On Friday night, EuroCup teams are competing for Cup trophies in Turkey, Spain, Poland, France, Slovenia and Montenegro.
Domestic Cups: Cedevita, Buducnost lift trophies, Besiktas ends 13-year wait
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Montenegro: Buducnost secures 17th Cup trophy
McKinley Wright scored 34 points to lead Buducnost VOLI Podgorica to a dramatic 105-104 win over a city rival Studentski Centar in the final of the Montenegrin Cup that took place in Bijelo Polje. This is 17th Cup title for Buducnost, which avenged its 1-point loss against the same rival last season.
In a high-scoring affair, teams traded leads for four quarters. Buducnost went in front 98-92, but the score was tied at 101-101 with 70 seconds left. In the remaining time, Kenan Kamenjas delivered a key block on the defensive end for Buducnost, while Wright made free throws that secured the team another trophy.
Wright made 10 of 12 two-point shots, and also dished 5 assists. Fletcher Magee netted 21 points on 5 of 9 three-point shooting, Kamenjas collected 19 points and 9 rebounds, and Aleksa Ilic scored 13 in a win. Bernard Neal netted 30 in a losing effort.
Spain: Gran Canaria sinks Valencia
In the all-EuroCup quarterfinal in the Spanish Cup, tournament host Dreamland Gran Canaria downed Valencia Basket 79-65 to reach the semifinals where it will play against Real Madrid. Mike Tobey scored 19 on 9 of 9 two-point shooting with 7 rebounds, Joe Thomasson scored 14 points, while Andrew Albicy had 11 points and 7 assists. Jean Montero scored 15 for Valencia.
Gran Canaria had a fast start, with Andrew Albicy scoring 9 points to open a 19-10 first-quarter lead. Valencia stepped up defensively, and used a three-pointer from Josep Puerto to close within 27-25, but Gran Canaria scored the next 6 points before opening an 11-point lead in the final minute of the second quarter after a three from Joe Thomasson. Valencia cut within 45-40 midway through the third quarter, but Mike Tobey and Pierre Pelos combined to score the first 9 points in an 12-1 run that extended the lead to 57-41. Valencia tried to get its offense going, but Thomasson’s triple with 5:53 minutes left made it 72-55, and Gran Canaria was on its way to victory.
Slovenia: Cedevita wins fourth straight
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana has won its fourth consecutive Slovenian Cup trophy after blowing past Krka Novo Mesto 102-71 on Friday night in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Gregor Glas led Cedevita with 21 points. DeVante Jones scored 17, Aleksej Nikolic had 15 and Jaka Blazic 14 points in a win.
Krka was ahead 23-25 after 10 minutes, but it was all Cedevita after that. Glas and Blazic had 13 points each at halftime as Cedevita held 53-42 lead, only for the margin to keep growing after the break. Lead was at 80-58 after 30 minutes, and as big as 33 points in the fourth as Cedevita cruised to another domestic trophy.
Turkiye: Besiktas ends long wait
Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul is the first finalist of the 2025 Turkish Cup after beating Mersin 83-63 on Friday night in Sanliurfa. It is the first time Besiktas is back to the Cup finals since 2012, which is the only time in club history it won this trophy. In Sunday’s final, Besiktas will face Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul.
In the semis against Mersin, Besiktas used a 15-2 run to open a 21-8 lead in the first quarter, which turned out to be the lead it never relinquished. Mersin did half the deficit in the second, and got within 3 points in the third quarter, but Besiktas put together a 0-14 fourth-quarter run, which included a four-point play from Dustin Sleva, to pull away to 76-57 and secure a victory.
Jonah Mathews paced Besiktas, the BKT EuroCup quarterfinalist, with 18 points. Dustin Sleva collected 15 and 6 rebounds, Berk Ugurlu had 11 points, and Kyle Allman scored 10 in a win.
France: Bourg out of Leaders Cup
AS Monaco beat Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse 101-88 to book a place in the Leaders Cup semifinals. Mike James finished with 31 points, and Elie Okobo scored 18 in Monaco’s win. Joel Ayayi had 15 for Bourg, while Maksim Salash, Hugo Benitez and Jean-Marc Pensa scored 11 apiece in a loss.
James scored 16 points in the first two quarters, including 10 consecutive that helped Monaco turn a 19-28 deficit into a 35-30 lead. But Ayayi strung together 6 unanswered points for Bourg, starting a late second-quarter run that put Bourg up 46-51 at halftime. The teams kept trading blows throughout the second half before Strazel first set-up Petr Cornelie for an alley-oop dunk three-point play, then Strazel nailed a three-pointer to help open an 85-79 lead with 5 minutes to go. Okobo’s 5 points, including a three-pointer, and a James-to-Cornelie alley-oop opened a double-digit lead, 93-81, as Monaco booked its place in the semifinals.
Poland: Trefl out in quarterfinals
Trefl Sopot was ousted in the quarterfinals by King Szczecin, 77-97, ending Trefl’s bid to win Polish Cup crown for the second time in three years. In this clash, Trefl was down by double digits already in the first quarter, and the deficit was as big as 21 points midway through the second, and 30-52 at halftime, as Szczecin was well on its way to the semifinals. Isaiah Whitehead led the winners with 21 points, and James Woodard scored 17. Meanwhile, Jakub Schenk had 14 points and 7 assists for Trefl, and Geoffrey Groselle also scored 14 in a loss.