

Joventut Badalona secured a 104-81 home win over U-BT Cluj-Napoca in Round 16 to clinch home-court advantage in the eighthfinals of the 7DAYS EuroCup. Despite missing three key players – Andrija Stipanovic, Kasey Shepherd and Karel Guzman – the guests started strong and headed into the second quarter with a 21-22 lead, but Joventut improved on defense and dominated in the paint to seal its seventh victory in eight home games. The hosts improved to 11-5, but Cluj dropped to 5-11 and has been mathematically eliminated from the playoff race.
Joel Parra paced Joventut with 18 points after going 7-for-7 on two-pointers, but Ante Tomic stole the limelight after netting 15 points, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the paint. The veteran center paired those points with 7 rebounds and 6 assists for a 24 PIR. Pau Ribas recorded 15 points, with Kyle Guy and Andres Feliz adding 12 each. Jalen Jones was Cluj’s top scorer with 16 points, while Patrick Richard and Leonardo Meindl tallied 15 apiece for the losing side. Emanuel Cate scored 14 and finished the game with a season-high 13 rebounds.
Cluj got off to a solid start, with 17-year-old debutant Akos Szentkuti scoring his first-ever EuroCup points after sinking a triple to give the visitors a 0-3 lead. The guests went on to take a 6-12 lead courtesy of 4 points from Meindl and a three-pointer by Richard. Joventut fought back and managed to turn the game around when Guillem Vives sank a three-pointer, 17-15. Cate went 3-for-3 on two-pointers to tie it at 19-19, before Cluj headed into the second quarter with a narrow 20-21 lead.
What followed in the second quarter was an exchange of punches, as the game stayed tight until Gordic scored 5 straight points for a 25-29 Cluj lead. However, Feliz scored twice from behind the arc to inspire Joventut to a 12-0 run, 37-29. Feliz recorded 8 of his 12 points in the second quarter and Tomic registered 4 assists to secure a 51-40 lead for the hosts before the break.
Joventut hit the ground running in the second half, as Guy took his tally to 10 points after nailing a three-pointer, 54-40. Cluj tried to react and reduced the deficit to single digits when Richard scored 4 straight points, 58-50. But, that is when Tomic stepped up, with the big man taking his tally to double figures by scoring a trademark hook shot for a 69-59 advantage.
Nemanja Gordic beat the third-quarter buzzer with a mid-court triple to reduce the deficit to single digits, 77-68, and give Cluj hope ahead of the last quarter, but Joventut was dominant in the last 10 minutes. The hosts scored a season-high 104 points to cap off an important win in its bid to push for top spot in Group A.