Petar Bozic’s players have shown no sign of slowing down, as they are now 4-0 on the road.
London Lions continue to make noise in the EuroCup
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It’s a good time to be a fan of the London Lions. Playing in their second season in the BKT EuroCup, the team from the English capital now find themselves with a 5-2 record in Group A, good enough for a share of second place. Interestingly, the side that London is now level with record-wise is Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul, the club it beat on Wednesday night.
In a game that went right down to the final seconds, London did enough to hold on at BJK Emlakjet Sports & Event Hall as it won 80-83. Petar Bozic’s squad was without Sam Dekker, an All-EuroCup Second Team selection in 2022-23, as well as Tarik Phillip, Kareem Queeley and Bradley Kaboza, while Ciaran Sandy and Rokas Gustys didn’t step onto the court. As such, London leaned on eight players to get the job done.
What helps, obviously, is when those players step up to the plate. Just two London players managed to reach double figures, with Gabe Olaseni posting a game-high 24 points and Matt Morgan adding 17, but there was a solid contribution right across the board: Mo Soluade and Luke Nelson both had 9 points, Conor Morgan 8, Donte Grantham 7, Jordan Taylor 5 and Josh Sharma 4.
Matt Morgan did a bit of everything
In his rookie EuroCup season, the scoring of Matt Morgan has been one of the most enjoyable revelations. The 26-year-old is averaging 18.7 points through his seven-game EuroCup career to date, and even if his tally in Istanbul was a bit lower than that, he put his fingerprints on the game in a number of ways.
Surprisingly, the 1.88-meter Morgan grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds against Besiktas, while – not so surprisingly – he also led his side in assists with 7. It very much felt like a European triple-double (given NBA games last eight minutes longer). Time and time again, the American guard found ways to make an impact for his team, be that scoring or finding teammates for good looks at the basket.
With Dekker having made just two appearances so far this season, which came in Round 3 at Prometey Slobozhanske and Round 4 against Paris Basketball, it has been the job of Morgan to keep London competitive this season. It would not be a surprise if the former Le Mans standout is getting some key tips from Coach Bozic on how to run the team, too, given the Serbian’s 122-game Turkish Airlines EuroLeague career with Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade.
“Man, the crowd was amazing. That team was a really good team, but we stayed together, we played a really good game, so hopefully we can build on this and keep winning,” Morgan said in the post-game flash interview.
“I think it’s my teammates [that helped me play at this level], honestly. They got me open, I made some tough shots, but a lot of my stuff came from them. A lot of stuff came in the flow of the offense.”
London’s offense was ticking along perfectly
Speaking of offense, London moved the ball excellently against Besiktas. Wednesday night’s visiting team finished with 23 assists, its fourth-best mark this season, with Morgan (7), Taylor (6) and Conor Morgan (5) contributing a combined 18 dimes between them. Even on social media after the game, Dekker was particularly impressed with the way Coach Bozic’s squad moved the ball.
So, too, was Bozic. Speaking immediately after the final buzzer and then again in the post-game press conference, the 44-year-old stressed his delight at London 23 assists, which comes one week after recording 25 in another road win at Joventut Badalona.
“Amazing game. We played in front of a full gym against one of the top teams in the EuroCup,” commented Coach Bozic in the post-game press conference. “I am so proud with my team, how they handled the whole atmosphere. We shared the ball well – I’m very happy with the 23 assists.”
An important victory
By coming away from Istanbul with the win, London improved its record to 5-2, but perhaps more importantly it prevented Besiktas from going 6-1. Instead, Dusan Alimpijevic’s side dropped to 5-2, level with London. While Paris Basketball – one of just two teams to beat London this season – is a perfect 7-0, Wednesday night’s triumph in Turkiye keeps the English club in contention to secure the second seed in the playoffs, although there’s still a long way to go yet.
Nevertheless, London going 4-0 on its travels – the second-best mark in the entire EuroCup – is nothing to be sniffed at. Coach Bozic has this team playing at a very high level and the best part is that it can add a player of Dekker’s quality into the mix once he is back healthy. London may not have the European history of some other clubs in the EuroCup, but it is already a major force in the competition. As I said at the top, it’s a good time to be a London fan.