Tale of two halves for Joventut  

Joventut Badalona’s thrilling 82-76 comeback victory over ratiopharm Ulm was truly a tale of two halves - nearly breaking records both in a good and bad way. Joventut rallied from 20 points down (39-59) to get the win, the largest comeback ever by the club to win a 7DAYS EuroCup game. That bested the previous record of 16 points against Morabanc Andorra in the 2019-20 season.

It was not Joventut’s biggest-ever comeback in the EuroCup as the Spanish side fought back from 23 points down against Virtus Segafredo Bologna during the 2020-21 season. But Joventut ended up losing that game.

Joventut’s 24 first-half points were the second-lowest score ever by the team in the first half of a EuroCup game. The fewest were 23 points against Spirou Charleroi in the 2002-03 season - taking place 20 years and 3 days ago.

Joventut poured in 58 points in the second half, the second-most points the club has scored in the second half of a EuroCup game - and most in a regular season game. The most points Joventut has ever scored in the second half of a EuroCup game were 64 points against Unicaja Malaga during the 2019-20 season.

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Joventut Badalona v ratiopharm Ulm (2023-02-07T19:15:00.000Z)

Joventut rallies from 20 points down to beat Ulm

Joventut Badalona rallied from 20 points down in the third quarter to grab a thrilling 82-76 home win over ratiopharm Ulm. Joventut used runs of 22-2 and 12-0 in the second half and scored 34 points in the final 10 minutes to improve to 9-5 - including a season sweep of Ulm.

Joel Parra tallied 20 of his team-high 22 points in the second half while Ante Tomic scored 16 points and Kyle Guy chipped in 15 points for Joventut, which can lock up a playoff spot if U-BT Cluj-Napoca loses its game on Wednesday. Ulm saw its three-game winning streak snapped to drop to 8-6. Yago dos Santos flirted with a triple-double with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists in the loss and Brandon Paul and Thomas Klepeisz both added 12 points.

Ulm’s first 4 baskets were from long range and the visitors led 8-14 early. Joventut was held scoreless for 4 minutes before Vladimir Brodziansky scored his first basket back with the team. Ulm did not score a basket in the final 5 minutes of the quarter, but led 13-18 after 10 minutes.

Ulm netted the first 5 points of the second quarter for a double-digit lead 13-23. Ulm failed to score for nearly 3 minutes but Joventut could not take advantage of it and two dunks by Josh Hawley increased the lead to 21-35. A Henry Ellenson triple drew Joventut within 24-35 at the break.

Parra and Guy nailed three-pointers and Joventut pulled within 34-40. Dos Santos, however, sank a pair of triples of his own and set up three-pointers from Robin Christen and Thomas Klepeisz to increase the gap to 36-56. Joventut used the long-range attack to try and stay close with 2 Guillem Vives three-pointers making it 48-61 after 30 minutes.

Parra stepped up with 9 points in a 13-0 start of the final frame to knot the game 61-61. Dos Santos’s layup snapped the 22-2 Joventut run followed by assists on 2 triples and another three-pointer to put Ulm up 65-72. Joventut would not be denied with a 12-0 run over 3 minutes to lead 77-72. Tomic scored down low and Parra added 2 free throws to finish off the game.

Carles Duran, Joventut: 'The effort was incredible'

### Joventut Badalona head coach Carles Duran:

"The effort was incredible. But today we played bad, very bad. I think Ulm played better than us. But in the last quarter we played with effort, played better on offense, and the key was defense. We kept fighting the whole time and improved on defending the pick-and-roll. And we won. It’s an important win for us. But in the future, we have to try to play better because it will be very difficult.

"Thank you to the fans because in the second half the team played with an extra player because the fans were incredible on offense and defense."

### ratiopharm Ulm head coach Anton Gavel:

"Congratulations to Carles \[Duran\] and his team for this win. I think we managed the game pretty well for the first three quarters, or the first 25 minutes, similar to the game at home. We built ourselves a lead, which was pretty good. We were defending well. But then we completely fell apart. We made bad decisions. We started worrying about referees and all that kind of stuff which we definitely should not do. Offensively we were just making poor decisions. We tried to solve the problems by ourselves one on one. It didn’t work and we paid for it."

### Joventut Badalona forward Joel Parra:

"It was an amazing second half by the whole team. This is our home and it’s so important for us to win at home. Ulm has played well all season. They are one of the rivals to stay in the top four. It's an important win, a 2-0 sweep of them."

### [Dolomiti Energia Trento 72-80 Turk Telekom Ankara](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/dolomiti-energia-trento-turk-telekom-ankara/U2022/136/)

Turk Telekom recorded consecutive wins for the first time in 2023 by racing past Trento 72-80 on Tuesday night. The victory lifted Turk Telekom to 10-4 and, at least temporarily, into second place in Group B. Trento fell to 2-12 and is ninth place in the group. Jerian Grant scored 20 of his career-high 26 points in the first half to lead the winners. He also dished 5 assists en route to a personal best PIR of 30. Toto Forray and Diego Flaccadori each went for 18 points and 7 assists to pace Trento.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Coach Erdem Can&#39;s comments after the game.<a href="https://twitter.com/TT_Basketbol?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TT_Basketbol</a> <a href="https://t.co/1dD5IHj8Qu">pic.twitter.com/1dD5IHj8Qu</a></p>&mdash; 7DAYS EuroCup (@EuroCup) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroCup/status/1623064832345010176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### [Joventut Badalona 82-76 ratiopharm Ulm](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/joventut-badalona-ratiopharm-ulm/U2022/132/)

Joventut rallied from 20 points down in the third quarter to grab a thrilling 82-76 home win over Ulm. Joventut used runs of 22-2 and 12-0 in the second half and scored 34 points in the final 10 minutes to improve to 9-5 - including a season sweep of Ulm. Joel Parra tallied 20 of his team-high 22 points in the second half while Ante Tomic scored 16 for Joventut, which can lock up a playoff spot if U-BT Cluj-Napoca loses its game on Wednesday. Ulm saw its three-game winning streak snapped to drop to 8-6. Yago dos Santos flirted with a triple-double with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists in the loss.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr">💚🖤 FINAAAAL! QUINA REMUNTADA!!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/Penya1930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Penya1930</a> 82-76 <a href="https://twitter.com/ratiopharmulm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ratiopharmulm</a> <br><br>🎯 Joel Parra: 22 punts<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Badalona%C3%89sFutur?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BadalonaÉsFutur</a> <a href="https://t.co/Jp3LclWJjw">pic.twitter.com/Jp3LclWJjw</a></p>&mdash; Club Joventut Badalona (@Penya1930) <a href="https://twitter.com/Penya1930/status/1623067864344195088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Game center: Turk Telekom, Joventut open Round 14 with wins

Turk Telekom tops Trento 72-80 

Turk Telekom Ankara recorded consecutive wins for the first time in 2023 by racing past Dolomiti Energia Trento 72-80 on Tuesday night. The victory lifted Turk Telekom to 10-4 and, at least temporarily, into second place in Group B. Trento fell to 2-12 and is ninth place in the group.

Jerian Grant scored 20 of his career-high 26 points in the first half to lead the winners. He also dished 5 assists en route to a personal best PIR of 30. Axel Bouteille added 12 points, Nathan Sestina and Mehmet Yagmur netted 11 and Erkan Yilmaz had 10 for Turk Telekom. Toto Forray and Diego Flaccadori each went for 18 points and 7 assists to pace Trento, Darion Atkins amassed 12 points and 9 rebounds and Andrejs Grazulis also scored 12 in defeat.

Turk Telekom struggled early and was unable to score in the first 3 minutes as Trento grabbed a 4-0 lead. Grant soon got the visitors back on track as Turk Telekom scored 7 straight points.  Forray came off the bench for 12 points in 3 minutes as the hosts went back ahead, 18-12. Bouteille’s layup drew Turk Telekom within 20-17 after 10 minutes.

The teams traded shots to start the second quarter and Flaccadori helped Trento keep Turk Telekom at bay, 30-24, after a technical foul was called on visiting head coach Erdem Cam. Grant heated up again to rally Turk Telekom and gave his team the lead, 36-37, with a three from the corner. Trento guard Trent Lockett and visiting center Tyrique Jones were both ejected after an altercation between them with 2:26 remaining in the half. Turk Telekom held on for a 40-43 halftime advantage.

Tony Taylor took charge with 5 points in a row to stretch the Turk Telekom lead to 44-53, but Grazulis played a key role in a 6-0 spurt to trim the deficit. Trento got as close as 2 and finished the third quarter down 54-59.

Atkins had the hot hand for Trento and his jumper made it 59-62. Grant dished a pair of assists and buried a shot in the lane to fuel a 0-7 run that gave the visitors a double-digit lead. Trento refused to give in, but was unable to string together enough scores in a row to threaten and Yilmaz's three in the penultimate minute all but put the game on ice.

Dolomiti Energia Trento v Turk Telekom Ankara (2023-02-07T19:00:00.000Z)

Erdem Can, Turk Telekom: 'It's not easy to talk about basketball today'

### Turk Telekom Ankara head coach Erdem Can:

"It’s not easy to talk about basketball today. We were a little bit nervous, but we tried to represent our country in the best possible way because there are lots of tough things going on over there. Our hearts with them again. Our prayers with them. I hope as many people can survive and we can go back to normal life.

"I would like to thank all of Europe who is coming to support, showing support. It’s really showing great, great power for humanity. I also want to thank the two EuroCup teams that we play, starting from Trento with their hospitality and support. The same for Promitheas, called us and gave their support. Hapoel, same way. Some other teams, same. I would just like to thank the basketball world for their support and again, our prayers are with our people."

### Turk Telekom Ankara guard Jerian Grant:

"It’s always good when you can get a win on the road, so we’ll take this one and try to get better. We need to continue to get wins, try for home court in the playoffs and go from there."

### Dolomiti Energia Trento Emanuele Molin:

"We played a consistent game for 40 minutes. We tried and we gave on the court everything we had. We faced a problem with the ejection of Trent \[Lockett\], so the roster was already in trouble and it was more. But at the end, I think we played a pretty good game."

Slask Wroclaw has announced the arrival of Vasa Pusica on a deal until the end of the season, which includes an option for the club to extend the guard's contract for a further year. Pusica (1.96 meters, 27 years old) joins from Twarde Pierniki, also of the Polish League, where he averaged 16.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 10 games. He will make his 7DAYS EuroCup if he appears for Slask in the remainder of this season.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="pl" dir="ltr">Oficjalnie meldujemy, że nowym graczem Śląska został Vasilije &quot;Vasa&quot; Pušica! 🔥<br><br>Serb podpisał kontrakt do końca sezonu z opcją przedłużenia umowy przez klub o kolejny rok. Witamy we Wrocławiu! 🤝<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DumaMiasta?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DumaMiasta</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/plkpl?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#plkpl</a></p>&mdash; WKS Śląsk Wrocław - koszykówka (@WKS_SlaskBasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/WKS_SlaskBasket/status/1623003709276913665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Pusica made his professional debut in April 2019 with Partizan NIS Belgrade in his native Serbia, averaging 8.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 12 Serbian League games, before moving on shortly after to Pesaro of Italy, where he remained for the 2019-20 season. He spent the following campaign with Sassari of Italy, and in 2021-22 he split time between Prienai of Lithuania and Galatasaray of Turkey. Having played for Twarde Pierniki since November 2022, Pusica will now continue his journey in Poland with Slask.

Slask bolsters options with Vasa Pusica signing

Amar Alibegovic, Cedevita: 'We are not giving up'

Let's start with last week's win against Reyer. We needed a win and beat a very good team. Alen Omic had 19 rebounds and that was one of the keys, of course. Alen played a really good game and he also had a really good game when we played in Venice. I think between those two games, he got 40 rebounds, 21 over there and 19 here! But at the same time, I think we really changed the game with our defense. We actually played good defense and put more of our effort and mindset into that, more than just trying to start ourselves from offense. And I think it really showed, and we were able to make some good plays. Of course, we made mistakes, but I think we are a lot more committed on the defensive end, which helped us bring home the win at the end. 

It was important for us to win a close game, too. Like I said, if we keep up with this defensive mentality, even if you go over there and you miss a shot, but you come back and you try and get the ball back right away. You try to get a good stop right away. I think it's definitely like a whole game-changer, mindset-wise. As for Alen, he is a great guy who created a great atmosphere, he is an unselfish player who does the things that we need to win. Like in that game against Reyer, we really needed him to step up on the rebounding end and he was able to do it. He was a big factor in our win last week. 

"If we keep up with this defensive mentality... I think it's definitely like a whole game-changer, mindset-wise."

Our next game, right before the break, is against Prometey in Riga. Right now, Prometey are first in our group. It's definitely very hard for them to play in a different country and a different gym, and they are playing well. I think, if I'm not wrong, they had a slow start, but they have been really picking it up and stringing some wins together. They play at a very high pace, with very high energy. They play well together, and we are going to have to be able to limit our turnovers because they can run very, very well off that. We have to be locked in on defense, on getting back on defense in transition and then in five-on-five.

I know it will be fun to play against DJ Stephens. I guess you've seen his highlights this season; I have never seen anything like that. I feel like every game he has a new highlight and he is definitely a big highlights player. He runs the floor and jumps very well and is probably the most athletic guy in the EuroCup. We have to do a good job coming back in defensive transition and if we do, maybe we can limit some of those plays. But you always have to be aware around him, try to box him out and find him in transition because he's always ready to catch a lob. 

Our team is pretty athletic, too. Matkovic is going to be back soon, so we are hopefully going to start playing at our full potential because I think we've only had one game this season that we played with a full roster. We don't know yet if Zoki \[Zoran Dragic\] is going to play or not. I think if we all play, we can compete with anyone, and it's going to be a big game-changer to have both. Matkovic is an athletic big man and Zoki is very experienced. He can really help us move the ball and find the open player.

EuroCup highlights: Amar Alibegovic, Cedevita

We are not giving up. We've had up and downs all season, injury-wise, but are not making excuses, we know we have to play better. At the same time, hopefully, these guys can come back and give whatever they got. It's not going to be 100%, of course, because they are coming back from injury, but we are not giving up. We are here to fight and are going to fight until the last game. 

Of course, I am following my former team Virtus in the EuroLeague after winning the EuroCup together last season. I always watch Virtus, both in the EuroLeague and in the Italian League. It has been a big part of my career. I am very thankful to the club and the whole organization, and I like the whole atmosphere, so I always watch it.

"Every time we go on the court, we have to come out ready to give all we have and leave it all on the floor."

Right now, we have to take one game at a time, and this week it's Prometey in Kaunas. Any other approach doesn't make any sense. We have to take it game by game, especially with the situation we have where we have to win almost every game, if not every game. So in every game, we have to go ready to fight and try to clinch a spot in the playoffs because we still have a chance.

After this game, there is a three-week break in the EuroCup but we will fight for an official title, the Slovenian Cup. We are leaning towards the end of the season, and this is where you have to be more focused, willing to give 110%, go over your every limit. And like I said, every time we go on the court, we have to come out ready to give all we have and leave it all on the floor. And if you have nothing left, next guy up and the same goes for him. I think if we can bring that mentality from now until the end of the season and make a good push, we have a good chance. I think if we start winning games like we did against Reyer, more people will come. Also, winning brings confidence to the team. The more we win, the more confidence we will have and I think the better we will play!

Prometey Slobozhanske v Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (2023-02-08T17:00:00.000Z)

Two of the most exciting teams to watch in Group B will lock horns on Wednesday evening (19:00 CET) when Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv takes on Gran Canaria. Their first meeting was already a thriller in which Gran Canaria won at home 85-83 in Round 5.

In that game, Hapoel erased a 17-point second-quarter deficit to lead by as many as 8 in the fourth. The hosts scored the game’s final 10 points and [J’Covan Brown](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/j-covan-brown/011991/) missed a three to win it at the buzzer. [John Shurna](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/john-shurna/006588/) led five Gran Canaria scorers in double figures with 18 points and [Xavier Munford](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/xavier-munford/007759/) scored 24 for Hapoel.

Since then, the two teams have been among the best in the competition; Gran Canaria has won seven straight games and Hapoel is unbeaten in five. Coach Danny Franco's side leads the 7DAYS EuroCup in scoring (87.6 ppg.), defensive rebounds (29.7 drpg.), assists (21.2 apg.) and PIR (105.3) while keeping opponents to the second-lowest PIR (79.4) and the second-lowest two-point shooting success rate (48.8%).

Gran Canaria is second in the EuroCup in assists (20.7 apg.) and third in scoring (85.9 ppg.), two-point shooting (58.5%) PIR (97.2), while allowing the fewest rebounds (30.8 rpg.) and offensive rebounds (7.4 orpg.).

Plug in all the numbers and what we might find is that despite all the stars on the perimeter, such as Brown, Munford and [Jordan McRae](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/jordan-mcrae/007996/) for the hosts and [A.J. Slaughter](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/aj-slaughter/003637/), [Andrew Albicy](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/andrew-albicy/003425/) and [Ferran Bassas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/ferran-bassas/001607/) for the visitors, the play in the paint could be the decisive factor in this game.

Who will control the rebounds? And can Hapoel slow down Gran Canaria’s bigs? The answers to those questions will be crucial.

The Round 5 contest was Hapoel center [Chinanu Onuaku](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/chinanu-onuaku-/012076/)’s first game with the club and he was limited to just 9:36 minutes on the floor, during which he did not score and committed as many turnovers (3) as rebounds (3). Since then, Onuaku has become a force for Hapoel with blocks in all but one game and three games with double-figures in rebounds. Last week, he earned Round 13 MVP honors after scoring a personal-best 22 points.

Even though Hapoel only got a grand total of 7 rebounds from the center position (3 from Onuaku, 2 from [Chris Horton](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/chris-horton/011988/) and 2 from [Jaylen Hoard](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/jaylen-hoard/006835/)), it was able to outrebound Gran Canaria 31-34. At the other end, [Damien Inglis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/damien-inglis/003960/) shined with 14 points and 7 rebounds and [Aleksander Balcerowski](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/aleksander-balcerowski/007553/) produced 8 points, 3 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals.

During its five-game winning streak, Hapoel has enjoyed outstanding play from its bigs, with Hoard averaging 9.4 points on 75% shooting and 5.0 rebounds in 17 minutes per game and Onuaku producing 12.4 points on 60% two-point shooting, 10.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in less than 21 minutes on the floor.

While Inglis has recently alternated outstanding showings with quiet ones, [Khalifa Diop](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/khalifa-diop/008072/) has been worth 10.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in less than 19 minutes over his last five games and Balcerowski has tallied 10.8 points and 1.2 blocks in 16 minutes.

Could the outcome of this game be as simple as which team’s big men play the best? As coaches like to say, these games are affected by tiny details. On Wednesday night at Hapoel’s Shlomo Group Arena, perhaps it’s wisest to keep an eye on the details in the paint.

The centers could be decisive in Hapoel vs. Gran Canaria

Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv v Gran Canaria (2023-02-08T18:00:00.000Z)