart, we got the character we have as a team, we stayed with it, we stayed together, that’s all it is”, he celebrated after the game. “We Just stayed with it and kept fighting, kept fighting We found a way to pull it out in the end. This team, we have shown a lot of resilience all season, and we showed it tonight in a tough place to play.”

Patrick Richard and Bryce Jones combined for 20 points in the last period to help Cluj erase an 11-point deficit and wrest the win away from Buducnost.

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica v U-BT Cluj-Napoca (2023-12-27T18:00:00.000Z)

Trento's defense, timely plays, took care of Lietkabelis

Dolomiti Energia Trento finished the calendar year in style. After shocking Dreamland Gran Canaria a week ago, Trento doubled-down with a big 76-70 win over 7bet-Lietkabelis Paneveyzs, its direct rival in the playoff race.

Trento held the visitors, a dangerous shooting team, to just 7-of-25 (28.0%) from long range. Gediminas Orelik was just 2-of-8 and Paulius Valinskas 0-of-3. In the first half, Trento allowed just 27 points.

"Our defense made the difference", stated Trento's Lithuanian forward Andrejs Grazulis, who paced the winning team with 18 points and 7 rebounds.

Grazulis also pointed out: "We still struggled on defensive rebounds, but the defense made up for some mistakes."

The rebounding struggles Grazulis stressed were the 15 offensive rebounds Lietkabelis pulled down to just 5 for Trento.

However, in the fourth quarter, it was Trento that benefited from action on the offensive glass, as it allowed just 1 offensive rebound, while grabbing 3 key offensive boards in the final 3 minutes of the game.

First, Graziulis picked up a miss from Quinn Ellis, and scored a layup that made it 68-61. Then, with 65 seconds left, Kamar Baldwin missed a three-pointer only to get first to the ball before Paul Biligha scored on a second-chance opportunity and extended the lead to 74-63. Finally, Grazulis got another offensive board with 13 seconds left with Trento up 74-67, making sure there would be no drama.

Such timely plays made the difference and allowed Trento to complete a season sweep of Lietkabelis, giving Trento a two-win advantage in the standings.

And with Grazulis consistently posting numbers like in this game, and with Kamar Baldwin flashing serious finishing skills, both from long range and close to the rim, Trento has positioned itself well with five games to go to break its eight-year playoff drought.

Dolomiti Energia Trento v 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys (2023-12-27T19:00:00.000Z)

Prometey and Cedevita flirted with scoring history

Prometey Slobozhanske and Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana put together a highly-entertaining clash that had everything you can ask for from two offenses, but very little defense. Prometey pulled out a 105-100 win over a winless and depleted visitor who had only 7 players in its rotation, but that did not stop Cedevita from producing on offense.

The first half, after which Prometey led 60-55, was especially productive, ending up as the fourth highest-scoring first half in competition history. When all was said and done, there were a dozen players who finished with double figures in points. 

Five of Cedevita's seven players finished with 14 or more points. Jaka Blazic scored 26, Justin Cobbs had 23,  Karlo Matkovic 17 points, Shawn Jones finished with 15 and Gregor Glas with 14.

Prometey, on the other hand, had seven double-digit scorers. Tai Odiase had 17 points, Gian Clavell 17, Oleksandr Lypovyy netted 16 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting, Ronald March and Issuf Sanon scored 15 apiece while Rob Gray and Caleb Agada each scored 10 points in an important win for Prometey.

Prometey Slobozhanske v Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (2023-12-27T17:00:00.000Z)

Trento holds off Lietkabelis, 76-70

Dolomiti Energia Trento protected its home floor and solidified its position in a tight playoff race by holding off visiting 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys 76-70 on Wednesday night. With the win, Trento not only improved to a 6-7 record and a share of the fifth-best record in Group B, but also gave it a season-sweep of its direct playoff-chasing rival Lietkabelis, which dropped to 5-8.

Trento trailed only in the opening minute and controlled the majority of the game. Its lead was as big as 12 points late in the second quarter, and reached 11 points in the third. Lietkabelis was not going away, but Kamar Baldwin made sure Trento never relinquished its lead before Andrejs Grazulis finished the job. 

Grazulis collected 18 points and 7 rebounds while Davide Alviti netted 14 on 4-for-5 three-point shooting to lead the winners. Baldwin and Paul Biligha added 12 points apiece with Baldwin also dishing 5 assists. Deividas Sirvydis paced the visitors with 21 points and 7 rebounds, Paulius Valinskas scored 11 and Nikola Popovic 10 points in defeat.

Grazulis was front and center for Trento early on, scoring the first 8 points, including a three-pointer from each corner. He also set up Myles Stephens's alley-oop dunk that opened a 12-5 lead, but Lietkabelis replied with a 0-7 run capped by a triple from Sirvydis. Toto Forray hit a three on one end, before Sirvydis and Alviti traded triples, making it 20-17 at the end of the first quarter. 

The scoring slowed down in the second as Luca Conti made a triple to extend the margin to 25-17. Trento held the visitors to a single basket in the first 5 minutes of the quarter, a three-pointer from Liutauras Lelevicius. Trento's defense was not letting down, helping create a 7-0 run that included a transition three from Baldwin and opened a 34-22 margin. Paulius Valinskas snapped the drought with a three-point play and Nikola Popovic battled inside to get Lietkabelis within 35-27 after two quarters.

Lietkabelis halved the deficit after just two possessions, but Trento answered with Biligha scoring twice from close range and Alviti knocking down a three-pointer to cap a 9-1 run and make it 44-33. But Lietkabelis was not going away, scoring 7 unanswered points, including Lelevicius making a corner three in transition. The teams traded blows the rest of the quarter, but Baldwin's 5 points, a mid-range jumper and a triple, helped Trento to a 54-46 lead going into the fourth quarter. 

Sirvydis and Baldwin traded baskets before Valinskas and Gabrielius Maldunas cut the deficit to 56-52. Alviti and Gediminas Orelik exchanged three-pointers and it remained a 4-point margin midway through the fourth quarter. Alviti nailed another triple, his fourth, and Grazulis scored twice inside to open 70-61 lead with 2:06 to go. Trento made another defensive stand, before Baldwin restored a double-digit lead and then pulled down an offensive rebound to ice the game.

Angel Delgado was dominant inside for Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul and led the Turkish side to a comfortable 72-59 victory over Wolves Vilnius on Wednesday. 

Angel Delgado dominated the paint against Wolves

[Angel Delgado](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/angel-delgado/012647/) was dominant inside for Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul and led the Turkish side to a comfortable 72-59 victory over Wolves Vilnius on Wednesday. The Besiktas center bagged a double-double by recording 16 points and matching his career-highs of 14 rebounds and a PIR of 30. Delgado recorded a career high in assists with 6 and his complete stat line included 1 steal and 6 drawn fouls in just 25:58 minutes on the floor.

The 29-year-old made the difference in the first half, finishing the second quarter with 9 points and 9 rebounds. He completed his double-double less than four minutes into the second half when he already had 11 points and as many rebounds. Meanwhile, 2 of his assists in the last quarter produced a couple of highlights, with Kyle Allman pulling off two dunks to get the fans off their seats.

Delgado dominated in the paint against Wolves

“Without my teammates, I would never play like this,” Delgado said after the game. “I want to thank the coaches too for preparing me to have an amazing game.”

Back in October, Wolves grabbed a narrow 90-88 victory, with Tre'Shawn Thurman scoring 31 points, including the winning basket. Delgado admitted that the loss in Lithuania frustrated his team which sought revenge at the Bjk Emlakjet Sports & Event Hall on Wednesday evening.

“I feel good about this win,” Delgado added. “Because of what they did to us in the last game, that’s why we came \[into the game\] really aggressive. We wanted to destroy them. And that’s what we did.”

Besiktas was solid on defense throughout the encounter. The hosts allowed Wolves to score just 1 point in the first 7 minutes of the duel, with the visitors finishing the first quarter with just 9 points. Wolves improved its scoring tally in the second quarter, but netted just 23 points in the first half. Besiktas forced the visitors to 21 turnovers and scored 27 points off these errors to clinch a comfortable victory.

“Everything started and ended today with our defense and our toughness,” head coach Dusan Alimpijevic said after the game. “When we play like this, I’m really not afraid of anyone. I think that my team has a big potential, especially defensively, to play games like this. At the end of the day, I think that this will be the most important thing when important times come. Now we have five tough games in front of us and we’re playing for \[a\] better \[position in the\] standings.”

With Wednesday’s home win, Besiktas improved to an 8-5 record. The next game of the Turkish side will take place at Umana Reyer Venice on January 10, with their last three duels being against strong sides London Lions, Paris Basketball and Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv.

The Besiktas center collected his fifth double-double of the season.

Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul v Wolves Vilnius (2023-12-27T17:00:00.000Z)

Kris Bankston set the early tone for Aris 

Aris Midea Thessaloniki ended 2023 in style by cruising to a comfortable home win over Slask Wroclaw on Wednesday night, 93-71, and the tone was set in the opening minutes by a dominant phase of play from big man [Kris Bankston](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/kris-bankston/012760/). 

Ensuring his team made a fast start, Bankston scored three of Aris’s first five baskets and delivered the assists for the other two, allowing Vassilis Toliopoulos and Roberto Gallinat to sink the first pair of a new club record 17 three-pointers. And that wasn’t all because he completed his stellar start to the action by grabbing 4 offensive rebounds and a steal, giving him a PIR of 11 in just five minutes. 

Kris Bankston set the tone early for Aris

Bankston didn’t continue that level of dominance but continued to be a regular contributor to his team’s easy win, ending with 9 points, a team-high 7 rebounds – including 5 at the offensive end – 3 assists and 2 steals for a PIR of 19, the second-highest of all Aris players behind Vassilis Toliopoulos (25 PIR). 

And that marked a welcome return to form for a player who hasn’t shined in recent weeks, with Bankston – who is enjoying his first season in European basketball after coming through Norfolk State University – failing to reach double digits PIR in the previous five games and recording a minus tally in two of those. 

Aris’s leading scorer on the night was Toliopoulos, who combined 25 points with 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and after the game, he asserted that his team’s strong start – powered by Bankston – was the key to the outcome. “We were very serious from the beginning, offensively and defensively,” he said. “We never let the opponent believe they could win.” 

Indeed, after Aris’s powerful early surge there was never any real doubt about the outcome, which gave the Greek team its third consecutive victory – and second straight with 90+ points on the scoreboard – and keeps it right in the fight to progress from a very tight Group B. 

Aris is one of four teams separated by just one win between fifth and eighth place, and if Bankston maintains his return to form it could prove crucial heading into the decisive final weeks of the regular season. 

It was another strong performance for the EuroCup rookie. 

Aris Midea Thessaloniki v Slask Wroclaw (2023-12-27T18:00:00.000Z)

On the heels of a three-game losing streak, the defending BKT EuroCup champions found some extra talent for the perimeter.

Gran Canaria shores up with swingman Gegic

Dreamland Gran Canaria has moved to fortify its lineup by signing swingman [Amar Gegic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/amar-gegic/004466/) for the remainder of the BKT EuroCup season. Gegic (2.00 meters, 25 years old) started the season with Metropolitans 92 in France and was putting up 12.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game so far this season in the French League.

The move comes after the defending EuroCup champions suffered a third consecutive defeat on Tuesday, missing an opportunity to qualify early to the playoffs, although another team's loss let Gran Canaria reach that goal a day later. The losing streak has come after the team won its first 10 Group B games and looked invincible in the process. Gran Canaria is now 10-3 and in second place in the group behind 11-2 JLB Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse, which has qualified for the playoffs.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">🖊 OFICIAL | El Dreamland Gran Canaria incorpora a Amar Gegic.<br><br>▪ El polivalente jugador bosnio refuerza el juego exterior del equipo amarillo.<br><br>👀 <a href="https://t.co/t1GhrIPUCm">https://t.co/t1GhrIPUCm</a> <a href="https://t.co/SuOssiXQZR">pic.twitter.com/SuOssiXQZR</a></p>&mdash; Dreamland Gran Canaria (@GranCanariaCB) <a href="https://twitter.com/GranCanariaCB/status/1740097731291701586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 

### Gegic brings EuroCup experience.

Gegic comes to the Canary Islands with three seasons of EuroCup experience having played the last one with Paris Basketball, for whom he put up 11.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists over 19 games, coming off the bench for all but one of them and playing an average of 20:31 minutes. He played twice against Gran Canaria last season, scoring 14 and 7 points in a pair of road losses by Paris in the regular season and quarterfinals, respectively.

Prior to Paris, Gegic played 12 EuroCup games with Partizan Belgrade in the 2018-19 season, averaging 2.4 points in 12 minutes, and made his debut in the competition as a teenager with FC Bayern Munich in 2017, making a couple of brief appearances.

Dreamland Gran Canaria news

U-BT Cluj-Napoca bounced back from its last home loss in the Eurocup by grabbing a hard-fought 77-79 win at Buducnost VOLI Podgorica at Moraca on Wednesday night. 

Cluj storms back to defeat Buducnost on the road, 77-79

U-BT Cluj-Napoca bounced back from its last home loss in the Eurocup by grabbing a hard-fought 77-79 win at Buducnost VOLI Podgorica at Moraca on Wednesday night. The visitors had to overcome a 15-point first-half deficit but finished strong and outscored their opponent 16-29 in the fourth quarter to turn the tables. 

Patrick Richard led the visitors with 16 points, 5 boards and 4 assists for a PIR of 25. Andrija Stipanovic also had 16 points and Bryce Jones posted 13 points and 8 dimes to lift Cluj’s record to 9-4. Petar Popovic and Brandon Paul scored 13 points apiece to pace the hosts, Kenan Kamenjas chipped in 12, Andrija Slavkovic 11 and McKinley Wright netted 10 in the losing effort. With the loss, Buducnost slipped to 5-8.

### Buducnost hits first, Cluj struggles in offense

The hosts built an early 9-2 lead based on a strong defense and 4 points in a row by Marvin Jones. Cluj needed 3 minutes to record its first field goal, but from that moment it chained together 4 successful offenses that made it 14-13 before the first timeout of the game. Popovic resumed the game with a three and Paul followed with a couple of free throws, as Cluj remained scoreless for almost 3 minutes for a 19-13 lead for the home side. Despite the visitors locking in defensively, allowing nothing but free throws to Buducnost, the guests managed to finish the first period in front, 22-19.

The scenario got worse for Cluj after the break, as its offensive woes continued and Buducnost found a new weapon in Kamenjas. The Bosnian center had an immediate impact in his first EuroCup game this season and boosted his team to a 31-23 advantage. Cluj had Stepanovic as its only contributor at that point, which proved too little against the hosts’ energy. Jones and Slavkovic joined the party to keep feeding Buducnost’s offense, while Cluj remained erratic in offense, with below-par shooting and committing several turnovers -10 in the second period. A buzzer-beating coast-to-coast layup by Yogi Ferrell closed the first half with the home team ruling 45-31.

### Cluj explodes in the last period, Buducnost falls short 

A 0-7 run started by Seeley and capped by Karel Guzman right after the third quarter started brought Cluj back into the game, 45-38. Buducnost looked to break the trend with an early timeout, but it didn’t stop the visitors. Back-to-back buckets by Stepanovic extended the run to 0-11 and made it a one-possession game, 45-42, soon after. The drought came to its end thanks to Kamenjas and Paul, as the latter hit from downtown to cool it down and restore a comfortable 50-42 edge for Buducnost. The hosts didn’t stop there and ignited a 9-0 run behind 5 points in a row by Popovic to restore a double-digit lead, 59-46, that turned into a 61-50 advantage entering the last quarter.

Both squads swapped baskets in the early going, which allowed the hosts to retain a 65-55 margin. It seemed the home side had it under control, but Cluj’s backcourt woke up and started its own show. Guzma opened fire from the line, opening the door for Richards, Jones and DJ Seeley, who ignited a 2-12 run that tied it up for the first time since the tipoff. Jones struck again from the free-throw line to give Cluj its first lead of the night and showed up again in clutch time to extend the lead to 71-75 with less than a minute remaining. Paul gave hope to the local fans with a huge three to make it a 1-point game but produced 2 consecutive airballs in the following possessions that allowed Richards to seal the outcome from the line.

Despite missing four top players, Hapoel Tel Aviv BC pulled away late to defeat Hamburg Towers 118-101

Shorthanded Hapoel overpowers Hamburg 118-101

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv made it six wins in a row and set a club scoring record in a 118-101 victory over Veolia Towers Hamburg on Wednesday at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall. Despite missing four of its top five scorers to injury, Hapoel prevailed in a game that it led by just 1 point heading into the fourth quarter. The victory kept Hapoel just behind Paris Basketball in second place in Group A with a 10-2 record, while Hamburg slipped 2-11.  

Bar Timor led seven Hapoel scorers in double figures with a career-high 21 points and 6 assists. Kyle Alexander and John Holland added 18 points apiece, Dez Wells contributed 16 in his debut, Xavier Munford tallied 15 points and 7 assists, Gil Beni scored 14 and Idan Zalmanson collected 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Hapoel was without stars Braian Angola, J’Covan Brown, Tomer Ginat and Jaylen Hoard.

Aleksander Dziewa posted 23 points and 8 rebounds to lead Hamburg, VJ King scored 17, Seth Hinrichs 16 and Mark Hughes made 5 of 8 three-pointers en route to 15 points.

### Hapoel erupts on offense

Alhaji Durham scored the game’s first 4 points and Hamburg would lead 2-6 before Alexander ignited a 13-0 Hapoel run in which Holland and Timor buried threes. Only 4:20 of game time had passed by the time Alexander reached 10 points with a layup that made it 17-8. Timor’s next basket stretched the lead to double figures. A pretty reverse layup by Lukas Meisner gave Hamburg hope, but Hapoel continued to roll on offense as newcomer Wells scored his first baskets to make it 30-16. Dziewa scored 5 quick points, but Hapoel led 35-23 after 10 minutes.   

Hamburg heated up from deep with threes by Hinrichs and Nico Brauner, but Munford got involved with his first 4 points to keep Hapoel in control. The lead crept up to 48-32, but Hamburg continued to battle back and its bench erupted when Dziewa scored inside to get within 54-45. A triple by Hughes further trimmed the gap to 7 only to see Hapoel score the last 6 points of the half for a 65-52 advantage.  

### Hamburg rallies to within 1

Hinrichs drained another triple to start the second half as Hamburg went on a 7-0 run to get back in the game. Holland ended the Hapoel drought with a three, but Hamburg kept the pressure on. Dziewa drew his team within 69-68, while Munford took a seat with 4 fouls – the last of them a technical for punching the ball in frustration. Timor and Wells gave Hapoel some breathing room, stretching the lead back to 7. William Christmas got more involved for Hamburg and a pair of threes by Hughes made it 84-83 at the end of the quarter.

### Munford leads final Hapoel charge

Munford scored 5 in a 7-0 Hapoel burst to start the fourth quarter. A three by Wells made it 94-85. Hamburg bounced back through Hughes’s fifth triple, but the Hapoel attack was back on track and Holland’s fastbreak dunk made it 100-90. Hapoel turned it into a 13-2 run to put the game away with time to spare.

Despite missing four top players, the Tel Avivians pulled away late and set a club scoring record in the process. 

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv v Veolia Towers Hamburg (2023-12-27T17:30:00.000Z)