Paris Basketball locked up a spot in the 7DAYS EuroCup playoffs by knocking off Dolomiti Energia Trento 86-75 at home in Group B. Paris took control with a 13-3 run early in the second half run to improve to 8-4 and a three-way tie for second place in Group B after a third win in four games.

Tyrone Wallace collected 25 points and 6 assists to lead the way for Paris, which was missing leading scorer Kyle Allman. Amar Gegic added 17 points and Ismael Kamagate contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds. The win was overshadowed by Paris forward Juhann Begarin suffering an ankle injury in the third quarter. Trento lost its fourth straight game to fall to 2-10 - extending its road losing streak to 21 games dating back to November 2020. Darion Atkins tallied 16 points in the losing effort and Andrejs Grazulis had 12.

Game News

Wallace took the responsibility right away with 4 points in an 8-2 start. Trento committed 6 turnovers but still was within 16-14 until Wallace hit a three-pointer and Paris led 23-16 after 10 minutes.

A Wallace three-point play made it 30-22 but Diego Flaccadori and Grazulis combined for 14 points as Trento pulled ahead 35-36. Paris answered with the final 5 points and it was 40-36 at the break.

Game Videos

Wallace continued his outstanding showing with 8 more points in a 13-3 run to put Paris up 53-41. The advantage grew to 13 points multiple times in the quarter and the score was 64-51 after 30 minutes.

Paris scored the first four points of the fourth quarter and Trento did not get closer than 10 points until the closing minute.

Paris books playoff spot, sends Trento to 21st straight road loss 

Paris Basketball v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2023-01-25T19:00:00.000Z)

Arnoldas Kulboka shined again and Promitheas Patras got back to winning ways after hitting 11 three-pointers in dismissing the visiting Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 81-72 on Wednesday night. Both teams now hold 7-5 records in Group B, but Promitheas holds the tiebreak advantage because Buducnost won their first game in overtime. In this one, the hosts took the lead for good early in the second quarter and Kulboka was hot the entire game, finishing with 30 points on 5-for-8 three-point shooting.

Nemanja Dangubic added 15 points, and Dustin Hogue scored 13, while Anthony Cowan dished 10 assists in the victory. Erick Green paced Buducnost with 16 points, Cameron Reynolds and Petar Popovic scored 14 apiece, and Alpha Kaba had 10 points and 12 rebounds in a losing effort.

Both teams had early runs with Hogue and Simpson fueling an 11-2 spurt for Promitheas before the visitors answered with a 0-7 run capped by J.J. O'Brian's layup. The hosts held a 20-18 lead after the first 10 minutes and then back-to-back-to-back threes by Anthony Cowan, Arnoldas Kulboka and Nemanja Dangubic helped open a 31-22 advantage. Buducnost hit back led by Green, but the hosts led 41-33 at halftime.

Kulboka and Cowan opened the third quarter by hitting back-to-back triples to make it a 47-35 game. But the visitors answered by knocking down triples on three consecutive possessions to cut it to 49-44. However, Kulboka was hot, hitting two more triples and scoring 8 points in a 10-0 run that made it 63-48 in the final minute of the third quarter. Aleksandar Lazic nailed two triples in the fourth, but Kulboka was unstoppable with 7 more points, including one more three-pointer that made it 74-61 with 5 minutes to go. Simpson's three made it a 16-point margin and Promitheas was well on its way to victory.

Kulboka, Promitheas sink Buducnost

Promitheas Patras v Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (2023-01-25T17:30:00.000Z)

### Promitheas Patras head coach Ioannis Christopoulos:

"The players deserve a lot of credit, they did a great job on defense. We had good offense from defense. I don't like to speak about personal records or statistics. I see it as a team win. We got many people contributing on both ends of the floor, for me that's the most important thing. I always say we count our coins at the end, for now, this is just a win, we move on... I definitely like to see inside-out basketball. Our decision-making was pretty good for the whole duration of the game. It is a good win for us and the coaching staff prepared the game pretty well."

### Buducnost VOLI Podgorica head coach Vlada Jovanovic:

"I think we played a soft game from the beginning, on both sides. We started with a soft defense, and mostly we were not on a good level of aggressiveness. On offense, we had a problem almost the whole game with hedge pick-and-roll defense, we did not find a solution to resolve it. For 40 minutes it wasn't our good game."

### Promitheas Patras forward Arnoldas Kulboka:

"It's a big win. We needed it. It is a team we are close to and I am super-happy about it. Can't wait to see what's ahead."

Arnoldas Kulboka, Promitheas: 'Can't wait to see what's ahead'

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

"First of all, I am happy because we beat a great team. A win is a win. For sure, we must talk about the fourth quarter. They scored 41 points and I don't remember that my team received 41 points \[in one quarter\], maybe against Wolves in our domestic league. The most important is that we won. We played defense and shared the ball, and when we stopped playing offense and started doing things wrong, with wrong ideas, we had problems." 

### Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse head coach Frederic Fauthoux:

"Sometimes we cannot explain what happens on the court. Maybe we had the worst game of the season. This is basketball, of course, we had a reaction but it was not enough."

### 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys forward Gediminas Orelik:

"It is hard to explain. Some of the guys just believed that we had already won the game, and they are first in the group not just by accident. We were plus 27 but there were still 10 minutes left in the game. We hadn't finished anything. That was the biggest mistake we did, we just believed \[that we won\] early. I think it is easier for me \[to adjust\] because I was here last year with the same coaching staff, same everything, so for me, it is easier to adapt."

Nenad Canak, Lietkabelis: 'A win is a win'

7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2023-01-25T17:00:00.000Z)

Prometey Slobozhanske secured its fifth win in a row on Wednesday evening after beating Frutti Extra Bursaspor 92-94 at Tofas Spor Salonu. By grabbing this victory, Prometey has moved to joint top of Group A with a record of 8-4, whereas Bursaspor has now lost two in a row and is 6-6 on the season.

Caleb Agada led the way in scoring for Prometey with 27 points, of which 24 came in the first half, while DJ Stephens scored all 18 of his points in the second half. Gian Clavell and Ondrej Balvin joined their teammates in double figures with 14 and 12 points, respectively. For Bursaspor, Derek Needham finished on 20 points after having just 4 at the halftime break. David Dudzinski had 17 points, Zach Auguste added 16, and Anthony Clemmons recorded 13 in the defeat.

Bursaspor came out of the blocks fast and opened an 8-0 lead, which caused Prometey head coach Ronen Ginzburg to call a timeout with 6:39 left on the clock in the first quarter. That pause gave the visitors a chance to regroup, and one player who was particularly inspired was Agada. By the time that 4:44 was remaining, the 28-year-old had 10 points and had helped give Prometey a narrow advantage, 11-13. As the first quarter drew to a close, Agada hit a three-pointer to move to 18 points and ensure his team led after the opening 10 minutes, 22-23.

 

Agada continued his scoring in the second period and soon found himself on 24 points at the halfway point of the quarter, 35-40. Bursaspor continued to fight Prometey, with Auguste coming to the fore as the hosts were able to cut the gap to 48-50 at halftime.

There was a clear switch from Bursaspor at the start of the second half, as it decided to defend Agada differently, clearly aware of the threat he was causing on offense. But, while it was finding a way to keep Agada quiet, Stephens began to show what he can do on the offensive end of the floor. Scoreless at the break, Stephens saw a three-pointer drop to keep Prometey in front early on, 50-53, before hitting another triple with 3:33 remaining to do the same, 63-65. Moments later, he followed that up with a high-flying dunk to complete an alley-oop pass from Agada, 63-67. Stephens nailed his third three-pointer of the quarter with 1:47 left to make it a five-point game, 67-72. Ahmet Duverioglu scored the final basket of the quarter, but the visitors had created a bit of daylight with a 69-75 lead.

Needham entered the fourth period on 10 points, but he soon began to take over. By the 6:33 mark in the final quarter, Needham had scored two triples and a two-pointer to bring Bursaspor level, 80-80. Auguste and Needham then scored on back-to-back plays to flip the script, 84-80, but Prometey remained calm. First, Clavell hit a pair of free throws, and then Stephens scored 5 straight points to swing the momentum again, 84-87. It soon became a back-and-forth affair, but Agada appeared with 35 seconds remaining to score his first points of the second half: a three-pointer to put Prometey 92-94 ahead. In the final seconds, Auguste had a chance to score under the basket, but James Dickey secured a game-sealing block on the Bursaspor big man, as Prometey walked away with its fifth win in succession and its third straight on the road.

Prometey wins fifth straight game, beats Bursaspor 92-94

Frutti Extra Bursaspor v Prometey Slobozhanske (2023-01-25T17:00:00.000Z)

7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys snapped a four-game losing streak by thrashing Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 92-88 at Kalnapilio Arena on Wednesday. Lietkabelis recorded its first EuroCup win in 2023 and improved to 5-7 in Group A. Bourg dropped to 8-4 after its first EuroCup loss in 2023. 

Gediminas Orelik, in his first EuroCup home game of the season, paced the winners with 27 points. Jamel Morris added 14 while Vytenis Lipkevicius had 11 for Lietkabelis, which led 74-47 early in the fourth quarter. James Palmer led Bourg with 31 points. Axel Julien added 14 and Isiaha Mike and Frantz Massenat each had 10 for the visitors.

Pierre Pelos and Palmer got Bourg going with back-to-back three-pointers in a 0-8 opening run that Amida Brimah capped with a layup. Palmer and Pelos kept pacing the visitors and then Mike scored down low for a 7-14 lead. Orelik followed a layup with a triple in a 7-0 run that tied it at 14-14. Jordan Floyd restored a 16-18 Bourg edge after 10 minutes. Paulius Murauskas buried a three-pointer, sparking a 14-0 Lietkabelis run in which Orelik struck three times from beyond the arc to give his team a 33-22 lead. Palmer got Bourg a bit closer, 40-31, at halftime.

Orelik fired in his fifth three-pointer and followed that with a layup-plus-foul, sparking a 13-0 Lietkabelis run that Morris capped with a corner triple that broke the game open, 55-33. Morris insisted from downtown and then Mantas Rubstavicius boosted Lietkabelis's lead to 72-47 after 30 minutes. 

Bourg was not done, however, as Pelos, Palmer and Mike fueled a 1-23 run that Massenat capped with a three-pointer to get the visitors within 75-69 with over 4 minutes left. Palmer and Julien each buried consecutive three-pointers for an 86-83 score with 24.4 seconds left. Morris and Murauskas sealed the outcome from the foul line.

Orelik leads Lietkabelis to fifth win, 92-88

Two veteran centers, [Ante Tomic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/ante-tomic/002507/) and [Alen Omic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/alen-omic/004222/), are set to square off once again on Wednesday night when Joventut Badalona welcomes Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana for their Round 12 clash.

Omic's 125 EuroCup games played ranks sixth all time and includes a season with Joventut. He is the EuroCup's runaway all-time leader in two-pointers made (518), as well as in offensive (292), defensive (536) and total rebounds (828).

Omic made his competition debut in 2013. Tomic, now 35, first played in the EuroCup in the 2020-21 after more than a decade in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.

Interestingly, since that time the two players have both averaged a PIR of 15.4, with Tomic having an advantage in scoring (12.7 ppg.) and assists (3.3 apg.), while Omic is doing a better job on the glass (6.7 rpg.).

In those three season, the two centers have matched up three times. In those game, not only has Tomic fared better, but he and Joventut ended up victorious each time Omic has been on the other side.

The latest of their three head-to-head games came in Round 3 this season when Tomic and Joventut outplayed Omic and Cedevita. Joventut celebrated a 78-100 win in the Slovenian capital with Tomic collecting 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 17 minutes. Omic had just 3 points, with 8 rebounds and 3 assists, in 22 minutes.

The two first went head-to-head twice in the 2020-21 season, when Omic was with Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse. Tomic shined with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in Joventut's road win, and collected 6 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in a home game. Meanwhile, Omic had 6 points and 5 rebounds in the home loss, while posting 10 points and 7 rebounds in Badalona.

Now, Omic returns to Badalona with hope to change his fortunes and pick up his first win against Tomic, upsetting his former team.

Head-to-head: Tomic, Joventut vs. Omic, Cedevita

Joventut Badalona v Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (2023-01-25T19:15:00.000Z)

Earlier this season, in Round 3 of the 7DAYS EuroCup, Germani Brescia went on the road and beat ratiopharm Ulm 90-98, yet the two teams could only be separated after overtime. This Wednesday night, another thrilling contest between these sides could be in store, as Brescia plays host to Ulm at PalaLeonessa A2A.

Brescia enters this game in seventh place in Group A with a record of 5-6, while Ulm is in sixth position after going 6-5 through the first 11 rounds. What's more, they come into this matchup in contrasting moods, as Brescia lost 79-72 at Prometey Slobozhanske last week, whereas Ulm got back to winning ways at home to 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys, 78-69. Brescia do, however, have the chance to make it three wins from three at PalaLeonessa with a victory over Ulm.

When looking at the first meeting between Brescia and Ulm this season, two of the main protagonists that day will not be present on Wednesday night. For Brescia, guard Troy Caupain had 17 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists in 40 minutes on the floor against Ulm, but he suffered an injury in Round 4 and is expected to remain out until the end of March. On the other hand, Ulm's leading scorer against Brescia, Matthew Mobley with 23 points, is no longer on the German team's roster, as he joined French side Dijon in early January.

ratiopharm Ulm - Germani Brescia | Round 3 Highlights | 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup

For fans and neutrals watching at home, one of the key things to watch on Wednesday night will be the play of two point guards: Amedeo Della Valle of Brescia and Yago Dos Santos of Ulm. In Round 11, Della Valle scored 20 points as he tried his best to carry Brescia against Prometey, while Dos Santos wasn't too far off a triple-double after recording 21 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists against Lietkabelis. They have both shined for their teams this season, and whichever player performs best at PalaLeonessa is likely to end up on the winning side.

For Ulm, it also has a couple of new players on its roster that were not on the team when it took on Brescia earlier this season. Experienced guard Brandon Paul arrived ahead of Round 8 and has had an instant impact on the team, averaging 11.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist in four appearances. Another new arrival who has hit the ground running is EuroCup rookie Bruno Caboclo, who has averaged 15.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 block in his first two games with the club, having only made his debut in Round 10.

"\[Ulm\] has a couple of new players who have had a big impact on the team," said Brescia head coach Alessandro Magro in his pre-game press conference. "We have to get back to winning ways with tough defense \[and\] take care with our defense against their excellent three-point shooters. They are one of the best teams in the competition in that aspect."

The best scoring plays of Germani Brescia star Amedeo Della Valle and ratiopharm Ulm guard Yago Dos Santos between Rounds 1 and 11 in the 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup.

Della Valle and Dos Santos's best scoring plays in 2022-23

It is not just Ulm that has some weapons, though. Della Valle is the clear star for Brescia, but it also has the likes of CJ Massinburg and David Cournooh, who have impressed in the last four games.

Although Della Valle leads the way in this four-game period with 18.8 points per contest, Massinburg and Cournooh have contributed 12.5 ppg. and 11.5 ppg., respectively. Curiously, Massinburg's average would be even higher but for a scoreless game in Round 10, while Cournooh's averaged 15.5 points in Brescia's two home wins over Frutti Extra Bursaspor and Joventut Badalona and 7.5 points in the team's road games in Rounds 8 and 11.

Therefore, with the Della Valle-led Brescia eyeing a third straight home win, Ulm has a tough task on its hands. However, Wednesday night's visiting team, which is 3-3 on its travels, can lean on its Brazilian connection of Dos Santos and Caboclo. It should be a very fun game to watch, so make sure to set aside some time for this clash, which gets underway at 20:30 CET.

Brescia vs. Ulm: Della Valle, Dos Santos set to star in another classic

Germani Brescia v ratiopharm Ulm (2023-01-25T19:30:00.000Z)

Gran Canaria became the first team to earn a berth in the next stage of the 7DAYS EuroCup when it defeated the London Lions 57-60 at the Copperbox on Tuesday night. With its sixth in a row, the Spanish team improved to 10-2 in Group B to maintain the best record in the competition.

This victory confirmed Gran Canaria's status as a top contender; it is unbeaten against every team between second and fifth place Group B. Gran Canaria’s only losses came against Promitheas Patras in Round 2 (93-82), and against Dolomiti Energia Trento in Round 6 (75-72). All of the other teams have tasted the strength of Coach Jaka Lakovic’s team, which now has a two-win lead over the teams directly behind it in the standings, Turk Telekom Ankara and Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv.

That gives Gran Canaria a great chance of finishing atop the group at the end of the regular season although Lakovic is not overthinking or overvaluing his team’s current position: "We didn’t have any expectations \[at the beginning of the season\] of what was going to happen," he said in the post-game press conference. 

"We just wanted to play game by game, focus on each game at a time. At the end of Round 18, we will see what happens and where we stay at. Right now, we are in a good position, but there are still six games to go, and we still have to play against Turk Telekom Ankara and still against Hapoel in Tel Aviv. The calendar is the same for everybody and we have to go on, and focus on the next one."

London Lions - Gran Canaria | Round 12 Highlights | 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup

What Gran Canaria's fans can be sure about is how resilient and effective the team can be even under pressure. At least, this is what they showed in London. Despite having a sub-par shooting night (37.1% in two-pointers and 26.9% from behind the arc) and scoring just 9 points in the last quarter, Gran Canaria managed to prevent London from completing the rally that made the game 57-58 in the last minute. 

"London came back strong, they got a push from its fans, but we stayed good, solid, especially protecting the defensive rebound and managed to squeeze out the win," he said. "It was a tough game, we were solid defensively but in offense were under par. We had poor percentages shooting from the field even with the open shots, we couldn’t break the game and in the end, it came down to the wire and we were a little bit lucky.

That defensive play was not the only factor Lakovic could celebrate. There was also how his team played its last possession, with the score 57-58 and only 5’ seconds to play. Right after the timeout, Gran Canaria managed to inbound the ball to one of its best free-throw shooters, Nicolas Brussino, who was 12-of-13 before this game. The Argentinean forward lived up to the expectations and made both free throws when he was fouled, sealing the outcome. 

"We were a little bit more experienced, and we took the win, but we have to do better,” Lakovic admitted.

First to the playoffs, Gran Canaria is still aiming higher

London Lions v Gran Canaria (2023-01-24T19:30:00.000Z)