### Partizan NIS Belgrade head coach Zeljko Obradovic:

"What is important is to concentrate on playing one game. The competition system was made last summer so we are aware that this is the most important part of the season. We did everything to be in this situation to get to play the playoffs and here is the first game against Bursa. They play very well, they are in a series of good results, they are very well led by my young colleague Alimpijevic, whom I congratulate on everything he is doing with Bursa. On this occasion, I would also like to thank the Partizan fans for everything they have done so far during the season, for that support which is incredible and let’s continue the same way.”

### Partizan NIS Belgrade player Zach LeDay: 

"A very difficult opponent awaits us. We have to put the coach's ideas into action and stick to the game plan. If we do that, we have a good chance to finish the match successfully. We are all excited, the playoffs are the best part of the season, we are playing for trophies and we now have to do our job on the field."

Pre-game quotes: Partizan vs. Bursaspor

Partizan NIS Belgrade v Frutti Extra Bursaspor (2022-04-20T18:30:00.000Z)

Zeljko Obradovic - Partizan NIS Belgrade (photo Trento) - EC21-RS18

### Umana Reyer Venice head coach Walter De Raffaele:

"We approach the EuroCup playoff, a brand new format, with lots of enthusiasm and effort. Unfortunately we arrive to this game with a lot of problems and injuries, that’s a thing that bothers me.

We will face the leader of French league with the coach of the National team. They are a tough and talented team with a great organization on their backs. Great talent in Cummings and McRae and overall they are a physical team. Will try to do our best to win."

### Umana Reyer Venice player Michael Bramos:

"We are excited to play in this playoff game against Metropolitans. They are a solid team that had a great regular season in the EuroCup and have been playing well lately. We arrive with confidence from our last games as well, so as always in knockout game it will come down to effort and small details."

Pre-game quotes: Metropolitans 92 vs. Venice

Boulogne Metropolitans 92 v Umana Reyer Venice (2022-04-20T18:00:00.000Z)

Walter De Raffaele - Umana Reyer Venice (photo Gran Canaria) - EC21-RS18

Valencia Basket finished second in Group B and will hosts Hamburg Towers, seventh-place team from Group A, in the single-elimination eighthfinals.

Breakdown: Valencia Basket vs. Hamburg Towers

### Large difference in previous experience

This is not only a clash between a four-time EuroCup champion and a EuroCup debutant. Not only that Hamburg has never played in a Eurocup before this season, but neither has the vast majority of its players. The only player currently on Hamburg roster with previous EuroCup experience is Seth Hinrichs, who made 10 regular-season appearances with ratiopharm Ulm in the 2019-20 season. 

Meanwhile, Valencia has won the competition the last time it played (2018-19 season), and four players are still with the team from that season: Bojan Dubljevic, Sam Van Rossom, Mike Tobey and Louis Labeyrie. For Dubljevic and Van Rossom that was their second EuroCup title, after they led Valencia to winning the trophy in 2014, too. Power forward Victor Claver has won with Valencia in 2010, while Martin Hermannsson has been on the losing end in the 2019 finals with ALBA Berlin.

Valencia has nine players averaging at least 8.0 points per game, three different Valencia players average more than 4 assists, and and six different players average more than 4 rebounds per game.

Everyone contributes on Valencia offense

### Can Hamburg become new debutant success story?

Hamburg has been the only debutant this EuroCup campaign, but success of the newcomers is not all that unusual in the competition. Just from the teams that participated this season, nearly half-dozen of them have reached their biggest success in their first try in the competition. For instance, fellow German side ratiopharm Ulm reached the quarterfinals in the 2012-13 season. Dolomiti Energia Trento was a semifinalist in its debut in the 2015-16 campaign. Promitheas Patras reached the quarterfinals in the 2019-20, while Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana finished third at the 2011 EuroCup Final Four as Cedevita Zagreb. Joventut Badalona was also a semifinalist in 2003, however, Joventut did it better a few years later, winning the 2008 title. However, no EuroCup debutant has reached the quarterfinals since Trento in 2016, and Hamburg would love to end that drought with an upset in Valencia.

### Depth and balance vs. productive trio

It is a clash between two of the three best three-point shooting teams this season. Hamburg makes EuroCup best 11.4 triples per game, while Valencia ranks third in that category with 10.9 on average. Valencia is also second-best among playoff teams in scoring with 86.8 points per game, and Hamburg is not far behind with 83.2. But there is a big difference with these two teams in the way where contributions come from.

Hamburg Towers make EuroCup best 11.4 triples per game,

Homesley, Brown pace EuroCup's top three-point makers

Valencia has nine players averaging at least 8.0 points per game, and not one player has averaged even 24 minutes per game during the regular season. Three different Valencia players average more than 4 assists: Nenad Dimitrijevic (4.9 apg.), Hermannsson (4.8 apg.) and Van Rossom (4.2 apg.), and six different players average more than 4 rebounds per game (Tobey (6.4 rpg.), Labeyrie (5.6 rpg.), Dubljevic (5.5 rpg.), Jasiel Rivero (4.8 rpg.), Jaime Pradilla (4.4 rpg.) and Xabi Lopez-Arostegui (4.1 rpg.). Meanwhile, Caleb Homesley (17.6 ppg, 4.5 apg., 3.6 rpg.), Jaylon Brown (16.9 ppg., 2.6 apg.), and Maik Kotsar (12.7 ppg., 6.7 rpg., 1.5 apg.), combine for more than half of all Hamburg's points, and almost half of team's assists.

### Hamburg will need Homesley's production

Guard Caleb Homesley has been the story of the first part of the regular season. He scored in double figures in each of his first 10 appearances, and averaged 20.7 points. Homesley knocked down a total of 40 triples over that span on 44.0% accuracy. But that's when Homesley got sidelined for a few weeks, and he has played in only three EuroCup games over the last two and a half months, and has posted 7.3 points, shooting just 4-for-22 from long range.

Homesley continued contributing in other segments, but Hamburg will need his scoring in this eighthfinals clash. Jaylon Brown has had stellar production, scoring at least 17 points in six of his last eight games, but if Homesley can re-join Brown and re-create a one-two scoring punch in Hamburg's backcourt, it would give Hamburg a massive boost.

Valencia Basket v Hamburg Towers (2022-04-20T18:30:00.000Z)

### Joventut Badalona head coach Carles Duran:

"We are not familiar with this format, but we have the will and ambition to play the best game possible. We know that winning lets us keep dreaming and losing kicks us out. I hope we are as competitive as we have been this season, knowing that Ulm is a high-scoring team with three American players that can score a lot. If we do not do things well, they will make it hard on us."

### Joventut Badalona player Pau Ribas:

"They will come to play very motivated, they have ambitious players and it will be a game watched by everyone. We are favorites, we have to accept that role and play with confidence at home, but knowing that we have to do things very well if we want to go far, and that means winning this first game. We have not lost at home this season and we want it to stay that way."

Pre-game quotes: Joventut vs. Ulm

Joventut Badalona v ratiopharm Ulm (2022-04-19T18:30:00.000Z)

Carles Duran - Joventut Badalona - (photo David Grau - Joventut) EC21-RS17

In an era where athleticism counts, the magician from Serbia remains a rare breed and showcases his skills in the 7DAYS EuroCup as the competition enters its most critical phase.

Milos Teodosic: The last true artist

If you love the game of basketball and you don’t admire the abilities of Milos Teodosic, then you simply contradict yourself. Sure, you might not like Teodosic for whatever reason, but you can’t deny his talent.

Basketball enters an era in which athleticism dominates and the keyword in everything is efficiency. That’s why Teodosic is also a living contradiction. Without any real athleticism by modern standards, he is more than efficient and of course, that’s evident in the numbers.

[MORE...](https://www.eurohoops.net/en/eurocup/1334798/milos-teodosic-the-last-true-artist/)

Milos Teodosic - Virtus Segafredo Bologna (photo Virtus) - EC21

In a one-game, do-or-die playoff, anything can happen. Nonetheless, some season-long statistical trends may offer clues to the possible storylines when Boulogne Metropolitans 92 hosts Umana Reyer Venice in their 7DAYS EuroCup Eighthfinals winner-take-all battle on Wednesday.

Eighthfinals clues: Boulogne Metropolitans 92 vs. Umana Reyer Venice

This is a very eighthfinals pairing full of intrigue in that visiting Reyer may look to change its season-long defensive tactics in order to challenge Metropolitans on its home floor in Paris.

Metropolitans has attempted fewer catch-and-shoot jump shots than any team in the EuroCup this season, in large part because it has aggressively pressured the rim with more two-point attempts and makes than any team in the competition for five years.

Levallois Metropolitans Top Plays from 03/20/2022 to 04/19/2022

Metropolitans attacking inside

Going to the rim would seem to be the perfect tactic against a Reyer team that has limited catch-and-shoot three-pointers for its opponents to the lowest rate in the league. As a result of that specialization, though, Reyer faced the league's highest volume of shots around the rim, which is the specialty of Metropolitans.

Considering how their head-on offensive vs. defensive styles clash, it will be interesting to see which team gains the upper hand on that end of the floor on Wednesday. It may well be decisive, too.

Mitchell Watt, Austin Daye, Julyan Ray Stone, Jeff Brooks Top Blocks, Steals of the 2021-22 Regular Season

Umana Reyer Venice defensive highlights

Players Boulogne Metropolitans 92 (photo Olivier dAlmeida - Metropolitans) - EC21-RS16

Vince Hunter - Boulogne Metropolitans 92 (photo Olivier dAlmeida - Metropolitans) - EC21-RS16

Walter De Raffaele - Umana Reyer Venice (photo Ales Ferves - Cedevita) - EC21-RS16

Gran Canaria finished the regular season as the top team in Group B with a 12-6 record. Its last game before the knock-out rounds, at home against Umana Reyer Venice, was Oliver Stevic's 100th appearance in the competition. The center became the 20th player to reach that number. Stevic will complete a circle when Gran Canaria hosts Slask Wroclaw in the Eighthfinals. His EuroCup debut came with Slask in the 2007-08 season, and his first-ever game in the competition was at home against Gran Canaria. He has averaged 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds over 14 minutes this season as one of the many pillars in his team's frontcourt. Stevic said he believes experience and depth can give Gran Canaria the edge, but playing hard and being focused is where it all starts. "The good thing about us is that all of us are a little bit different. We are not the same type of player, and all of us give something different to the team. I think that is also a good thing and makes things tougher for our opponents when they prepare the games against us," Stevic said in this week's interview. "On the other side, we have to be aware that playing at home is not enough. We have to play hard. It's the playoffs. It is a completely different type of competition."

  

**Hello again, Oliver. Gran Canaria has had a great season until now, with quality wins against Virtus Segafredo Bologna and twice against Valencia Basket. Has it been even better than you expected at the beginning of the season?** 

 

"Definitely. Our goal at the beginning of the season was to be one of the top four teams in our group. If we could make it to the top two, it would be amazing, but the idea was to be one of the top four teams to have the home-court advantage in our first playoff game and to make it to the quarterfinals, to be one of the best eight teams in the competition. The way we started the season, and especially how we played on the road in the first part of the season gave us a little push and a boost to maybe have higher expectations. We increased our chance to be one of the top two teams and, in the end, to be the best team in our group which, I think, is a pretty great achievement."

"I think the most important thing is to understand that it's just one game, you don't have another opportunity."

**Gran Canaria will face Slask, one of your former teams, in this first round. I am sure you have followed them closely. What are their strengths?** 

 

"It is going to be a specific game for me. My first-ever EuroCup game was with Slask Wroclaw against Gran Canaria! It was in the 2007-08 season and also my first appearance in the EuroCup. It was a home game in Poland against Gran Canaria. What's even more curious is that Slask has the same coach \[Andrej Urlep\] and the same assistant coaches \[Andrzej Adamek\] as 14-15 seasons ago. The one thing that we can't do is underestimate any opponent, it doesn't matter if it's Wroclaw or anyone else because the playoffs have a different format, it is just one game. It's amazing for us that we play at home, that we have this home-court advantage until the finals, but you have to be focused on every possession, on every defensive play, on every offense, because one bad quarter can knock you out of the competition. So this is the most important thing. For sure, quality is on our side against Slask Wroclaw but like I said, it is just one game, and it can depend a lot on the inspiration of one, two or three players, if you wake up on the wrong foot or not. So I think the most important thing is to understand that it's just one game, you don't have another opportunity. And this is going to be the most important thing in all the playoffs, not just in this first game."

 

**You will play against Kerem Kanter. You briefly played with him at Joventut Badalona. Aleksander Dziewa is also playing really well. Is Slask's frontcourt its main threat?** 

 

"My personal opinion is that in today's basketball, everything comes from the point guard. So I think the main threat is going to come from \[Travis\] Trice. If we stop him and neutralize him, everything else is going to be a little bit easier. But like I said before, it's not only him. You mentioned Kanter; I think he's a really good offensive player and they have some other talented players. We can't just relax, get on the court and just see what's going to happen. We have to have to dictate our rhythm. We have to set the level of physicality we want. These are the things that we have to look for, how we are going to approach the game, how we are going to step on the court." 

Oliver Stevic Top Plays of the 2021-22 Regular Season

2021-22 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season highlights Oliver Stevic Gran Canaria

**You also played for Zielona Gora in Poland. From your point of view, how important is it for Polish basketball that Slask made it to the EuroCup Eighthfinals?** 

 

"First of all, I think Polish basketball is a good step for some players who want to feel confident, like I did when I was younger, to gain confidence, to get into the rhythm, and be on the basketball map. Definitely, the success of its national team in the \[2019\] World Cup was big and very important for them. After I played for Slask, the team had some financial problems and they went down to the second division and now they are coming back to the European basketball map. This is a team that won 19 Polish League titles. It is the most successful team in Polish basketball history. I think they are going step by step, and are trying to do as much as they can with their resources." 

 

**You mentioned your first EuroCup game. The previous one against Reyer was your 100th EuroCup game. You are the 20th player to get there. How does it feel?** 

 

"Oh, thank you for that info. I didn't know! I think it is amazing. It's just amazing that I have been able to play so many years on this level. It is a really nice achievement and let's see how many more I'm going to have in front of me, especially this year. I hope as many as possible."

 

**Gran Canaria has the home-court advantage in any potential games unless you face Joventut. How can that work in your favor, knowing that Gran Canaria Arena can fit 11,500 fans?** 

 

"Home is always home. We are practicing on our home court every day, and there will definitely be more fans in the gym because the playoffs are here. You always have an advantage at home. It is completely different to play at home than on the road. Also, our schedule in the Spanish League is good. Until the end of the season, we only have two more trips, so we are going to spend a lot of time here. It is pretty difficult, it is always a long trip for any team coming here, or for us going anywhere. So definitely there is some advantage. But on the other side, we have to be aware that playing at home is not enough. We have to play hard. It's the playoffs. It is a completely different type of competition, and all teams are four wins away from lifting the trophy, so let's see how many of those games we can win." 

"All teams are four wins away from lifting the trophy, so let's see how many of those games we can win." 

**Gran Canaria has five players, you included, who can play at the '5' position. That's a lot of depth at center. How can this work in your favor?** 

 

"Definitely, one of us is going to have a good day. And the good thing about us is that all of us are a little bit different. We are not the same type of player and all of us give something different to the team. I think that is also a good thing and makes things tougher for our opponents when they prepare the games against us. You cannot follow exactly the same rules for each one of us and the opponents have to adjust. I hope we are going to be able to use that to our advantage." 

 

**Also, experience works in your favor with players like A.J. Slaughter, John Shurna, Andrew Albicy and of course, you. How important is that in a do-or-die game?** 

 

"It can be very important, especially when it comes to the end of a game like this, you know? In those moments when your nerves start working and when you need to think fast and make good decisions. It definitely helps. Also, we have experience from last year playing in the semifinals, so we already know what it means to go almost until the end of this competition. And I hope, like I said, we are going to be able to find those things that are to our advantage."

 

**You just turned 38 years old. What keeps you going?** 

 

"The love for the sport, honestly. That's the first thing. The second thing is that I still feel physically good. I still feel that I can help my team, not only on the things outside of the court but also on the court, which is important. Health takes a really big impact on the career of every player and of course, also in mine. So as long as I feel healthy, that I feel I have something to give the team, I'm going to keep going and keep playing. I don't have an exact moment or thought about when I am going to stop playing. For me, more or less, the philosophy is that I am still playing, and until then I am going to keep playing."

 

**You've been to the semifinals twice - once with Andorra and once with Gran Canaria. Also, the club has been close to winning the EuroCup several times. What would it mean for you and for the club to go all the way and lift the trophy?** 

 

"Well, I think from the experience of last year with the home-court advantage, I really think that we can give this one more step or one more push to get into the final game and see then what's going to happen. Like I said at the beginning, I think with the way how we finished the regular season, we reached our initial goal. We are past that goal now and now we have to be a little bit hungrier. Where we want to go now is all the way until the end. We earned this possibility but have a little problem because we lost our teammate Chris Kramer, who got injured. It is one less guy in our rotation and he was really important for us, especially on the defensive end. He was one of the guys together with Albicy who set the tone on defense. But like I said before, home is always home and is already better than playing on the road. Let's see if we can get to the championship game."

Gran Canaria's veteran center Oliver Stevic is the perfect person to hear from before his team's eighthfinals game against his former team, Slask Wroclaw. 

Oliver Stevic, Gran Canaria: 'Now, we have to be a little bit hungrier'

oliver-stevic-herbalife-gran-canaria-photo-andorra-martin-imatge-ec20.jpg

Virtus Segafredo Bologna takes on Lietkabelis Panevezys for a spot in the quarterfinals. Virtus, which placed fourth in Group B with an 11-7 record, has the home-court advantage against Group A’s fifth-place team.

Breakdown: Virtus Segafredo Bologna vs. Lietkabelis Panevezys 

### Three-pointers are key for Lietkabelis 

 Lietkabelis relies on its three-point shots to improve its chances to win this game. It has been very accurate from beyond the arc in wins, burying 101 of 246 three-point shots in those nine games. Lietkabelis set two club records in Round 9 against Boulogne Metropolitans 92 when it made 19 three-pointers on 52.8% shooting. Coach Nenad Canak's team is 7-1 when hitting at least 37.5% of its three-point attempts, only losing on the road against Partizan NIS Belgrade (41.2%). 

 The flip side is that Lietkabelis has made only 30.5% of its three-point shots in games it lost. It has buried just 76 of 249 shots from beyond the arc in those showdowns. Lietkabelis lost all seven games in which it shot below 37.0% from beyond the arc. Vytenis Lipkevicius is 55.9% from the three-point line in wins, while Panagiotis Kalaitzakis (42.9%) and Kristupas Zemaitis (41.7%) have made over 40% in those games. In losses, all three players shoot with much lower percentages - Kalaitzakis 31.0%, Zemaitis 23.7%, Lipkevicius 19.4%. 

Lietkabelis Panevezys Top 19 3-pointers from Lietkabelis Panevezys vs. Levallois Metropolitans, 01/12/2022

Lietkabelis hits 19 threes vs Metropolitans

### Shengelia is the series’ only champion 

Only one player in this series has won the 7DAYS EuroCup title in the past - over a decade ago and with a very small role. Toko Shengelia of Virtus helped Valencia Basket lift the EuroCup in 2010. He dressed for the championship game against ALBA Berlin, but didn't play in his team's 44-67 victory. He only appeared in three games during the 2009-10 campaign, getting season-highs of 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a PIR of 10 in a regular-season game against Le Mans. 

Shengelia was away from the competition for more than 11 full seasons and a lot has changed for him. He went on to play for Pepinster and Charleroi of Belgium, Brooklyn and Chicago of the NBA and Springfield of the G League before he joined Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. Shengelia spent six seasons with Baskonia and was named to the 2017-18 All-EuroLeague First Team. He played his first Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four with CSKA Moscow in 2021; he qualified with Baskonia in 2016 but did not play due to injury. Right at the prime of his career, Shengelia wants to win the EuroCup again, this time with a significant role.

Tornike Shengelia Top Plays of the 2021-22 Regular Season

2021-22 EuroCup Regular Season highlights Toko Shengelia Virtus

### Lietkabelis, a major turnaround 

Few counted on Lietkabelis to play such a brilliant role in the regular season. Coach Canak's team earned every bit of it, winning its first two road games against Slask Wroclaw and Dolomiti Energia Trento and adding six home wins - and another one in Hamburg - to stay in the driver's seat until the end of the regular season. Last season, Lietkabelis did not win on the road and finished the regular season with a 2-8 record. 

Lietkabelis is playing its first EuroCup elimination-round game ever. The club is in its fourth campaign in the competition. Its best effort until now had been in the 2016-17 season, in which Ben Madgen and the Lavrinovic twins, Darjus and Ksistof, helped Lietkebalis reach the Top 16 and finish with a 5-9 record. A year later, in 2017-18, Lietkabelis did not advance past the regular season with a 4-6 record. No matter what happens in Bologna, Lietkabelis will finish the 2021-22 season with a winning record for the first time.

### Experience is on Virtus's side 

If experience matters, then Virtus has an advantage. Added to Shengelia's achievement, Milos Teodosic and Daniel Hackett were EuroLeague champions with CSKA in 2016 and 2019, respectively. Teodosic was named the EuroLeague MVP in 2009-10 and received back-to-back EuroCup Regular Season MVPs in the previous two seasons. Teodosic and Isaia Cordinier have earned All-EuroCup First Team honors, Kyle Weems went all the way to the 2015 EuroCup Finals with Strasbourg and Marco Belinelli played in the 2004 EuroLeague championship game with Fortitudo Bologna.

Breakdown: Virtus Segafredo Bologna vs. Lietkabelis Panevezys

Virtus Segafredo Bologna v Lietkabelis Panevezys (2022-04-20T18:45:00.000Z)

### Oscar Quintana, MoraBanc Andorra head coach

"It's a complicated game that comes in difficult circumstances for any professional, but a EuroCup game is always good even if you have part of your mind put elsewhere by everything that is happening to us."

### Guillem Colom, MoraBanc Andorra forward 

"We have a EuroCup match and we have to respect the competition, the team and the country. It will be important for us to try to change the mentality of the team."

### Aleksandar Dzikic, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica head coach:

“They play very fast basketball, always trying to score before the defense is set. The guards will use every opportunity to push, the bigs are very mobile, good runners and they have shooters to open up the lane for drives or rim runs. Their set offense is based on the pick-and-roll qualities of their guards, they have some good shooters too. On top of everything, they’re an aggressive rebounding team. They have energy and size, and controlling the pace of the game and rebounding are things we have to do in order to control the result.”

### Danilo Nikolic, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica center:

“After the game with Zvezda, in which we were without a few players, we will have an elimination match on the road in Andorra. The decisive matches are coming to us, the most important in the season and I believe that we are waiting for them in a good mood. Andorra is a typical representative of Spanish basketball, with very mobile tall players and quality scorers in guard positions. It is up to us to play like the previous matches, to be aggressive, to play good defense and to focus all 40 minutes. This season, we have shown in several away games that we can play well, even though we do not have the advantage of the home team. If we approach the match as in the previous five matches, I believe that we will return to Podgorica with a victory.”

Pre-game quotes: Andorra vs. Buducnost 

MoraBanc Andorra v Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (2022-04-19T18:45:00.000Z)

Aleksandar Dzikic - Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (photo Matteo Marchi - Virtus) - EC21