The Canadian forward netted a season-high 20 points before family to lead Reyer to hard-fought victory
Wiltjer strikes back in Reyer's bounce-back night against Manresa
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Regular Season
Round 8 of 18
Regular Season
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Umana Reyer VeniceURV
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BAXI ManresaMAN
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Overview
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Kyle Wiltjer and Umana Reyer Venice had unfinished business before facing BAXI Manresa in Round 8 of the BKT EuroCup. Their last visit to Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana had ended with the season's heaviest defeat, 93–65, with Wiltjer posting his worst performance: 4 points on 1-of-7 shooting. On Wednesday at Palasport Taliercio, Reyer delivered a completely different performance in front of its fans, securing a hard-fought 97–93 victory to return to winning ways.
Wiltjer was the primary architect of Reyer's turnaround, reacting perfectly to the frustration of his last outing by leading with 17 of his 20 points in a first half to remember. The Canadian forward, whose previous season high had been 15 points in Round 5 against Slask Wroclaw, could celebrate his performance and the victory with his fans — and someone even more special.
"We got the grandparents coming tonight, so they brought some good luck, as this is their first game here," he revealed right after the final whistle. "We're just happy to get the win. The EuroCup is very tough this year, [you can see] a lot of teams at the same record, so we're just happy we got the win."
Although Wiltjer couldn't maintain his production pace after the break, which Reyer reached leading 54–45, he set the foundations for his teammates to finish the job. Denzel Valentine and Leo Candi stood out in the early moments of the fourth quarter with crucial three-pointers that gave the hosts the cushion needed to withstand Manresa's reaction.
The visitors recovered from double-digit deficits entering the final minutes, but ultimately fell short due to poor shooting from beyond the arc in a frenetic game. Jordan Parks's putback off an offensive rebound and 2 free throws from RJ Cole sealed the victory for Reyer, leaving a bittersweet taste for the home team's players and coach.
"Our team won a very difficult game," Umana Reyer head coach Neven Spahija admitted. "They're a good team. They're a very good team. They are so aggressive, they're playing with the pace, so many possessions, and a lot of threes, maybe today, a little bit more than usually.
"But their pressure on the offensive rebound, which is the way to stop us, was impressive. They had 17 offensive rebounds and we still made 97 points. Imagine that we grab what we usually do."
Wiltjer reflected on the performance: "[This win can give us] confidence doing the things we do. We're a fast team, but Manresa tonight had a really crazy pace, running up and down, and we played with them, we've got to improve and trust the coaches and just try to get better every day."
Spahija wasn't entirely satisfied despite the win. "[First of all], when you are winning the game, it's always good. But honestly, I didn't like it, especially the way we played the last 5 minutes. That's not the way we're going to play, but now I will not overreact in the locker room. I'm going to speak with the players after the day off.
"But definitely, if we want to compete at this level, we have to be much more serious, defensively, offensively, to stick with the game plan and many other things," he finished.
The comments make crystal clear that Reyer aims for the maximum, having evened the team's record at 4–4 and dreaming of confirming its qualification for the next round.
