Last week's fast starters are aiming to maintain their momentum, while 10 other teams will be desperate to gather their first win. This is what we can look forward to in Round 2 of the BKT EuroCup.
BKT EuroCup, Round 2 at a glance
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Slask Wroclaw vs. U-BT Cluj-Napoca After scoring 50 first-half points to propel last week's impressive victory over Turk Telekom, Cluj (1-0) will look for another fast start as it travels to Poland to face Slask (0-1). The rebounding battle could be key: Cluj grabbed 42 boards last week, with eight different players claiming multiple rebounds. Slask wasn't too far behind with 36 boards in its loss at Bourg, including 13 for Dusan Miletic. The Serbian center also scored 19 points, and Cluj's ability to control Miletic could be key to the outcome.
Dreamland Gran Canaria vs. ratiopharm Ulm
Reigning champion Gran Canaria (1-0) produced a strong fourth quarter to start its title defense with victory at Aris and will now aim to stay perfect with a tantalizing visit from an Ulm team (1-0) also looking to stay unbeaten. AJ Slaughter sparked Gran Canaria's potent offense last week with 19 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting and he will now look to get the better of the backcourt battle with Ulm star Georginho De Paola, who combined 11 points with 6 assists and 3 steals to help secure his team's Round 1 win over Trento.
Turk Telekom Ankara vs. Buducnost VOLI Podgorica
Last season's runner-up Turk Telekom (0-1) will aim to kick-start its campaign with a visit from Buducnost (1-0), which will look to control the game through defense after restricting Lietkabelis to 65 points last week. On that note, the Turkish team needs to exert better ball control after committing 16 turnovers in Round 1; Tyrone Wallace was responsible for 5 of those. Buducnost benefitted from a strong inside game in Round 1 in which it converted 23 of its 36 two-point attempts, with Jacorey Williams sinking 6 of those on 8 attempts as he paired 13 points with a team-high 6 rebounds.
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana vs. Joventut Badalona
Two of last week's losers will aim to get on the winning path as Cedevita (0-1) hosts Joventut (0-1). Both teams struggled offensively in Round 1, with Cedevita making only 5 of its 18 three-point attempts as it mustered just 73 points at Hapoel, despite 15 points from team leader Justin Cobbs. Joventut fared even worse, only scoring 62 points to suffer defeat against Besiktas with just 2 triples made. The Spanish team needs the likes of DeShaun Thomas and Andrew Andrews, who combined for 0 three-pointers on 8 attempts, to recover their usual accuracy from deep.
Veolia Hamburg Towers vs. London Lions
London (1-0) will look to stay perfect as it travels to face a Hamburg team (0-1) desperate to overcome a heavy opening night defeat. The all-round talents of William Christmas, who had 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals last week, could propel Hamburg to its first win of the season. But London also has plenty of firepower in the form of impressive competition debutant Donte Grantham, who inspired his team's opening night victory with 23 points and 7 rebounds.
Umana Reyer Venice vs. Paris Basketball
After starting the season with a thumping victory over Wolves Vilnius, Paris (1-0) hopes to keep on rolling with a trip to face a Reyer team (0-1) that lost last week in London. The ambitious French team had six different players scoring in double digits, and showed great efficiency with 24 assists and just 7 turnovers, consequently netting at least 24 points in every quarter to start its season in style. Reyer will attempt to compete through multi-skilled big man Amedeo Tessitori, who provided 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in last week's loss.
7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys vs. Aris Midea Thessaloniki
Lietkabelis (0-1) seeks its first win of the season as it welcomes an Aris team (0-1) that also suffered defeat in Round 1. The home team knows it can compete physically after grabbing 42 rebounds in its loss at Buducnost, including 14 at the offensive end. Gabrielus Maldunas contributed 4 of those on his way to a team-high 16 points. Roberto Gallinat provided exactly one-third of his team's Round 1 offensive production with 22 of Aris's 66 points, but nobody else scored more than 10 points and the Greek team will need others to also step up to prevail in Lithuania.
Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul vs. Prometey Slobozhanske
Two of the opening round’s most contrasting winners go head to head as Besiktas (1-0) hosts Prometey (1-0). The Turkish team leaned on stellar defense to overcome Joventut, allowing only 62 points, whereas Prometey delivered offensive fireworks to pile on 97 points against Hamburg. Outstanding inside efficiency, with 23 of 33 two-point shots converted helping contribute to 19 points for Marcus Keene, was one of the keys to Prometey's smoothly functioning offense. Hamburg will look to maintain its defensive excellence and hope the dangerous Jonah Mathews, who scored 9 points on 3-of-14 field goal shooting last week, can step up his offensive efforts.
Dolomiti Energia Trento vs. Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse
Bourg (1-0) will aim for its second victory with a trip to Trento (0-1), which has the target of getting into the W column. The French team impressed offensively in Round 1, scoring 90 points to overcome Slask. Young French guard Hugo Benitez was the star, scoring a career-high 19 points while adding 5 assists and 3 steals. Trento, conversely, must play with much more offensive control after being dogged by turnovers in its opening-round loss against Ulm, losing the ball a staggering 24 times with seven players committing at least 2 turnovers.