EuroCup Fantasy Challenge: Round 16 winner!

Congratulations to Dennis Rodman, who is the EuroCup Fantasy Challenge winner for Round 16! His team DR91 posted a score of 221.75.

The team featured the following lineup: team captain Bruno Caboclo of ratiopharm Ulm, his teammate Yago dos Santos, Aamir Simms of Paris Basketball, Vasilije Pusica of Slask Wroclaw and Emanuel Cate of U-BT Cluj-Napoca as starters; D. J. Stephens of Prometey Slobozhanske as the sixth man; Jerian Grant of Turk Telekom Ankara, Luca Conti of Dolomiti Energia Trento, Anthony Polite of Veolia Towers Hamburg and Mitchell Watt of Umana Reyer Venice as bench players; and Anton Gave of Ulm as head coach. The prize for finishing first in Round 16 is a free subscription to Euroleague TV for the 2023-24 season!

Antreas Apostolakos is the new leader atop the overall standings. His team Andy cup1 is ahead of everyone else with 2,782.45 fantasy points.

Trades are now open for Round 17. Remember, three trades are allowed before each round until the end of the regular season, and you can also trade your head coach.

The first game in Round 17, Hamburg vs. Trento, is scheduled to tip off on Tuesday, March 21 at 18:45 CET, and thus marks the next round's deadline.

Try to improve your teams and challenge for more prized at the EuroCup Fantasy Challenge, powered by Ardu Prime!

[Frutti Extra Bursaspor 73-89 Umana Reyer Venice](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/news/reyer-pulls-away-from-bursaspor-late-73-89/)

Umana Reyer Venice continued its positive momentum heading into the final stretch of the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season after securing an important 73-89 victory at Frutti Extra Bursaspor on Wednesday evening. Reyer took control with a 9-26 fourth quarter to snap a four-game road losing streak and improve to 9-7 in Group A, while new head coach Neven Spahija has overseen two straight victories since taking over. Bursaspor, meanwhile, dropped its second game in a row and its fifth in the last six for a 7-9 mark.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="it" dir="ltr">🔥 L’Umana gioca una partita di grande spessore e coraggio, dentro ad un’arena infuocata! Oltre ogni difficoltà, questa è una grande vittoria di squadra e una serata da ricordare!<br>Il Capitano sublime ❤️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bigwin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bigwin</a> <a href="https://t.co/cKCPGffvnV">pic.twitter.com/cKCPGffvnV</a></p>&mdash; Reyer Venezia (@REYER1872) <a href="https://twitter.com/REYER1872/status/1636078972285997059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Prometey Slobozhanske 96-82 Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/news/dj-stephens-shines-as-prometey-defeats-bourg-96-82/)

Prometey Slobozhanske secured a top-two finish in Group A by downing Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 96-82 at Arena Riga in the Latvian capital on Wednesday evening. Prometey improved to 12-4 in the standings and is on a nine-game winning streak, in which it has beaten each and every opponent in Group A. Bourg, who has already qualified to the playoffs, dropped to 8-8 and has lost its last five games.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/xGajtksyD0">pic.twitter.com/xGajtksyD0</a></p>&mdash; BC Prometey (@BcPrometey) <a href="https://twitter.com/BcPrometey/status/1636115272275750912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[ratiopharm Ulm 97-85 Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/news/ulm-controls-cedevita-at-home-97-85/)

ratiopharm Ulm bounced back from its home loss against Prometey Slobozhanske by defeating the visiting Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 97-85 at ratiopharm arena on Wednesday evening. A 13-0 run early in the second period allowed Ulm to escape with a 53-41 lead at halftime, and even though Cedevita got within 55-53 early in the third, another great offensive display from the host boosted it to a solid margin that the visitor could never overturn. Ulm improved to 9-7 to remain in the fight for home-court advantage in the playoffs, while already-eliminated Cedevita dropped to 3-13.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="de" dir="ltr">ORANGE WINS 🧡<br><br>Unsere Uuulmer geben von Anfang an den Ton an und lassen den Gegner nicht ins Spiel zurückfinden. Die Belohnung: der 97:85-Heimsieg gegen Ljubljana 🔥🏀<br><br>TOPSCORER:<br>Bruno | 26 PTS (6/11 2P), 5 REB, 2 AS<br>Fedor | 21 PTS (8/8 FT), 2 REB, 1 BLK<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://t.co/aV5ByRGTOp">pic.twitter.com/aV5ByRGTOp</a></p>&mdash; ratiopharm ulm (@ratiopharmulm) <a href="https://twitter.com/ratiopharmulm/status/1636110887877595143?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[London Lions 89-93 Promitheas Patras](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/news/promitheas-edges-london-in-spectacular-clash-89-93/)

Promitheas Patras boosted its hopes of gaining home-court advantage in the 7DAYS EuroCup Playoffs after an impressive 89-93 win at the London Lions on Wednesday, with the Greek side’s playmaker Anthony Cowan lighting up the spectacular clash with career-highs of 26 points and 11 assists for a career-best PIR of 34. The outcome lifted Patras to 10-6 while the Lions, who are also assured of a playoff berth, dropped to 7-9 as they threw away a 10-point lead they built in the first quarter after the visitor turned the game on its head with a 20-2 run in the third period.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">⏳ Final Score <br>🇭 <a href="https://twitter.com/LondonLions?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LondonLions</a> 89<br>🇦 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/promitheaspatras?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#promitheaspatras</a> 93<br>🤝 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/medfrigo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#medfrigo</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/promitheasbc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#promitheasbc</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/proudtobeorange?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#proudtobeorange</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RoadToGreatness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RoadToGreatness</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/7DAYSEuroCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#7DAYSEuroCup</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroCup?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroCup</a> <a href="https://t.co/HlB8v5VCIG">pic.twitter.com/HlB8v5VCIG</a></p>&mdash; Promitheas Patras BC (@promitheasbc) <a href="https://twitter.com/promitheasbc/status/1636117808114200577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Germani Brescia 65-74 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/news/lietkabelis-beats-brescia-65-74-grabs-fifth-straight-win/)

7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys recorded its fifth consecutive victory in Group A by downing Germani Brescia 65-74 at Palaleonessa A2A on Wednesday night. Both teams had already qualified for the playoffs before this game due to Joventut Badalona's 104-81 win against U-BT Cluj-Napoca on Tuesday. Lietkabelis improved to 9-7 in Group A and increased its odds of having the home-court advantage in the eighthfinals, with it now having a 2-0 record against Brescia, who dropped to 7-9.

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[Gran Canaria 89-79 Turk Telekom Ankara](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/news/gran-canaria-grabs-important-win-over-turk-telekom-89-79/)

Gran Canaria locked up a top-two finish in Group B as it fought off Turk Telekom Ankara 89-79 at home on Wednesday night. Gran Canaria saw a 21-point lead cut to 6 before prevailing and improving to 13-3, including 8-0 at home and nine wins in the last 10 games. Turk Telekom saw its three-game winning streak snapped, as it dropped to 11-5 and fell two games behind Gran Canaria.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="in" dir="ltr">🏀 Final:<br><br>🐥 Gran Canaria 89<br>🟦 Turk Telekom Ankara 79<br><br>🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VamosGranca?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VamosGranca</a> <a href="https://t.co/TSJ6sM28ft">pic.twitter.com/TSJ6sM28ft</a></p>&mdash; CB Gran Canaria (@GranCanariaCB) <a href="https://twitter.com/GranCanariaCB/status/1636126181706612737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Game Center: Key wins in battle for home-court advantage

London Lions v Promitheas Patras (2023-03-15T19:30:00.000Z)

Gran Canaria v Turk Telekom Ankara (2023-03-15T20:00:00.000Z)

Germani Brescia v 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys (2023-03-15T19:30:00.000Z)

Frutti Extra Bursaspor v Umana Reyer Venice (2023-03-15T17:00:00.000Z)

Prometey Slobozhanske v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2023-03-15T17:00:00.000Z)

ratiopharm Ulm v Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (2023-03-15T18:30:00.000Z)

The 7DAYS EuroCup Group B clash between the London Lions and Promitheas Patras on Wednesday night produced a superb contest at Copper Box Arena, with Anthony Cowan stealing the show to help the visiting Greek side grab an 89-93 road win in a spectacular atmosphere.

Cowan registered personal bests of 26 points and 11 assists, as he helped spark a second-half comeback by Promitheas which forced London into submission in front of a passionate home crowd, whose enthusiasm suggested that basketball could be making strides in Great Britain.

With Promitheas trailing 50-48 at halftime, Cowan turned on the heat in the third quarter as the visiting side went on a 20-2 run when it was 55-51 down, taking the lead for good and fending off a spirited London fightback in the final 10 minutes.

Visiting coach Ioannis Christopoulos was full of praise for the 25-year old point guard from Maryland, who mixed superb long-range shooting with incisive drives to the basket, resulting in either easy layups or open shots for his teammates.

“He brings a winning spirit and a lot of heart,” Christopoulos said during the post-game press conference. “He is a great character and he learns the game every day. He is still a young guard and he will only become better and better.”

The best plays of Promitheas Patras guard Anthony Cowan in his team's 89-93 win at the London Lions in Round 16 of the 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season.

Anthony Cowan's best plays vs. London

The Promitheas coach also praised the impressive atmosphere at Copper Box Arena: “It’s a great place. London is growing as an organization and, as a basketball person, I am happy to see that.”

London tactician Ryan Schmidt was just as impressed with the turnout at the venue and said that he was confident the team’s steady progress in its maiden EuroCup season would generate long-term popularity for basketball in the United Kingdom.

“I love it, the players love it. The fan base has got behind building this organization and it’s been nothing short of remarkable,” Schmidt noted. “It’s been fun to see not just a growing fan base, but a consistent fan base. The guys are feeding off that energy, and you could see in the last three or four minutes they thrived on it. It’s an intimate setting and it could become one of the best environments in Europe.”

Although he praised London for its spirited fourth-quarter fightback, Coach Schmidt was less elated with the overall performance.

“When you give up 93 points to a team in this competition, it’s always going to be tough to win,” he lamented. “I wasn’t happy with how we defended throughout the game, but I thought we got some big stops down the stretch in the last three or four minutes.”

London hit 6-of-12 three-pointers in the first half but only 2-of-16 in the second, allowing Promitheas to turn the game on its head as the Greek side finished on 13-of-32 from beyond the arc. Promitheas was also efficient from the foul line, nailing 22-of-25 free throws while London made 11-of-16. The hosts collected 19 offensive rebounds to Promitheas's 14, but it missed a bunch of opportunities to turn those offensive boards into second-chance points, having been put off by the visiting team’s physicality in the paint.

Ultimately, Coach Schmidt gave credit to Promitheas for a mature performance: “I thought they played extremely well. They compete for 40 minutes. You’ve got to give them credit because there were four possessions or so when the shot clock was down to five seconds, but Cowan and \[Joe\] Thomasson hit some tough shots. That’s what big players do.”

Game News

Game Videos

Anthony Cowan tamed the Lions in incredible atmosphere

ratiopharm Ulm pulled out a valuable home 97-85 win against Cedeveita Olimpija Ljubljiana in Round 16 that has kept its hopes alive of securing home-court advantage in the playoffs of the 7DAYS EuroCup.

The German team had several reasons behind wanting to beat the visitors, as, in addition to it helping its goals ahead of the playoffs, the 108-78 defeat it suffered against the same opponent in Round 7 still resonated in it’s the hosts' heads.

“We are happy with this win,” Ulm head coach Anton Gavel stated in the press conference. “We lost against them by 30 in the previous game and we knew it was going to be a tough one, knowing that \[Yogi\] Ferrell and \[Josh\] Adams can get hot every single night and every second."

One of the factors that made the difference for Ulm in this game was the joy it had from the free-throw line. Despite a balanced stat line in terms of fouls, with Ulm committing 22 to Cedevita's 24, the home team went to the line 10 more times (34 vs. 24) and had a far better percentage. Ulm scored 30 points from the charity stripe (88.2%), while Cedevita made 19 (79.2%), which means 11 more points in a 12-point win.

Cedevita head coach Miro Alilovic pointed to this in his post-game press conference: “I can be satisfied with the will of the players to prepare for the game, with big desire. And from this big desire, we were over aggressive too many times and we allowed them to make too many free throws." It was a similar story with Coach Gavel. “Offensively we were attacking the basket, which allowed us to have 34 free throws, which was good. We found a way, as always, to score a lot of points.” Ultimately, Ulm's joy from the free-throw line proved key en route to an important victory.

Ulm made the most of free throws to beat Cedevita

7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys beat Germani Brescia 65-74 on the road in Round 16, which extended the hosts' winning streak to five games. Curiously, that run has coincided with the arrival of center Nikola Popovic, who joined the team in late January.

Indeed, Popovic is 5-0 in the EuroCup with Lietkabelis, and his contribution has slowly increased in the last five contests. Against Brescia, Popovic led his team in scoring with 11 points. Lietkabelis had seven other players scoring 6 points or more, which says a lot about the team's balanced offense. Popovic added 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 fouls drawn for a team-high PIR of 13.

Nikola Popovic joined 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys in late January and has helped his team to go on a five-game winning streak... and counting!

Lietkabelis: 5-0 since Popovic arrived

Wednesday night's Round 16 fixture was Popovic's third consecutive double-digit game in the competition. In Round 14, Lietkabelis edged Umana Reyer Venice 87-84 at home, with the 25-year-old recording 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a PIR of 17. Popovic had 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and a PIR of 13 in Round 15 against Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana, too. In his five games with the team, Popovic has averaged 8.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and a PIR of 10.0 in 18 minutes on the floor. By adding Popovic and Gediminas Orelik, Lietkabelis has become an unstoppable force and has many reasons to be optimistic moving forward.

Nikola Popovic is Lietkabelis's lucky charm

### Jaka Lakovic, Gran Canaria head coach

“It was a very difficult game because Turk Telekom is a great team. They made their run in the third quarter. We hung on and, in the end, we controlled the finish of the game. We are happy with the win and we go forward.

“I congratulate the team for our victory. It was an important victory between the top two teams in our group. Both are trying to win and secure the best possible spot before the playoffs start. I thought we started the game well, focused and played pretty good defense. Today we had good percentage on threes and twos. We moved the ball well and found good solutions. But in the third quarter, Turk Telekom came back into the game, which we expected to happen. We didn’t panic too much. We handled the 7-point lead all the way to the end. And we deserved the win."

### Erdem Can, Turk Telekom Ankara head coach

"I congratulate Gran Canaria. It was an important game. I hope people watch this game and evaluate it in the right way.”

### John Shurna, Gran Canaria forward

“We started off strong in the first half, but Turk Telekom obviously is a great team and we let them get some easy baskets and get some confidence. It was back and forth for a little, but we are happy to defend home court and get a win against them.”

John Shurna, Gran Canaria: 'We are happy to defend home court'

### Ioannis Christopoulos, Promitheas Patras head coach

“We showed exactly who we are. We played defense and turned it up in the third quarter. We are now looking forward to the next \[game\].

“It’s a great feeling to win on the road. We knew it was going to be difficult and both teams fought very hard. We did a good job defensively in the third quarter as we set the tone and took the lead; it was wonderful to see our players respond and make a statement on the defensive end.

(On Anthony Cowan): “He brings a winning spirit and a lot of heart. He is a great character \[guy\] and he learns the game every day. He is still a young guard and he will only become better and better.

(On the atmosphere at Copper Box Arena): “It’s a great place. London is growing as an organization and, as a basketball person, I am happy to see that.”

### Ryan Schmidt, London Lions head coach

“Credit to them, that’s a very good team. Obviously, every time you give up 93 points in a game, it’s going to be tough to win. We’ve got to be better defensively, but again, give them credit. Three or four times, we got them to under four seconds on the shot clock and they hit some tough shots. When you’ve got guys who hit shots like that, it’s going to be tough to win a game. We made an effort to make a comeback in the fourth quarter. Congratulations to them.

"There are no easy games in this competition. They are the best team in our group, \[so\] it was a really good test for us. I didn’t like we did defensively \[in the third quarter\]. We went into this game as the third-rated defense in the EuroCup and I thought we gave them too many easy opportunities. At the same time, you’ve got to give them credit because there were four possessions or so when the shot clock was down to five seconds, but \[Anthony\] Cowan and \[Joe\] Thomasson hit some tough shots. That’s what big players do.

(On the atmosphere at Copper Box Arena): “I love it, the players love it, the fan base has got behind building this organization and it’s been nothing short of remarkable. It’s been fun to see not just a growing fan base, but a consistent fan base. The guys are feeding off that energy, and you could see in the last three or four minutes, the guys thrived on it. It’s an intimate setting and it could become one of the best environments in Europe."

### Anthony Cowan, Promitheas Patras point guard

“\[My performance\] was pretty good. We’ve got to finish more plays down the stretch but my teammates helped me out and we were able to get a good road win. We’ve got to finish strongly. It’s been a long season for us, but we can’t stop now. We’ve got to keep working and get more wins.”

Ioannis Christopoulos, Promitheas: 'It’s a great feeling to win on the road'

### Nenad Canak, 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys head coach 

"We are in an even better position now than before the game. It was a great game for us defensively today. Of course, the fact that \[Kenny\] Gabriel and \[Amedeo\] Della Valle didn't play helped us, but okay, I think that we deserved that win.

"It is a very important win for us because now, we are fighting for a better position before the playoffs. In the game, we played very solid defense. We controlled the rebounds and, in the end, I think we deserved that win and we will keep fighting in the EuroCup."

### Alessandro Magro, Germani Brescia head coach 

"We tried to compete against their physicality. We were not able to find good shots, and the good shots we generated, we missed them. So obviously, if you don't score, it is tough. There are a lot of things that we have to do better. We will watch the game and will be ready for the next one.

"For sure, we are disappointed because we knew the importance of the result of this game. We had the chance to gain some better positioning in the standings and we didn't. We knew that our weak point could be playing against their physical defense. They decided to have their regular edge defense, but also switching. In the first half especially, we moved the ball, in my opinion, not properly and too slow. Then we tried to do it better, we also generated some open shots that we missed. We had a very, very bad three-point percentage. To be honest, it was not an excellent game, a dirty game for both teams. We let them shoot 27 free throws, and I think this is a number that can determine the game. We were a bit nervous and we have to understand that I do my job with the referees and the players have to play the game, not to play and think about refereeing. We know, for sure, what we missed, and we are ready to come back immediately tomorrow. We have a very, very important \[Italian League\] game on Saturday, where I hope Amedeo Della Valle and Kenny Gabriel can help us. We are happy that we were able to give minutes to Troy Caupain, who is coming back in that game."

### Nikola Popovic, 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys center 

"We are really happy about this win. We needed it. We just wanted to better our position in the playoffs, and we did what we had to do."

Nenad Canak, Lietkabelis: 'We deserved that win'

### Anton Gavel, ratiopharm Ulm head coach

“We are happy with the result; we knew it was going to be a tough game. Zoran Dragic got them going pretty early in the game, and we had trouble with that. But, overall, I think we won the offensive battle. We found our solutions: defensively, offensively. We made a couple of mistakes, but we could fix that. Overall, we are happy about the win. I hope \[that we are heading in the right direction for the playoffs\]. We still have two games left, playing in Bourg and at home against Cluj, so definitely we need at least one \[win\]; we would like to get both, but it’s going to be tough. We will do anything possible to achieve this goal to get the home-court \[advantage\]. Let’s see what’s gonna happen.”

### Miro Alilovic, Cedevita Olimpija Ljbuljana head coach

"The players had desire and, because of that, we were overaggressive in many situations, especially when we had one-on-one situations. I expect \[us to play\] a little bit more smarter, with better selection to play on offense. But we have to keep going, stay together, think positive and try to improve our things in the game, going step by step.”

### Bruno Caboclo, ratiopharm Ulm center

“I think we learned how to play better together. I think our defense and offense is getting more consistent, and that’s what is bringing us to win games. I think so \[putting Karim Jallow on Yogi Ferrell was a key factor\], Ferrell is the leading scorer so putting a tall guy on him made his shots harder, so I think the strategy worked. I don’t care much about points or my scoring, I care only about winning.”