Heart, next-man-up character kept Cluj alive in race for top-two

Patrick Richard was among the stars as Cluj erased an 18-point deficit to win in overtime in Ulm.

U-BT Cluj-Napoca displayed the heart of a contender as well as its next-man-up character in rallying from 18 points down to grab another come-from-behind road victory and stay alive in the race for the top two in Group B.

Cluj trailed 62-44 in the third quarter and the team was without leading scorer DJ Seeley, but captain Patrick Richard helped carry the team to an 81-85 win at ratiopharm Ulm.

“It’s next man up. It’s been like that all season. [Seeley] told me in the locker room [at halftime]: Go get them,” said Richard about talking to Seeley, who had been ejected late in the first half for stepping on Ulm’s Thomas Klepeisz.

“It’s all about heart. We’ve been playing with heart all season and we are a team that will never give up. It’s next man up. We’ve got some dogs in that locker room. We play for each other and it’s fun.”

Richard, who turns 34 on January 25, showed his leadership in the absence of Seeley, who led the team in scoring with 13.9 points followed by 11.7 from Andrija Stipanovic and Richard with 11.1 points per game.

After picking up 7 points in the first 27 minutes of the game, Richard tallied 6 points in the final 3 minutes of the third quarter, including a big three-pointer just before the end of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 11 points.

Richard didn’t slow down in the final 10 minutes, adding 14 more points to set a new career-high with 27 points, including 2 free throws with 16 seconds left to ice the game.

"Our captain stepped up and showed his quality,” Cluj head coach Mahai Silvasan said afterward.

The coach was happy that the team once again showed a never-give-up mentality. Cluj needed that same character two weeks ago when the team trailed 45-31 at Buducnost VOLI Podgorica but won 77-79 in Round 13.

“It was about heart and our character… We were missing our best scorer, it wasn’t our best day shooting, but still, we found resources not to give up. That’s the first thing if you want to turn the game around, not give up. Never give up. And then you can create your chances and maybe luck will come your way.”

The third-biggest comeback to win by a road team this decade allowed Cluj to lock up a top-four finish in Group B and at least a home game in the first round of the playoffs.

But Cluj is also still in the running for a top-two spot in the group, which would send the team directly to the quarterfinals. The team is just one victory behind group leader Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse at 12-3 while Dreamland Gran Canaria lost in Round 15 and has the same 11-4 record as Cluj.

Cluj already lost both games against Bourg this season but travels to Gran Canaria in Round 17 knowing a victory could end up giving the Romanian champs a direct entry into the quarterfinals.

Cluj will need to continue to show its heart and the team displayed quite a bit of it in Ulm in grabbing another comeback victory.