The second half of the BKT EuroCup Regular Season gets underway this week with Round 10 offering 10 games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Here's your guide to the action.
This week: The regular season's second leg begins
Eurocup News
7 Minute de lecture
Tuesday, December 5
Turk Telekom Ankara vs. U-BT Cluj-Napoca
After sinking to the foot of the Group A standings, Turk Telekom (1-8) will aim to snap a seven-game losing streak with a visit from high-flying Cluj (7-2). Cluj is coming off a remarkable 120-111 overtime victory over Lietkabelis featuring 20 points on 6-of-8 three-point shooting from Jarrell Eddie, who has now made multiple triples on seven occasions this season and ranks third in the league in three-pointers made (2.8 per game) - just ahead of teammate DJ Seeley (2.7). In contrast, Turk Telekom will base its approach on the inside power of Steven Enoch, who has remarkably recorded five consecutive double-doubles.
Veolia Towers Hamburg vs. Prometey Slobozhanske
Lowly Hamburg (1-8) is looking to boost its faint playoffs ambitions against a Prometey team (4-5) currently placed just outside the all-important top six. Prometey won the season-opening meeting between the teams by a blowout 97-77, emphasizing its inside dominance through 11 points and 4 rebounds from Yvacheslav Bobrov, both personal season highs. Hamburg will try to compete through the outside shooting prowess of Aljami Durham, who made 3 triples without a miss in that previous meeting between the teams and has converted 52.6% of his long-range attempts this season.
Slask Wroclaw vs. Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse
After grabbing its first EuroCup road win in 16 years, Slask (1-8) will look to build further momentum at home against a Bourg team (7-2) which enjoyed a great first half of the regular season. Jakub Niziol's 25 points were instrumental in Slask's victory over Turk Telekom last week, and the forward has now reached double figures in four consecutive games. He will try to overcome another in-form player, Zaccharie Risacher, who scored 17 points in Bourg's impressive victory at Ulm in Round 9 and has an impressive 62.1% three-point conversion rate so far this season.
Umana Reyer Venice vs. London Lions
Red-hot London (7-2) will look for a fifth straight win as it travels to Reyer (4-5), which has won three of its last four. The Italian team's latest triumph was a comfortable home win over Hamburg on the back of 22 points and 9 assists from Marco Spissu, who has recorded a PIR of at least 18 in five consecutive games. London's offense will take some stopping after blasting 101 points last week at Wolves, where 5 triples from Conor Morgan helped him take the weekly MVP award. London boasts the competition's third-most potent offense (93.2 points per game) but was held to a season-low in the first meeting between the teams, won by the English club 76-69.
Wednesday, December 6
7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys vs. Buducnost VOLI Podgorica
After losing out in last week's thriller against Cluj in overtime, Lietkabelis (4-5) returns home with the aim of overcoming a Buducnost team (3-6) that needs to bounce back from a 27-point thrashing in Gran Canaria. It's a key battle between direct rivals on the fringes of the playoffs places, and Lietkabelis needs a 12-point winning margin to claim the head-to-head advantage after Buducnost enjoyed a 76-65 opening night win. Mckinley Wright orchestrated that victory with 13 points and 5 assists, and this week Buducnost will have to find a way of stopping Gediminas Orelik, who averages 18.6 points after scoring in double digits every game so far this season.
Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul vs. Joventut Badalona
A big battle in the playoff race will see Besiktas (6-3) host Joventut (4-5) after contrasting emotions for the two teams last week. Joventut ended a three-game losing streak by overcoming Prometey on the back of perfect 4-of-4 three-point shooting from Pau Ribas, while Besiktas fell to Hapoel despite 16 points and 9 assists from Derek Needham and has now lost two of its last three. The Turkish team restricts its opponents to a league-low 15 assists per game and will look for that kind of stingy defense to repeat its opening day 62-63 in Badalona.
Wolves Vilnius vs. Paris Basketball
Group A leader Paris (8-1) will aim to retain that position and damage the playoffs ambitions of host Wolves (4-5) - one of four teams currently tied for fifth place - in Vilnius. Paris won by a blowout 105-78 when the teams met in October so Wolves will be well aware of the threat posed by Paris backcourt leader TJ Shorts, who combined 20 points with 9 assists on that occasion. The home team will look for physical dominance from Christian Mekowulu, who delivered his best-scoring night of the season with 17 points in last week's defeat against London.
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana vs Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv
Cedevita's (0-9) quest for a first win continues with a visit from Hapoel (6-2), which is looking to protect its position in the playoff places. Hapoel is looking for a third straight win after last week overcoming Besiktas thanks to another strong performance from J'Covan Brown, who has averaged 17 points and 7.7 assists in the last three games and will be relishing the opportunity to go up against the second-weakest defense in the competition, with Cedevita allowing an average of 90.2 points per game. The Slovenian team does have plenty of firepower, with fit-again Justin Cobbs registering 19 and 21 points in his two games since returning from injury.
Dolomiti Energia Trento vs. ratiopharm Ulm
Trento (4-5) will aim to keep its position in the all-important top six by downing Ulm (6-3), which is looking to bounce back into winning ways. Quinn Ellis's game-winning heroics last week against Aris again showed that he is a rising force, with the young Englishman averaging 9.8 points along with a team-high 4.3 assists. But the visitors also have plenty of emerging talent, with star guard Juan Nunez reaching a PIR of at least 15 in each of the last five games. Ulm committed 16 turnovers in last week's home loss to Bourg, so will look for better ball control as it seeks to complete a season sweep over Trento.
Dreamland Gran Canaria vs. Aris Midea Thessaloniki
Gran Canaria (9-0) will look to protect its status as the competition's only unbeaten team with a visit from Aris (3-6), which needs a shock road win to push back toward the playoffs places. Gran Canaria has the competition's best two-point shooting conversion rate, 61.5%, with forward Miquel Salvo particularly strong in the paint making 71.4% of attempts inside the arc in his average of 8.6 points per game. Aris has lost its last three games but still boasts the EuroCup's meanest defense, allowing an average of just 73.2 points. The visiting team will also hope Ronnie Harrell can maintain his hot hand after netting a personal-best 24 points in last week's last-second loss at Trento.