One of the new entrants to this year's 7DAYS EuroCup is U-BT Cluj-Napoca, which already has its sights set on securing a place in the playoffs. Ahead of the 2022-23 regular season, here are four games for Cluj-Napoca fans to circle in their calendars.
2022-23 Games to Watch: U-BT Cluj-Napoca
Round 2: Utilizing home advantage
Cluj-Napoca welcomes Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana to BTarena in its first home game of the EuroCup season. Head coach Mihai Silvasan will be looking at this game as a chance to possibly build on his team's opening match, a road trip to take on Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse. Given that Cluj-Napoca has another home game in Round 3, this is a perfect opportunity to get its home campaign off to a great start, although it will be tough against one of the EuroCup favorites.
Round 10: Seizing an opportunity
Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse was one of three teams that failed to make it into the playoffs in last year's EuroCup, so Cluj-Napoca will know that it is on the right track with a win. This is also the end of a back-to-back home stand for Cluj-Napoca, which means there is even more reason to place extra emphasis on this fixture. Come the end of the season, these two could be battling it out for one of the final places in the elimination rounds.
Round 12: Sanders returns to Venice
Swingman Victor Sanders was one of Cluj-Napoca's additions this off-season. He joined after averaging 7.4 points, 1.6 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 16 EuroCup games for Umana Reyer Venice last season. Sanders will get the chance to return to Palasport Taliercio on January 24, as he looks to remind his former team of his talents. Expect Sanders to be a central figure for Cluj-Napoca in this one, particularly with the playoff race starting to heat up at this point in the campaign.
Round 17: Facing an old friend
Last season saw Cluj-Napoca face Prometey Slobozhanske in the Basketball Champions League, with the Romanian team winning that game 81-92 on the road. Cluj-Napoca guard Patrick Richard tallied 19 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists in the victory and he will have his sights set on a similar performance this time around. One player who was with Cluj-Napoca in the 2021-22 campaign and is now with Prometey is Dustin Hogue, so he will hope to once again be on the winning side. With this being Cluj-Napoca's penultimate game of the regular season – and its last at home – it will be determined to put on a show for the supporters at BTarena.