A mature approach made the difference as Wolves Vilnius (4-3) stayed in complete control against Veolia Towers Hamburg (1-7) throughout their 71-84 road win against the German side in Round 8 of the BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

Wolves Vilnius thrived on superior shot selection at hasty Hamburg

A mature approach made the difference as Wolves Vilnius (4-3) stayed in complete control against Veolia Towers Hamburg (1-7) throughout their 71-84 road win against the German side in Round 8 of the BKT EuroCup.

The result kept Wolves firmly in the Group A playoff picture and it also piled the pressure on Hamburg. The visitors never looked back after romping into an early 0-15 lead, having built their advantage on a superb shot selection while forcing Hamburg to rush their own perimeter attempts.

By the end of the first quarter, with Wolves 16-24 ahead, the visitors thoroughly dominated every department. They shot 9 of 17 from the floor with Hamburg making 5 of 18. Wolves also had more assists (6-2) and rebounds (14-9) and that set the tone for the rest of the contest.

Game News

“We made a poor start as a 0-15 deficit is tough to overcome in the EuroCup,” Hamburg’s head coach Benka Barloschky said at the post-game press conference. “We cut their lead to 4 points and had a chance to turn it around, but the shots didn’t fall tonight and in the second half, defensive rebounding was our biggest problem,” he added.

Whenever Hamburg looked remotely capable of turning the tide, Wolves came up with patient offense and an extra pass which left either the perimeter shooters with an open look or big men in the paint unmarked.

Wolves were 4 of 8 from three-point range at halftime and 17 of 29 in total from the floor, while they finished the contest out-rebounding the home team 42-34 and dishing out more assists (20-16).

Game Videos

Hamburg was just 8 of 25 from three-point range, with sharpshooter Lukas Meisner enduring a tough night as he made only 1 of 6 shots from downtown and 1 of 5 from inside the arc.

“Great win for us, we knew it wouldn’t be an easy game,” said Wolves head coach Kestutis Kemzura. ”Hamburg doesn’t have big stars but they play with a lot of passion. They are great shooters and they attack the boards well. We were very focused, controlled the boards and kept them at bay throughout.”

In Round 9, Wolves are at home to London Lions in what should be a spectacular clash, while Hamburg visits Umana Reyer Venice.

Patient offense allowed the visitors to build an unassailable lead early in the game.

Wolves thrived on superior shot selection at hasty Hamburg

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

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica returned to winning ways by downing Dolomiti Energia Trento 98-96 in overtime in Group B on Tuesday and defense and second-half three-point shooting are what allowed Buducnost to get the victory.

Buducnost's outside shooting was key against Trento

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica returned to winning ways by downing Dolomiti Energia Trento 98-96 in overtime in Group B on Tuesday and defense and second-half three-point shooting are what allowed Buducnost to get the victory.

The hosts buried 3 of 7 three-point shots in the first half. Buducnost took many more shots from beyond the arc after the break and in overtime, making 8 of 16 three-pointers (50%) to finish the game with 11-of-23 shooting (47.8%).

On the other hand, Trento took 41 three-point attempts and made 15 of them, a new club record in both categories. Trento had previously made 14 three-pointers against Dominion Bilbao Basket on December 16, 2015, and had never attempted more than 37 shots from beyond the arc. Trento took 12 more attempts from downtown (41) than inside the arc (29). 

The teams combined for a EuroCup record: 5 three-pointers in the overtime period.

Taking better care of the ball was one of the biggest keys to the game. Buducnost finished the game with 17 assists and just 9 turnovers. Trento had fewer assists, 16, and more turnovers, 15. Nine of those came in the second half and overtime.

Buducnost made 23 free throws, its biggest mark in the EuroCup since January 2022. Trento had a better percentage (88.2% FT) than its opponent (82.1%) but only went to the line 17 times to Buducnost's 28.

Andrej Zakelj helped Buducnost stop a four-game winning streak in his first BKT EuroCup game as head coach. 

Telling numbers: Buducnost's outside shooting was key

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

Wolves Vilnius improved their record to 4-3 in BKT EuroCup Group A after breezing to a 71-84 win at Veolia Towers Hamburg in a one-sided Round 8 clash. 

Wolves Vilnius sink Hamburg, 71-84, to stay on playoff course

Wolves Vilnius improved their record to 4-3 in BKT EuroCup Group A after breezing to a 71-84 win at Veolia Towers Hamburg in a one-sided Round 8 clash. 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, as the visitors racked up 45 boards of which 17 were offensive. They also dished out 20 assists to underline a flowing team effort at both ends of the court.

Mark Hughes paced a misfiring Hamburg with 14 points, V.J. King scored 13 and Seth Hinrichs added 11 for the home side, which shot 8 of 25 from three-point range and 15 of 39 from inside the arc.

### Wolves riot out of the gate

Rampant Wolves roared into a 0-15 lead, with Hamburg netting its first shot from the floor with 5:43 minutes left in the first quarter. The visitors did damage in the paint time and again while Hamburg was forced into a barrage of tough perimeter shots in the first quarter. 

The hosts stepped up their defense and slashed the deficit to 20-24 early in the second, but Wolves were soon able to pull away on the back of a 0-8 run and stayed in cruise control to lead 37-47 at halftime.

### Hamburg's rally was not enough

Hamburg cut the deficit to 46-52 early in the third but that was as good as it got for the hosts, as the visitors conjured a 10-2 streak to put the game out of the home team’s reach. Hamburg fought hard to stay in touch, but whenever it looked capable of closing in, Wolves hit a timely perimeter shot to stay in the driving seat. It was lights out for Hamburg after Wolves extended their advantage to 57-73 early in the fourth and they closed out the game in second gear to move up the standings.

The visitors strolled to a comfortable win as they led throughout the lopsided contest.

Wolves sink Hamburg, 71-84, to stay on playoff course

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse remained undefeated at Ekinox this season by beating Turk Telekom Ankara 86-67 on Tuesday night. 

Bourg beats Turk Telekom, 86-67, to remain unbeaten at home

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse remained undefeated at Ekinox this season by beating Turk Telekom Ankara 86-67 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, Isiaha Mike and Axel Julien scored 12 each and Isiaha Mike added 10. Kevin Kokila paired his 10 points with 9 rebounds. James Palmer and Steven Enoch netted a game-high 19 points each, with the latter also recording 10 rebounds. Okben Ulubay recorded 11 points after shooting 3-for-5 from behind the arc.

### Hosts take control early

Enoch opened the scoring with an early bucket before Morgan and Mike responded with a triple each. Then, Kevin Kokila netted a put-back basket and Morgan threw down a slam for a 10-0 run that gave Bourg a 10-2 lead midway through the first quarter. Kokila scored 4 quick points and Bryce Brown drilled a deep three-point shot for a 17-2 Bourg cushion. Palmer’s jump shot ended the French side’s momentum, but Brown nailed another triple and E.J. Rowland opened his account with a layup as the hosts took a 22-8 lead into the second quarter.

Turk Telekom responded with a 0-9 surge, with Tyrone Wallace grabbing his first 2 points of the night before Palmer and Ulubay sank a triple each. Bourg was held scoreless for more than 3 minutes, but Zaccharie Risacher made 2 from the line to make it 24-17. Morgan and Mike drilled a triple apiece to restore a double-digit lead for the hosts, 32-21. Then, a couple of Morgan three-pointers and another triple by Rowland gave Bourg a 43-25 lead heading into halftime.

### Turk Telekom puts together spirited comeback

Morgan responded to Enoch’s early basket with his fifth three-pointer of the night, but the Turk Telekom center drilled a triple of his own and Ulubay netted another one from downtown to bring the visitors within 48-35. Palmer scored his first bucket of the second half to take his tally to 11 points, but then his head coach, Selcuk Ernak, was ejected after receiving his second technical foul of the night with 3:21 to go in the third quarter. Ulubay nailed one from downtown and Yigitcan Saybir scored a bucket to allow Turk Telekom to cut the difference to single digits, 51-45. Back-to-back Ulubay triples brought the visitors within 53-51.

Kokila and Rowland scored a basket each in the opening stages of the last quarter, but Palmer responded with a mid-range bucket, 58-53. Maksim Salash netted a couple of scores before Palmer sank a triple to take his tally to 18 points against his former team and trim the deficit to 62-58. Julien scored his third triple of the season and Jequan Lewis made 2 from the charity stripe to restore a double-digit lead, 68-58, with 4:32 left on the clock. Saybir and Julien exchanged three-pointers before Mike and Risacher scored a bucket each to give Bourg a 76-62 lead and practically put the game to bed with a couple of minutes to go.

The result gives Bourg a share of second place in Group B.

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

Reigning BKT EuroCup champ Dreamland Gran Canaria had 9 steals in the second half alone against U-BT Cluj-Napoca to turn a 2-point halftime lead into a comfortable 70-92 victory. 

Gran Canaria flexed on defense to blast Cluj 

Dreamland Gran Canaria came into Tuesday's road came at U-BT Cluj-Napoca averaging 8 steals per game. The reigning BKT EuroCup champs had 9 steals in the second half alone to turn a 2-point halftime lead into a comfortable 70-92 victory.

"We are satisfied, especially with our defensive work in the second half," Coach Jaka Lakovic of Gran Canaria said. "We stopped their transition, we rebounded the ball well and… on offense we created great things for ourselves, especially Sylven \[Landesberg\] was hot and we kept going to him."

Landesberg led all scorers with 26 points, of which 15 came in the game's final 10 minutes.

Sylven Landesberg led the way for Dreamland Gran Canaria with 26 points against U-BT Cluj-Napoca in Round 8.

Sylven Landesberg scored 26 points at Cluj-Napoca

"Unfortunately in the fourth quarter we didn't manage to stop them, especially Landesberg, who had a very good fourth quarter and he scored everything," Coach Mihai Silvasan added. "The difference was our 24 turnovers. That’s a lot if you want to win a game in the EuroCup… We stayed with them for three quarters... We fought. We should have had some more courage in some moments."

Gran Canaria totaled 13 steals and scored 30 points off of Cluj's turnovers. Andrew Albicy led the visiting defense with 4 steals and Roko Prkacin and Ben Lammers had 3 each. All of Albicy's steals came in the second half.

After Cluj scored 43 points in the first half, Gran Canaria clamped it down to 11 in the third quarter and 16 in the fourth. The excellent perimeter defense saw Cluj shoot 2 for 11 from behind the arc in the last two quarters.

Overall, it was Gran Canaria's third-best defensive effort in terms of points allowed this season and the margin of victory was its second highest. In all of last season, the club held opponents to 70 points or less only four times and had a margin of victory of at least 20 once – in the semifinals against Paris Basketball.

Gran Canaria is already ahead of that pace and now it has a two-win gap atop Group B. Could it become the first team to ever successfully defend the EuroCup crown?

Over the final 16 minutes on Tuesday, the visitors romped 19-40. 

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

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica snapped a four-game losing streak in Group B by beating Dolomiti Energia Trento 98-96 in overtime on in the Montenegrin capital on Tuesday. Both teams now have 3-5 records.

Yoan Makoundou paced the winners with 23 points and 8 rebounds. McKinley Wright added 22 points, Fletcher Magee scored 14 while Andrija Grbovic had 10 for Buducnost. Prentis Hubb led Trento with 25 points. Andrejs Grazulis netted 22 points and Kamar Baldwin scored 11 for the visitors.

### Grazulis stepped up early

Grazulis got Trento going with a three-pointer and a floater for a 2-5 lead. He got help from Quinn Ellis and Paul Biligha to make it a double-digit game, 6-17. Wright and Makoundou rescued Buducnost and Magee's layup brought the hosts within 16-20. Toto Forray and Magee traded layups and Ross's step-back jumper fixed the score at 20-22 after 10 minutes.

### A back and forth battle

JaCorey Williams scored down low to complete Buducnost's comeback, 24-22, early in the second quarter. Trento found a new go-to guy in Hubb, who scored 8 quick points, prompting Buducnost to call timeout at 26-30. Grbovic buried back-to-back triples to put the hosts back in charge, 38-35. Ellis and Biligha allowed Trento to gain a 44-45 edge at halftime.

### Ross extended Trento's lead

Magee opened the second half with a wild four-point play. Biligha kept pacing Trento, joining forces with Mattia Udom and Myles Stephens for a 50-56 lead. Makoundou took over with a three-pointer, a layup and a dunk but Ross kept Trento in charge, 61-65, after 30 minutes.

### Wright, Makoundou saved the day

Grazulis struck from downtown and added an off-balance three-point play to give Trento fresh air at 66-73. Makoundou and Wright fueled an 8-0 run that Magee capped with a long jumper for a 77-75 Buducnost lead with over 4 minutes left. Baldwin stepped up with a put-back basket and Ross hit a triple, good for a 78-80 Trento edge. Wright hit free throws and Makoundou bettered Biligha's dunk with a three-pointer for an 83-82 Buducnost edge with a minute to go. Grazulis answered from beyond the arc and Wright scored in penetration to force overtime.

### Buducnost returned to winning ways

Marvin Jones and Wright put Buducnost ahead, 88-85, early in overtime. Ross, Wright, Forray and Brandon Paul each made a three-pointer, then Popovic's driving layup boosted the hosts' lead to 96-91 in the next-to-last minute. Ross singlehandedly brought Trento within 98-96 with 37.7 seconds left. Wright missed but Baldwin drew a foul with 4.0 seconds. He missed both attempts, the second on purpose, allowing Buducnost to seal a big win.

The Montenegrin champs triumphed in new head coach Andrej Zakelj's first game on the bench. 

Buducnost edges Trento in OT, 98-96! 

Reigning BKT EuroCup champion Dreamland 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. 

Landesberg leads champs to 70-92 triumph in Romania

Reigning BKT EuroCup champion Dreamland 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. <br>
<br>
Ethan Happ posted 13 points and 9 rebounds for the winners and A.J. Slaughter and Roko Prkacin scored 12 points apiece, while Ferran Bassas contributed 7 assists. Bryce Jones paced Cluj with 18 points and 7 assists and Andrija Stipanovic tallied 10 points and 7 boards in defeat.

### Gran Canaria roars early

Karel Guzman and Slaughter starred for their respective teams in an exciting first few minutes. The visitors pulled ahead behind Prkacin and slowly but surely continue to add to the lead as Landesberg netted a jumper and Happ converted a three-point play. Pierre Pelos's shot gave Gran Canaria a double-digit lead and Prkacin made it 20-32 after 10 minutes.  

### Cluj rallies to tie it

A three-pointer by Jones gave the crowd something to cheer about, but Andrew Albicy responded in suit. Dunks by Adam Mokoka and Stipanovic prompted a timeout for Gran Canaria. The momentum remained with the hosts as Mareks Mejeris drilled a triple as part of a 9-0 run to make it 32-37. Jones stepped up with a pair of jumpers that evened the game at 41-41 with 2 minutes left in the half. Slaughter came to the visitors' rescue to give Gran Canaria a 43-45 halftime lead.

Jarrell Eddie knocked down a pair of triples as Cluj stayed close, 51-52. Landesberg heated up with 5 quick points to keep the visitors ahead. Both teams suddenly went cold for a few minutes until Ben Lammers split free throws to make it 51-58. D.J. Seeley trimmed the deficit to 4 and Landesberg gave Gran Canaria a 54-60 advantage through three quarters.

### Landesberg puts the game away

A contested three by Landesberg restored a double-digit margin and after another jumper it was 54-67. Landesberg remained hot with a dunk, a layup and a three in engineering a 2-16 start to the fourth quarter that all but put the game out of reach at 56-76. The margin peaked at 60-86 on a Jovan Kljajic layup as the champs wrapped up an impressive win.

Gran Canaria's veteran guard erupted for 26 points to help his team remain undefeated. 

The BKT EuroCup Regular Season Round 9 game between Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul and Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv will be played in Belgrade instead of Istanbul, with the contest now taking place at 19:00 local time on Wednesday, November 29.

This decision has been taken considering the recommendations of both the Israeli and Turkish governments.

All Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv home games played in Belgrade will take place behind closed doors until further notice, as decided by Euroleague Basketball.

Order of Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul, Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv games switched

Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul v Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv (2023-11-29T17:00:00.000Z)

The 32-year-old guard is in his fourth season at the German club and feels very comfortable as one of the team’s veteran players.

Thomas Klepeisz, Ulm: ‘I'm trying to be a leader’

ratiopharm Ulm is one of the best teams to watch in the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup due to its up-tempo style, young talents showcasing their skills and crowd-pleasing basketball. [Thomas Klepeisz](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/thomas-klepeisz/010582/) has been at Ulm for the last four seasons and is one of its key players, both on and off the court. 

Born in Gussing, Austria, Klepeisz started his career with UBC Gussing Knights but has played in Germany since 2016, having spent four years with Basketball Lowen Braunschweig and the last three years with Ulm. Last season. Klepeisz helped Ulm lift the German League title for the first time in the club’s history. Off the court, Klepeisz won the Most Likeable Player award, as voted by fans. 

Soft spoken and funny, Klepeisz is back to blog for [EuroCupBasketball.com](http://EuroCupBasketball.com) after a one-year break. Don't miss his thoughts throughout the season!

### EuroCup blog: Thomas Klepeisz, Ulm

Hello again! Everything is good in Ulm right now. We’ve come off a win against Buducnost VOLI Podgorica and remain undefeated at home in the EuroCup. I think we responded the right way after the bad start we had in the U-BT Cluj-Napoca game the week before, which was a little bit frustrating for us because it was a big game. And I think already our response in the second half in Cluj was better. Then we made the next step in a German League game, and then also on Wednesday with the game against Buducnost and Brandon Paul.

"It was beautiful to see Brandon Paul again"

It was beautiful to see Brandon again. It was really emotional. The EuroCup made it available that we could have this beautiful moment before the game where he received his \[German League\] ring, his championship ring. And we went out on the court as his teammates and had a really special moment together where we hugged him and we could kind of share this experience together one more time. I think he even shed some tears! And, of course, you love to see somebody get so emotional about how much it meant for him to be together with this team. And then a couple of minutes later we said, 'OK, now it's business time and now we go against each other, so it's time to fight each other now.' It was great.

As you probably know, we won the German League title last season, the club's first. I think it definitely changed the mentality of some players. I'm happy that we could keep all the German players on board, which also helped us at the beginning of the season to integrate the new guys quicker and have a better team chemistry quickly because we already had a core of players together who know the system of Anton Gavel, our head coach. So, it was easy and quick for them to adapt. And yes, I think this confidence that we gained through winning the title together also helped the new players to get this confidence. It definitely gives you an edge sometimes in some games.

"I'm very happy to be able to represent ratiopharm Ulm"

The club's management did a great job, too. They are really, really good with what they wanted to be like. They told me their vision of how they envision playing basketball in Ulm with the talents, the international prospects that they want to give a chance to develop and also at the same time be competitive. It's always easier said than done, but I think with the training facilities and the Orange Campus we have and this blueprint and the idea they have to use this and still be able to win and play successful basketball like we did... this is special. I'm very happy to be able to represent ratiopharm Ulm and be a part of this organization.

Of course, I am very comfortable in the team after four seasons here. I'm trying to be a leader, helping the younger guys out and integrating the new guys. And it worked really well with the German players that we have now. We have very unselfish players who do everything for the team and then it's easier for the prospects to find their roles and play good basketball. I think it takes a little bit of the pressure away from everybody to think, 'OK, I have to score 20 points.' If you see, there are unselfish guys next to me who don't force shots or do anything, and they have been successful. That's what I'm trying to, that's the identity I'm trying to establish here. I think it's been working pretty well.

The top plays of ratiopharm Ulm guard Thomas Klepeisz through the first seven rounds of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

Thomas Klepeisz's best plays in 2023-24

Take Juan Nunez, for instance. Playing with him is a beautiful experience for me. I think we complement each other really well because we're both pretty smart players, I think. I would say so! We understand each other and know what the other guy is thinking and what he is planning to do if it's on offense or on defense. He has made a huge step forward in this time that we have been together. The way he is controlling games this season is even better than it was in the first season. And, of course, that's what everyone expects from him. But at this young age, to carry this responsibility and be this type of leader, controlling games, controlling the pace, also getting steals and changing games with this as well, it's impressive. I really love playing alongside him, and I think we are a good backcourt duo. And with Dakota Mathias, also another great shooter. And then Georginho de Paula when he's playing well, we are very, very solid at the '1' and '2' positions.

Juan is also a very funny kid, but he's way more mature than you would think. When he came in at the beginning, he was a little shy. But I realized pretty quickly that he loves to enjoy himself and have a good time. And he's joking a lot. He loves to sing in the locker room and is the DJ playing all these John Legend and Beyonce songs. He keeps singing those and gets everybody in a good mood. He's a funny guy. I love being around him.

We will face Aris Midea Thessaloniki in Greece next week. I'm very much looking forward to this game because I saw some of their games already and the atmosphere there is amazing. And you always want to play in front of a full gym. That's what we play for! Aris is a tough team. They have really good scorers and are an athletic team, so it's not going to be easy at all. It's going to be a fight; especially at their place, it's even tougher. I'm really looking forward to the crowd and the atmosphere in Greece.

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In two months’ time, the club will retire Per Guenther's jersey. He is a legend and also a great friend of mine, so these are two big reasons why I’m looking forward to this. He is exactly the type of person whose jersey you want to see hanging in your rafters. He's a great guy, a great leader. I learned a lot from him when he was the team captain. Sending this jersey up to the rafters is going to be a special day for him. And I'm really looking forward to it, because it's so deserved. He is an Ulm legend and played for this club for 14 years, helping it grow. It is amazing that we had the chance to share the court together.

I will tell you all about it when the time comes. Until then, stay safe and follow us throughout the season. It is going to be fun!