This is what the protagonists had to say after the Round 15 showdown between Virtus Segafredo Bologna and Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana.

Post-game quotes: Virtus vs. Cedevita

### Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana head coach Jurica Golemac:

"Congratulations to the players. We really played a great game today, sticking to our plan. We were playing for each other, like a team. The first half was good and the second half, I would say, it was even better, especially defensively. We were moving the ball in the second half, looking for the best open player. We were believing in each other and believing that we could win, so congratulations one more time, and we are moving on."

### Virtus Segafredo Bologna assistant coach Andrea Diana:

"First of all, many compliments to Ljubljana for the type of game that they played. We knew that they arrived here in great shape. They had won the last four games in a row, scoring more than 90 points per game. We knew this, but also had a bad approach to the game. We suffered too much against their pace in the first quarter. They created a gap and after this, we were anxious to recover the gap. We didn't play the kind of game that we wanted to play, because after that, we were nervous and anticipated every shot. We tried to attack their defense in the first option, but we didn't continue to attack the advantage that we had, especially in the paint, in the post. Too many early shots, and were nervous again towards the end of the game and it was difficult to recover. We didn't play a good game, especially on offense, because we didn't attack our real advantages. That was the key to the game. We tried to add the new players, but we need time."

Post-game quotes: Hamburg vs. Slask

### Pedro Calles, Hamburg Towers head coach:

“In the first half we got stops and built a big advantage. In the second half, unfortunately, we couldn’t establish our defense properly but offensively we got open shots. We didn’t make them. And then we had to keep managing the advantage we had from the first half and we found a way. \[Travis Trice\] got hot in the second half. We didn’t understand how to make the adjustment and be more aggressive with him. He was taking a majority of pull-ups. We have to learn from that. I am not thinking about the playoffs. For us, it was important to bring our identity to the game. We accomplished that in the first half. If this win helps us to keep believing in what we need to do, then it’s good for us. But I am not thinking about the playoffs.

“I want to congratulate my players for an important win. We brought a lot of energy from the very first minute - despite the fact that Jaylon Brown and Trevon Bluiett could not play. We understood that energy was the key. And you could see the numbers of offensive rebounds - 22 - as well as 14 steals. I think that helped us a lot to get the win.”

### Andrej Urlep, Slask Wroclaw head coach:

“Congratulations to Hamburg. They deserved the win. They had a lot of energy, especially in the first quarter. They were not making shots but they were getting offensive boards. That killed us in the first quarter. The second quarter we played worse. We were just not in the game. We let them build a big lead. After that, I think we played very good basketball. In the second half, we did a better job on the boards. They still got too many offensive rebounds. The first half we also had too many turnovers. It was better after that but unfortunately, we committed some bad turnovers in the last 5 minutes of the game. We got back to within 4 points but missed a layup. I think I can say I am happy about the second half but definitely not about the second quarter."

### Lukas Meisner, Hamburg Towers forward: 

“We played with a lot of energy, a lot of aggressiveness. We had a lot of stops, a lot of deflections, already in the full-court press. That’s what we want to do - we want to gain our identity back with aggressive playing style, and offensive rebounds is one thing to help us to get us into our press. I think we did a good job tonight.”

Hamburg Towers v Slask Wroclaw (2022-03-16T18:30:00.000Z)

Pedro Calles - Hamburg Towers (Photo Marvin Contessi) - EC21-RS15

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica clinched its place in the knock-out round by downing Promitheas Patras 90-77 in Group B on Wednesday. 

Buducnost beats Promitheas, 90-77, storms into knock-out rounds 

Buducnost improved to 9-6 in the standings while Promitheas dropped to 4-11. Petar Popovic led six Buducnost scorers in double figures with 15 points. Vladimir Micov added 12, D.J. Seeley and Willie Reed each scored 11 and Justin Cobbs and Zoran Nikolic had 10 apiece for Buducnost. Jerai Grant led Promitheas with 23 points, Trevis Simpson added 13 and Mihajlo Andric 11.

Simpson got Promitheas going with a baseline jumper. Zoran Nikolic followed a jump hook with a layup for a 4-2 Buducnost lead. Ray sank a jumper and Grant added a tip-in to give the visitors a 4-6 lead. Popovic stepped up for Buducnost and Cobbs added a floater, but Ray and Grant kept Promitheas in charge, 10-12. Popovic struck from beyond the arc, then Jagodic-Kuridza hit a jump hook, igniting an 11-0 run in which Seeley followed a three-pointer with a jumper that made it a double-digit game, 24-14. Andric tried to change things for the visitors but Reed's alley-oop layup restored a 26-16 Buducnost lead after 10 minutes.

 

Simpson struck from downtown early in the second quarter. Micov followed a jump hook with a backdoor layup for a 30-19 Buducnost lead. Grant answered with a layup and matched Seeley's jumper with a fastbreak dunk. Andric soon added a three-pointer and a driving basket that got Promitheas within 32-28. Kendrick Perry hit a floater and Jagodic-Kuridza scored down low to give Buducnost fresh air at 36-28. After Grant dunked again, Seeley and Abdul Gaddy traded baskets and Micov kept the hosts in control, 40-32. Cobbs sandwiched a pair of jumpers around a driving layup. Ray scored in penetration and Simpson buried a triple to bring Promitheas within 46-39 at halftime.

Seeley swished a jumper immediately after the break and Reed scored in the low post for a 50-39 Buducnost lead. Grant dunked again and followed Agravanis's fastbreak layup with a close basket. Ray took over with a two-handed put-back slam and Simpson struck from beyond the arc to tie the game, 50-50, after an 0-11 run. Reed nailed a close jumper and Popovic added a driving layup that restored a 54-50 Buducnost lead. Grant stepped up with a three-point play but Reed followed an off-balance basket with a wild step-back triple. Simpson and Popovic traded jumpers and Perry dunked off a steal for a 63-55 Buducnost lead. Popovic boosted the lead to 67-57 after 30 minutes.

 

Micov improved on Georgios Tanoulis's put-back layup with a bomb from downtown. Nikolaos Rogkavopoulos found his first points, but Perry and Zoran Nikolic extended the lead to 76-61. Rogkavopoulos struck from downtown, Edin Atic answered with a backdoor layup and Zoran Nikolic added a second-chance layup for an 80-64 advantage. Edin Atic bettered Grant's slam with a bomb from downtown and Perry soon added a jumper that sealed the outcome, 85-66, with over 3 minutes left. Promitheas never gave up but Buducnost had cruised to a well-deserved win.

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica v Promitheas Patras (2022-03-16T18:00:00.000Z)

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica celebrates (photo Luka Novakovic - Buducnost) - EC21-RS15

This is what the protagonists had to say after the Round 15 showdown between Buducnost VOLI Podgorica and Promitheas Patras.

Post-game quotes: Buducnost vs. Patras

### Aleksandar Dzikic, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica head coach:

"Everyone who knows basketball and this competition knows that the most dangerous thing is when a team has to win. Every coach tries to avoid that. It is important that we won after three defeats in a row and we remain in the race for the advantage of the home court in the EuroCup Playoffs, which is our goal in this competition. We had quite good periods in this game."

### Ilias Zourous, Promitheas Patras head coach:

"Congratulations first of all to Buducnost. They deserved to win, they played better. We had a lack of concentration, especially defensively, on many occasions. Unfortunately, we had the injury to Agravanis, who is an important player for us. During the second half, many players were tired. This is normal. They cannot play at the same level all game. I am satisfied with the effort. We need more work to improve our game... Congratulations on the atmosphere, it's wonderful to play here, it evoked beautiful memories in me. "

### Vladimir Micov, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica forward:

“This is an important win for us. We were coming back from three losses in a row and it was not easy for us. We knew that we are better than them for sure. Also, I think everybody could see our up and down energy during the game because of the losses and you are not in a good mood. Also, in the beginning of the third quarter, we allowed them to come back. We started pushing much harder in defense and in offense we started moving the ball and, of course, in the end we showed that we are the better team and we won this game.”

Post-game quotes: Buducnost vs. Promitheas

Aleksandar Dzikic - Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (photo Luka Novakovic - Buducnost) - EC21-RS15

MoraBanc Andorra punched its 7DAYS EuroCup Playoffs ticket with a 76-83 win over Turk Telekom Ankara in the Turkish capital and did so by besting the hosts in most statistical categories.

Telling numbers: Andorra moved the ball and took rebounds

Andorra outrebounded Turk Telekom 34-41, including 16 offensive rebounds compared by 11 by the hosts. Moreover, 6 of those offensive boards came in the fourth quarter with Victor Arteaga coming up with 4 for the night.

Andorra also shot the ball better, making 9 of 24 triples (37.5%), while Turk Telekom made just 5 of 21 (23.8%). Andorra even made more two-point shots (22) and had better two-point accuracy (52.4%) than the hosts.

Last, but not least, Andorra won by dishing 20 assists, compared to just 12 from the hosts. That way, Andorra's 12 turnovers did not play a role despite Turk Telekom taking care of the ball with just 9.

Turk Telekom Ankara v MoraBanc Andorra (2022-03-16T17:00:00.000Z)

Mario Nakic - MoraBanc Andorra (photo Turk Telekom) - EC21-RS15

This is what the protagonists had to say after the Round 15 showdown between Turk Telekom Ankara and MoraBanc Andorra.

Post-game quotes: Turk Telekom vs. Andorra

### David Eudal, MoraBanc Andorra head coach:

“I am very proud of my team and the job they have done. We knew it will be a tough game here, in a good atmosphere. We knew we would have to fight a lot. We had an even better performance in the second half. In the last quarter we secured it with good free throws, good offenses, everybody sharing the ball and everybody scoring. I am happy.”

### Henrik Rodl, Turk Telekom Ankara head coach:

“I thought we fought our hearts out today. You gotta give credit to Andorra, they came in, made a lot of tough shots. I think it was as simple as that. We had some open looks, we shot them and we didn't make them. And they made them. I thought it was a hard-fought game and we move on to the next one.”

### Mario Nakic, MoraBanc Andorra forward:

“Obviously, it was an important win for us to get a win on the road here. It was not easy from the beginning of the game. We knew they were going to play very aggressive, we knew that we needed to be concentrated on the game plan to execute it and do what the coach said we need to do. I think we controlled the game pretty well the whole time, it was just a matter of time when we are going to make that little extra push in energy and when it will give us a little lead so we can breathe a little bit and be calmer. Yeah, it was a good game for us and this win means a lot.”

David Eudal - MoraBanc Andorra (photo Turk Telekom) - EC21-RS15

MoraBanc Andorra defeated Turk Telekom Ankara 76-83 on the road to book a place in the 7DAYS EuroCup playoffs on Wednesday night.

Andorra wins 76-83 in Ankara to advance

Andorra improved to 9-6 with its third consecutive win, while Turk Telekom suffered its third consecutive loss and dropped to 6-8. Andorra led for the majority of the night before a 0-10 run midway through the fourth quarter built a double-digit lead and secured the victory. Victor Arteaga collected 13 points plus 7 rebounds to lead in victory. Codi Miller-McIntyre added 12 points and 7 assists and Mario Nakic netted 10 points for Andorra. JaJuan Johnson paced Turk Telekom with 21 points and 9 rebounds, Alex Perez scored 18 and Anthony Clemmons scored 13 in a losing effort.

Moussa Diagne scored twice inside for the visitors and Connor Morgan nailed a triple, but Perez made a jumper and Samet Geyik drove for a dunk for the hosts to take an 8-7 lead. David Jelinek answered with a triple as the teams traded blows. Turk Telekom went ahead 14-13 on a banked jumper from Perez, but Arteaga scored 6 points before the end of the quarter to help the visitors to an 18-20 lead after 10 minutes.

 

Arteaga had a tip-in early in the second quarter. Diagne added to the visitors' tally, but a pair of baseline jumpers from Johnson had Turk Telekom ahead 25-24. After Clevin Hannah answered with a three-pointer, Johnson made another baseline jumper. Oriol Pauli and Diagne each scored from close range as did Aubrey Dawkins and Geyik, each after an offensive rebound to tie it at 31-31. A Miller-McIntyre triple gave the visitors a 5-point cushion, but only briefly because Perez answered with the hosts' first three-pointer. However, Miller-McIntyre added another one, just as time was expiring at the end of the half, making it 40-43 at halftime.

Andorra strung together 8 quick points - an alley-oop dunk from Arteaga followed by back-to-back transition triples from Jelinek and Morgan - to lead 41-51. Perez made a three for Turk Telekom and Jared Terrell knocked down a triple, too. Andorra was held without a basket for almost 5 minutes and a layup from Ellis tied it at 51-51. Hannah's floater snapped Andorra's drought before a pair of buckets from Pauli and a three from Drew Crawford made it 54-60. The visitors took a 58-62 edge into the final quarter.

A three-point play from Johnson and a corner triple from Clemmons gave the hosts a 64-62 lead- only their second advantage of the night. But Morgan answered with a basket-and-one and a put-back from Miller-McIntyre gave the visitors a 64-70 margin. A long jumper from Nakic capped a 0-10 run and, after Johnson and Perez halved the deficit, a triple from Nakic and a pair of tip-ins from Arteaga made it 68-79. The visitors increased the margin to 70-82 with 2 minutes to go before closing out the game.

Conor Morgan - MoraBanc Andorra (photo Turk Telekom) - EC21-RS15

Virtus Segafredo Bologna and Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana are two of the highest-scoring teams in the 7DAYS EuroCup this season. And while Virtus has won each of their three previous games, one this season and two last, all of them were all about offense.

 Head-to-head: Virtus vs. Cedevita  DESCRIPTION Virtus Segafredo Bologna and Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana are two of the highest-scoring teams in the 7DAYS EuroCup this season. And while Virtus has won each of their three previous games, one this season and two last, all of them were all about offense. TEXT Cedevita enters this Round 15 contest in Bologna ranking third in scoring (86.0 ppg.), just ahead of Virtus (85.9). Cedevita has won its last four games and posted at least 92 points in each of those victories. Virtus has scored 90 or more points six times this season. What both have done this season – score a lot – Virtus and Cedevita have also done against each other in the three previous EuroCup games played between them. GRAPHIC: Virtus vs Cedevita Dating back to their first meeting in January of last year, Virtus is posting 100.7 points and 25.7 assists per game against Cedevita. Cedevita averaged 91.7 points in the same games. In their three head-to-head games, each team has fired up more than 100 three-point shots, more than either attempted from two-point range. What the games between these two also produced is an abundance of players scoring more than 20 points. VIDEO: Highlights Round 6: https://vod.diceplatform.com/#/videos/274641 Their only previous game in Bologna was their first EuroCup meeting, too, and Virtus overcame 25 points from Jaka Blazic to win it 90-76 in the Top 16 opener with Marco Belinelli, injured for this week, netting 25 points. That was the largest winning margin in any of their games and the lowest-scoring one. Their two meetings in Ljubljana were scoring extravaganzas.  Last season, Virtus rallied late to win 98-108 in overtime behind 25 points from Kyle Weems and 14 points plus 12 assists from Milos Teodosic. Blazic's 29 points were not enough for Cedevita. Earlier this season, Yogi Ferrell had 24 points and 11 assists for Cedevita, which hit 16 three-pointers, but Virtus nailed 17 triples in a 101-104 win, as Belinelli scored 21 and Teodosic had 19 points. GRAPHIC: PTS rankings The fans have witnessed eight performances of 20 or more points by six different players in this series since the last season. No player has scored more than Jaka Blazic, who is averaging 23.0 points in three games against Virtus. Belinelli, Weems and Teodosic each have posted averages better than 15.0 points against Cedevita.  Belinelli got sidelined last week, but the rest of the crew, along with Cedevita's Ferrell and Edo Muric and Virtus's dominant paint presence, Mam Jaiteh, will have another go at each other on Wednesday night in what promises to be another high-scoring affair.

Cedevita enters this Round 15 contest in Bologna ranking third in scoring (86.0 ppg.), just ahead of Virtus (85.9). Cedevita has won its last four games and posted at least 92 points in each of those victories. Virtus has scored 90 or more points six times this season.

What both have done this season – score a lot – Virtus and Cedevita have also done against each other in the three previous EuroCup games played between them.

Dating back to their first meeting in January of last year, Virtus is posting 100.7 points and 25.7 assists per game against Cedevita. Cedevita averaged 91.7 points in the same games.

In their three head-to-head games, each team has fired up more than 100 three-point shots, more than either attempted from two-point range.

What the games between these two also produced is an abundance of players scoring more than 20 points.

Watch the Game Highlights from Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana vs. Segafredo Virtus Bologna, 12/08/2021

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana vs Segafredo Virtus Bologna - Game Highlights_3822895.mp4

Their only previous game in Bologna was their first EuroCup meeting, too, and Virtus overcame 25 points from Jaka Blazic to win it 90-76 in the Top 16 opener with Marco Belinelli, injured for this week, netting 25 points. That was the largest winning margin in any of their games and the lowest-scoring one.

Their two meetings in Ljubljana were scoring extravaganzas. 

Last season, Virtus rallied late to win 98-108 in overtime behind 25 points from Kyle Weems and 14 points plus 12 assists from Milos Teodosic. Blazic's 29 points were not enough for Cedevita.

Earlier this season, Yogi Ferrell had 24 points and 11 assists for Cedevita, which hit 16 three-pointers, but Virtus nailed 17 triples in a 101-104 win, as Belinelli scored 21 and Teodosic had 19 points.

The fans have witnessed eight performances of 20 or more points by six different players in this series since the last season.

No player has scored more than Jaka Blazic, who is averaging 23.0 points in three games against Virtus. Belinelli, Weems and Teodosic each have posted averages better than 15.0 points against Cedevita. 

Belinelli got sidelined last week, but the rest of the crew, along with Cedevita's Ferrell and Edo Muric and Virtus's dominant paint presence, Mam Jaiteh, will have another go at each other on Wednesday night in what promises to be another high-scoring affair.

 Head-to-head: Virtus vs. Cedevita

Milos Teodosic - Virtus Segafredo Bologna - EC21

The day after its 11th 7DAYS EuroCup win of the season, Joventut Badalona announced that head coach Carles Duran has extended his contract with the club with a 2+1 extension until the end of the 2024-25 season. 

Joventut, Duran together until 2025

Duran has spent most of his career with Joventut, one way or another. He started coaching the young players at the club in 1998 and he was also assistant coach to Aito Garcia Reneses from 2003 to 2005. The following years he alternated a head coaching position at CB Prat, a club related to Joventut, with being assistant coach for the first team coaches like Sito Alonso or Pepu Hernandez. In 2014 he left Badalona for the first time to be assistant coach to Velimir Perasovic in Valencia Basket and in 2015 he was promoted to head coach there to later become assistant again with Pedro Martinez. In 2016-17 he moved North to be head coach of Bilbao Basket until in 2018, he returned home to Joventut to handle the reins until now. 

"I am very happy with this extension" Duran said. "I want to thank the club and all the people that worked to make this possible, especially the players. Thanks to them the club has been growing year after year. Four years ago we were in a dire situation and, little by little, we got back on track. Penya is now where we like it to be, in Europe and in the domestic league, and on top of it all, with many players that grew up here, in the club's youth system." 

The day after its 12th 7DAYS EuroCup win of the season, Joventut Badalona announced that head coach Carles Duran has extended his contract with the club with a 2+1 extension until the end of the 2024-25 season. 

Carles Duran- Joventut Badalona - (photo David Grau - Joventut) EC21-RS15