Promitheas Patras took a major step toward earning home-court advantage for the 7DAYS EuroCup Eighthfinals by downing Paris Basketball 84-81 at Dimitris Tofalos Arena in Group B on Wednesday. 

Cowan leads Promitheas to critical win, 84-81, over Paris

Promitheas Patras earned home-court advantage for the 7DAYS EuroCup Eighthfinals after downing Paris Basketball 84-81 at Dimitris Tofalos Arena in Group B on Wednesday. Promitheas improved to 11-6 in Group B and secured a top-four finish when Turk Telekom Ankara beat London Lions later the same night. Paris dropped to 10-7 and is locked into fifth place in the group.

Anthony Cowan paced the winners with a club record and a EuroCup season-high 38 points; he made 6 of 8 three-point shots, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 4.3 seconds left. Cowan added 10 free throws. without a miss. Arnoldas Kulbokas added 9 points for the hosts. Tyrone Wallace led Paris with 22 points. Gauthier Denis scored 15 and Jeremy Evans had 10 for the visitors.

Game News

Promitheas found an early go-to guy in Cowan, who scored 9 points to give his team an 11-6 lead. Axel Toupane stepped up for Paris and Aamir Simms's jump hook drew the visitors within 16-12. Kulboka scored down low and Cowan added a three-point play for a 21-12 Promitheas lead. Gegic and Evans brought Paris closer, 27-22, after 10 minutes. 

Denis struck from downtown to make it 27-26 early in the second quarter. Michalis Tsairelis rescued the hosts, Kulboka hit a corner triple and Cowan's jumper made it a double-digit game, 38-28. Wallace followed a power layup with a three-point play, but Dustin Hogue and Vassilis Mouratos restored a 46-36 Promitheas lead at halftime.

Game Videos

Denis sank back-to-back triples soon after the break and Wallace's layup-plus-foul gave Paris hope at 49-45. Cowan took over with an acrobatic layup and a bomb from beyond the arc for a 55-45 advantage. Gegic and Denis tried to change things for Paris and then Ismael Kamagate's put-back layup got the visitors within 58-54. George Conditt and Trevis Simpson gave Promitheas fresh air, 66-59, after 30 minutes. 

Simpson kept pushing the hosts and an unstoppable Cowan boosted the lead to 74-65. Dustin Hogue stepped up for Promitheas and Cowan struck from downtown to make it 81-71 score with over 2 minutes left. Evans and Simms rescued Paris, Gegic added a tip-in and Wallace tied the game, 81-81, with 28.2 seconds left. Cowan rounded out his fantastic performance with the game-winning triple with 4.3 seconds left.

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

7bet Lietkabelis Panevezys outlasted Frutti Extra Bursaspor 88-85 thanks to Jamel Morris's game-winning three in the final seconds on Wednesday at Cido Arena. 

Morris lifts Lietkabelis over Bursaspor for 6th straight win 

7bet Lietkabelis Panevezys outlasted Frutti Extra Bursaspor 88-85 thanks to Jamel Morris's game-winning three in the final seconds on Wednesday at Cido Arena. The hosts won their sixth consecutive game to improve to 10-7 in Group A. Morris led the way with 21 points and 7 assists, while Kristian Kullamae and Gabrielius Maldunas contributed 12 points apiece for the winners. 

Bursaspor led by as many as 10 points early in the third quarter before Morris rallied the hosts. Derek Needham paced the Bursaspor attack with 21 points and 7 assists, Onuralp Bitim contributed 15 points, Zach Auguste tallied 14 points and 6 rebounds and David Dudzinski scored 12. The loss dropped Bursaspor’s record to 7-10. 

Nikola Popovic had the hot hand early as the hosts jumped in front 9-5, but four different players scored for Bursaspor in a 2-9 run that gave the visitors the lead. Lietkabelis stayed close and even tied it at 21-21 after Maldunas's put-back. A three by Omer Al helped Bursaspor keep a 23-24 edge after 10 minutes.

Lietkabelis regained the lead early in the second and the teams started to trade shots. Needham scored 5 points in a 0-8 Bursaspor run to grab a 30-36 lead. Dudzinski’s jumper extended the margin and the sides went into the locker rooms at halftime with the visitors up 35-43.

Anthony Clemmons gave Bursaspor its biggest lead with a layup to start the second half. Morris came alive for Lietkabelis with 5 points and an assist in a 7-0 run. Back-to-back threes by Gediminas Orelik and Kullamae completed the comeback. Bitim led a Bursaspor push to go up 55-61, but the hosts closed the gap and Morris’s layup gave Lietkabelis a 66-65 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Morris scored the first 4 points of the fourth quarter, too, as the crowd got involved. Lietkabelis protected that slim lead as foul trouble mounted for the visitors. Dudzinski fouled out with 3 and a half minutes remaining as Orelik extended the margin to 80-74. Threes by Clemmons and Needham drew Bursaspor within 83-82 with a minute and a half to play. A dunk by Auguste gave his team the lead and Popovic quickly answered with a reverse slam. Needham tied the game from the line, but Morris had the ball and buried what proved to be the game-winning three with 1.8 seconds left.

7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys v Frutti Extra Bursaspor (2023-03-22T17:00:00.000Z)

### 7bet Lietkabelis Panevezys head coach Nenad Canak:

"We opened the second half with some shots and when you make shots, we are the type of team where after that, we play with bigger energy. Of course, great game for us. We are still fighting for better position in our group for the playoffs. You can see, our fans are great and we expect if we play at home, I expect even more support from them. The whole team deserves. We lose as a team, we win as a team."

 

### Frutti Extra Bursaspor head coach Dusan Alimpijevic:

"We lost the aggressiveness in the second half that we had in the first. I want to congratulate Coach Nenad and Lietkabelis for this win. They deserved it. The beauty of basketball is that everybody has a chance. They hit this last shot. We need to find a way to stand up from this and continue."

 

### 7bet Lietkabelis Panevezys guard Jamel Morris:

“It was a game between two good teams. Their record doesn’t speak to how good they are. They have really good players. They made some really tough shots. It was a back-and-forth game. There were times when we were down and we kept fighting back. It was a good effort by both of us. Good defense, good offense, just a beautiful game of basketball.

"The first half they were really aggressive with us, trying to overpower us. And we had to come out \[for the second half\] with that same aggression. They set the tone for the game and we knew, we had a talk \[at halftime\] that we had to come out with that same intensity and aggression that they came up with and I think that was the key to our victory today. God is good. That’s all I can say."

 

Jamel Morris: 'It was a beautiful game of basketball'

Two veteran guards with a combined 15 seasons of experience and nearly 200 games between them in the 7DAYS EuroCup come face to face on Wednesday night, as [Andrea De Nicolao](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/andrea-de-nicolao/000968/)'s Umana Reyer Venice (9-7) and [Pau Ribas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/pau-ribas/jug/)'s Joventut Badalona (11-5) meet at Palasport Taliercio.

The 31-year-old De Nicolao is an eight-year veteran in the competition, having played 98 games with four different clubs: Benetton Treviso, Pallacanestro Varese, Reggio Emilia and Reyer. Meanwhile, Ribas is a 2014 champion with Valencia Basket and has one fewer season under his belt, as well as two fewer EuroCup appearances.

Ribas, who recently turned 36 years of age, has career averages of 9.1 points and 3.3 assists. The Joventut veteran has made more than double the amount of two-point and three-point shots scored by De Nicolao, who has averages of 4.2 points and 2.3 assists for his career.

Ribas has also enjoyed more success in the games between himself and De Nicolao, including in their meeting earlier this season, a thrilling 90-87 win for Joventut. While Ribas had 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, De Nicolao finished with 3 points on 1-for-5 three-point shooting in just 10 minutes on the floor, but he also made 2 steals.

That was the third time that they had come head-to-head on the hardwood. Actually, the first time Ribas and De Nicolao were on opposite sides of the floor came back in December 2013, when De Nicolao was with Varese and Ribas with Valencia. However, the Italian did not enter the game, with Ribas and Valencia winning by 32 points.

The other two games in which they faced off both took place in the 2020-21 regular season. Joventut registered two 14-point wins, with the first coming in Badalona, where both players scored 13 points. Ribas also had 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 23 minutes, while De Nicolao was Reyer's bright spot in the game, shooting 3-for-5 from long range and dishing 3 assists, with a respectable -2 in the plus-minus column in a big loss.

Yet, in the second game that season, De Nicolao was held to just 2 points, going 0-for-3 from the field, and 2 assists, whereas Ribas posted 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, as he made it three wins from three against his Reyer counterpart.

Now, as Reyer looks for its first-ever win over Joventut, De Nicolao will be hoping for his first victory with Ribas on the opposite side of the court. What's more, a victory in this contest would be a big step forward for Reyer in its attempt to secure home-court advantage in the playoffs.

Head-to-head: Andrea De Nicolao, Reyer vs. Pau Ribas, Joventut

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

With just two games left to play in the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season and all 18 of the 18 playoff spots now locked up, teams are now beginning to jostle for seeding in the postseason. That is particularly the case for Promitheas Patras (10-6) and Paris Basketball (10-6), who face off at Dimitris Tofalos Arena on Wednesday evening (18:30 CET).

Home-court advantage up for grabs when Promitheas, Paris meet

With just two games left to play in the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season and all 18 of the 18 playoff spots now locked up, teams are now beginning to jostle for seeding in the postseason. That is particularly the case for Promitheas Patras (10-6) and Paris Basketball (10-6), who face off at Dimitris Tofalos Arena on Wednesday evening (18:30 CET).

 

In Group B, Promitheas and Paris sit in fifth and fourth place, respectively, in the standings, so the winner of their meeting will be able to effectively wrap up home-court advantage in the playoffs. Even though a victory for either team would likely prove decisive at this point in the season, there is still a chance that the tiebreaker could come into play in Round 18.

 

Back in Round 8, Promitheas managed to beat Paris 71-74 in the French capital, which means that it not only has a win under its belt in this matchup but it also a +3 advantage in terms of points. The Greek team therefore has the chance to complete the season sweep of Paris with a win at Dimitris Tofalos Arena, booking home-court advantage in the process.

Paris Basketball - Promitheas Patras| Round 8 Highlights | 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup

However, a Paris victory by 4 points or more would see it win the tiebreaker, thus securing home-court advantage itself. Should Paris win by 3 points, the two teams' overall plus-minus would come into play, a statistic that currently favors the French side: +14 for Promitheas and +20 for Paris. Aside from all of the different permutations, fans can look forward to a high-quality game in Patras.

 

Last week, Promitheas beat the London Lions 89-93 in the English capital, led by an MVP of the Round performance by Anthony Cowan, who had a 26-point, 11-assist double-double. Cowan was also aided by an all-round display by Dustin Hogue, who recorded 8 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, and another solid performance by Arnoldas Kulboka, as he posted 14 points and 7 rebounds. Joe Thomasson and Michalis Tsairelis chipped in with 13 and 10 points, respectively, too.

London Lions - Promitheas Patras | Round 16 Highlights | 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup

In fact, since Ioannis Christopoulos took over as head coach ahead of Round 7, Promitheas has gone 6-4 to solidify its place in the playoffs. Plus, with the team having won its last three games in Patras and gone 4-1 in its last five overall, Coach Christopoulos's side has caught fire at just the right time.

 

Paris, meanwhile, was able to beat Slask Wroclaw 89-85 last week, despite having just eight players step onto the floor. While Kyle Allman did not feature in Round 16 and is a doubt heading into Wednesday's Round 17 fixture, Axel Toupane returned to action at the weekend and is set to feature against Promitheas.

 

Head coach Will Weaver will be hoping that several of his players step up once again, with Jeremy Evans turning back the clock to have an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double against Slask, Tyrone Wallace chipping in with 17 points and 8 assists, Gauthier Denis scoring a career-high 17 points and Aamir Simms coming close to a double-double with 13 points and 9 boards. Ismael Kamagate, who had 8 points and 13 boards when Paris first played Promitheas, had just 2 points and 3 rebounds in Round 16 and fouled out after playing just 13:18 minutes.

Paris Basketball - Slask Wroclaw | Round 16 Highlights | 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup

Although Paris comes into this game on the back of a win, it is yet to win away from France in 2023. After securing a confidence-boosting 80-93 victory at London on December 21, 2022, Paris has since gone on to lose on the road at Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv (95-79), Gran Canaria (118-99) and Veolia Towers Hamburg (91-74). Another road defeat, this time at Dimitris Tofalos Arena, could see it have to travel in the playoffs.

 

Everything is set up for a tense, exciting game in Patras, with both teams having a clear goal in mind: home-court advantage. Tune in from 18:30 CET to see how it plays out!

Gran Canaria exited Moraca in Podgorica victorious after stunning host Buducnost VOLI 69-94 on Tuesday evening. The visitors gave no chance to the hosts, who trailed by more than 20 points before halftime and waived the white flag long before the final whistle. With the win, Gran Canaria clinched first place in Group B and it could secure home-court advantage throughout the playoffs if Prometey Slobozhanske loses on Wednesday.

Gran Canaria proved itself a top title contender in Podgorica

Gran Canaria exited Moraca in Podgorica victorious after stunning host Buducnost VOLI [69-94](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/buducnost-voli-podgorica-gran-canaria/U2022/170/) on Tuesday evening. The visitors gave no chance to the hosts, who trailed by more than 20 points before halftime and waived the white flag long before the final whistle. With the win, Gran Canaria clinched first place in Group B and it could secure home-court advantage throughout the playoffs if Prometey Slobozhanske loses on Wednesday.

For Gran Canaria it was not only what it did, but how it did so. Buducnost came into the game on a three-game winning streak at home and possessing the best defense in the competition, allowing less than 80 points on average to its opponents. Before this night, only two teams had been able to score more than that in Podgorica. But Gran Canaria showed its power by punishing its opponent with 94 points, trailing just for a few seconds in the first period (4-3), and cruising with 20-plus-point advantages for more than 25 minutes in the game. It was not only a win, but a statement. 

To achieve that, it displayed an amazing defensive and, especially, offensive performance, going for 70.4% in two-point shooting, and drilling 17 three-pointers, its season-best as a team this season and matching the club’s second-best all-time in the competition. Gran Canaria also recorded 25 assists and outrebounded Buducnost 25-34. 

Gran Canaria made 17 three-pointers in Podgorica

"25 assists on 36 field goals is good ball movement, good team play," stressed Gran Canaria head coach Jaka Lakovic in the press conference. "We started the game very good, got our confidence going especially playing good defense, and then building up the confidence on offense. We didn’t look back from then on, we kept being aggressive defensively, offensively, and on offense we had good percentages in our shooting."

This exhibition puts Gran Canaria in an enviable position to become the team to beat in the 7DAYS Eurocup. Its 14-3 winning record is the best in the league so far, and it’s just one game from confirming the home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. I just need one more win next week at home against Hamburg, or a Prometey loss in one of its two remaining games.

The home-court advantage could be crucial for Gran Canaria on its way to the title, as it is still undefeated at home this season. The club has beaten its opponents by an 11.4-point margin on average, winning all but two games by at least 8 points. All of this makes Gran Canaria one of the top candidates, if not the top one, to get the title. A title that would grant it a ticket back to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague.

That prize is something that seems to start materializing into the dreams of all team members, including the head coach Jaka Lakovic. "\[It’s true that\] we can go to the end. But it’s a tough question to answer, especially with this format," he said. "We can go to the end, but we can also go out in the first round. It’s one game in the playoffs, so we have to be ready."

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica v Gran Canaria (2023-03-21T18:00:00.000Z)

Germani Brescia prevailed over Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 84-82 at home on the back of a blistering first-half performance in which the Italian side carved out a 52-36 lead. 

Strong first half lifted Brescia over Cedevita

Germani Brescia prevailed over Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 84-82 at home on the back of a blistering first-half performance in which the Italian side carved out a 52-36 lead. The home team fired on all cylinders in the opening 20 minutes, netting 6 of 8 three-pointers and dishing out 15 assists, while the visitors shot 4 of 16 from beyond the arc and had only 6 assists, having committed as many turnovers.

The tide turned after the break as Brescia began to struggle at both ends of the court, committing a series of turnovers while its long-range shooting dried up. Cedevita was able to reduce the deficit to just 2 points late in the game but the hosts held on to victory with their fingernails, giving themselves a fighting chance to finish in the top four of Group A at the end of the regular season.

Brescia finished on 9 of 18 from three-point range while Cedevita netted 9 of 30, its poor showing from downtown being one of the key factors contributing to the defeat. The teams were pretty evenly matched in all other departments, as Brescia ended the contest with 23 assists and 10 turnovers, while Cedevita had 20 and 9.

The home team’s head coach Alessandro Magro summed up his team’s inconsistency in the post-game press conference. “We were able to share the ball and play very effective defense in the first half, but then we had to understand very quickly that the game lasts for 40 minutes,” he said. “We allowed them to come back and they deserved it, so congratulations to them for staying in the game, but at the end of the day every EuroCup win counts."

Germani Brescia v Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (2023-03-21T19:30:00.000Z)

Germani Brescia kept alive its hopes of finishing in Group A’s top four and gaining home-court advantage in the 7DAYS EuroCup playoffs after clawing out a hard-fought 84-82 home win over Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana on Tuesday. 

Brescia claws out narrow home win over Cedevita, 84-82

Germani Brescia kept alive its hopes of finishing in Group A’s top four and gaining home-court advantage in the 7DAYS EuroCup playoffs after clawing out a hard-fought 84-82 home win over Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana on Tuesday. Brescia improved to 8-9 ahead of its final regular season game at Frutti Extra Bursaspor next week while Cedevita, which had already lost all hope of advancing into the playoffs, slipped to 3-14 and remained rooted to the bottom of its group.

 

Kenny Gabriel led Brescia’s effort with 13 points and 9 rebounds, including a clutch three-pointer late in the game which forced battling Cedevita into submission. John Petrucelli and Tai Odiase chipped in with 12 points each for the hosts, while CJ Massinburg and Amadeo Della Valle added 11 apiece. Cedevita guard Josh Adams paced all scorers with 19 points and Yogi Ferrel netted 18 but netted only 1 of 7 shots from three-point range, while Rok Radovic scored 11 for the visitors.

Brescia dominated the opening half thanks to strong defense and sound three-point shooting, having nailed 6 of 8 shots from beyond the arc while Cedevita only made 4 of 16. Ferrell kept the visiting team afloat with 9 points in the first quarter but fizzed out in the second, while a balanced workload propelled Brescia at the other as 10 of their players scored in the opening 20 minutes.

The home team’s selfless approach produced 15 assists while the visitors only had 6 in the first half, but Cedevita looked a different side after the break. The visitors chased and hustled in defense, engineering a barrage of steals and fast breaks which slashed the 52-36 halftime deficit to just 61-55 in the closing stages of the third quarter, before a late 8-2 Brescia streak restored a double-digit lead for the home side (69-57) ahead of the final 10 minutes.

Drama was on the cards after Josh Adams hit a tough three-pointer and Cedevita closed to just 2 points (71-69) before Aleksej Nikolic replied at the other end with Brescia’s first field goal of the fourth quarter, midway through the period. With Cedevita breathing down the hosts’ necks, Gabriel buried a long three to make it 83-75 late in the game and although the visitors battled hard with Adams hitting another audacious triple with 12.3 seconds left, they ran out of time to turn the match on its head.

Anthony Polite scored a season-high 27 points on Tuesday night 

Polite inspired Hamburg to playoff qualification

When Veolia Towers Hamburg signed Anthony Polite in January, some may have wondered what sort of impact someone playing his first professional season in Europe could have on his team’s bid to secure a spot in the 7DAYS EuroCup knockout stages. Polite had just parted ways with LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, where he didn’t enjoy much playing time in eight Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games. Yet, he has managed to deliver on the court and stepped up when his team needed him most to lead them to a glorious victory against Dolomiti Energia Trento.

Anthony Polite (27 points) Highlights vs. Dolomiti Energia Trento, 03/21/2023

Anthony Polite shines as Hamburg clinches playoff berth

The 25-year-old guard scored a season-high 27 points on Tuesday night when he went 8-for-12 (66.7%) on two-pointers, 2-for-4 (50.0%) from behind the arc and 5-for-8 (62.5%) from the free-throw line for a season-high PIR of 28. Polite produced an all-around performance, as he grabbed 4 rebounds, recorded just 1 turnover, distributed 2 assists and registered 3 steals. His third and most important steal came with 3:50 to go in the last quarter, when he ran in transition, made the layup and drew a foul to secure an important 83-80 lead for the hosts.

This was the sixth time he scored in double digits in his seven games for Hamburg. He had 16 points in less than 24 minutes in his debut against Turk Telekom Ankara and recorded single-digits in just one contest – Hamburg’s 83-66 road defeat to London Lions, against whom he only took 3 shots from the field. It has to be noted that Hamburg won half of the six games where he registered double-digits, including the Round 17 duel against Trento. Averaging 16.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.4 steals for 17.4 PIR thus far, Hamburg’s January signing came up big on Tuesday night to help his team secure a playoff spot.

Veolia Towers Hamburg v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2023-03-21T17:45:00.000Z)