The visitors hung on to stay in the hunt for a playoffs spot as part of a four-way Group B tie.
Buducnost capitalized turnovers, second chances



Buducnost VOLI Podgorica avoided a major setback in its fight to stay in the playoffs race as it knocked off Slask Wroclaw 79-80 on the road thanks to capitalizing on Slask's turnovers and crashing the offensive glass.
Buducnost ended up nervously holding on for the second straight road victory as it converted just 2 of 4 free throws in the final 13 seconds.
“The key was our second-half approach," said Yogi Ferrell, who led Buducnost with 17 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists.
"We came out of the locker room saying we didn’t play our best offense in the first half. In the second half we just wanted to push the tempo, hit guys with open shots, and we accomplished what we needed to do."
Ferrell had just 1 of Buducnost’s 12 turnovers while Slask lost the ball only 10 times. The Polish side had been the EuroCup's worst team in turnovers committed coming into the game at 18.1 per game.
Still, Buducnost did a much better job using those Slask miscues, scoring 21 points off the turnovers compared to just 12 for Slask.
Offensive rebounds also played a big role. The guests won the battle of the boards 35-27 and grabbed 11 on the offensive glass. Buducnost had been ranked 17th in offensive rebounds at 9.3, but it was going against a Slask side that conceded the second most offensive boards per game at 13.1.
Buducnost also was much better than usual shooting two-pointers, converting 62.5% for the game after hitting just 53.1% on those shots before the game. Slask had been middle of the pack in stopping opponents’ two-point shooting at 53.2%.
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All those numbers helped Buducnost come back from a 12-point first quarter deficit and build a 17-point lead midway through the third quarter. The Montenegro side nearly wasted a 13-point lead with 7 minutes to go, watching Slask trim it to a one-possession game in the final minute.
Buducnost has seen in its fair share of close games, going 2-2 in contests decided by one basket or less. But Andrej Zakelj’s side had won the previous two such games, in Round 8 at home versus Dolomiti Energia Trento and in Round 10 at 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys.
Buducnost held on again for a third straight win by two points.
“In the end we were not focused and started to make mistakes, especially on defense,” Zakelj said. "This happens to us almost every game. We have a good game and then we have this kind of situation. In the end, the most important thing was we needed was a win."