This is what the protagonists of the game had to say after such a close deal down the stretch.

Post-Game Quotes: Ulm 84-68 Virtus


#### Tyron McCoy, Assistant Coach ratiopharm Ulm

“I thought we did a very good job of defending off-ball screens to the point that we actually gave up a lot of offensive rebounds because we were out of position. We wanted to focus on that. And then try to take away some of the post-ups from Weems. The guys played well. The last games, they’ve been playing well offensively and defensively. We struggled sometimes because we got out of whack with our rhythm, we began to force it and slow down the ball and try to go a bit more one-on-one. And then once we said, ‘Okay, hey. You gotta pick it back up. You gotta move the ball and move yourself,’ they found that rhythm.”

By the numbers: Ulm dominates on the glass

The Ulm record is 21 set in February 2014 against FoxTown Cantu. Those offensive boards made the difference in the end as the teams’ shooting numbers were very similar, but Ulm had 6 more field-goal attempts and 5 more free throws tries. That, combined with plenty of points in transition, made the difference for Ulm.

Semaj Christon - ratioharm Ulm (photo Larry Langer - Ulm) - EC21

Turk Telekom Ankara remained undefeated at home in Group A by downing Partizan NIS Belgrade 85-71 in the Turkish capital on Tuesday. Turk Telekom improved to 6-5 in the standings and is 5-0 at home this season. Meanwhile, Partizan dropped to 8-3. Anthony Clemmons led the winners with 20 points and 8 assists. JaJuan Johnson and Jared Terrell each added 15 points for Turk Telekom. 

Turk Telekom locks down Partizan, 85-71

Dallas Moore led Partizan with 15 points. Kevin Punter and Mathias Lessort each added 14 while Zach LeDay and Aleksa Avramovic had 10 apiece for the guests. Clemmons shined early and got help from Johnson to give Turk Telekom a 21-18 edge after 10 minutes. Aubrey Dawkins and Terrell stepped up in the second quarter, joining forces with a red-hot Clemmons to boost the hosts' lead to 43-32 at halftime. Dallas Moore and Punter stepped up for Partizan but Johnson and Clemmons allowed Turk Telekom to extend its margin to 60-46 after 30 minutes. Samet Geyik hit a triple that made it a 19-point game, 65-46, and the hosts never looked back after that.

Punter got Partizan going with a layup off a steal that Alex Perez bettered with a corner triple for a 3-2 Turk Telekom lead. Lessort scored down low and Punter added an off-balance floater to restore a 5-6 Partizan edge. Clemmons struck from downtown and Johnson matched Avramovic's layup with a jumper. Clemmons and Punter traded three-pointers, then Lessort took over with a put-back layup that tied it at 14-14. Geyik downed a jumper and Can Ogut added a three-point play but Lessort and Avramovic kept Partizan within 19-18. Johnson hit a catch-and-shoot jumper that fixed the score at 21-18 after 10 minutes.

Terrell joined the three-point shootout early in the second quarter and added a stop-and-pop jumper that made Partizan call timeout at 26-18. Alen Smailagic and Balsa Koprivica stepped up with back-to-back layups. Johnson hit a jumper and Dawkins followed a three-pointer with an off-balance layup that made it a double-digit game, 33-22. Lessort answered with a dunk-and-one that Yam Madar followed with a jumper to bring Partizan within 33-27. Terrell scored in penetration, Clemmons sank his third triple and Berk Demir's tip-in gave Turk Telekom a 40-27 margin. Avramovic and LeDay tried to change things for the guests but Clemmons struck again from beyond the arc for a 43-32 Turk Telekom lead at halftime.

Octavius Ellis and Smailagic exchanged layups right after the break, then LeDay dunked to get Partizan within 45-36. Johnson buried a five-meter jumper and Erdi Gulaslan added a fastbreak layup that restored a 49-36 Turk Telekom edge. Punter stepped up with a put-back basket but Clemmons and Johnson boosted their team's margin to 53-38. Moore rescued Partizan with 7 quick points but Perez's electric driving layup kept Turk Telekom way ahead, 55-45. Dawkins nailed a catch-and-shoot triple and Ogut beat the third-quarter buzzer with a driving layup that gave his team a 60-46 margin after 30 minutes.

Johnson hit his trademark mid-range jumper early in the fourth quarter and Geyik struck from downtown to break the game open, 65-46. Punter stepped up with a three-point play that Terrell erased with a bomb from beyond the arc. Punter kept pacing Partizan with a jumper and Moore added a fastbreak layup that made the hosts call timeout at 68-54. LeDay capped a 0-6 run with a layup, as Ellis stepped up with a jump hook. Moore and Clemmons traded triples, then Lessort dunked for a 73-61 score with under 6 minutes left. Ellis followed a layup with a dunk, getting help from Terrell and Clemmons to seal the outcome, 80-64.

Turk Telekom Ankara v Partizan NIS Belgrade (2022-01-25T17:00:00.000Z)

Aubrey Dawkins - Turk Telekom Ankara (photo Turk Telekom) - EC21

Turk Telekom Ankara sent a message that echoed all around the 7DAYS EuroCup by downing mighty Partizan NIS Belgrade 85-71 to remain undefeated at home. Anthony Clemmons was at the center of all the action, stepping up in Aaron Harrison's absence with a career-best performance. 

Clemmons leads Turk Telekom with near-perfect shooting

He finished the game with a EuroCup personal-high 20 points on near-perfect shooting, hitting his only two-point try and 5 of 5 attempts from downtown, missing only a free throw among his 4 attempts from the line. Clemmons also had 8 assists, matching his highest mark in the EuroCup, against Hamburg Towers in Round 9. He added 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 fouls drawn for a personal-best PIR of 32.

Anthony Clemmons - Turk Telekom Ankara (photo Turk Telekom) - EC21

Turk Telekom Ankara downed Partizan NIS Belgrade 85-71 in Round 11 based on its great accuracy from all angles. The Turkish powerhouse hit 22 of 30 two-point shots. That 73.3% two-point shooting is a new club record, improving on the previous one of 70.6% against Bolougne Metropolitans 92 last week. 

Turk Telekom's great shooting night

Turk Telekom sank 11 of 23 three-pointers (47.8%), as well, and dished a season-high 22 assists. On the other hand, Partizan entered the game leading the 2021-22 7DAYS EuroCup in free throw percentage at 82.4%, but only hit 18-of-33 attempts from the foul line, or 54.5%. Partizan was also off-target from two-point (48.7%) and three-point range (29.4%). Turk Telekom shot the ball much better, found open shots – especially in the left corner – and won the game.

Jared Terrell - Turk Telekom Ankara (photo Turk Telekom) - EC21

JaJuan Johnson of Turk Telekom Ankara reached several milestones in his team's 85-71 home victory against Partizan NIS Belgrade. Johnson, age 32 and in his fifth EuroCup season, made it to the Top 25 in the all-time scorers’ list. With his 15 points against Partizan, he totals 932 points and went past two former EuroCup champions, Kelly McCarty (922) and Marko Marinovic (930). 

Turk Telekom's Johnson continues on up the all-time charts

Johnson, who also won the EuroCup title with Darussafaka Istanbul in 2018, is now 11th in rebounds at 421, needing 15 to reach the Top 10. Kostas Kaimakoglou ranks 10th at 435. He is in sixth place in blocks, 79, right behind 2016 EuroCup Finals MVP Stephane Lasme (80).

JaJuan Johnson - Turk Telekom Ankara (photo Turk Telekom) - EC21

Post-Game Quotes: Turk Telekom 85-71 Partizan


#### Henrik Rodl,  Turk Telekom Ankara

 "Congratulations to my players. They fought very, very hard. I thought we were very together and dealt with their pressure really well. We expected a lot of pressure. That really hurt us in the first game and I thought we dealt with that a lot better today. I thought our guys were really together as a group, and I think that is the most important part. We are healthy at the moment and hope it stays that way. That makes a huge difference for our team. It was an important game for us to win; it was a very good win. I think we have a very good chance to go to the next round but there are still many games to be played. You don't win against the first in the group every day, so this is a special day for us. I thought our guys played very hard, and we look forward to playing some more games."


#### Zeljko Obradovic, Partizan NIS Belgrade

 "I want to congratulate Turk Telekom because they played a very good game. They deserved to win. They dominated the game from the first minute until the end of the game. In many moments of the game, we were really slow, without any kind of energy. And this is the main thing: if you want to win the game, you need to play really hard and try to give everything you have inside of yourself."


#### Anthony Clemmons, Turk Telekom Ankara

 "I just try to bring what I can bring to win the game. I think we have been really desperate for a win like this. I am proud of our guys, we all came out ready to play and approached this game. You have to give Partizan credit, they came and put on a fight for 40 minutes. I am just happy for my guys and happy for this win. We needed it. We wanted to protect our home court. My teammates helped me have this performance."

Kevin Punter 2- Partizan NIS Belgrade (photo Turk Telekom) - EC21

Valencia Basket is one of the best rebounding teams in the EuroCup. It has averaged 38.8 boards per game and 12.4 offensive rebounds per game, which are both competition highs.

Keys to victory: Valencia vs. Buducnost

What’s more, Valencia has outrebounded its opponents by 7.6 boards per game. Controlling the paint will not be easy against Buducnost VOLI Podgorica and its frontline led by Willie Reed, Edin Atic and Donatas Tarolis, but if Valencia can maintain its tradition edge on the glass, it would increase the team’s chances of winning again.

Buducnost has delivered the second-fewest assists in the EuroCup this season with just 15.8 per game. The addition of Kendrick Perry will help alleviate some of the pressure on lead guards Justin Cobbs and DJ Seeley, while keeping the same high level of play from both guard spots. A quick integration for Perry and better ball movement to create more assists would aid the team’s chances to snatch a key road win.

Valencia Basket v Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (2022-01-25T19:30:00.000Z)

Nenad Dimitrijevic - Valencia Basket - EC21

It will be a true marquee matchup between two big bodies in the paint when Mike Tobey and Willie Reed square off.

Marquee matchup: Valencia’s Tobey vs. Buducnost’s Reed

Tobey missed the first five games of the season, but has been a force for Valencia Basket since he returned with 12.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He will take on an All-EuroCup performer this week in Willie Reed of Buducnost VOLI Podgorica. Reed has been worth 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds. He is seventh in the competition in rebounding. An interesting wrinkle to this matchup will be Tobey’s three-point shooting; he is 5 for 11 (45.5%) from downtown and Reed may have to stray far from the basket to guard him at times, which could have an important impact.

Willie Reed - Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (photo Jacques Cormareche - Bourg) - EC21