Name: U18 LDLC ASVEL vs U18 Zalgiris Kaunas I Day 1 NextGen Ulm Qualifier Highlights
Channel: Euroleague Basketball

U18 LDLC ASVEL vs U18 Zalgiris Kaunas I Day 1 NextGen Ulm Qualifier Highlights

U18 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne vs U18 Zalgiris Kaunas I Day 1 NextGen Ulm Qualifier Highlights

U18 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v U18 Zalgiris Kaunas (2025-02-07T10:15:00.000Z)

A truly dominant second-half performance by Kendrick Nunn has seen the Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens star earn Round 26 MVP honors with a round-high and career-high 37 PIR.

Round 26 MVP: Kendrick Nunn, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens

A truly dominant second-half performance by [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/) has seen the Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens star earn Round 26 MVP honors with a round-high and career-high 37 PIR.

 

Nunn sat on 6 points at halftime, having scored the final basket of the first half to make it 49-47 against Anadolu Efes Istanbul, then erupted for 30 points after the interval as he finished on 36 – his second-highest tally in 60 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague appearances – in a 104-89 victory. This is just the second time that Nunn has scored 30 points or more in a EuroLeague game, with the other being his 39-point outing in Round 16 earlier this season. He reached 36 points after going 7 for 10 on two-pointers, 5 for 11 on three-pointers and a perfect 7 for 7 from the free-throw line. Nunn also posted 4 rebounds, including 2 on the offensive end, 2 assists, 2 steals and 4 fouls drawn. This is Nunn’s MVP of the Round accolade, as he was the Game 5 MVP during last year’s EuroLeague Playoffs.

 

Finishing just behind Nunn was EA7 Emporio Armani Milan’s [Zach LeDay](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/zach-leday/008987/), who had an equally dominant display in his team’s 87-89 win at Zalgiris Kaunas. LeDay had a 36 PIR having amassed 26 points on 5-of-9 two-pointers, 1-of-2 three-pointers and a perfect 13-of-13 free throws, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 11 fouls drawn. The third-highest PIR in Round 26 belonged to Paris Basketball’s [TJ Shorts](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tj-shorts/012608/), who had a 33 index rating in his team’s 77-83 victory at Virtus Segafredo Bologna. Shorts finished with 16 points on 6-of-7 two-pointers and 4-of-4 free throws, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 9 fouls drawn. FC Barcelona’s [Kevin Punter](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kevin-punter/009862/) had a 31 PIR, the fourth best in this round, in his team’s 88-90 loss to Olympiacos Piraeus. He posted 20 points on 4-of-7 two-pointers, 1-of-3 three-pointers and 9-of-9 free throws, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 7 fouls drawn. Rounding out the list of top performers is Olympiacos’s [Sasha Vezenkov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sasha-vezenkov/003469/) with a 30 PIR, having amassed 24 points on 6-of-8 two-pointers, 3-of-6 three-pointers and 3-of-3 free throws, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 4 fouls drawn and zero turnovers.

 

### Individual highs: Kendrick Nunn, Panathinaikos, 36 points

 

Nunn led all players in Round 26 by scoring 36 points. Vezenkov remains the league’s leading scorer with 20.6 points per game.

 

ALBA Berlin big man [David McCormack](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/david-mccormack/013386/) grabbed 11 rebounds in this round, more than anybody else. Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade’s [Joel Bolomboy](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/joel-bolomboy/009035/) tops the rebounding charts with 8.1 per night.

 

Panathinaikos’s [Kostas Sloukas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kostas-sloukas/001926/) and Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz’s [Trent Forrest](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/trent-forrest/013367/) both dished the most assists in Round 26 with 9. Paris playmaker Shorts is the new leader in assists this season with 7.3 per game, just ahead of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv’s [Tamir Blatt](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tamir-blatt/011193/) with 7.25 per contest.

 

Seven players – Paris duo TJ Shorts and [Mikael Jantunen](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/mikael-jantunen/012613/), FC Bayern Munich pair [Nick Weiler-Babb](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nick-weiler-babb/010391/) and [Johannes Voigtmann](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/johannes-voigtmann/007201/), Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade’s [Sterling Brown](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sterling-brown/012720/), Zalgiris Kaunas’s [Lonnie Walker](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/lonnie-walker-iv/013403/), and Crvena Zvezda’s [Ognjen Dobric](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/ognjen-dobric/004007/) – made a round-high 3 steals. Bayern ball hawk Weiler-Babb averages a league-best 1.7 steals per game.

Olympiacos’s [Moustapha Fall](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/moustapha-fall/008811/), Milan’s [Freddie Gillespie](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/freddie-gillespie/011941/), Bayern’s [Danko Brankovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/danko-brankovic/007639/) all had 3 blocks in this round, the most in Round 26. Real Madrid’s [Walter Tavares](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/), the all-time leader in blocks, and AS Monaco’s [Georgios Papagiannis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/georgios-papagiannis/005844/) are tied for the best average in blocks with 1.42 per night.

The only player to record a double-double in Round 26 was David McCormack (18 points, 11 rebounds).

His career night capped a perfect week for himself and the Greens

U18 FC Barcelona got its Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Ulm campaign off to the best of starts by romping to a dominant 48-101 win against ALBA Berlin in Round 1. 

Sayon Keita did a bit of everything for Barcelona, posting a 24-point, 13-rebound double-double in 21 minutes, as well as 1 assist, 3 steals and 5 blocks. 

Barcelona swats ALBA aside, 48-101

U18 ALBA Berlin vs U18 FC Barcelona I Round 1 NextGen Ulm Qualifier Highlights

U18 ALBA Berlin v U18 FC Barcelona (2025-02-07T14:45:00.000Z)

U18 FC Barcelona improved to a 2-0 record in Group B of the NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournament in Ulm with an impressive 109-61 win over U18 Olympiacos Piraeus, which registered its second defeat in as many games.

Barcelona blows past Olympiacos, 109-61

U18 FC Barcelona improved to a 2-0 record in Group B of the NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournament in Ulm with an impressive 109-61 win over U18 Olympiacos Piraeus, which registered its second defeat in as many games.

Barcelona will later on Saturday face U18 NextGen Team Ulm where winner will win Group B and earn a place in Sunday’s first-place game.

Arturas Butajevas led Barcelona with 16 points and 7 rebunds. Abdrahamane Kone and Sayon Keita scored 14 apiece. Mathieu Grujicic scored 12, Emilis Prekevicius had 11 points, while Lluc Pluvinet and Ma Samba Gueye had 10 points apiece, with Gueye also pulling down 10 rebounds.

Georgios Bourneles had 19 points for Olympiacos, and Theodoros Pavlopoulos had 12 points in a loss.

Game News

Barcelona has won two games by a combined 101-point difference

U18 FC Barcelona v U18 Olympiacos Piraeus (2025-02-08T10:15:00.000Z)

Round 26 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague had something for everyone. Check out round's best plays and see who had the best of them!

Top 10 Plays | RS Round 26 | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

 Round 26 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague had something for everyone. Check out round's best plays and see who had the best of them!

Round 26: Top 10 Plays

U18 NextGen Team Ulm picked up its second win of the NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournament by beating U18 ALBA Berlin 85-64 in the first game of Saturday’s schedule. Win improved NGU to 2-0 in Group B, while ALBA dropped to a 0-2 record.

NextGen Ulm downs ALBA to improve to 2-0

U18 NextGen Team Ulm picked up its second win of the NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournament by beating U18 ALBA Berlin 85-64 in the first game of Saturday’s schedule. Win improved NGU to 2-0 in Group B, while ALBA dropped to a 0-2 record.

Davi Remagen paced the winners with 18 points, Urbonas Ignas scored 12 points, Giannis Odzebe had 11 points, while Maodo Mane collected 10 points and 10 assists. For ALBA, Richard Schmitt scored 12, Siim Suren had 11 and Matheo Hermann 10 points.

NGU led from start to finish and used an 11-0 second-quarter run to pull away to an 38-23 lead, but ALBA rallied back within 6, and was down 49-40 at halftime. After the break, NGU team coached by Dogus Balbay, restored a double-digit lead, which it slowly kept increasing, and cruised to a victory.

U18 Next Gen Team Ulm v U18 ALBA Berlin (2025-02-08T08:00:00.000Z)

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 26th winner in this season's EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge! Alexandros Thomos beat everyone else in Round 26 with his team 'lamiara bc', which had a Fantasy Challenge score of 243.30.

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge Round 26 winner

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 26th winner in this season's [EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/)! Alexandros Thomos beat everyone else in Round 26 with his team 'lamiara bc', which had a Fantasy Challenge score of 243.30.

Alexandros had the following starting lineup: Kendrick Nunn of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens as team captain, then TJ Shorts of Paris Basketball, Nigel Hayes-Davies of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, Sasha Vezenkov of Olympiacos Piraeus and Tyrique Jones of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade. His sixth man was Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet's Filip Petrusev. The rest of the bench consisted of Olympiacos duo Giannoulis Larentzakis and Nigel Williams-Goss, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan's Freddie Gillespie and Panathinaikos's Panagiotis Kalaitzakis. His team's head coach was Panathinaikos play-caller Ergin Ataman.

The prize for finishing first in Round 26 is a free VIP Euroleague TV subscription for the 2025-26 season, so congratulations, Alexandros!

Marko Dukic and his team 'Kughat' remains the leader of the [EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/) overall standings with 4,420.84 points.

Trades are now open for Round 27,  and all fantasy players are allowed unlimited trades.

The first game in Round 27 tips off on Thursday, February 27, as Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade hosts Zalgiris Kaunas at 20:00 CET. That game marks the next round's deadline.

Make new teams now or improve your existing ones and try to become our next round winner!

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge offers weekly prizes to the top team manager. 

Watch LIVE: Day 2 of NextGen EuroLeague in Ulm

You can re-watch Saturday's opening two games, U18 NextGen Team Ulm vs. U18 ALBA Berlin, and U18 FC Barcelona vs. U18 Olympiacos Piraeus.

The third event of the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague 2024-25 season has tipped off this week in Ulm, Germany. Follow the Day 2 action as the continent’s top young talents battle at another in a series of four NextGen EuroLeague Qualifying Tournaments.

Baskonia star Markus Howard scored a total of 14 points across his last four games, but on Friday night he erupted for 17 in a win against Maccabi Tel Aviv to shake off his shaky form.

Markus Howard broke out of his slump to fire Baskonia past Maccabi

The last month has been tough for [Markus Howard](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/markus-howard/011948/).

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans have grown accustomed to seeing the [Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/baskonia-vitoria-gasteiz/bas/) guard put up big numbers on offense, making jaw-dropping three-pointers with relative ease, but that hasn’t been the case of late.

Howard came into [Friday night’s clash against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/baskonia-downs-maccabi-89-82-to-secure-third-straight-home-win/) having scored a total of 14 points across his last four games: 1 point in Round 22, 6 in Round 23, 4 in Round 24, and 3 in Round 25. The last time he netted a double-digit number of points came back on January 2, when he had 10 in a 73-75 loss to Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade before missing Rounds 20 and 21 with an injury.

The first quarter of Baskonia’s game with Maccabi looked like it was going to follow a similar pattern for Howard, who sat on zero points after missing his only three-point attempt in 4:41 minutes on the floor. But, in true Markus Howard fashion, all it took was one shot to fall for his confidence to return.

After [Jake Cohen](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jake-cohen/005145/) opened the second quarter with a triple to give Maccabi a 22-26 lead, following a [John DiBartolomeo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/john-dibartolomeo/007990/) steal on Howard down the other end, the Baskonia marksman quickly made amends by draining an off-balanced three from the EuroLeague logo, leading to a huge roar from the Buesa Arena crowd. The three-point festival continued, with [David DeJulius](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/david-de-julius/profile/013250/) knocking one down for Maccabi and [Nikos Rogkavopoulos](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nikolaos-rogkavopoulos/011085/) replying in kind for Baskonia, as the hosts trailed by one at 28-29.

Then, Howard did what he does best – make the impossible look possible. He converted another off-balanced three to give Baskonia the lead (31-29) before striking from deep again, this time in more conventional fashion, to open a five-point lead for Baskonia (34-29). In the space of two and a half minutes, the 25-year-old moved to 9 points and all seemed well.

As it turned out, those two baskets turned out to be crucial as Baskonia never trailed again in the final 27 minutes of the contest. Howard sat on 15 points on 5 made threes entering crunch time, but he still had the chance to have one more big play.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="eu" dir="ltr">🙌 Gure mutilak 🔵🔴 <a href="https://t.co/0WEclZF0tt">pic.twitter.com/0WEclZF0tt</a></p>&mdash; Baskonia (@Baskonia) <a href="https://twitter.com/Baskonia/status/1887974784547410178?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Maccabi had reduced Baskonia’s 17-point lead (78-61) to just six (85-79) with 2:48 minutes to play, but Howard got the shooter’s roll on a turnaround jumper to restore an eight-point margin (87-79) with 1:06 minutes left and effectively put the eventual 89-82 win on ice.

Baskonia has now won its last three games at Buesa Arena, and the return to form of Howard should make coach Pablo Laso’s side a serious contender to reach the Play-In Showdown once the EuroLeague returns from its hiatus on February 27.

The game was tight, but the American gave his team the boost it needed in the second quarter

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2025-02-07T19:30:00.000Z)

Friday night’s clash between Virtus Bologna and Paris Basketball was something more than a game, it was an on-court reunion between two EuroLeague legends in Dusko Ivanovic and Tiago Splitter.

Tough halftime talk flipped the switch as student and son beat the teacher in Bologna

Friday night’s clash between [Virtus Segafredo Bologna](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/virtus-segafredo-bologna/vir/) and [Paris Basketball](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/paris-basketball/prs/) was something more than a game, it was an on-court reunion between two Turkish Airlines EuroLeague legends in [Dusko Ivanovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/virtus-segafredo-bologna/vir/ivanovic-dusko/?season=E2024) and [Tiago Splitter](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/paris-basketball/prs/splitter-tiago/?season=E2024).

The two men coincided at [Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/baskonia-vitoria-gasteiz/bas/), where Ivanovic helped turn Splitter into one of the most dominant centers in Europe before he went on to become an NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs.

Yet, that was not the only reunion happening at Virtus Segafredo Arena. Just before tipoff, Ivanovic went to the Paris bench to welcome the visiting staff. Among them, a certain Stefan Ivanovic, the son of Dusko, a former teammate of Splitter and current assistant to the Paris boss.

The two of them embraced in a heartfelt moment, but once the game started, none of this mattered.

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Virtus imposed its style of play on the guests, who struggled to connect with the basket on offense. “Their defense was very aggressive,” Splitter admitted in the postgame press conference. “This Dusko type of defense was very aggressive and we were not able to handle that.”

Having kept Paris’s offense below 20 points in each of the first two quarters, Virtus took a 46-35 lead into the second half. The guests regrouped in the locker room, where a spark was needed to turn the tide.

“We had a tough talk at halftime,” [TJ Shorts](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tj-shorts/012608/) told EuroLeague TV. “We said we’ve got to look in a mirror, we’ve got to have some pride about ourselves. These teams in the EuroLeague are here to compete regardless of their record. Every game matters.”

Paris fought back and trimmed the deficit to 64-58 after 30 minutes. Yet, Virtus opened the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run to restore a 72-60 lead with 7:32 remaining. That’s when Paris’s flamboyant guard duo stepped up big time, with [Nadir Hifi](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nadir-hifi/012640/) and Shorts scoring 12 and 6 points, respectively, to turn the game around.

Hifi finished the game with 23 points, going 3 for 4 from inside and 3 for 6 from beyond the arc in another extraordinary display.

“\[Hifi\] is a kid that sees the rim like a pool,” Splitter added. “Everything is an open shot for him. That’s the kind of confidence he has. Sometimes it's just what he does. He goes out there, dribble, dribble, dribble, step-back. It’s hard to even coach that, but you’re just going to give him the freedom to do that and slowly he’s finding his place in the EuroLeague.”

Meanwhile, Shorts pulled off another complete outing with 16 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 9 drawn fouls for a PIR of 33. He went 6 for 8 from the field and 4 for 4 from the line, leading Paris to a morale-boosting victory after losing a couple of days ago to Olympiacos Piraeus at home.

Despite Virtus’s poor record, the game was never supposed to be a walk in the park for Paris. Both Splitter and Stefan were aware that their side would struggle against a tenacious team coached by Ivanovic. Yet, in their first ever matchup as opposing coaches, student and son prevailed against their mentor.

Paris bounced back in the second half to grab a comeback win against Virtus


Virtus Segafredo Bologna v Paris Basketball (2025-02-07T19:30:00.000Z)

Olympiacos BC swingman Evan Fournier spoke to EuroLeague TV after his team's win against FC Barcelona in Round 26 of the 2024-25 EuroLeague season.

Evan Fournier: 'I'm glad I made the shot'

Olympiacos Piraeus swingman Evan Fournier spoke to EuroLeague TV after his team beat FC Barcelona in Round 26 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

FC Barcelona v Olympiacos Piraeus (2025-02-07T19:30:00.000Z)

FC Barcelona-Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 26 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Evan Fournier stepped up late for Olympiacos BC to secure a big win for his team at FC Barcelona – and it's not the first time he has become the hero on the big stage.

Evan Fournier showed big-shot mentality for Olympiacos

[Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/olympiacos-piraeus/oly/) fans already knew their team boasts one of the continent’s most decisive players… and now they have two.

Having won the EuroLeague MVP award in 2022-23, [Sasha Vezenkov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sasha-vezenkov/003469/) is further cementing his top-tier status with a relentlessly consistent series of spectacular performances, week after week after week.

But Vezenkov – although he performed to his usual high standards with a game-high 24 points – was not the man who decided [Friday’s thrilling 88-90 victory over FC Barcelona](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/olympiacos-overcomes-barcelona-in-last-second-thriller-88-90/), which allows the Reds to roar into the midseason break with a two-game lead at the top of the standings.

Instead, it was [Evan Fournier](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/evan-fournier/013380/). With the game tied and 18 seconds on the clock for Olympiacos to win it, the veteran French swingman was entrusted with the responsibility of dribbling on the perimeter before creating space for a shot, which he did by spinning away from [Jabari Parker](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jabari-parker/012745/), driving towards the basket and – just one second before the final buzzer – scooping up a right-handed shot off the backboard and in.

“We wanted to play with the time and go to the basket at the end, not giving time to Barcelona for the last shot,” explained coach Georgios Bartzokas, making it sound almost as simple as Fournier made it look.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">damn <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanFourmizz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EvanFourmizz</a> <a href="https://t.co/YFDRoYOTQE">https://t.co/YFDRoYOTQE</a> <a href="https://t.co/y1CmBwRfwv">pic.twitter.com/y1CmBwRfwv</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1887981693711098191?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Just like that, the game had been won, Fournier was the hero – and it wasn’t really surprising.

Although he is a EuroLeague rookie, the 32-year-old has made a career out of wanting the ball in his hands when it burns the most. The greater the degree of difficulty, the more he wants to make the shot. The latest miss only taking him closer to the next make. The higher the stakes, the greater the desire.

This ability was first seriously showcased this season in Round 8, [when Fournier grabbed the Greek derby by the scruff of its neck](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/clutch-evan-fournier-decided-the-greek-derby-in-style/), draining 8 points in the last 3 minutes to turn an 83-82 deficit into an 89-94 road victory over local rival and reigning champ Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens.

So it was totally understandable that the Reds would opt to put the game in his hands again on Friday night, and equally predictable that Fournier would rise to the occasion by keeping his calm for an ice-cool game winner.

He is now also approaching Vezenkov levels of consistency, averaging 16.8 points per game, netting at least 18 points in six consecutive games and multiple three-pointers in 10 straight.

And now the message has been sent loud and clear to the rest of Europe: if Vezenkov doesn’t get you, Fournier will.

The Reds found a hero in Barcelona on Friday

U18 ratiopharm Ulm remained unbeaten at Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Ulm as it defeated U18 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 96-77 in the final game of Friday night to improve to a 2-0 overall record in Group A. With this defeat, ASVEL dropped to 0-2.

Ulm takes care of business against ASVEL, 96-77

U18 ratiopharm Ulm remained unbeaten at Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Ulm as it defeated U18 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 96-77 in the final game of Friday night to improve to a 2-0 overall record in Group A. With this defeat, ASVEL dropped to 0-2.

Endurance Aiyamenkhue followed on from his impressive opening game by dropping a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double, as well as 1 assist and 3 blocks, for Ulm. Jervis Scheffs also chipped in with 19 points, Niko Jerkic followed with 17, Oliver Kullamaee netted 14, and Milo Murray scored 11.

ASVEL was paced by the game's leading scorer in Adam Atamna's 30-point night and Christopher Goden with 10 points.

It was ASVEL which started the better on the night, ending the first quarter with a slender 23-24 lead before taking a 42-45 advantage into the break. However, Ulm responded after the interval with a 28-point quarter to lead 70-68 heading into the final frame. The hosts' defense then stepped up big time, holding ASVEL to just 9 fourth-quarter points, while on offense they scored 26 to wrap up a 96-77 win.

The German team and Zalgiris are the only teams with a 2-0 record so far

U18 ratiopharm ulm v U18 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (2025-02-07T19:15:00.000Z)

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot spoke to EuroLeague TV after his team beat Maccabi Tel Aviv in Round 26 of the 2024-25 EuroLeague season.

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot: 'We stayed together'

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot spoke to EuroLeague TV after his team beat Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in Round 26 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 26 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Zeljko Obradovic is rarely entirely pleased with his team’s performances as he keeps asking for perfection, but this time he had nothing but praise for his ruthlessly efficient KK Partizan outfit after a comprehensive 69-86 road drubbing of AS Monaco.

Coach Obradovic hailed Partizan’s clinical display in Monaco

Zeljko Obradovic is rarely entirely pleased with his team’s performances as he keeps asking for perfection, in line with his unequivocal record of being the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s most decorated coach.

This time, however, the 64-year-old tactician, who has won nine titles with five different clubs in Europe’s premier club competition, had nothing but praise for his ruthlessly efficient [Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/partizan-mozzart-bet-belgrade/par/) outfit after [a comprehensive 69-86 road drubbing of AS Monaco](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/partizan-beats-monaco-69-86-to-complete-perfect-week/).

Partizan took Monaco to the cleaners thanks to ironclad defense coupled with patient and balanced offense, with six visiting players finishing in double digits as the top performers picked up the baton from each other.

“We talked at halftime that we need to stay aggressive at both ends of the court. I am very happy how we played today,” Obradovic said in his postgame comments. “We prepared the game well against a quality team and after they took 9 offensive rebounds in the first half, we had that under control in the second.

“We were aggressive on defense and smart on offense. Again, a big thanks to our fans, whose support was as special as ever. Every game will be super important until the end of the regular season.”

Partizan, which made a dismal 2-8 start to the regular season, seems to have hit top gear at just the right time as the Serbian outfit improved to 14-12 ahead of the February break, staying firmly in the postsason picture while also boosting its hopes of squeezing into the top six.

Among a pack of performers, center and player of the game [Tyrique Jones](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/tyrique-jones/011981/) stood out with 17 points and 7 boards, putting Monaco to the sword with a strong finish after [Sterling Brown](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sterling-brown/012720/) netted 16 of his game-high 18 points in the first half.

Humble as ever, Jones credited his teammates for a smooth team effort which saw Partizan sink 8 of 16 from downtown and win the battle of the boards 35-32 after trailing 14-20 in that department at halftime.   

“I am proud of everybody who contributed to this one and that’s the whole locker room,” said Jones, who also made a shout-out to Partizan’s traveling faithful. “The black-and-white always travel, we love their support and we’re going to keep fighting.”

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">&#39;AJDEEEEEEE🖤🤍 <a href="https://t.co/qGJRTuAdMm">pic.twitter.com/qGJRTuAdMm</a></p>&mdash; KK Partizan Mozzart Bet (@PartizanBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/PartizanBC/status/1887960847869260039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Brown, for his part, lauded Jones and [Brandon Davies](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/brandon-davies/007870/), who also came up big in the paint at both ends as he racked up 15 points and 5 rebounds.

“It’s a very important win and our bigs really carried us in the second half with their rebounding and strong finishing,” said Partizan’s sharpshooter. “The game plan was to make it difficult for them on the offensive end as well as limit them on defense as they’ve got some great scorers.”  

Monaco was limited to 8 of 28 from long range while its pack leader [Mike James](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mike-james/005985/), who made 3 of 6 from deep for 13 points, went 0 of 7 from inside in the wake of relentless hustle from his markers. Ultimately, Partizan outplayed Monaco all over and will head into the break brimming with confidence after a thoroughly impressive victory.

Known for always demanding more from his team, the veteran tactician heaped praise on his men after a sterling effort

AS Monaco v Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2025-02-07T18:00:00.000Z)

Paris Basketball guard Nadir Hifi spoke to EuroLeague TV after his team beat Virtus Bologna in Round 26 of the 2024-25 EuroLeague season.

Nadir Hifi: 'I'm trying to be one of the best players in Europe'

Paris Basketball guard Nadir Hifi spoke to EuroLeague TV after his team beat Virtus Segafredo Bologna in Round 26 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.