Joventut Badalona: 2023-24 games to watch

A perennial candidate to go all the way in the BKT EuroCup, this season Joventut Badalona will have to adapt to the loss of many key pieces from last season's successful run. This is a challenge that the club is used to, so 2023-24 will be familiar territory for a team that will find severe obstacles in Group A. On paper, Penya remains a favorite to qualify for the postseason, but it will not be an easy trip. Here's a look at some of the key games along the way:

Joventut Badalona full schedule

Round 1: Joventut Badalona vs. Besiktas Istanbul

Already in Round 1, Joventut will have a distinctive visitor in Besiktas Istanbul, a historic club that is returning to the EuroCup for the first time since 2015-16. This will be just the third time these two teams meet each other in the EuroCup; their last encounters came in the 2009-10 season. On that occasion, Joventut swept their regular season games and the Catalan team will now look to continue that trend to start the new season on the right foot.

Round 8: Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv vs. Joventut Badalona

In Round 8, Joventut will have one of the toughest trips in the group with a visit to Israel to play against Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv. Last season, these teams met each other in the quarterfinals and Joventut took the 82-74 home win that granted it a ticket to the semifinals. The grudge is there for Hapoel, which was one of the surprising teams in its maiden EuroCup campaign last season. Joventut can expect one of the hottest atmospheres in the league and a tough bone to chew on when it faces Hapoel in Tel Aviv.

Round 18: Prometey Slobozhanske vs. Joventut Badalona

For the last game of the regular season, Joventut will have to travel to face Prometey Slobozhanske, another of the biggest surprises in the EuroCup last season. The Ukrainian team had a very good run and it will try to, at least, repeat the same performance this time. In 2022-23, Joventut and Prometey split their regular season meetings, but when Round 18 comes, they will have already played also in Round 9. If everything goes according to plan, both teams should be qualified for the following phase at this point, but if they aren't, expect a high-caliber duel between two great teams playing for big bucks.