Joventut Badalona finished the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season in a victorious way after beating 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys 81-60 at Palau Olimpic on Wednesday night. 

Joventut rolls past Lietkabelis, 81-60

Joventut Badalona finished the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season in a victorious way after beating 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys 81-60 at Palau Olimpic on Wednesday night. The home team had a 14-0 run to start the game and a 7-0 spark to begin the second that built a 20-point margin that Liekabelis could never jeopardize. Joventut improved to 13-5 to finish second in Group B, while Lietkabelis saw its six-game winning streak come to an end and slipped to 10-8 to finish fourth.

Kyle Guy led five Joventut scorers in double-digits with 13 points. Yannick Kraag followed with 12 points, Simon Birgander tallied a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards, Vladimir Brodziansky scored 11, and Pau Ribas provided 10 for the winners. Nikola Popovic set the tone for Lietkabelis with 13 points and 3 rebounds.

Game News

Ribas and Kraag got the home team going with 10 points combined that forced a first Lietkabelis timeout after just 2 minutes. Birgander joined the scoring party soon after and Kraag showed up again with a slam to make it 14-0. The visitors ended the drought with a triple from Gedeminas Orelik, but remained totally stuck on offense for the remainder of the quarter, allowing Joventut to keep a comfortable 22-9 lead after 10 minutes. 

Things didn’t get any better for the visitors when the game resumed. Brodziansky stepped up with 5 points in a 7-0 spark that established a 20-point advantage, 29-9, early in the second quarter. Lietkabelis managed to avoid a full sinking, though, as Joventut was held scoreless for more than 3 minutes to allow the visitors to stay alive, 31-16. Popovic showed up inside later with 6 points to give Lietkabelis some momentum, and Orelik completed a 4-point play with a tip-in that reduced the margin to single-digits, 37-28, at halftime.

Game Videos

The visiting team got even closer, 37-30, after Popovic opened the third quarter with a bucket, but Joventut reacted quickly by giving the keys to veterans like Ribas and Ante Tomic. The former drilled a three to keep the home team calm and the latter produced 4 points and 2 assists in a 9-2 run that pushed Joventut again, 49-33. A technical foul called on Jamel Morris didn’t help the visitors either, as they trailed 53-35 midway through the third quarter. Lietkabelis tried all sorts of tactics to swing the momentum its way, even a zone defense, but Guy and Pep Busquets were the next ones to take over and give Joventut a 64-42 lead entering the last stanza. 

Guy made it 67-42 from behind the arc, and even though Lietkabelis found some points from outside later on, Joventut’s advantage easily remained above the 20-point border until the final whistle.

Joventut Badalona v 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys (2023-03-29T18:15:00.000Z)

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse ended the regular season with some momentum entering the playoffs by coming back to defeat Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 75-88 on the road and snap a six-game losing streak

Bourg beats Cedevita 75-88, to snap losing skid ahead of playoffs

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse ended the regular season with some momentum entering the playoffs by coming back to defeat Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 75-88 on the road and snap a six-game losing streak. Bourg took control of the game with a 6-28 run spanning the final two quarters for a 9-9 record and fifth place in the standings in Group A.

James Palmer led Bourg with 22 points; Pierre Pelos scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter; and Kevin Kokila tallied 11 points. Cedevita failed to finish the season on a high note, losing its fifth straight game for a 3-15 mark as it exits the competition. Karlo Matkovic set career-highs with 28 points and 9 rebounds, Edo Muric chipped in 15 points and Matic Rebec added 9 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in the loss.

After Palmer scored 8 points and Bourg led 4-8, Matkovic started dominating at both ends with 7 points and a block and Cedevita led 16-13. Bourg answered with 7 straight points and was up 17-20 after 10 minutes.

Matkovic added 13 more points - including his first 3-pointer of the season - and the hosts were up 36-29. Rebec’s triple made it 44-33 and the score was 44-35 at the break.

Jordan Floyd sparked a strong 4-11 Bourg start to the second half to get within 48-46. The cushion was back up to 7 points before Bourg fought back and finished the quarter on a 2-16 run to lead 57-64 after 30 minutes.

Pelos scored 12 straight points for Bourg in a 4-12 start to the final quarter and a 61-76 lead with 7 minutes left. Cedevita could not get closer than 11 the rest of the way.

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2023-03-29T18:45:00.000Z)

In a battle of two previously-eliminated Group B teams, Dolomiti Energia Trento finished its 7DAYS EuroCup campaign by downing Slask Wroclaw 72-61 at home on Wednesday. Trento finished in Group B's ninth place with 4-14 record, while Slask finished in the last place with 1-17 record. Trento used a strong finish in the final 4 minutes of the game to register a win.

Diego Flaccadori flirted with a triple-double, collecting 10 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds for the winners. Luca Conti and Andrejs Grazulis scored 15 apiece in a victory. Lukasz Kolenda had 14 points, and Aleksander Dziewa 10 for Slask.

 Trento beats Slask in season finale for both 

Trento took the lead right away with Flaccadori and Darion Atkins nailed triples to help open 8-2 lead. D.J. Mitchell hit from downtown for the visitors, but Grazulis scored 6 points for Trento as the scoring slowed down. Trento did not allow a single point in the last 3 minutes of the opening quarter to lead 19-9 after 10 minutes. Baskets continued to be few and far between in the second quarter, especially for the hosts. Jakub Karolak and Kolenda hit three-pointers for Slask, and after Trent Lockett had a tip-in for the hosts, another three and a floater from Kolenda helped tie it at 21-21 with 3:30 to go in the second quarter. Lockett ended Trento's drought with a three, but Jakub Niziol's floater helped Slask take 26-27 lead. However, Drew Crawford answered with a three-pointer to give Trento a 29-27 halftime lead.

Ivan Ramljak and Grazulis traded triples to open the third quarter. Flaccadori also netted one from long range for the hosts, and Ramljak answered with a three-point play. Trento scored the next 6 points to take 41-35 lead on a fastbreak layup from Lockett. A triple from Mattia Udom helped open 46-39, before Vasa Pusica and Crawford traded threes that made it 49-44 after 30 minutes. Three-pointers from Kolenda and Mitchell, followed by a tip-in from Dziewa gave Slask 51-52. But Crawford fought for a tip-in before three-pointers from Atkins and Conti made it 59-54. Another triple from Conti sparked an 11-0 run, that had Trento open 70-56 margin to win the game.

Trento beats Slask in season finale for both

Dolomiti Energia Trento v Slask Wroclaw (2023-03-29T18:00:00.000Z)

 Anton Gavel, Ulm: 'This is just the first step' 

### Anton Gavel, Ulm head coach

"\[Finishing third\] is a great achievement. Congratulations to our club and the players for this achievement. They deserved it. I think that we picked it up throughout the season and we got better. This was very important for us. Of course, this is just the first step. We would like to do a couple more and for that reason we need to go game by game and hopefully continue our trip.

"19 threes is a lot. I mean, we didn’t plan to shoot that many, but we had good positions. Especially in the first half, we found some of our shooters. In the second half, the zone kind of slowed us down, but I think that later on, we were able to find some solutions defensively. We were not great, not good, but solid throughout the whole game and that was important. We are happy for this win. We are happy that we have home-court \[advantage\]. This was the first part and now everything else is an extra."

### Mihai Silvasan, Cluj head coach

"They had more rebounds than us and, of course, their percentage behind the three-point line and the threes they made \[were key to our defeat\]. They scored 19 threes and we scored just four. We can't win with those numbers. We wanted to put up a bigger fight. We tried, but we didn't have a good day in \[terms of\] scoring, and also on defense we allowed some easy points. I wish \[Ulm\] good luck and I congratulate them for going further in the EuroCup Playoffs. I will cheer for them in the next games."

### Brandon Paul, Ulm player

"Being the third-best team in Group A\] means a lot. We knew what we had at stake in this game. They weren't playing for anything, but they weren't just going to give us the game. So, we came out; we didn't have much preparation; we had guys who were sick; we had injured guys. But we came out, we punched them in the mouth first and we kept the intensity throughout the game. Home-court advantage means a lot. I mean, look at the fans now. Every game counts, every time they come to support us, it's amazing. It's a great fan base here. I'm proud of the way this team fought tonight."

Anton Gavel, Ulm: 'This is just the first step'

ratiopharm Ulm v U-BT Cluj-Napoca (2023-03-29T17:30:00.000Z)

 Erdem Can, Turk Telekom: 'These are great challenges' 

### Turk Telekom Ankara head coach Erdem Can

"I would like to congratulate my players for the second spot in our Group B. It was a tough game against one of the best defensive teams, Buducnost. We played smart in the second and third quarters, but in the first quarter and they way we closed the game, \[we were\] not smart enough. But we need to have contribution from all of our players, and we need to show trust in them. So one more time, congratulations. I would like to wish good luck to Buducnost for the series, and I would like to thank our fans for their presence and support."

"Basically, we were not smart enough, especially in the last quarter. We were not smart enough. We made too many turnovers and bad decisions, and we let our opponent run the floor. My players already know that we need everyone to contribute for the team and give everything. So we don't have the luxury to play with only five or six players. Everybody has to be on the court and produce for his team. These are great challenges for us and I just wanted to see that challenge from my team. We want to get better, every day, every game."

### Buducnost VOLI Podgorica head coach Vlada Jovanovic

"First of all, I want to congratulate Turk Telekom for what they did this season. I wish them all the best in the EuroCup and the Turkish League. Today, they had a good game. I have to be satisfied with the first 17, almost 18 minutes. In the last 2 minutes of the second quarter, and especially in the third quarter, we didn't play defense at a good level. In the first 17 minutes and the last 6 minutes, I am satisfied with this. Of course, it was not enough here to beat a team like Turk Telekom. They have quality and showed it especially in the third quarter. They have a good team with a lot of quality players, and they solved many times, after our good defense, one-on-one situations and they scored. Now, we have time to prepare for the next stage." 

### Turk Telekom Ankara guard Tony Taylor

"It is really good for us. We have been working hard this entire season and I am glad we finished off strong, we finished off second. We start the playoffs and have to pick ourselves up and get to it."

Erdem Can, Turk Telekom: 'These are great challenges'

Turk Telekom Ankara v Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (2023-03-29T17:00:00.000Z)

Turk Telekom Ankara clinched second place in Group B by downing Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 77-72 in the Turkish capital in Round 18 on Wednesday. Turk Telekom finished the regular season with a 13-5 record and Buducnost fell to 9-9. Tony Taylor led the winners with 18 points. Axel Bouteille added 17 while Tyrique Jones had 11 on 5-of-6 two-point shooting for the winners. Aleksandar Lazic led Buducnost with 16 points and Trae Bell-Haynes added 14.

 Turk Telekom tops Buducnost for second in Group A 

Turk Telekom Ankara clinched second place in Group B by downing Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 77-72 in the Turkish capital in Round 18 on Wednesday. Turk Telekom finished the regular season with a 13-5 record and was second due to its tiebreak advantage (1-1, +10) against third-ranked Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv. Buducnost was already locked into sixth place and finished Group A with a 9-9 record.

Tony Taylor led the winners with 18 points. Axel Bouteille added 17 while Tyrique Jones had 11 on 5-of-6 two-point shooting for the winners. Aleksandar Lazic led Buducnost with 16 points and Trae Bell-Haynes added 14.

Jones stepped up early with a couple of layups and a dunk in a 10-0 run that Bouteille capped with a jumper, good for a 12-7 Turk Telekom lead. Erick Green and Ball-Haynes stepped up for Buducnost and Lazic's three-point play gave his team a 17-19 edge late in the first quarter. Green sank his second triple and fed Kenan Kamenjas for a layup in a 0-7 run that boosted the guests' lead to 21-28. Erkan Yilmaz and Nathan Sestina each struck from beyond the arc in an 11-0 run that Taylor capped with a floater. Yilmaz dunked twice and Sestina insisted from downtown to boost Turk Telekom's lead to 39-30 at halftime.

Bouteille took over after the break to make it a double-digit game, 45-35. Edin Atic tried to ignite Buducnost's comeback with a back-to-back layups, then Lazic dunked to make it 47-41. Yilmaz downed a turnaround jumper and Bouteille added a triple to give Turk Telekom fresh air at 52-43. Taylor joined the three-point shootout and soon added consecutive jumpers that seemed to break the game open, 61-45, after 30 minutes. Taylor splashed his second bomb from downtown and fed Micheal Eric for an easy layup. Lazic sank back-to-back triples and added a layup, getting help from Kamenjas and Petar Popovic to bring Buducnost within 75-72 already in the final minute. Bouteille buried a critical jumper with 21.2 seconds remaining, effectively sealing the outcome.

Turk Telekom tops Buducnost for second in Group A

 Gian Clavell, Prometey: 'Now the real games begin' 

### Prometey Slobozhanske head coach Ronen Ginzburg

"We did an amazing job the entire season. I am satisfied and happy. We showed character today even though we lost another important player for us, Agada. I don't know what will be in the future, but we have to celebrate now to enjoy, and now it's playoff time. I think all 16 teams, all teams can beat each other. Just look at what happened last season. We need to be ready. I hope Agada will come back, and to do our best."

### Umana Reye Venice head coach Neven Spahija

"They are a way better team right now. I have to give credit to Coach Ginzburg and the team for the amazing basketball. There are so many things to learn from them. We are going to go home to work hard and to see what we can improve, what we can do better."

### Prometey Slobozhanske guard Gian Clavell

"It is sad, it is hard to play without two of the best guys on the team. But it's adversity, and we've been facing adversity this whole season. It's next man up, an it's trying to get ready for the playoffs. The regular season was tough, every game was tough, every team is hard to play. They've got good players, great coaches. Thank god we finished first, but it does not mean anything. Now the real games begin."

Gian Clavell, Prometey: 'Now the real games begin'

Prometey Slobozhanske v Umana Reyer Venice (2023-03-29T16:00:00.000Z)

Prometey Slobozhanske extended its winning streak to 11 games by beating Umana Reyer Venice 93-76 to clinch first place in Group A. Prometey finshed the regular season with a 14-4 record as the first-place team from Group A and will host Veolia Towers Hamburg, the eighth-place team from Group B, in the upcoming eighthfinals. Reyer dropped to 9-9. Gian Clavell paced the winners with 25 points. Ondrej Balvin collected 14 points and 9 rebounds, and D.J. Stephens also scored 14. Amedeo Tessitori and Jayson Granger each scored 17 for Reyer.

 Prometey sinks Reyer 93-76, wins Group A 

Prometey Slobozhanske extended its winning streak to 11 games by beating Umana Reyer Venice 93-76 to clinch first place in Group A. Prometey took control and in the first quarter, and after Reyer closed within 46-43 at halftime, the hosts used a 12-1 third-quarter run to pull away for good. Prometey finshed the regular season with a 14-4 record in its first year in the competition, and as the first-place team from Group A will host Veolia Towers Hamburg, the eighth-place team from Group B, in the upcoming eighthfinals. Reyer dropped to 9-9, will finish either in fifth or sixth place in Group A, and will play on the road in the eighthfinals.

Gian Clavell paced the winners with 25 points. Ondrej Balvin collected 14 points and 9 rebounds, and D.J. Stephens also scored 14. Ivan Tkachenko had 13 points, and Caleb Agada 11 with 4 assists and 4 steals in the first half before exiting the game with an injury. Amedeo Tessitori and Jayson Granger each scored 17 for Reyer, while Jeff Brooks and Mitchell Watt had 10 apiece in a losing effort.

Prometey took control early behind its 15-1 run, during which Agada scored twice inside, and Tkachenko hit a pair of shots from outside, including a transition triple to make it 17-5. Jordan Parks snapped Reyer's drought with a three-pointer, but Clavell had a four-point play and Tkachenko a fastbreak dunk that left the hosts dominating by 33-18 after 10 minutes. The visitors found their offensive rhythm in the second quarter. Brooks scored from close range and Tessitori from three-point land. Agada left the game for the hosts with an injury before back-to-back threes from Granger cut the margin to single digits. Tessitori followed that up with 6 consecutive points, trading baskets with Clavell and Balvin, before Granger's buzzer-beating floater made it 46-43 at halftime.

Granger nailed another triple, and Tessitori kept working inside for the visitors after the break, but Tkachenko and Stephens each knocked down a three-pointer. Jumpers from Clavell and Stephens opened a 65-54 margin with 4 minutes to go in the third, and Sydorov added 6 close-range points of his own to make it 71-55. Watt scored inside to snap a 12-1 run, but Prometey took a 74-61 lead into the fourth quarter. Clavell's triple followed by Balvin and Denys Lukasov battling for baskets inside opened a 81-63 breach early in the fourth as Prometey cruised to a first-place-clinching victory.

Prometey sinks Reyer 93-76, wins Group A

It is almost the end of the regular season and we're coming off a good road win against Reyer. Obviously going on the road, going to Venice, we knew we had a challenge and then especially for what we were playing for, to try to lock ourselves into a top-two finish. We knew it was on the line and they had a lot to play for, Reyer, and they still do. So it was obviously a very competitive game. I think you could see the physicality from the jump. That's actually where I got hit in the head a little bit, just because of how physical that game was. But we pulled together and were able to make shots when it mattered and then also get stops as well. So it was just a really big game and I was happy with the way our team fought the whole time.

We got to Venice a little earlier than usual and some of the guys went to see the city. I stayed back and rested in the hotel just because I wanted to make sure I was good to go for the game. But I had been to Venice before. I visited Venice when I was with Marquette, we did a little foreign trip before the season. It's just a gorgeous city and to actually be back now and see it, I think eight years later, was a really cool experience. 

"I think we're kind of hitting that stride right now, so we're just focusing and taking it one game at a time."

We are in the fight to get first place in our group. We need Prometey to lose and then get a win ourselves. Prometey plays early, so we may know their score before we start our game. I think our coaches have said it. We will have a really good idea going into our game and they are going to relay that to us. There are a lot of things that are not in our control, but our game against Lietkabelis is in our hands, so we will see. 

What is guaranteed is that we will have the home-court advantage in the playoffs, whether we play London or Hamburg. When the season first started and we kind of talked about goals for the season and stuff, one of them was trying to finish high in the EuroCup after the experience last year. They had a really bad taste in their mouth from what happened as the No. 1 seed losing the first round at home. I know that that hit hard for the guys. And so I think this year the goal is just continuing to get better and playing really good basketball when it's playoff time. I think we're kind of hitting that stride right now, so we're just focusing and taking it one game at a time.

Henry Ellenson Top Plays of the 2022-23 Regular Season

2022-23 EuroCup highlights: Henry Ellenson, Joventut Badalona

I got the No. 1 play of the round a few weeks back by hitting a shot over the backboard, so I wanted to tell you all about it! That one, I would like to say, is from playing in the driveway back home, playing P-I-G or H-O-R-S-E, a little trick shot game. I think that's the only time I have ever really shot that shot. I had never been in that situation to take it in a game. I just was running hard on the fastbreak and I don't even remember who passed it to me. Now it's been a few weeks, but being able to just drive hard to the basket, hear the whistle, try to gather myself to just look at the rim and flip it over like a floater, like I was shooting on the right side of the basket, not behind it. So there was a little touch to that, but also a little luck. That was fun. 

I think the reaction is probably the most fun part, just like the fact that it hit the rim once and then actually went in. And then for my teammates to be screaming in my face. That was the second fun part of that. The first was the shot actually going in and the second was just the reactions and stuff. I think that night, at the hotel, I just watched the video a couple of times just to see everyone's faces because it was funny!

It's been a lot of fun to play the EuroCup for the first time. It's a great experience to be on a great team like 'La Penya'. It's been a lot of fun winning games and it's been a good experience for me just going around, playing in different countries for the first time here in Europe and playing against different teams who have a little bit different styles than, you'd say, Spanish teams. I think the first time around playing all the teams, I got a good sense for when we played the second time and now we are getting towards the end of it and it's crazy to think that the playoffs start in a couple of weeks. So it's been a good experience, it's been fun with the guys because everyone steps up when they need to. I think that's the great thing about our team. We have a lot of guys who can step up each night and whoever's got it going, we are really good about being able to get him the ball and be able to pull them as a team. So it's been it's been a good first year for me. 

"It's crazy to think that the playoffs start in a couple of weeks."

We will play at home in the eighthfinals and if we win, in the quarterfinals, too. If we are first in our group, it would also guarantee a semifinal at home if we win the quarterfinals. I am looking forward to seeing Palau Olimpic packed. We have great fans and they are very loud and passionate, so that means something to have the home-court court advantage and that's what we have been fighting hard for all year, just because we know how hard it is to go play on the road and win. It is just so much nicer to be able to sleep in your own bed at night and then play in front of your own fans and stuff. And so that's kind of been our goal all year, getting a top seed so we can have that home-court advantage and then be able to play in front of our fans. And I think that helps the team a lot, for sure. Being the home team, especially in the playoffs, I think there's going to be a difference for that. 

As for the format, I was asking the guys who were here last year how it all works. And we have someone in Kyle Guy who has probably the best experience out of anyone with that format. Maybe a few older guys like Tomic and Ribas do, I'll give those guys their credit, but obviously, Kyle won the NCAA Tournament with Virginia. You can tell it's that time of year and watching it on TV now just how hard it is to survive and advance, and any team can beat any team any night, and so it just makes it that much harder. And you just got to be that much better to win games this time of year. So yes, I definitely have to talk to Kyle a little bit more and see what his mindset was going through that, because he had that great success.

Joventut rolls past Lietkabelis, 81-60

Bourg beats Cedevita 75-88, to snap losing skid ahead of playoffs

Trento beats Slask in season finale for both

Anton Gavel, Ulm: 'This is just the first step'

Erdem Can, Turk Telekom: 'These are great challenges'

Turk Telekom tops Buducnost for second in Group A

Gian Clavell, Prometey: 'Now the real games begin'

Prometey sinks Reyer 93-76, wins Group A

Henry Ellenson, Joventut: 'It's that time of year'