Maik Kotsar, such a big part of this Hamburg team, was unable to play in the second half with a shoulder injury.

Pivotal performer: Meisner fills in superbly

Lukas Meisner stepped up, though, to pick up the slack. He scored 20 points, including hitting 4 of 7 three-pointers and added 4 of 6 free throws. He also grabbed 7 rebounds while dishing out 2 assists and swiping 1 steal. Meisner did not commit a single turnover despite playing more than 24 minutes. All that resulted in a performance index rating of 25.

Slask announced Martins Meiers

Meiers (2.08 meters, 30 years old), a member of the Latvian national team, arrives on loan from Elan Chalon of France, where he was averaging 9 points per game in the French second division. He started his career in Ventspils of his native Latvia in 2009-10, and has since played with VEF Riga, UNICS Kazan, Buducnost Podgorica or BC Astana, to name a few. This will be hihs fifth appearance in the 7DAYS EuroCup. He has played a total 25 games in the competition, his last season being 2019-20 with Buducnost. He has scored a total 110 points, pulled 42 rebounds and had 12 blocks. He also led VEF Riga to the national league title in 2016-17 as he averaged 14 points and 5 boards per game that season.

martins-meiers-buducnost-voli-podgorica-photo-buducnost-ec19

A pair of veteran perimeter players, Kyle Weems of Virtus Segafredo Bologna and Klemen Prepelic of Valencia Basket, will be among the protagonists when the two 7DAYS EuroCup contenders clash in a Group B showdown on Wednesday night.

Head to head: Kyle Weems vs. Klemen Prepelic

Both teams feature balanced offenses, and both players have been heavily involved in them so far this season.

Prepelic, who missed a season-opener but played in the last two games, is one of Valencia's five players averaging double digits in scoring with 12.5 points. Playing 22 minutes per game coming off the bench, he also averages 4.0 assists, on a pace for a career-high.

Weems, on the other hand, is Virtus starter playing second-most minutes. He is scoring 8.3 points per game, on 66.7% two-point shooting, but has struggled from long range so far this season. However, Weems has shined in other facets of the game, especially dishing career-highs in assists (3.3 apg.) and steals (2.0 spg.).

Prepelic, at 29 years of age, is in his sixth season with sixth different club. He made his debut with Banvit Bandirma in the 2013-14 campaign and has averaged 10.6 points over 70 appearances. He has starred in the last two campaigns, with 15.7 points per game in the 2017-18 season with Metropolitans and with 17.0 points for Joventut Badalona in the 2019-20 campaign.

The 32-year-old Weems is in his fifth EuroCup season and third with Virtus. He has made 61 appearances altogether, averaging 11.1 points for his career. While his best scoring season was in 2018-19 with Tofas Bursa, when he averaged 13.6 points on 48.7% three-point shooting, two other times he was close to winning the EuroCup crown. Last season he helped Virtus to open the season with 20 consecutive wins before they were ousted in the semifinals against UNICS Kazan. He went a step further back in his debut 2015-16 season when he helped Strasbourg into the EuroCup Finals.

En route to the finals that season, Weems and Strasbourg eliminated Prepelic, who was playing for EWE Baskets Oldenburg at the time. The two teams split road wins. Weems posted 10.5 points and 3.5 rebounds as Strasbourg went through, while Prepelic averaged 8.0 points and 2.5 assists.

Overall, Weems has averaged more points and has shot better from two-point and three-point ranges during his career. His has also been more of a factor on the glass and on defense. Prepelic plays more with the ball and has had a pair of significantly better scoring seasons than Weems.

Over the years, Prepelic and Weems have both developed their respective games to become more versatile and to help their teams in many ways other than scoring. Weems and Prepelic are ready to continue down that path in Round 4, as they are poised to play prominent roles in the collision between two European heavyweights.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna v Valencia Basket (2021-11-10T19:30:00.000Z)

After combining for 1 point through the first three quarters, David Michineau and Keith Hornsby teamed up to score 20 in the fourth in leading Boulogne Metropolitans 92 to victory over Trento on Tuesday. 

Michineau, Hornsby remain ready, finish off Metropolitans win in fourth

The old adage goes, it’s not how you start the game but how you finish it. David Michineau and Keith Hornsby capitalized on their chance to shine in the fourth quarter and carried Boulogne Metropolitans 92 to a victory over Dolomiti Energia Trento.

Michineau scored 10 of his 11 points in the fourth quarter and Hornsby tallied all 10 of his points in the final frame to carry the French team to a 93-80 home win. Michineau and Hornsby were two of six Metropolitans players who scored in double figures. But they combined for 20 of the team’s 29 points in the fourth quarter.

With Trento sticking close at 66-61, Michineau hit a jumper and both he and Hornsby drained three-pointers. Michineau added a three-point play and then assisted on a Hornsy score for an 81-71 advantage with 4 minutes to play.

Trento would not go away and got within 81-75 with 2 minutes remaining. Hornsby hit a jumper before Michineau added his final basket and Hornsby finished the game with a three-pointer.

“This team has a lot of offensive options – a lot of great players. Just because I only get one shot in the first half doesn’t mean I can hang my head and clock out of the game. You gotta be ready,” said Hornsby, who was held scoreless in his first EuroCup game this season and then had 8 and 6 points in the second and third games respectively.

“I got in in the fourth quarter and you know the future is unwritten as far as a basketball game goes. You can turn it around quickly. I got some opportunities and then it’s up to you to take advantage and luckily tonight I did, along with the team. It was good.”

Michineau has been up and down thus far this season in the EuroCup. He failed to score in Rounds 1 and 3 - both road losses - and collected 14 points in the team’s Round 2 home win over Slask Wroclaw.

In the win over Slask, Michineau entered the fourth quarter having scored 6 points and he totaled 8 points and 2 assists in the final frame in holding off the Polish team.

Once again, it’s not how you start... it’s how you finish. And Michineau and Hornsby have shown they know how to close out games.

Boulogne Metropolitans 92 v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2021-11-09T19:30:00.000Z)

Gran Canaria has allowed its opponents to make an unthinkable 48.2% of their three-pointers this season.

Keys to victory: Gran Canaria vs. Bourg

While some of that is likely to simply regress to the mean, Gran Canaria must also be more aggressive on the perimeter starting this week. In its two losses this season, Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse committed 14.5 turnovers per game. Last week it had only 4 as it won for the first time. It must take good care of the ball and control the glass as it has all season – Bourg averages 7.3 rebounds more per game than its opponents – to have a good chance of returning home with a valuable road win.

Gran Canaria v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2021-11-10T20:00:00.000Z)

The starting point guards in this game are tied for fourth in the EuroCup in assists with 7.3 per game.

Marquee matchup: Gran Canaria's Albicy vs. Bourg’s Julien

Andrew Albicy of Gran Canaria is also tied for second with 2.7 steals per game. In Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse’s first two losses this season, Axel Julien committed 4 turnovers in each game. In last week's win, he did not have any. It goes without saying that when these two assist men score, their teams are that much stronger. Watch out for their head-to-head duel knowing that the point guard with the better game will surely aid his team’s chances of winning.

In a matchup of teams coming off Round 3 victories, Gran Canaria hosts Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse on Wednesday.

Granca, Bourg look to extend winning streaks

Gran Canaria (2-1) has won two in a row on the road and looks to add a victory in its first home game since an opening-night loss to Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana. Last week Gran Canaria edged Valencia 89-90 behind 17 points from Nicolas Brussino. Bourg (1-2) routed Promitheas Patras 92-62 last week as Eric Mika exploded for 22 points and 11 rebounds. This will be just the second time Bourg ever plays a game on Spanish soil; it lost at Joventut Badalona in the EuroCup last season.

Joventut Badalona boasts the EuroCup’s toughest defense with just 60 points allowed per game.

Keys to victory: Joventut vs. Turk Telekom

This week it faces a Turk Telekom Ankara side that has made 40% of its three-pointers, which is third-best in the competition. That number could prove critical on Wednesday. If the Joventut defenders can disrupt the Turk Telekom shooters, it could be a long night for the visitors. Conversely, if Turk Telekom can open the game with its marksmen, Joventut will be tested.

The rebounding battle will also play a big role. Joventut outrebounds its opponents by 6.7 boards per game, while Turk Telekom has given up 4 more rebounds per game than it’s taken. What’s more, Turk Telekom’s opponents have averaged 13 offensive rebounds per game. Octavius Ellis, JaJaun Johnson and co. must do a better job for Turk Telekom on the glass to have a good chance of winning in Spain.

Joventut Badalona v Turk Telekom Ankara (2021-11-09T20:00:00.000Z)

Two of the premier playmakers in the EuroCup will face off when Joventut Badalona and Turk Telekom Ankara meet.

Marquee matchup: Joventut’s Ribas vs. Turk Telekom’s Perez

Pau Ribas (8.5 ppg., 6.5 apg.) is ranked among the EuroCup top 10 in assists this season, while his Turk Telekom counterpart Alex Perez (8.7 ppg., 8.0 apg., 1.7 spg.) is third in that category. Neither is a player who can be taken lightly and their scoring numbers are only relatively low because of the effort to get their teammates going. After all, Ribas has made 5 of 8 three-pointers (62.5%) and Perez is shooting 50% on twos and 40% on threes. Their matchup will surely be central to this game’s outcome.