Buducnost has played stellar defense so far, allowing just 70.5 points per game, which are the second-fewest in the competition and the lowest mark in the group.

Keys to victory: Buducnost vs. Gran Canaria

It also holds opponents to a EuroCup-low 25.3% three-point shooting. Holding opponents to such numbers is a great recipe for success and the team should look to focus on its aggressive defense as it aims for another victory.

Marquee matchup: Buducnost’s Cobbs vs. Gran Canaria’s Slaughter

He ranks fifth in scoring (18.8 ppg.), is tied for fourth in steals (2.0 spg.), and ranks second in average PIR (24.2). In his last two home games, Cobbs has averaged 28.0 points and 6.5 assists. The veteran playmaker has taken the reigns as the leader of his team and in this game, he will go against another veteran playmaker in A.J. Slaughter of Gran Canaria, who has been thrust into the starting role the last two games. He is averaging 15.5 points, 5.5 assists and 4.0 three-point shots made in those two games, spending more than 35 minutes on the floor. It should be a fun matchup in the Montenegrin capital.

AJ Slaughter - Gran Canaria (photo Gran Canaria) - EC21

In a battle between two teams from the upper echelon of the Group B standings, first placed Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (5-1) hosts Gran Canaria (4-2) at Moraca in the Montenegrin capital.

Buducnost, Gran Canaria look to extend runs

Buducnost has won its last two games by a combined margin of 60 points and is coming off a resounding 60-89 road win at Promitheas Patras. Led by Justin Cobbs (18.8 ppg., 4.8 apg.) and D.J. Seeley (13.5 ppg.) who netted 29 points last week, the team looks for a win that will keep its perfect home record intact and keep it alone atop of the group. Gran Canaria saw its four-game winning streak snapped last week with a home loss against ratiopharm Ulm. It was the team's second home loss, while it is perfect 3-0 on the road this season. Dylan Ennis (16.5 ppg.) and A.J. Slaughter (11.8 ppg.) are the team's top two scorers and will be poised to lead Gran Canaria to another road success.

Justin Cobbs - Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (photo Patras) - EC21

After opening the season with back-to-back losses, ratiopharm Ulm has now won four of its last five games. It registered its second home win on Tuesday night, a comfortable 96-86 triumph over visiting Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse.

Sharing the ball was key for Ulm

There was a lot to like for Ulm coach Jaka Lakovic about his team's performance in the victory. Ulm led by double-digits for the majority of the game and its defense held Bourg to a respectable 36 points in the first half. Ulm outrebounded the visitors 18-10 on the offensive glass and hit a season-high 15 three-point shots on 33 attempts (45.5%).

The key, however, was Ulm's ball movement and a season-high 25 assists, with 22 of those coming in the first three quarters when Ulm built an insurmountable 19-point margin.

"We found good solutions on offense with fast and effective ball movement", Lakovic pointed out after the win, not missing an opportunity to praise his players. "We have guys who are willing to work and I think we are playing much more as a team than we were three games ago. I think players are also aware of this and aware of what they can do if they move the ball better."

They certainly moved the ball and created many open looks, and especially successful at hitting those was swingman Sindarius Thornwell who knocked down 6 of 9 three-point shots and led Ulm in scoring with 23 points. Thornwell shined in his debut last week when he netted 17 points in a win at Gran Canaria, but he was even more effective on Tuesday night.

"You can just tell we are moving the ball because every game someone else is having a good game", Thornwell said, and explained how that affects him and his teammates. "Nobody is hunting shots, everybody is in the right places and letting the game just come to them and not forcing anything. When you got it like that, there is no pressure on your shot because you know you did the right thing."

With the addition of Thornwell and the inside presence of Cristiano Felicio who made a big difference in this game with his double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, Ulm feels good about the way it is currently playing, sharing - and winning.

Or as Thomas Klepeisz, who finished with 13 points and 6 assists nicely said: "It has been a lot of fun how we perform as a team lately."

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

ratiopharm Ulm v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2021-12-14T18:30:00.000Z)

There were several ways in which Turk Telekom Ankara's visit to Trento could have gone off the rails on Tuesday.

Inspired trio boosted Turk Telekom in Trento

First of all, the visitors arrived to face Dolomiti Energia Trento without Octavious Ellis, their leading rebounder and shot-blocker, as well as Alex Perez, their leading assist-maker, and key reserve Tyler Ennis. Among them, that trio had accounted for a combined 22.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 10.0 assists in the three games they played together, of which Turk Telekom won two.

As if that weren't enough, Turk Telekom announced hours before the game that it had hired a new head coach, former German national team boss Henrik Rodl. But with the team in Italy already, his debut was postponed until the team returns to Ankara. So against Trento, assistant coach Candost Volkan headed the bench for the second consecutive game, following the team's 23-point loss at MoraBanc Andorra the previous week.

"Henrik Rodl, the new coach, will be in charge from the next game, so I will just do my duty today to get the team the win we need in our EuroCup group," Volkan said before tipoff.

Said, and done.

Turk Telekom never trailed on its way to a 70-76 victory because Volkan found inspired helpers on his bench from the beginning.

Erdi Gulaslan, a 27-year-old forward who had played only in the Andorra game since having debuted in the EuroCup back in the 2015-16 season, was the catalyst early, with 6 points in a 2-10 run that gave the visitors their first big lead, 6-14.

Dorukhan Engindeniz, a 29-year-old guard new to the EuroCup this season, hit important triples after that to stave off two Trento comeback attempts.

And Can Ogut, another 29-year-old in his first EuroCup season, filled plenty of gaps for Turk Telekom with a season-high 10 points and 6 assists.

None of it was easy, but when Turk Telekom found itself clinging to a lead of 64-66 with under 2:30 to play, Engindeniz expertly drew a foul on a three-point attempt and made all 3 free throws to stave off Trento's last comeback try.

The trio of Engindeniz, Gulaslan and Ogut accounted for 9 of the team's last 12 points. The result was Turk Telekom's first road victory of the season, a winning record of 4-3, and a jump from seventh to fifth place in the Group A standings.

All of that happened not only without a trio of key contributors left back in Ankara, but with the team's top scorer, Aaron Harrison, held to a season-low 4 points. Aubrey Dawkins, with 15 points, and JaJuan Johnson, with 12, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks, were essential to the outcome. But without Engindeniz, Gulaslan and Ogut combining for 29 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists, Turk Telekom might have been in real trouble.

"We were missing three main players of our rotation -- Tyler Ennis, Alex Perez and Octavious Ellis -- and we came off a very bad defeat in our local league," Volkan pointed out after the game. "Three days later, the team responded really well. They fought well on the court and we allowed just 70 points, in such a EuroCup game. So, I just want to thank all the players for their efforts and we'll keep playing hard for the next game."

And, he might have added, for the next coach, who will find more depth to work with from unsung players who aced their long-awaited opportunities in Trento.

Dolomiti Energia Trento v Turk Telekom Ankara (2021-12-14T19:00:00.000Z)

Joventut Badalona bounced back in fine fashion in rolling past Boulogne Metropolitans 92 with an 86-63 victory at home in Group A. Joventut took control of the game with an 18-3 run spanning the second and third quarters in improving its record to 5-2. 

Joventut rolls past Metropolitans, 86-63

Pau Ribas paced four Joventut scorers in double figures with 17 points, while Vladimir Brodziansky scored 13 points, Brandon Paul had 11, Joel Parra chipped in 10 and Ante Tomic tallied 8 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in fewer than 18 minutes. Vince Hunter was Metropolitans’ leading scorer with 19 points, Will Cummings added 17 points and Miralem Halilovic scored 10. But that was not enough as the French side dropped its second straight game to fall to 3-4. 

Halilovic hit a layup to start the game for the visitors and then the Cummings show started. He scored his first 4 points while Tomic scored 6 and Joventut was up 8-6. Ribas drained 2 three-pointers to give the hosts a 16-12 lead. Cummings answered with a three-point play to give him 11 points and 4 straight points from Hunter knotted the game at 19-19. Joventut finished the quarter strong though with Brodziansky scoring twice for a 25-20 advantage after 10 minutes.

Paul drained a three-pointer to start the second quarter for Joventut and Brodziansky’s hook shot pushed the advantage to double figures for the first time at 32-22. After Andres Feliz extended the gap to 12, Hunter responded with 4 straight points at the other end. But the Joventut express continued with a Ribas three-pointer and 4 Parra points in a 13-3 finish to the first half and a 49-31 cushion at the break. 

Paul started the second half with a triple and the lead grew to 54-31. Metropolitans began to finally score a bit more consistently with Keith Hornsby and Hunter combining for 10 points to pull within 60-45. But Joventut was still able to score and Brodziansky had 4 points as the lead reached 68-49 after 30 minutes.

Metropolitans tried to work hard on defense to start the fourth quarter with Halilovic slightly cutting the gap to 72-55. Joventut just kept rolling though, thanks also to three-pointers from Brodziansky, Pep Busquets and Derek Willis as the lead got to 83-57 with under 4 minutes to play. And the visitors did not get closer than 23 points the rest of the way. 

Joventut Badalona v Boulogne Metropolitans 92 (2021-12-14T20:00:00.000Z)

Vladimir Brodziansky - Joventut Badalona - (photo David Grau - Joventut) EC21

Joventut pulling away in the second quarter gave the home side the advantage of limiting its players’ minutes. Carles Duran only had three players stay on the court longer than 20 minutes. 

Ribas uses his minutes wisely

One of those who did not play 20 minutes was Pau Ribas as the veteran collected 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting in 19:05 minutes. He also grabbed 2 rebounds and dished out 6 assists for an index rating of 21. The 17 points was a season-high for Ribas and his 6 assists ranked second for the season. 

Pau Ribas - Joventut Badalona - (photo David Grau - Joventut) EC21

Boulogne Metropolitans 92 got down by double figures already in the second quarter and the team just could not come back because it was lacking one of the top weapons - the three-pointers. 

No outside shooting for Metropolitans

Coach Vincent Collet’s team connected on just 2 of 16 shots from long range (12.5%). Vince Hunter made his only attempt - one round after he made his first three-pointer of the season. Keith Hornsby meanwhile had been heating up, hitting at least 2 three-pointers in the last three games, but he made just 1 of -5 from long range against Joventut.

Lahaou Konate - Boulogne Metropolitans 92 - (photo David Grau - Joventut) EC21

Morabanc Andorra claimed a hard-fought win over Lietkabelis Panevezys 81-76 at Poliesportiu D’Andorra on Tuesday night. The hosts, who remained unbeaten at home and improved to 5-2 overall had 6 three-point plays in the second quarter to build a 53-40 at halftime and entered the last period leading 72-57. The visitors didn’t surrender and got within a single possession, 77-74, but free throws by Codi Miller-McIntyre and Clevin Hannah in the last minute saved the day for the home team. 

Andorra survives late Lietkabelis push, 81-76

Drew Crawford was Andorra’s top scorer with 14 points, while Hannah netted 12 and Miller-McIntyre posted 11 points and 6 assists. Gediminas Orelik scored 23 points and grabbed 7 rebounds for a PIR of 29, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis contributed 13 points and Djordje Gagic added 11 for Lietkabelis, which dropped to 3-4. 

The visitors had a better entrance to the game and took an early 3-8 edge on a three-pointer by Orelik. Crawford answered from the same distance before Miller-McIntyre finished a fastbreak with a nice floater to tie it at 8-8. Free throws by Hannah granted Andorra its first lead, 11-10, but it didn’t last for long. Even though offensive rebounding provided Lietkabelis second-chance points to get back in front, 11-15, a 12-0 run led by Babatunde Olumuyiwa and Amine Noua helped the hosts dominate 25-19 after 10 minutes.

Gabrielius Maldunas opened fire in the second quarter to bring the visitors within a single possession, but Andorra found timely long-range answers from Gal Mekel and Noua to stay calm, 31-23. Nikola Radicevic stepped up to keep the visitors in the game. Then Hannah and Conor Morgan nailed back-to-back triples and Oriol Pauli contributed a basket-plus-foul to make it 48-36. Another bomb by Crawford extended the lead to 15, which Lietkabelis managed to reduce to 53-40 at halftime. 

Kalaitzakis fueled the visitors with 4 quick points after the break. Gagic followed with a fastbreak dunk and Orelik hit from downtown to reduce the gap to 57-49. Crawford came to the rescue and strung together a couple of three-point plays in an 8-0 run, which helped Andorra recover a safe margin, 65-49, midway through the third quarter. Although the visitors continued fighting, each comeback attempt was rapidly suffocated by the hosts. Back-to-back threes by Morgan closed the third quarter with Andorra comfortably in control, 72-57.

Gagic went to work inside and Kalaitzakis added a free throw to allow Lietkabelis to keep breathing, 74-62, with 6 minutes to go. Coach Ibon Navarro tried to revive his team with a timeout, but Andorra seemed to have lost its offensive momentum completely. A 6-minute span without scoring opened the door for the visitors to get within 6 after a 0-11 run. Miller-McIntyre and Hannah ended the drought from the line and Andorra led 77-68 entering crunch time. The visitors had not said their last word, though, as 3 steals in a row by Lietkabelis put the game on the line, 77-74, with 14 seconds to go. The comeback attempt finished when Miller-McIntyre poured in 2 free throws as Orelik's answer came too late for the visitors. 

MoraBanc Andorra v Lietkabelis Panevezys (2021-12-14T19:00:00.000Z)

Clevin Hannah - MoraBanc Andorra (photo Martin Imatge - Andorra) - EC21