The outcome of the Round 1 clash between Turk Telekom Ankara and Paris Basketball will come down to many things. Here are some keys to this game.

### Turk Telekom needs to shoot well

Turk Telekom’s slower pace generally leads to fewer mistakes and it has totaled just 21 turnovers in its last two Turkish League games. However, that also places a premium on possessions and thus far the team has not maximized them on free throws or three-pointers. The team is effective near the basket, having made 58.7% of its two-point shots, but is 56.1% on free throws and 31.1% on threes. If Coach Erdem Can’s men can raise those shooting numbers, it will make quite a difference.

### Pushing the pace favors Paris

Paris Basketball is a team that likes to push the pace as evidenced by its numbers in the French League where Coach Will Weaver’s men lead the competition with 95.3 points per game. That’s nearly more than 20 points on average above what Turk Telekom Ankara has been able to produce in the Turkish League. The backcourt duo of Kyle Allman and Tyrone Wallace has been electric for Paris thus far and Turk Telekom’s ability to contain them will be critical to the outcome.

Keys to victory: Turk Telekom vs. Paris

Turk Telekom Ankara v Paris Basketball (2022-10-11T17:00:00.000Z)

It will be a battle of generations at point guard in this game when Juan Nunez meets Jayson Granger in a head-to-head duel.

Nunez is one of the top players his age in Europe and comes off a summer in which he was named MVP of the U20 European Championships and then made his debut on the Spanish men's national team. All while just 18 years of age. Nunez joined Ulm this summer from Real Madrid, where he was in the roster for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game, and now will test himself as a lead guard with Ulm.

Granger returns to the EuroCup for the first time since 2010-11 when he made his debut with Estudiantes Madrid. Since then, he has accumulated eight seasons of EuroLeague experience in 206 games and he is ready to bring all that to the table when he makes his debut in Ulm. Granger has faced all the top guards of his generation and will use his game smarts to size up Nunez in this key encounter.

Marquee matchup: Ulm's Nunez vs. Reyer's Granger

ratiopharm Ulm v Umana Reyer Venice (2022-10-11T17:15:00.000Z)

ratiophatm Ulm will host Umana Reyer Venice on opening night in Germany. This will be the fifth time that these two sides meet in the competition and they have split the previous four with each team holding home court.

After a solid season in which Ulm managed to knock out Joventut Badalona in the first round of the elimination rounds, the German squad starts anew with a new coach, Anton Gavel. Only four players stayed from last season also, so new faces like Josh Hawley, Juan Nunez and Sagaba Konate will have to find their chemistry right away in a demanding season that will start against one of the strongest teams in the EuroCup.

Reyer also just kept a few pieces from last year's puzzle, but it managed to gather a solid group that, with the right chemistry, could go all the way. Jayson Granger, Allerik Freeman and Riccardo Moraschini are expected to bring the talent and experience from the EuroLeague level, while others like Marco Spissu, Derek Willis, Mitchell Watt and Jeff Brooks will round out a strong squad that may turn many heads this season.

Ulm welcomes Reyer in opener

Two of the best Polish big men, Olek Balcerowski and Aleksander Dziewa, face each other when Gran Canaria hosts Slask Wroclaw in Round 1. 

Balcerowski and Dziewa have guarded each other all summer long as members of the Polish national team that finished fourth at EuroBasket 2022. Balcerowski is three years younger, taller and has more experience at this level. He is a modern center who can pull the trigger from beyond the arc, make mid-range shots and use his big body to score in the low post. Gran Canaria has a lot of frontcourt options, but Balcerowski is often used to open the floor on offense and make the most of his wingspan and timing on defense. 

Dziewa is a little bit faster than Balcerowski and a much better rebounder, too, and that should be his main strength in this matchup. With the help of Art Parakhouski, Dziewa should be ready to power the offensive glass against Balcerowski, Khalifa Diop and Damien Inglis, looking for second-chance opportunities. Dziewa is also a very fast player in a one-on-one situation for a player his size and can use that against a player who knows him well.

Marquee matchup: Gran Canaria's Balcerowski vs. Slask's Dziewa

Gran Canaria v Slask Wroclaw (2022-10-12T19:00:00.000Z)

Gran Canaria and Slask Wroclaw will open the 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup by facing each other in a Group B showdown. These teams reached the eighthfinals last season and faced each other. Gran Canaria thrashed Slask 87-60 before being eliminated in the quarterfinals. The hosts have kept a core of players led by Andrew Albicy, A.J. Slaughter, Nico Brussino, John Shurna, Olek Balcerowski and Khalipa Diop. Gran Canaria signed Ferran Bassas, Vitor Benite and Damien Inglis to round out a deep, competitive roster hoping to challenge for the title. 

Slask has also improved since last season and signed two players with plenty of EuroCup experience in center Art Parakhouski and forward Conor Morgan. It also brought in playmaker Jeremiah Martin, who has been a great scorer everywhere he has been. They join Lukasz Kolenda and Aleksander Dziewa, who now return with a valuable season of EuroCup experience. Head coach Andrej Urlep is also back to lead the club's project. The goal remains the same: battling for a playoff spot.

Gran Canaria and Slask meet again 

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse hosts U-BT Cluj-Napoca in Round 1 of the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season. Here are some keys to victory for both sides in this Group A showdown. 

### Bourg relies on aggressivity, creativity 

Bourg head coach Frederic Fauthoux is well-known for the intensity that his teams display at both ends of the floor. Bourg is expected to put pressure on the ball with players like Hugo Benitez, Jordan Floyd and Frantz Massenat looking for steals and trying to force Cluj's playmakers, Patrick Richard and Jordan Taylor, to make as many mistakes as possible. As in recent years, Bourg will likely try to run its offense through versatile big man Pierre Pelos due to his great effectiveness from all angles (60.0% 2FG, 46.3% 3FG, 91.3% FT last season). 

### Cluj: defense comes first 

Cluj is a EuroCup newcomer but knows what is required to succeed at this level and it all starts with defense. In its first three domestic games, Cluj did not allow more than 73 points, which speaks wonders about the team's blue-collar mentality. On offense, Leonardo Meindl arrived to play a leading role and has delivered thus far, averaging 17.0 points in Romanian League action. If Taylor and Richard are able to control the game tempo and get Meindl involved, Cluj has a good chance to get its first-ever EuroCup win.

Keys to victory: Bourg vs. Cluj 

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse v U-BT Cluj-Napoca (2022-10-12T17:30:00.000Z)

U-BT Cluj-Napoca is set to make history by playing its first-ever 7DAYS EuroCup game on the road against Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse. Cluj is just the third Romanian team to play in the competition after CSU Asesoft Ploiesti and Steaua Bucharest. The reigning Romanian League champion kept stars Patrick Richard, Karel Guzman, Andrija Stipanovic and Stefan Bircevic and brought in Leonardo Meindl, Jordan Taylor and Victor Sanders to ensure that it is competitive right way in arguably the club's biggest challenge until now. 

Bourg is back in the EuroCup for the third consecutive campaign. The club had not taken part in European competitions before joining the EuroCup in 2020. It missed the knock-out rounds last season, which should a motivating factor for those stars returning, such as Pierre Pelos, Hugo Benitez and Alex Julien. Bourg brought in some interesting newcomers, led by Jordan Floyd, Frantz Massenat, James Dickey and James Palmer. Head coach Frederic Fauthoux is on a mission to make the team more competitive and challenging to play past the regular season. 

Cluj to make its EuroCup debut against Bourg 

The opening round of the 2022-23 season will bring us another battle in the backcourt between two very productive floor generals, Yogi Ferrell of Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana and Derek Needham of Frutti Extra Bursaspor.

These two players had great EuroCup campaigns last season, with Needham earning All-EuroCup First Team honors for helping Bursaspor reach the EuroCup Finals. He posted EuroCup career-highs across the board, scoring 13.2 points while ranking 10th with 5.0 assists, sixth in the EuroCup with 1.4 steals and eighth with 49.1% three-point shooting.

Ferrell joined Cedevita in the early part of last season and went on to average 15.3 points, 4.7 assists and 2.6 rebounds in EuroCup action, pacing a high-scoring Cedevita offense to the quarterfinals where they lost against Bursaspor. Ferrell had 20 points on 3-for-7 three-point shooting, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in that quarterfinal game, while Needham had 20 points on 4-for-7 three-point shooting, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. They are now poised to lead their respective teams against one another one more time.

Major matchup: Yogi Ferrell, Cedevita vs. Derek Needham, Bursaspor

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana v Frutti Extra Bursaspor (2022-10-12T18:00:00.000Z)

There is plenty of history between Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana and the last year's finalist Frutti Extra Bursaspor, which clash in the opening round of the 2022-23 season. Even though they never played each other before November 2020, the two teams have faced off five times in a span of 19 months, which has created a bit of a rivalry between them. Cedevita won three of those games. The most important one, however, went Brusaspor's way, an 83-85 thrilling quarterfinals win last April.

Their last encounter was also the lowest-scoring game between the two teams. Cedevita has averaged 94.2 points per game against coach Dusan Alimpijevic's Bursaspor, which in turn has scored 86.4 points on average against Cedevita. Each team has scored at least 80 points in each of the five games and Cedevita enters this season having scored 82 or more points in 10 consecutive games. Offenses with the likes of Yogi Ferrell and Alen Omic on one side and Derek Needham and Onuralp Bitim on the other, there should be plenty of fireworks at Stozice Arena on Wednesday.