Petar Bozic and his London Lions came out on top against Dusan Alimpijevic and his Beşiktaş Basketbol in Round 16 of the 2023-24 EuroCup season.

Petar Bozic proved his worth in a battle of Serbian coaches

 London Lions head coach Petar Bozic enjoyed arguably his most emphatic win at the helm of the club as [it blew away Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul 93-72](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/news/london-lions-rip-apart-besiktas-basketbol-93-72-to-boost-top-two-hopes/) at home in a rip-roaring BKT EuroCup Group A clash.

The result also means that Bozic completed a regular-season double over his Serbian compatriot Dusan Alimpijevic, as London edged Besiktas 80-83 in November’s reverse fixture in Round 7. The 45-year-old coach, who won eight successive league titles with Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade as a player and coached the club in 2015-2016, is making giant strides at London as the club aims to make a telling impact in the competition.

Alimpijevic was the first to acknowledge Bozic’s effect after the home team dominated in every department. “The London coach and players really deserved this win and congrats to them,” the Besiktas head coach said.

“They prepared well and that fact that they beat us twice this season tells a story. I feel sorry that we didn’t send the right message to the 2,500 Besiktas fans who came here to support us. We will try to make it up to them.”

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WHAT A WIN, WHAT AN ATMOSPHERE 🔥<br><br>We complete our regular season match up with <a href="https://twitter.com/BJK_Basketbol?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BJK_Basketbol</a> with a 2-0 record 😎🤝<br><br>Next up we’re heading to Birmingham for <a href="https://twitter.com/britishbasketm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@britishbasketm</a> Trophy finals 🏆<br><br>🎟 Tickets: <a href="https://t.co/6A1WEheEGY">https://t.co/6A1WEheEGY</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreLondon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreLondon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RoadToGreatness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RoadToGreatness</a> <a href="https://t.co/ECEtzf6DDu">pic.twitter.com/ECEtzf6DDu</a></p>&mdash; London Lions (@LondonLions) <a href="https://twitter.com/LondonLions/status/1750284014248722501?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Some superb dunks by David Nwaba and Josh Sharma had the home fans in full swing, while Matt Morgan poured a game-high 20 points as London took the game by the scruff of the neck at the end of the first quarter and never looked back. Morgan was quick to point out that the Lions beat Besiktas at the visiting team’s own game, with the hosts prevailing in a physical battle.

“We just played with intensity,” he commented. “We know how physical they are, they’re a really good team and we did a good job matching them for 40 minutes. It was a team effort as everybody who came on did their job. I love the physicality, but at the end of the day it’s just basketball. I’ve got some really good friends over there.”

The Lions outlasted Beskitas, 80-83 in the November 2023 showdown with a major role for Matt Morgan as he bagged 17 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. The guests are expected counter him with Jonah Mathews, who led the way with 22 points in a success over Hamburg and should play a big role again.

London Lions-Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul | Round 16 Highlights | 2023-24 BKT EuroCup

### An important win for London

London put behind its patchy home form and improved to 4-4 at Copper Box Arena. Bozic praised the home faithful, who often looked like visitors on their own court in comparison to the fervent 2,500 Besiktas fans, who cheered their team relentlessly. Inadvertently, that might have played into London’s hands as the Lions have a 7-1 record on the road, where they seem more comfortable this season.

“This team has character and gets fired up for away games when the crowd is against them, but our fans were definitely motivated tonight and got behind us,” Bozic stressed.

“It was an extremely important game for both teams. We knew that Besiktas is a very dangerous team which they showed in the third quarter, but we were fortunate to have enough guys in the rotation. I am proud this arena was full again and hopefully we will see more of that in the next few months.”

Both sets of fans generated an electrifying yet amicable atmosphere and Alimpijevic hailed the effort by Besiktas fans, who came from various parts of Britain, Europe and Istanbul itself to support their team.

“Their presence here to generate a full house was good for the EuroCup, good for the club and good for the city \[of London\],” he said. “We let them down, though, and that makes me sad.”

More London Lions News

The London Lions players and coaching staff come together after beating Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul in Round 16 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

The London Lions boss got the better of his Besiktas counterpart Dusan Alimpijevic in no uncertain terms.

London Lions v Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul (2024-01-24T19:30:00.000Z)

The London Lions secured a convincing 93-72 win over Beşiktaş Basketbol in Round 16 of the 2023-24 EuroCup season.

London Lions rip apart Beşiktaş Basketbol, 93-72, to boost top-two hopes

The London Lions (11-5) celebrated an emphatic 93-72 home win over Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul (9-7) and remained on course to clinch a top-two finish in Group A of the BKT EuroCup.

With Paris Basketball (15-1) assured of the top spot in the group, the Lions are tied with Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv (11-5) and ahead of fourth-placed Joventut Badalona (10-6) in a three-way battle to finish second, which earns direct qualification for the quarterfinals.

The outstanding Matt Morgan paced London with a game-high 20 points, while Donte Gratham, David Nwaba and Gabe Olaseni chipped in with 12 each for the home side. Tarik Phillip added 10 points, underlining London’s balanced workload which saw the Lions dish out 23 assists to Besiktas’s 12.

At the other end, Matthew Mitchell led Besiktas with 16 points, Kyle Allman netted 12 while Derek Needham and Angel Delgado scored 10 each.

Game Videos

Besiktas dominated the offensive boards 19-4 but scored preciously few second-chance points, shooting 7-of-31 from downtown and 18-of-43 from two-point territory against a mobile and aggressive London defense.

Roared on by a sizeable contingent of fervent Turkish fans inside Copper Box Arena, the visitors made a bright start and took an early 0-6 lead, having felt almost at home by the support. That was as good as it got for Besiktas, however, as Luke Nelson’s fadeaway jumper at the buzzer gave the home team its first lead, 18-17, at the end of the first quarter.

The Lions found another gear in the second and carved out a 47-33 halftime advantage, having stifled out the visiting team’s offense thanks to relentless work in their own half. Aggressive half-court pressure forced Besiktas to take a barrage of tough shots, while London pierced through at the other end with a quick transition of the ball.

Game News

Besiktas conjured a 1-10 streak early in the third to slash London’s lead to 50-44, but it turned out to be a flash in the pan as the hosts replied with a 9-0 run and stayed firmly in control. Having trailed 68-50 at the end of the third quarter, Besiktas launched another onslaught early in the fourth and closed in to 69-60, but London held firm again.

It was lights out for Besiktas after Morgan made a four-point play, drawing a foul as he sank a deep three-pointer to give the Lions an 89-67 lead in the closing stages and spark celebrations among the outnumbered home faithful. With the visiting fans subdued, much like their team, the Londoners had plenty to cheer about after a majestic display by the Lions in an electrifying atmosphere.

London Lions forward David Nwaba dunks against Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul in Round 16 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

Petar Bozic's side stayed in contention for a bye in the first knockout round of the playoffs with an impressive win.

London Lions rip apart Besiktas, 93-72, to boost top-two hopes

BC Wolves got the Nedas Pacevicius era off to a winning start in the EuroCup, beating Reyer Venezia 57-75.

BC Wolves showed character in first win for new head coach

Wolves Vilnius stepped up at Umana Reyer Venice with its season on the line, as it showed its character [en route to a 57-75 triumph](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/news/bc-wolves-beat-reyer-venezia-57-75-both-teams-eliminated-from-playoff-contention/). However, it wasn’t enough to keep Wolves’ slim playoff hopes alive.

Wolves, now led by head coach Nedas Pacevicius following [the departure of Kestutis Kemzura](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/news/wolves-parts-ways-with-coach-kemzura/), did a good job of shutting down a Reyer team that had won its last two games, scoring 106 and 104 points in those contests. The Lithuanian club conceded only 7 points in the fourth quarter.

Only a victory will be enough as two teams outside the playoff zone clash. Reyer remain in contention after grabbing two consecutive victories from matches with Besiktas and Cedevita, whilst Wolves anticipate that Jeffery Taylor can continue his rise after registering PIRs of 17 and 20 in his last two games.

Umana Reyer Venice-Wolves Vilnius | Round 16 Highlights | 2023-24 BKT EuroCup

### Stats favored Wolves

Reyer also shot just 40.0% on two-pointers and was held to 28.6% on three-pointers while also being outrebounded 50-35. Both teams committed 14 turnovers, but Wolves built a 17-9 advantage in points off turnovers. 

“We showed heart tonight. That was the main thing going in. We haven’t had the best EuroCup season, so our whole thing was playing with intensity and playing with heart,” said Tre’Shawn Thurman, who led Wolves with 14 points.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tre’Shawn did damage on both sides of the court ✌️ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreWolves?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreWolves</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BKTEuroCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BKTEuroCup</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RoadToGreatness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RoadToGreatness</a> <a href="https://t.co/W7ObjqfxIH">pic.twitter.com/W7ObjqfxIH</a></p>&mdash; BC WOLVES (@wolves_bc) <a href="https://twitter.com/wolves_bc/status/1750268666619269532?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### An unbeaten start for Coach Pacevicius

“I am proud of my guys, that they finally showed that they really can play defense first of all,” noted Coach Pacevicius. “We showed our identity. We were trying to build it up. It did not go so well during the season, but there are still so many games left – unfortunately not in the EuroCup.”

It was the first win for Pacevicius after previously acting as assistant coach for Kemzura, who left the club by mutual agreement on Sunday.

Pacevicius stepped in and helped Wolves to an 82-82 tie against Zalgiris Kaunas in the Lithuanian Cup quarterfinals second leg, so it’s not been a bad start.

“It’s a good feeling for me, for sure, with this first victory as head coach at this club,” he noted. “Unfortunately, three days ago we played a tight game against Zalgiris but could not win that game. But I am really happy.”

“Congrats to coach on his first win. Hopefully we can keep that momentum going forward,” added Thurman.

More Wolves News

New Wolves Vilnius head coach Nedas Pacevicius on the sideline during his team's win at Umana Reyer Venice in Round 16 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

Nedas Pacevicius saw his team defeat Reyer thanks to a dominant fourth quarter.

Wolves showed character in first win for new head coach

Umana Reyer Venice v Wolves Vilnius (2024-01-24T19:00:00.000Z)

The 114 points scored by Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana  set a club scoring record, surpassing its tally from last season’s 108- 78 home victory over ratiopharm Ulm. 

Cedevita's dominance inside led to first win of the season

The 114 points scored by the Slovenian side set a club scoring record, surpassing its tally from last season’s 108- 78 home victory over ratiopharm Ulm.

The key to Cedevita’s win was its dominance inside, as Hamburg struggled to protect the paint with its defense looking vulnerable from the start. In the first half, Cedevita converted 17 of its 28 attempts from inside and finished the game with an extraordinary 35-for-49 shooting (71.4%) on two-pointers. Eleven of the 12 players who featured for the guests scored at least one bucket each, with Jaka Blazic going 9-for-11 (81.8%) to lead all scorers with 24 points. In fact, Cedevita bettered all its season averages in free-throws (74.5%), two-pointers (53.6%) and triples (34.0%) by going 26-for-29 (89.7%) from the line, 35-for-49 (71.4%) from inside the arc and 6-for-16 (37.5%) from deep.

Despite having already been eliminated, the Slovenian club received a huge boost in confidence from Wednesday’s victory, as head coach Zoran Martic stressed after the game.

“It was like getting the monkey off our backs because it was really tough for us mentally,” Martic said. “We lost so many tight games. Today we played as a team for pretty much 40 minutes.”

Cedevita had come close to victory on several occasions this season, but they didn’t manage to finish games off and came into Wednesday’s duel holding a 0-15 record.

“Maybe it sounds strange, but it was a really important win for us because of all the frustration we’ve had to go through this season,” Martic said in the post-game press conference. “It was a really huge burden for my players \[not to have won a game\], but today they showed desire to win and had a lot of energy.”

This win may serve as a springboard for Cedevita to end the campaign on a positive note. However, this will be anything but an easy task, as it hosts a strong London Lions side next week, before travelling to France, where it will take on Group A leaders Paris Basketball. Yet, should the Slovenian side manage to post similar figures inside in the last two games, they could definitely pull off an upset or two.

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana secured its first win of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup season in style by thrashing Veolia Towers Hamburg 83-114 on the road.

Veolia Towers Hamburg v Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (2024-01-24T18:30:00.000Z)

BC Wolves beat Reyer Venezia 57-75 in Round 16 of the 2023-24 EuroCup season.

BC Wolves beat Reyer Venezia 57-75, both teams eliminated from playoff contention 

Wolves Vilnius continued their good recent form by knocking off Umana Reyer Venice with a 57-75 road victory, but the win was not enough to stay alive in the race for the BKT EuroCup Playoffs. Wolves started the fourth quarter with a 1-18 run to give themselves a second win in the last three games for a 6-10 record. Wolves did not win by the 30 points it needed and Prometey Slobozhanske also beat Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv, meaning the Lithuanian side was eliminated. Due to the loss to Wolves and Prometey’s win, Reyer has also been eliminated with a 6-10 record.

Tre’Shawn Thurman led the way with 14 points, Christian Mekowulu had 12 points and Garrison Brooks added 11 points. Reyer, which scored just 7 points in the fourth quarter, could not use a 19-point night from Max Heidegger, while Amedeo Tessitori chipped in 13 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals. 

Reyer had a three-point make from Heidegger to go ahead 8-3. Tessitori scored in the paint and the home side was up 12-6. Wolves held Reyer to just 1 free throw for nearly 4 minutes to make it 13-11. And the game was even 15-15 after 10 minutes. 

Neither team scored in the first 2 minutes of the second quarter, but Kristupas Zemaitis gave Wolves the lead, 15-17. Triples from Davide Casarin and Aamir Simms put the hosts back ahead, 23-19. Jeffery Taylor and Mekowulu answered at the other end to combine for 9 points as Wolves went ahead, 25-28. The guests led 31-32 at the intermission.

Wolves held Reyer scoreless for the first 3 minutes of the second half and Mekowulu hit a three-pointer for a 31-37 lead. Reyer finally started scoring and went on a 12-2 surge thanks to 2 Heidegger triples and 4 points from Tessitori for a 43-39 cushion. Wolves would not let Reyer pull away and the hosts were up 50-47 going into the final 10 minutes. 

Wolves tallied the first 8 points of the final frame, with Vitalijus Kozys scoring 6 points, for a 50-55 cushion. Reyer needed more than 2 minutes to score, which came thanks to a Tessitori free throw. But Thurman and Eigirdas Zukauskas both nailed three-pointers and Wolves’ advantage grew to 51-61 with 6 minutes to go. Casarin was ejected with 5 minutes left in the game for a foul on Thurman, who made 2 free throws and Zukauskas’s 2 foul shots made it a 1-18 surge and a 51-65 lead. Reyer did not get closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

Jeffery Taylor of Wolves Vilnius has possession against Umana Reyer Venice in Round 16 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

The visitors dominated the fourth quarter to come away with the win.

Wolves beat Reyer 57-75, both teams eliminated from playoff contention 

Dreamland Gran Canaria shrugged off a poor run of form by comfortably overcoming Slask Wroclaw, 68-92, on Wednesday night, and it was a very impressive all-round team display from the reigning champion. 

Team effort led Gran Canaria to convincing win 

When Jovan Kljajic opened the second half scoring with a three-point strike, it meant that all 12 Gran Canaria players had already got themselves on the scoreboard. And nobody was greedy about it: no Granca player reached double digits until AJ Slaughter netted consecutive close-range scores midway through the third quarter, by which time the lead was already 43-62. 

And that kind of collective approach was reflected in many of the night’s stats. By the end of the game, 11 different Gran Canaria players had scored at least 2 field goals – only Andrew Albicy, who led the team with 5 assists, was held to just one field goal. In total, 10 players dished assists, totaling 29 across the team, 11 grabbed at least 1 rebound, and seven different players claimed steals.

Coach Jaka Lakovic was able to take advantage of the remarkable effectiveness throughout his roster by spreading the playing time extremely evenly across his players, with nobody spending more time on the court than 23:41 (Sylven Landesberg) or less than 12:49 (John Shurna).

That all added up to allow Gran Canaria to put 92 points on the board even though no individual player scored more than 12 (Ben Lammers), sending a strong message to the rest of the BKT EuroCup that this roster runs deeper than perhaps any other.

Lakavic was still not satisfied, though, knowing that his team has a lot more work lying ahead to achieve its aim of defending the crown. “We played a solid game but we made some mistakes that we have to analyze,” he said. "We have to get better and play with more intensity.”

But if his players maintain the same team-first ethic they showed on Wednesday night, the future looks bright.

Slask Wroclaw v Dreamland Gran Canaria (2024-01-24T19:00:00.000Z)

Dreamland Gran Canaria strengthened its push for a top two finish by totally dominating Slask Wroclaw, 68-92, on the road. The reigning champion improved to 12-4, while eliminated Slask is now 2-14 at the foot of Group B. 

Gran Canaria cruises to victory at Slask, 68-92 

Dreamland Gran Canaria strengthened its push for a top two finish by totally dominating Slask Wroclaw, 68-92, on the road. The reigning champion improved to 12-4, while eliminated Slask is now 2-14 at the foot of Group B.

The first quarter was closely contested but Gran Canaria pulled away to lead 33-50 at the interval and it was never close again. Miquel Salvo was an all-around inspiration with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, while Ben Lammers top scored with 12, and Ferran Bassas and AJ Slaughter both netted 11. Dusan Miletic led Slask’s resistance with 15 points, while Daniel Golebiowski added 13.

Miletic scored on the opening possession, before consecutive triples from Andrew Albicy and John Shurna sent Gran Canaria ahead, 5-10. A deep three from Jakub Niziol briefly pulled Slask level, but Lammers netted a pair of long twos for a 13-16 lead. Golebiowski’s three-pointer kept the hosts close, but Sylven Landesberg and Ferran Bassas answered from deep for a 21-26 lead after 10 minutes.

Pierre Pelos hit a triple to protect the lead early in the second, and Slaughter soon added another three for a 25-34 advantage. Miletic’s dunk was met by consecutive scores from Roko Prkacin, giving Gran Canaria its first double-digit lead at 27-38. Salvo both produced a pair of nice inside finishes, and Amar Gegic scored on the halftime buzzer to make it 33-50 at the break.

Jovan Kljajic opened the second half from deep, and Slaughter’s fastbreak layup made it 33-55. Golebiowski hit a pair of triples to narrow the gap, 43-58, but Slaughter scored twice inside to resettle Gran Canaria. Aleksander Wisniewski boosted Slask with a three-point play, but a couple of scores from Lammers and a Bassas triple fixed the score at 48-75 at the end of the third.

Niziol’s three-pointer gave Slask a good start to the fourth quarter, and baskets were evenly traded for the next few minutes. Bassas scored from long and close-range as Gran Canaria continued to cruise, and Pelos struck from deep for a 59-89 lead. Wisniewski scored twice in the last couple of minutes, but that was little consolation for well-beaten Slask.

The winners improved to 6-2 on the road this season.

JL Bourg-en-Bresse came away with a 68-76 win at Aris BC in Round 16, with the French side showing why it is the Group B leader.

'Very good' JL Bourg-en-Bresse impressed in Thessaloniki

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse still has first place in Group B in its own hands [following a 68-76 road win over Aris Midea Thessaloniki](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/news/jl-bourg-en-bresse-remains-in-first-place-downs-aris-bc-68-76/) on Wednesday night, a game in which the French side never trailed.

After the final buzzer, Aris head coach Ioannis Kastritis praised Bourg, calling the visitors a "very, very good team."

"They run a lot, they shoot with confidence, they crash the boards and go for every offensive rebound," Kastritis added.

### The stats went the way of Bourg

All of that was on display in this contest, as Bourg shot 10-of-23 from long range, with six different players sinking at least 1 three-pointer.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">VICTOIRE ✅<a href="https://twitter.com/ARISBCgr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ARISBCgr</a> - 68 🆚 76 - JL Bourg<br><br>Solide victoire de nos bressans à l&#39;extérieur ⚔️ <br><br>Place maintenant au repos avant de reprendre le chemin du travail pour préparer le prochain match à Ankara !<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeRedy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeRedy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroCup</a> <a href="https://t.co/6sdrOkroDq">pic.twitter.com/6sdrOkroDq</a></p>&mdash; JL Bourg Basket (@JLBourgBasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/JLBourgBasket/status/1750246247011598400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Bourg also pulled down 13 more rebounds than Aris, with the hosts grabbing 27 compared to 40 for Bourg. That tally for Bourg included 15 offensive rebounds, 9 of which came in the second half.

That all helped Bourg never fall behind in this game. The visitors built a 13-point margin, 14-27, in the second quarter and even though Aris erased that deficit, the hosts never held a lead in this contest.

### Another great performance by Risacher

The star of the night was the 18-year-old Zaccharie Risacher, who dropped 20 points, 2 shy of his career high. He made 4-of-6 two-pointers and 3-of-4 threes. He was also Bourg's only scorer in double figures on a night when the team's defense held its opponent below 70 points for the first time since Round 11.

"Defensively, we played very good," Bourg head coach Frederic Fauthoux noted. "In this arena, in this atmosphere, it is fantastic."

Zaccharie Risacher dropped 20 points, 2 shy of his career high. He made 4 of 6 two-pointers and 3 of 4 threes. He was also Bourg's only scorer in double figures.

Zaccharie Risacher shined with 20 points vs. Aris

Last season, Bourg lost six of its last seven regular-season games before being ousted in the eighthfinals by Promithes Patras.

Now, after this win, Bourg is 13-3 and sits alone in first place in Group B.

"We are first, and we want to stay first. We have two games left," Coach Fauthoux stated.

With just one win, Bourg will secure home-court advantage in the quarterfinals, and winning out will give Bourg a home-court advantage in any series all the way to EuroCup Finals.

Next week, Bourg travels to the Turkish capital to face the red-hot playoff-chasing Turk Telekom Ankara, before closing out the regular season on its home floor against playoff-bound ratiopharm Ulm.

More Bourg News

Ronnie Harell of Aris Midea Thessaloniki is surrounded by three Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse players in Round 16 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

Bourg held the hosts below 70 points, hit 10 three-pointers on 43.5% shooting, and outrebounded Aris by 13.

'Very good' Bourg impressed in Thessaloniki

Aris Midea Thessaloniki v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2024-01-24T18:00:00.000Z)

Late defensive effort lifted Prometey over Hapoel

It’s not often a team can allow more than 100 points and then say with a straight face that it was its defense that made the difference. However, it you watched Prometey Slobozhanske pull out a 105-113 victory over Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv on Wednesday, you understand.

It starts with recognizing the offensive capabilities of the two teams: “We played against one of the best, if not the best, offensive team in this competition,” Prometey head coach Ronen Ginzburg said of Hapoel, which is second in the EuroCup in scoring this season with 96.5 points per game. Prometey is tied for fourth (88.3 ppg.).

“In the end, I think what won us the game is, we didn’t play good defense in the first half, and in the second half, especially in the end, in the last quarter, we changed to some solutions that helped us to stop their guards,” Ginzburg concluded in the post-game press conference.

That defense held both Xavier Munford and Will Cummings, who combined for 31 points in the first three quarters, scoreless in the fourth.

Hapoel scored 30 points in both the second and third quarters, but just 23 in the fourth. Prometey, which came into the fourth quarter down by 1, scored 7 points off of 4 Hapoel turnovers in the final stanza.

“We buckled down, turned the pressure up and got a lot more physical with them,” assessed Prometey guard Ronald March, who led all players in scoring with 27 points. “And then on offense, executed a little bit more, got the ball inside and just played together.”

In the other locker room, Coach Danny Franco expressed disappointment as Hapoel dropped its third consecutive game: “I don’t want to hang it on any kind of excuses or explanations. We need to look deep into ourselves right now. We failed as individuals first of all tonight with basic stuff.

“We weren’t good enough. Give the credit to Prometey. They played right. Unfortunately, we didn’t give them good enough competition tonight.”

The Ukrainian champs came from behind in the fourth quarter thanks to some defensive changes. 

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv v Prometey Slobozhanske (2024-01-24T17:30:00.000Z)