Two very different centers are set to face each other for the first time when Promitheas Patras hosts Valencia Basket at Dimitris Tofalos Arena in Round 10.

Marquee matchup: Promitheas's Grant vs. Valencia's Dubljevic

Promitheas's Jerai Grant is an athletic center that finishes strong at the time. He averages 12.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and a PIR of 16.8 in less than 23 minutes on the floor. He should use his explosiveness against two-time EuroCup champion Bojan Dubljevic, the competition's all-time top scorer and rebounder. Dubljevic can pull the trigger from downtown and use his size and experience to score in the paint. He is averaging 7.3 points and 5.9 rebounds in 8 games until now.

Valencia makes first visit to Patras

Promitheas is on a three-game losing streak and only registered one home victory so far in this 7DAYS EuroCup season. Kendrick Ray (14.1 ppg.) has been its top scorer until now, followed by Jerai Grant (12.8 ppg.) and Nikolaos Pogkavopoulos (9.8 ppg.). Valencia won its two EuroCup games in 2022 and is looking for more, led by Jasiel Rivero (12.1 ppg., 5.1 rpg.), Sam Van Rossom (8.9 ppg., 5.3 rpg.) and Mike Tobey (10.3 ppg.). Earlier this season, Valencia topped Promitheas 92-82 at La Fonteta behind 23 points from Louis Labeyrie.

Dimitris Agravanis - Promitheas Patras - EC21

One of the most intriguing matchups in the 7DAYS EuroCup floors during Round 10 will be on the outskirts of the French capital where two big forwards, Vince Hunter of Boulogne Metropolitans 92 (4-5) and JaJuan Johnson of Turk Telekom Ankara (5-4), will go against one another in a key clash for both teams.

Head-to-head: Vince Hunter vs. JaJuan Johnson

Hunter and Johnson have been among the most productive big men and highlight-reel fixtures this season, but are also known to have dominated the competition in the past as both have previously earned All-EuroCup honors. When they met in the opening round this season, however, neither player shined.

It was the only time they have faced one another in their careers so far and Johnson had 6 points, 2 rebounds and a block in 17 minutes in Turk Telekom's 73-65 win, Meanwhile, Hunter had his lowest scoring output of the season with 4 points while also collecting 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists.

But both players quickly put those performances behind them and have been among their respective team's leaders in the first half of the regular season.

Hunter has scored in double figures in each of the last seven games, including three double-doubles. Playing more than 29 minutes per game, he is averaging 14.8 points, which is second-best on the team, and has also been one of the competition's best all-around contributors. Hunter is second in the EuroCup in rebounding (7.8 rpg.), fourth in steals (1.9 spg.) and tied for fourth in blocks (1.1 bpg.).

Johnson has averaged 27 minutes per game and is second on Turk Telekom in points (12.7 ppg.), rebounds (5.7 rpg.) and blocks (1.0 bpg.).

The 32-yeard old Johnson returned to the EuroCup this season for his fifth campaign with a fifth different team. He has 71 appearances and averages of 12.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks for his career. He is 83 points shy of reaching 1,000 for his career and needs 18 rebounds to join the top 10 all-time in total rebounds. He enters this game tied for 11th with 417 rebounds for his career.

Johnson earned All-EuroCup honors in 2017-18, which is also the year he won the title with Darussafaka Istanbul. Hunter was named to the All-EuroCup team last season with Virtus Segafredo Bologna after he helped the team win the first 19 games of the season. While Johnson is nearing the 1,000-point mark, the 27-year old Hunter is 27 points shy of reaching half that number with career averages of 10.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 46 appearances.

The two veterans are expected to play major roles on Wednesday night as their respective teams battle for a key victory in Group A.

Boulogne Metropolitans 92 v Turk Telekom Ankara (2022-01-19T19:30:00.000Z)

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse had been something of a hard-luck loser in the first half of the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season. The French club reached the midway point of the season with a 2-7 record, but it could have been much better.

Cast of stars shined to end Bourg's year-long losing streak in road games

Bourg led in the fourth quarter on the road in Round 5 at Valencia Basket, where it scored 95 points, but lost by 3. It took Group B leader Buducnost VOLI Podgorica to the wire in Round 8 before falling by 4 at home. And last week it lost by a single point at Virtus Segafredo Bologna.

So when Bourg blew a double-digit deficit in Italy against Umana Reyer Venice on Tuesday, another narrow loss could have been expected. However, the team bonded together with different players making big plays one after another to stay in the game, setting the stage for CJ Harris’s game-winning three-pointer on the buzzer.

“It’s a great win,” Coach Laurent Legname smiled after the final buzzer. “It’s a tough season with many injuries, many close games and every time we lost. Tonight for once, we switched that and won a close game. And I am really happy for my players. They deserved that. The last quarter was really a war. They score, we score, they scored, we scored. We made one or two mistakes, let too many offenses rebounds, but for one time it went on our side and I am really happy.”

The score was tied four times in the fourth quarter alone. After Michele Vitali led Reyer’s comeback and the home team took its first lead since the fourth quarter, Bourg could have folded. Instead, Maxime Courby tied it with free throws and the back-and-forth drama over the final few minutes began.

Over the final 3 minutes, three different Bourg players made go-ahead buckets. First was a Jalen Jones triple for a 73-74 edge. After Andrew De Nicolao evened things, Axel Julien knifed into the Reyer defense for a go-ahead floater with 43.7 seconds to go. Bourg denied Reyer on defense and had a chance to seal the win, but Mitchell Watt made a great defensive play to stop Rasheed Sulaimon and Stefano Tonut tied it with a jumper with 10.8 seconds left.

That left just enough time left for Bourg, however, when Harris missed a layup and Alexandre Chassang missed the follow-up, the ball bounced out of bounds with 1.8 seconds left. The game seemed destined for overtime. And then Harris won it with a three at the buzzer.

As the above paragraphs attest to, so many players came up big when needed in the closing minutes. The team effort can also be seen in the box score as five different Bourg players scored in double figures, eight of the 10 players in uniform dished at least 1 assist and nine of them collected at least 1 rebound.

The victory was Bourg’s first road win of the season and snapped a 10-game slide on the road that lasted over a year. Bourg’s last road win was in Round 5 of the regular season in October 2020 when it defeated Partizan NIS Belgarde 76-89. Only three players from that game (Hugo Benitez, Courby and Pierre Pelos) played on Tuesday.

The win could also be a sign of a turnaround for the second half of the regular season. Bourg plays three of its next four games at home – and the lone road trip is to face Promitheas Patras, which Bourg demolished by 30 at home in Round 3. But for now, Bourg is not thinking that far ahead. The players just want to enjoy this thrilling victory.

As Harris said after the game: “Everything is good when you win.”

Rasheed Sulaimon 2- Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (photo Alessandro Scarpa - Reyer) - EC21

Umana Reyer Venice v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2022-01-18T19:00:00.000Z)

Gran Canaria forward John Shurna will be sidelined indefinitely after contracting bilateral pneumonia following a case of COVID-19, the club announced on Monday. 

Gran Canaria's Shurna out indefinitely

While development of his condition seems favorable, Shurna remains under strict medical monitoring, the club added. The veteran forward, playing in his sixth 7DAYS EuroCup season, is averaging 11.7 points on 56.5% three-point shooting, along with 4.4 rebounds through seven games. He has been Gran Canaria's second-best scorer and top rebounder, playing almost 25 minutes on average. Gran Canaria enters Round 10 with 6-2 record and holding second place in Group B.

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana forward Edo Muric overcame a slow start to his season and hopes to carry his recent strong form over as his team readies to play its first game of 2022.

Who's hot: Edo Muric, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana

Muric averaged 9.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in the first three rounds of this 7DAYS EuroCup campaign. He had two games where he combined to score just 6 points, with a career-best 21-point night in a Round 2 home win over Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse in between.

Starting with Round 4, rather than providing flashes of what he can do, Muric has been consistently playing at a high level and has been one of Cedevita's top contributors.

Cedevita did not play last week, but between Rounds 4 and 8, Muric averaged 15.2 points and in doing so doubled his average from the first three rounds. He scored in double figures in each of those five games, including matching his career-high 21 points while making a career-best 5 triple in an overtime loss against ratiopharm Ulm.

He followed that up by scoring 10, 18, 12 and 15 points in the next four contests while accumulating a PIR of at least 13 in each of the team's last five games.

Over the five-game span, Muric also increased his presence on the glass, improving from 2.3 rebounds to 5.2 per game, and has also averaged 1.4 steals over his last five appearances.

After posting an average 8.7 PIR in the first three rounds, Muric has more than doubled that number in his last five appearances by averaging an index rating of 17.8.

More impressive of all has been Muric's accuracy, which has been one of the main reasons for his great production; Muric has been making shots from all ranges.

Muric did well in the first three rounds, making 55.6% of his two-pointers and averaging 1.3 triples on 50.0% shooting from behind the arc. Starting with Round 4, Muric has been worth 2.8 triples on 46.7% long-range shooting.

What has been especially impressive has been his high efficiency inside the arc, where he has made 13 of 17 shots (76.5%). Muric will now try to continue performing at a high level in the new calendar year starting when Cedevita hosts Gran Canaria on Wednesday night.

Edo Muric - Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana - EC21

Joventut Badalona grabbed its fourth consecutive win in Group A by downing Dolomiti Energia Trento 82-65 at home on Tuesday. Joventut improved to 8-2 in the standings while Trento fell to 1-9. 

Joventut beats Trento for fourth straight win, 82-65

Vladimir Brodziansky led the winners with 21 points, Brandon Paul added 14 and Ante Tomic had 10 for Joventut. Johnathan Williams paced Trento with 15 points and Diego Flaccadori and Cameron Reynolds each added 11 for the visitors. Joel Parra shined early and got help from the entire Joventut frontcourt to give the hosts a double-digit margin, 24-11, after 10 minutes. Tomic, Paul and Brodziansky soon helped Joventut boost the margin to 43-24 at halftime. Williams stepped up after the break and Toto Forray and Flaccadori brought Trento within single digits, 56-48, at the end of the third quarter. The guests kept their chances open for the best part of the fourth quarter but Brodziansky buried three consecutive three-pointers to seal the outcome down the stretch. 

Ferran Bassas got Joventut going with a three-pointer and Pep Busquets matched Diego Flaccadori's floater with a backdoor layup for a 5-2 lead. Parra found his first points and Derek Willis added a couple of layups, but Andrea Mezzanotte and Reynolds each hit a triple to make it 14-8. Tomic scored down low and Brodziansly buried his trademark jump hook to make it a double-digit game, 18-8. Paul and Toto Forray each struck from beyond the arc and then Simon Birgander dunked to fix the score at 24-11 after 10 minutes.

Paul followed a six-meter jumper with a triple to break the game open, 29-11, early in the second quarter. Reynolds answered from downtown and Maximilian Ladurner erased Andres Feliz's floater with a dunk that kept Trento within 31-16. Birgander hit a jump hook and Parra added an off-balance turnaround jumper for a 35-16 Joventut lead. Williams stepped up with a driving layup and Flaccadori scored in the low post, but Tomic kept the hosts comfortably ahead, 39-20. Joventut kept connecting with its big men and Tomic and Brodziansky gave their team a 43-24 cushion at halftime. 

Williams followed a close basket with a floater and Flaccadori added a driving layup to get Trento a bit closer, 45-30, after the break. Paul and Brodziansky rescued Joventut with back-to-back three-pointers and Flaccadori also struck from downtown to make it 51-33. Williams kept pushing Trento with consecutive layups and a three-point play, giving the visitors hope at 53-40. DeSonta Bradford hit a mid-range jumper and Forray added a driving layup, but Parra and Feliz set a 56-44 Joventut margin. Forray and Flaccadori brought their team within single digits, 56-48, after 30 minutes.

Albert Ventura downed a corner three-pointer early in the fourth quarter. Forray quickly answered with a floater that Tomic matched with a layup. Ventura bettered Reynolds's floater with his second triple and Willis dunked, but Ladurner kept Trento within 66-56 with under 6 minutes remaining. Reynolds improved Paul's layup with a bomb from beyond the arc. Brodziansky gave Joventut plenty of fresh air at 70-59. Bradford took over with a wild one-handed slam and soon added a tip-in. However, Brodziansky struck three times from downtown to seal the outcome, 80-65, already in the final minute. 

Joventut Badalona v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2022-01-18T20:00:00.000Z)

Brandon Paul - Joventut Badalona - (photo David Grau - Joventut) EC21

This is what the protagonists of the game had to say after such a close deal down the stretch.

Post-Game Quotes: Joventut 82-65 Trento


### Carles Duran, Joventut Badalona
"I think the team started well in the first half. In the third quarter, the team played with a very bad mentality but in the last quarter, we finished well the game. It is a good victory, and we are thinking of the next game. We showed in both games that we were better than Trento, but because we worked and did things right. If you don't work and do what you have to do, you are not a better team. We showed that in the third quarter. We didn't come out with the energy that the game required and Trento went out to try do things well and they got closer. We are not the kind of team that doesn't respect our opponents and Trento in proving in the Italian League that it is a very competitive team. We proved today that if we don't do well, they could beat us. We played good basketball for 30 minutes and were better than Trento, like we were over there because we played with the energy that the opponent deserves."



### Emanuele Molin, Dolomiti Energia Trento
"We had a really slow start and we struggled a lot playing against their aggressive defense. This hurt us a lot because we didn't have any kind of consistent offense. On the other hand, defensively, we were always late. In the second half, we went on the court with a different mental and physical approach and I think that in the third quarter, we had a reaction. We played a little bit better, had a good defense and had the chance to play on offense with more confidence. For us, we are in a tough moment because we are coming out of a tough week, playing without three of our foreigners, and having back just for this game right after coming out of the COVID protocols. I tried to get some positive things that we had in the second half. Anyway, there is no doubt that Joventut deserved the win because they played better and with more continuity. My only disappointment is that in the last 3 minutes, we let them score some easy buckets that made the final score with a big difference that we were able to cut during the previous 20 minutes."



### Vladimir Brodziansky, Joventut Badalona
"We let them come back into the game. We started kind of bad in the second half and the third quarter was really bad for us. We just have to play at 100% for 40 minutes and I think we did a really good job in the fourth quarter. We got better and won the game, which is most important. The crowd was great. They really supported us. When they went on a little run, they were behind us, supporting us, it's great."


Diego Flaccadori - Dolomiti Energia Trento (photo David Grau - Joventut) - EC21

Another 7DAYS EuroCup round, another chance for Joventut Badalona power forward Vladimir Brodziansky to showcase his skills. Brodziansky led Joventut to an 82-65 home victory against Dolomiti Energia Trento. He finished the game with 21 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting plus 4 rebounds for a PIR of 22, all in less than 19 minutes on the court.

Brodziansky remains on fire

In the last three games against Slask Wroclaw, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar and Trento, Brodziansky has averaged 27.0 points on outstanding shooting percentages (65.5% 2FG, 41.2% 3FG, 88.0% FT), 4.7 rebounds and a PIR of 29.0. For the season, Brodziansky has been worth 15.2 points and a PIR of 17.3 in less than 22 minutes per night.


Vladimir Brodziansky - Joventut Badalona - (photo David Grau - Joventut) EC21