Once a middle school chess talent, the 26-year-old guard lit up the EuroCup’s opening two rounds with a pair of stunning displays
Grandmaster Jordan Ford delivered in crunch time for Trento
Article
3 Mins read
Having outwitted the bulk of his opponents in the ancient game of chess at a very young age, Jordan Ford went on to become just as lethal on the basketball court, serving up scintillating displays in his first two outings for Dolomiti Energia Trento in the BKT EuroCup.
Ford’s explosive debut in the competition, when he dropped 32 points on 14-of-15 shooting from the floor, went unrewarded as Trento suffered an 84-81 loss at 2023 champion Dreamland Gran Canaria in Round 1.
It looked he would be brought crashing down to earth after a subdued first half of Trento’s opening home game against Trefl Sopot, as he was held to just 2 points in the wake of aggressive half-court pressure by his markers, who stifled out the livewire guard.
However, Ford showed the makings of a champion in the second period, rekindling his childhood days when he was already a two-time California State chess champion and ranked in the top 10 nationally for his age group.
Game Videos
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Dolomiti Energia Trento-Dreamland Gran Canaria | Round 10 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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ratiopharm Ulm-Trefl Sopot | Round 10 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Dreamland Gran Canaria-Trefl Sopot | Round 9 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Dolomiti Energia Trento-Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul | Round 9 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Trefl Sopot-Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv | Round 8 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius-Dolomiti Energia Trento | Round 8 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Dolomiti Energia Trento-Joventut Badalona | Round 7 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Trefl Sopot-Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul | Round 7 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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ratiopharm Ulm-Dolomiti Energia Trento | Round 6 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Bahcesehir College Istanbul-Trefl Sopot | Round 6 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:21
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Mawugbe gets block, then alley-oop! Magic Moment
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Dolomiti Energia Trento-Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv | Round 5 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Cale swats Motley! Magic Moment
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Trefl Sopot-Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius | Round 5 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Weathers thanks Groselle with a dunk! Magic Moment
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Buducnost VOLI Podgorica-Trefl Sopot | Round 4 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Bahcesehir College Istanbul-Dolomiti Energia Trento | Round 4 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne-Virtus Segafredo Bologna | RS Round 2 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 03:55
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Dolomiti Energia Trento-Buducnost VOLI Podgorica | Round 3 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 03:50
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Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | RS Round 2 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 01:04
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Isaiah Canaan: 'The fans give me a lot of energy'
- 03:32
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Trefl Sopot-Joventut Badalona | Round 3 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:12
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Bolomboy stops Hall! Motorola Magic Moment
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Cale explodes to the rim in transition! Magic Moment
- 00:09
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Davidovac throws it down! Motorola Magic Moment
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Baldwin finds Hall! Motorola Magic Moment
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Mawugbe dunks with force! Magic Moment
- 00:20
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Phillip with a huge dunk! Magic Moment
- 00:09
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Bolomboy powers it home! Motorola Magic Moment
- 03:38
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Dolomiti Energia Trento-Trefl Sopot | Round 2 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:30
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Magic Moment of the Night: Mawugbe with a monstrous two-handed block!
- 00:10
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Magic Moment: Mawugbe with a fine dunk!
- 00:11
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Magic Moment: Mawugbe with a two-handed dunk!
- 00:10
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Magic Moment: What a pass by Quinn Ellis!
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Trefl Sopot-ratiopharm Ulm | Round 1 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
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Dreamland Gran Canaria-Dolomiti Energia Trento | Round 1 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
- 00:08
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Magic Moment: Bayehe with an impressive alley-oop slam!
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2023-24 EB ANGT Finals Berlin Round 3 Highlights: U18 PFBB INSEP Paris-U18 FC Barcelona
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2023-24 EB ANGT Paris Round 3 Highlights: U18 Panathinaikos Athens-U18 AS Monaco
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2023-24 EB ANGT Dubai Round 3 Highlights: U18 Valencia Basket-U18 Virtus Segafredo Bologna
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2023-24 EB ANGT Belgrade Round 3 Highlights: U18 Hapoel Yeluda Tel Aviv-U18 Partizan Belgrade
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Aris Midea Thessaloniki-Dolomiti Energia Trento | Round 18 Highlights | 2023-24 BKT EuroCup
- 03:44
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Dolomiti Energia Trento-Buducnost VOLI Podgorica | Round 17 Highlights | 2023-24 BKT EuroCup
- 00:09
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Magic Moment: Cooke rockets to thank Hubb
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2023-24 EB ANGT Podgorica Round 3 Highlights: U18 Cedevita Olimpija Lubljana-U18 Umana Reyer Venice
- 03:35
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U-BT Cluj-Napoca-Dolomiti Energia Trento | Round 16 Highlights | 2023-24 BKT EuroCup
- 00:13
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Magic Moment: Cooke converts monster alley-oop
- 03:49
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Dolomiti Energia Trento-Slask Wroclaw | Round 15 Highlights | 2023-24 BKT EuroCup
- 00:10
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Magic Moment: Biligha swats Niziol!
- 00:14
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Magic Moment: Baldwin block finished with Stephens jam!
With Trento throwing away a 44-36 halftime lead and trailing 50-61 midway through the third quarter, Ford stepped up to the plate in a manner reminiscent of his more acclaimed lookalike Stephen Curry, draining one audacious three-pointer after another to turn the tide and finish on a game-high 20 points.
Trento prevailed 84-78 and Ford, who joined the Italian team from G League outfit the Stockton Kings, which is an affiliate of the Sacramento Kings, capped his outstanding performance with a crunch defensive play with 14 seconds left on the clock, when he pickpocketed rival Jakub Schenk of the ball.
Four-time NBA champion Curry might be out of Ford’s league, but then again the Golden State Warriors guard is out of everyone’s league when it comes to playing in a backcourt.
Still, there is an uncanny resemblance to Curry in the way Ford sinks step-back three-pointers off the dribble in a defender’s face, which he did with devastating effect against Trefl when the chips were down.
In his post-game comments, the native of Citrus Heights, California, was as humble as ever. “It’s a super important win, it’s our first EuroCup win [of the season] and our first home game,” Ford said in a courtside interview. “It was a dogfight against a really scrappy team. Every good team is going to go on a run so it’s a good one,” he added.
Head coach Paolo Galbiati deservedly singled out Trento’s captain Toto Forray, one of the team’s unsung heroes who left it all out there on the court when Trefl looked the more likely winner.
“It was really tough,” Galbiati said. “We stopped playing together but then Toto stepped up and showed the way to everybody, he played like a real captain. He gave the energy and everybody followed, we were able to come back in like three minutes. I expect many fans to come and watch us because we try to do our best every time.”
With Anthony Lamb delivering early on, Trento also thrived on workmanlike performances from Saliou Niang and Selom Mawuge, while Quinn Ellis chipped in with 13 points – including a crunch late triple – which gave the hosts the lead for good, 75-72.
But it was Ford who stole the show and Trento can now look forward to its Round 3 home game against Buducnost VOLI Podgorica, which should be just as enthralling as the rip-roaring matchup with Trefl.