Slask misfired heavily after the break, going 0 of 10 from beyond the arc 

Shooting meltdown put Slask to the sword against Hapoel

Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv never seemed to hit top gear in its 76-87 win at Slask Wroclaw and the visitors were able to cruise through the contest as the Polish side fell apart in the closing stages, having battled hard for 35 minutes or so to stay in the game.

Slask looked capable of pulling off what would have been only its second EuroCup win of the season in 17 games, as it shot 7 of 14 from three-point range in the first half with Jakub Niziol nailing 3 of those efforts. However, the home side misfired heavily after the break, going 0 of 10 from beyond the arc while they also finished the match with 13 turnovers.

Game News

"In the first half, we played like a team and passed the ball," Slask head coach Ertugrul Erdogan commented. "But when you don’t play together you’re in trouble. We’re not a great team but when we play together we are a dangerous team,"

Hapoel ended on 7-of-17 shooting from three-point range, having racked up 22 assists to Slask’s 16. The visitors also had 3 turnovers fewer than the Polish team, making the most of their deeper roster to come out on top.

Having already secured a top-four finish in Group B and hence home-court advantage in the eighthfinals before it brushed Slask aside, Hapoel now has a chance to finish as the group’s runners-up – much to the delight of its head coach Danny Franco.

"We are having a great second round \[of the regular season\] in the EuroCup, our results are great and we are very happy with that,” he said.  "We’ll keep on going as much as we can and keep on dreaming as long as we can."

Game Videos

Hapoel guaranteed itself a postseason home game

Slask Wroclaw v Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv (2023-03-22T19:00:00.000Z)

Promitheas Patras had to battle hard to beat Paris Basketball 84-81 in Round 17, going up to 11-6 in the standings. Three-pointers made the difference in the game.

Promitheas won it from downtown

Promitheas Patras had to battle hard to beat Paris Basketball 84-81 in Round 17 and improve to 11-6 in the standings. Three-pointers made the difference in the game.

Promitheas led 81-71 with over 2 minutes left before Paris used a 0-10 run to tie the game. That's when Anthony Cowan took matters into his own hands, running the game clock down before burying the go-ahead three-pointer with 4.3 seconds left. He rounded out a near-perfect performance: Cowan finished the game with EuroCup season-high and Promitheas record 38 points. Joe Young had scored 34 points against Gran Canaria in Round 2 this season.

Anthony Cowan buried 6-of-8 three-pointers, including the game-winning one, to make Promitheas Patras beat Paris Basketball 84-81 in Round 17 of the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season.

Cowan makes it rain in Round 17

Paris buried 6 of 26 three-point shots in Patras. Its shooting percentage (23.1% 3FG) was its third lowest this season: Paris shot under 20% on the road against Hapoel Vegan Friendly Jerusalem (16.3%) and at home against Promitheas (18.% 3FG). Promitheas sank 10 of 21 three-pointers (47.6% 3FG), and Cowan went 6 of 8 from downtown. Promitheas made 20 of 53 three-pointers in its two wins against Paris this season while limiting its opponents to 12-of-58 shooting from downtown.

Promitheas won it from downtown 

Promitheas Patras v Paris Basketball (2023-03-22T17:30:00.000Z)

The key to coming out victorious from Wednesday’s game was Prometey's dominance in offensive rebounds, 

Offensive rebounds gave Prometey the edge over Cluj

U-BT Cluj-Napoca produced a hard-fought comeback and turned the game around in the last quarter, but Prometey Slobozhanske defended well and conceded just 4 points in the last 6 minutes to secure an 87-96 win. Yet, Prometey was anything but solid in defense overall, as it allowed Cluj to score 87 points.

The key to coming out victorious from Wednesday’s game was the visitors' dominance in offensive rebounds, beating Cluj 13-17 in that category to produce 23 second-chance points. Heading into Wednesday’s clash, Prometey boasted an average of 12.8 offensive rebounds per game - the second-best mark in the 7DAYS EuroCup. As Cluj head coach Mihai Silvasan pointed out in the post-match press conference, his players were aware that Prometey could cause them trouble with their offensive boards, but they struggled to stop them.

Prometey dominated the offensive glass at Cluj

"We allowed \[Prometey to grab\] 17 offensive rebounds and that’s not what we wanted," Silvasan stressed. "We prepared for this game knowing that this team scores lots of points – they are top in the EuroCup in terms of points scored per game. So offensive rebounds and transitions are their weapons and we couldn’t stop at least one of these weapons."

Indeed, eight Prometey players grabbed at least 1 offensive rebound each, with Ondrej Balvin grabbing 5 boards – his second-best mark this season. He was followed by DJ Kennedy, who added 3. Meanwhile, 6 of their 17 offensive rebounds came in the last quarter, when Prometey needed them the most in their bid to seal their 10th straight victory.

U-BT Cluj-Napoca v Prometey Slobozhanske (2023-03-22T17:30:00.000Z)

Henry Ellenson might not be superstitious, but the Joventut Badalona forward seems to really like playing in odd-numbered rounds. 

Ellenson continued odd and even rhythm for Joventut 

Henry Ellenson might not be superstitious, but the Joventut Badalona forward seems to really like playing in odd-numbered rounds. The big man buried 4 three-pointers in scoring 18 points and added 5 points, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks in Joventut’s 74-80 road victory over Umana Reyer Venice in Round 17.

For the season, the 26-year-old American is averaging 10.6 points in 17 games. But the 7DAYS EuroCup debutant continued the strange rhythm of good games in odd-numbered rounds followed by subpar showings in even-numbered ones.

Henry Ellenson (18 points) Highlights vs. Umana Reyer Venice, 03/22/2023

Ellenson came up big for Joventut in Venice

Ellenson scored just 6 points in Round 16 against U-BT Cluj-Napoca, and he averaged just 4.6 points in Rounds 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16. All told, he averaged 7.0 points in the eight even-numbered games thus far.

On the other hand, six of Ellenson’s seven top-scoring games came in odd-numbered rounds. He has now tallied at least 12 points in each of the last five games and for the nine odd-numbered games Ellenson averaged 13.8 points.

Umana Reyer Venice v Joventut Badalona (2023-03-22T19:00:00.000Z)

Strong second quarter was enough for Ulm

ratiopharm Ulm was dreaming about clinching home-court advantage in the next stage of the 7DAYS EuroCup after defeating Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse by 78-85 at the Ekinox on Wednesday evening. The visitors will need to wait until the last round next week when a home win against already-eliminated U-BT Cluj-Napoca would secure the prize.

Ulm set the basis for a victorious outcome right before halftime, finishing with a 19-point advantage after 20 minutes. It all came in a 7-minute span in which the visitors had a terrific 1-19 run to turn a slim 34-35 margin into a wide gap. Within that run, Ulm got contributions from six different players, also overcoming the absence of its best scorer Bruno Caboclo, who went to the bench after committing his third foul.

Even though Bourg tried to come back in the second half, reducing the margin to single digits in the last period and even having a three-point shot to make it a one-possession game in crunch time, it fell short and Ulm could retain the lead to grab its 10th win this season. Despite scoring just 30 points after the break, the work it put in earlier was enough for the winners.

"I think we did a pretty good job in the first half, especially in the second quarter, when we allowed only 11 points," Ulm head coach Anton Gavel confirmed in the press conference. "We knew that Bourg was going to come back and we talked about that in the locker room, and that’s what exactly happened; they won 24-11 in the third quarter. We tried to solve our problems with one-on-one actions and they got back into the game, but e are happy that we were able to manage the last quarter also without Caboclo, being in foul trouble, this is big for us, a lot of guys stepped in."

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse v ratiopharm Ulm (2023-03-22T18:30:00.000Z)

Joventut Badalona locked up a top-two finish in Group A as it fought past Umana Reyer Venice 74-80 on the road on Wednesday. 

Joventut has the answers in 74-80 win over Reyer

Joventut Badalona locked up a top-two finish in Group A as it fought past Umana Reyer Venice 74-80 on the road on Wednesday. Joventut had an answer for each push by Reyer for its fourth straight win and sixth in the last seven games for a 12-5 record. Henry Ellenson led the way with 18 points, Ante Tomic scored 16, Andres Feliz had 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists and Simon Birgander chipped in 8 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Reyer lost its first game under new head coach Neven Spahija, snapping a two-game winning streak in falling to 9-8. Mitchell Watt tallied 20 points and 8 rebounds for Reyer, which suffered a setback in its hopes of hosting a home game in the eighthfinals.

Joventut needed more than 2 minutes to score but Reyer was only able to move ahead 3-0. Kyle Guy scored 4 points in a 0-6 spurt to put the visitors up 6-11. Joventut evened it at 13-13 and it was tied 20-20 after 10 minutes.

The game was close until Joel Parra hit a triple in a 0-8 surge for a 28-37 gap. Reyer held Joventut to just 1 point in the final 2 minutes and trailed 34-38 at intermission.

A block and three-pointer by Ellenson pushed the margin back to 9 points. Tomic added three baskets and the lead was 44-53. Reyer answered with the next 7 points to pull within 51-53. Birgander punched back with 6 points and the hosts led 55-59 after 30 minutes.

Reyer tried to pull even but Joventut continued to come up with big plays - with Ellenson hitting two triples to make it 63-72. Feliz added two tough layups for a 69-76 gap with 3 minutes left. The Joventut defense held strong the rest of the way. 

Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv remained in contention for second place in Group B after Jordan McRae poured 17 points and Xavier Munford scored 14 to go with 6 assists in a smooth 76-87 win at Slask Wroclaw on Wednesday. 

Hapoel rolls on with comfortable win at Slask, 76-87

Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv remained in contention for second place in Group B after Jordan McRae poured 17 points and Xavier Munford scored 14 to go with 6 assists in a smooth 76-87 win at Slask Wroclaw on Wednesday. Hapoel improved to 12-5 ahead of its final regular season game at home against Promitheas Patras (11-6), with Turk Telekom also on 12-5 after an 84-89 win at London Lions. Slask remained rooted to the bottom of the group at 1-16.

J’Covan Brown chipped in with 15 points for Hapoel and JP Tokoto added 13, while Jeremiah Martin stood out for Slask with a game-high 21 points. Artiom Parahouski netted 12 points for the home side, with Jakub Niziol and Lukasz Kolenda scoring 11 each.

Slask offered their fans hope that they would finally have something to cheer about when the Polish side raced into a 19-11 lead in the first quarter, with Niziol netting a couple of three-pointers. However, that was as good as it got for the home side as Hapoel hit back with a 13-2 streak which set the tone for the remainder of the first half.

It was a see-saw battle in the second quarter as Slask was briefly able to turn a 33-38 deficit into a 41-40 lead as Niziol hit another three-pointer, but Hapoel replied with an 8-0 charge late in the first half with Mumford nailing a triple in the process.

Niziol lit up the contest with a one-handed slam-dunk early in the third quarter to reduce the arrears to 44-50, with Slask battling hard to regain the initiative. However, Hapoel was able to stay in cruise control, taking everything the hosts could throw at them with Munford and McRae pulling the strings.

Hapoel was 60-64 ahead at the end of the third quarter and with Slask still breathing down their necks (68-72) midway through the fourth, the visitors moved up a gear and pulled away down the stretch. The advantage swelled to 74-83 in a matter of minutes and Hapoel then closed the game out for a well-deserved road win.

Coach Duran, Joventut: 'We played with a good attitude'

### Joventut Badalona head coach Carles Duran:

"This is a great victory for us. It’s difficult to play here because Reyer is a very good team. In the first half, the worst part for us was the turnovers. But we controlled the rebounds and defended Granger and Bramos very well. We played better on offense and defense in the second half. But we lost the control of the rebounds, especially the last quarter, and we made some easy mistakes. But the team played with a good attitude and controlled the game the whole game."

 

### Umana Reyer Venice head coach Neven Spahija:

"First off congratulations to Badalona for the win. They deserved this win. They were consistently a better team than us. I cannot say we didn’t fight. We tried. But at this level, to play against such an important and strong team, you have to make some shots. If you do not make at least some layups - I think today we missed more threes and layups in all the games since I came here - it’s too big an advantage for them. And because of that they won. In the first half, we had some problems with their offensive rebounds - they had 8. We did reduce that in the second half, but our inconsistent shooting under the basket and three-pointers killed us today."

Coach Can, Turk Telekom: 'It is an important win'

### Turk Telekom Ankara head coach Erdem Can:

"First of all, it is great winning on the road, because we know London Lions has a good roster and a very good coaching staff. They know what they are doing. It was important that they had a great home crowd over here. Plus, in advance, I would like to thank the Turkish population over here. They were at the gym and supporting us great. Again, I said right after the game that the days we have been through as Turkiye, after this earthquake, were tough, so whatever we do by representing our country, any success is going to be a great honor for us because we want to honor the people that we lost, that is the first thing. I think we at least secured the third position, but we still have a game against Buducnost next week. We have to win that and secure the second spot, and then we will see, we will go from there."

### London Lions head coach Ryan Schmidt:

"It is tough to lose a game like that. I thought our guys really battled, but I give credit to Turk Telekom, I think they are a really good team, they are where they are in the standings for a reason: a lot of talent, very well-coached, getting it done in both sides of the ball. I think we did a lot of good things to get ourselves a chance. I think there were two moments, specifically, one in each half, in which the game could have gone out of handle a little bit but I think we resolved it really well. We challenged our wings and our guard to be better when it comes to rebounding the basketball but obviously, the stats sheet says that they had 18, and I think they got more than that, offensive rebounds. It is going to be tough to win any ball game when you are giving up 18 offensive rebounds. We gave them 11 points at the free-throw line, which is tough. I told those guys in the locker room it is a tough loss, but I think there are a lot of good things that we can take from that game, competing with a team like that down to the wire is something we can kind of carry forward and hopefully, continue to play good basketball. But at the same time, we need to clean those little things as we get closer and closer to playoff time."

### Turk Telekom Ankara forward Axel Bouteille:

"I think I missed some shots in the first half, at the start of the game. In the second half, I started making shots, helping the team, helping defensively. I am happy that we were here in a good atmosphere and a good crowd, it was nice for our team. We just have to take care of the last game now, think about this one and then be ready for the playoffs, because we know the format this year and everything. We just need to win this game and be ready for the playoffs."

London Lions v Turk Telekom Ankara (2023-03-22T19:30:00.000Z)