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European heavyweight takes on up-and-comer when Joventut, London meet

European heavyweight takes on up-and-comer when Joventut, London meet

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12 April 20234 Mins read

Geoff Gillingham

European heavyweight takes on up-and-comer when Joventut, London meet

One of the main contenders to win the 7DAYS EuroCup this season is Joventut Badalona, who was also one of the frontrunners in 2021-22. Last year did not quite go to plan for Joventut when it reached the playoffs, however, as it suffered its first home defeat of the campaign to eighth seed ratiopharm Ulm in the eighthfinals. This time around, Joventut enters the eighthfinals as the No. 2 seed from Group A and it comes up against the team that finished seventh in Group B, an ambitious London Lions squad.

For London, playing in its first-ever season in the EuroCup, there were high moments but also a few tough lessons along the way. The team finished with an 8-10 record – Joventut went 13-5 through its 18 games – yet London had the curious situation of having a better road record than it had at home, going 3-6 in home games and 5-4 on its travels. For Ryan Schmidt's side, they will be hoping to emulate Ulm's success from last year and pull off a shock result at Palau Olimpic de Badalona.

Both teams will be looking to lean on their key players to get them over the line. In the case of Joventut, it has the experience of Ante Tomic (13.2 ppg., 5.3 rpg., 3.4 apg.) at the 5, although it will be without the 36-year-old Pau Ribas after he suffered a third-degree left ankle sprain. Fortunately for head coach Carles Duran, he also has the likes of Joel Parra (12.9 ppg., 4.1 rpg., 1.2 apg.), Kyle Guy (12.1 ppg., 1.6 rpg., 2.1 apg.) and Henry Ellenson (10.6 ppg., 4.4 rpg.) that he can call upon, all of whom are between the ages of 23 and 26 and are ready to make a splash in the EuroCup Playoffs.

On the other side of things, London has a go-to star in the form of the EuroCup's top scorer in the regular season, Sam Dekker, who averaged 18.9 points per night. Dekker twisted his ankle on the final play of the game against Turk Telekom Ankara in Round 17, but he has appeared in his team's last two domestic fixtures and should start in Badalona on Wednesday night. Kosta Koufos (11.8 ppg., 8.1 rpg., 1.5 apg., 1.1 bpg.), another big-name arrival at London in the offseason, is questionable after being away from the team to tend to a family matter, but Miye Oni (11.5 ppg., 4.8 rpg., 3.2 apg.) should be a player that Joventut highlights on its scouting report due to his play on both ends of the floor.

In terms of history, there's almost no comparison between Joventut and London. Joventut, champion of the EuroLeague in 1993-94 and winner of the EuroCup in 2007-08, is one of Europe's most well-known clubs, whereas London is a team that is on the rise but still has to prove itself among the very elite on the continent. However, the single-game elimination format of the EuroCup means that anything could happen when these two teams face off.

Both Joventut and London share dreams of playing in the EuroLeague in the not-too-distant future, and this eighthfinals test will be a good indicator of where these two teams stand with their goals. One team will be able to continue its dream this season, while the other will have to watch the remainder of the competition from afar. Make sure to tune in from 20:00 CEST on Wednesday night to see how this knockout tie plays out!