Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana hopes to turn season around with signing of Rasid Mahalbasic.

Cedevita signed veteran center Rasid Mahalbasic

On Tuesday afternoon, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana made official the addition of experienced center [Rasid Mahalbasic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/rasid-mahalbasic/003042/) on a deal for the remainder of the season. The player retains an escape clause in the contract. Mahalbasic (2.11 meters, 33 years old) last played for San Pablo Burgos of Spain. This will be his fourth BKT EuroCup season with a fourth different team - he played for CEZ Nymburk in 2013-14, Nizhny Novgorod in 2015-16 and Oldenburg in 2019-20 - having played a total of 53 games in the competition. He has also scored a total of 671 points and collected 315 rebounds.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="sl" dir="ltr">Pod obema obročema nas je okrepil Rašid Mahalbašić!<a href="https://twitter.com/RasidMahalbasic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RasidMahalbasic</a>, dobrodošel v Zmajevi družini! 💚🧡<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ZmajevaDruzina?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ZmajevaDruzina</a> <a href="https://t.co/QH5zQDxFAv">pic.twitter.com/QH5zQDxFAv</a></p>&mdash; Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (@KKCedOL) <a href="https://twitter.com/KKCedOL/status/1729491016133063044?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mahalbasic also has Turkish Airlines EuroLeague experience; he played for Prokom of Poland in 2012-13. He is a basketball nomad, having played for 15 different teams since his pro debut in 2006 in countries such as Turkey, Spain, Croatia, Germany, Russia and Austria, where he started his career with the Kelag Worthersee Piraten for four seasons.

BC Wolves look to fight off the flying London Lions

The matchup between Wolves Vilnius (4-3) and the London Lions (6-2) in Group A of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup should be a great barometer of where these two ambitious teams stand. This Tuesday evening (18:00 CET) at Avia Solutions Group Arena, a fascinating clash looms.

First of all, let’s talk about London. Playing in its second season in the EuroCup, the team led by first-year head coach Petar Bozic is flying. If last year was London testing the water in the competition under then-head coach Ryan Schmidt, Coach Bozic – together with some terrific off-season moves by GM Brett Burman – has taken the Lions into Phase 2.

### London Lions are on a roll

London comes into Tuesday evening’s game on a three-game winning run, while it is a perfect 4-0 on its travels this season. In fact, in regulation, London would be 6-1-1 but it ended up falling at home to Paris Basketball in overtime in Round 4, before then losing at home to Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv in front of a limited crowd one week later.

Since that Hapoel defeat, however, London has responded in style by downing Joventut Badalona, 76-87, and Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul, 80-83, on the road, then Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana, 101-95, at home. Importantly, with star player Sam Dekker having not played since that Round 4 defeat to Paris, the likes of Matt Morgan, Gabe Olaseni and Conor Morgan have really taken their games up a notch to get London back on track.

The good news for London fans is that Dekker is set to make his return to action on Thursday evening, with both the 29-year-old and the Lions’ social media accounts hinting that he will play some part against the Wolves. Given that Coach Bozic’s side has shown that it can record important wins in Dekker’s absence, the return of the 2022-23 All-EuroCup Second Team selection only adds to London’s array of weapons.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“We’re undefeated on the road right now, so looking to keep it going.” 🗣️ <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRealMM10?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheRealMM10</a><br><br>BIG <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroCup?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroCup</a> road game tomorrow vs <a href="https://twitter.com/wolves_bc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wolves_bc</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/kNzS4uZLRr">pic.twitter.com/kNzS4uZLRr</a></p>&mdash; London Lions (@LondonLions) <a href="https://twitter.com/LondonLions/status/1729197623993852310?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Wolves have looked comfortable at this level

In some ways, the Wolves are coming up against an organization they can take some lessons from. Yet, in their debut season in the EuroCup, they are showing that they are growing game by game. Notably, the side led by experienced head coach Kestutis Kemzura is also demonstrating that it can overcome setbacks and remain competitive.

Despite a tricky start to the campaign that saw the Wolves lose back-to-back games on the road at Paris Basketball, 105-78, and Joventut Badalona, 107-98, they have tightened up their defense and managed to put together a 4-1 record since then, which includes wins against two teams currently in the playoff spots: Besiktas, 90-88, in Round 4 and Prometey Slobozhanske, 85-71, in Round 6. Last week, the Lithuanian team got back to winning ways after downing Veolia Towers Hamburg, 71-84, having lost in Round 7 to Umana Reyer Venice, 77-93.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We got London Lions in the building 🏀 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreWolves?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreWolves</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RoadToGreatness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RoadToGreatness</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BKTEuroCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BKTEuroCup</a> <a href="https://t.co/SP1cscLOhu">pic.twitter.com/SP1cscLOhu</a></p>&mdash; BC WOLVES (@wolves_bc) <a href="https://twitter.com/wolves_bc/status/1729437064725201223?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Impressively, they have done this with veteran forward Jeffrey Taylor yet to play this season, star addition Arturs Zagars having suffered a season-ending injury before their third EuroCup game and Rasheed Sulaimon, the Round 6 MVP, having not played in the team’s last two fixtures.

So far, so good, you could say. The Wolves announced that Sulaimon is out for four weeks on November 16, meaning that they will be without their leading scorer and the player with the highest average PIR until mid-December, but the likes of Tre’Shawn Thurman, Djordje Gagic and Adas Juskevicius have picked up the load since then.

The top plays of Wolves Vilnius and the London Lions so far this season in the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

The best plays of Wolves, London this season

### Both in the playoff places

London enters this game sat third in the Group A standings, tied on a 6-2 record with second-placed Besiktas, while the Wolves are in fifth after going 4-3. Coach Kemzura’s group has a 2-1 mark in Vilnius so far this season, but it did lose on its last game on its home floor, falling to Reyer.

The Wolves are averaging an impressive 5,836 fans at Avia Solutions Group Arena through their first three home games to this point, so a good crowd is expected for this clash. Two clubs with sky-high dreams are ready to go to battle, but who will come out on top? Will London improve to 7-2 and 5-0 on the road, or will the Wolves make it five wins from six? Make sure to tune in from 18:00 CET to find out!

The Wolves Vilnius players celebrate after downing Veolia Towers Hamburg in Round 8 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

Petar Bozic’s squad is unbeaten on the road so far this season, but a big test awaits in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Wolves look to fight off the flying London Lions

Wolves Vilnius v London Lions (2023-11-28T17:00:00.000Z)

The 30-year-old forward is enjoying his finest EuroCup season on the heels of a historic performance with Latvia over the summer.

Grazulis's World Cup success paying off for Trento

[Andrejs Grazulis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/andrejs-grazulis/005738/) of Dolomiti Energia Trento is among the most improved players over the past season in the BKT EuroCup certainly among players who remained on the same team. One major reason for that was his success over the summer at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Grazulis is averaging 14.0 points on 54.5% three-point shooting, 5.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists for Trento for an averaged performance index rating of 15.8.

Those numbers are drastically better than what he produced last season for the Italian club, when he was worth 8.7 points on 20.3% three-point shooting to go with 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists for a PIR of 7.9. 

“What I learned from last year is that we need to be ready for whatever during the season, but still keep our identity and confidence,” said the 30-year-old Grazulis. 

The Latvian forward last season made his return to the EuroCup after last playing in the competition in 2014-15 with BK Ventspils.

“Yeah, nine years is a long time,” he said about his return to the EuroCup.

After averaging 10.0 points in the first four games of the current campaign, Grazulis really started taking off in Round 5 with 22 points and 7 assists in a 101-96 overtime win over Turk Telekom Ankara. 

“We almost blew it in overtime, but these wins grow the character of the team,” said Grazulis, who hit a big three-pointer to make it 99-93 late in the extra session. 

Over the last four games, Grazulis is averaging 18.0 points and he has made 13 of 20 three-pointers (65.0%) to go with 7.3 rebounds. 

Andrejs Grazulis's highlights, October-November '23

A lot of Grazulis’s confidence stems from him helping Latvia finish in fifth place at the 2023 World Cup in its first appearance at the global event.

“It’s always a pleasure to play for the national team, and to win and achieve the goal is even better,” said Grazulis, who averaged 14.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks at the tournament.

Latvia shocked the world as the first-timers defeated powerhouses France and Spain and then finished off Brazil to reach the quarterfinals - meaning the country had locked up a top-eight result.

Grazulis and Latvia would end up losing to eventual world champion Germany 81-79 in the quarterfinals, with star forward Davis Bertans missing a three-pointer in the waning seconds.  

“At the beginning, it was very disappointing, but there is no time to be sad and get fixated on the last game because we as a team felt that because of one lost game we have to give up something in the next games,” said Grazulis, who had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in the loss to Germany.

Latvia would rebound and beat Italy and Lithuania to grab fifth place.

“It was a good last game \[versus Lithuania\] to go home with good feelings about the whole thing. But there is that feeling because we were so close to advancing but that’s how life in sport is,” said Grazulis, who scored 28 points in the 87-82 win over Italy.

Another big reason for the improved production is Grazulis getting more and more comfortable with living in Italy. His Italia experience began in 2019 with second division Derthona Basket. He jumped to Italian League side Pallacanestro Trieste and averaged 10.2 points and 6.3 rebounds in 2021-22. 

“The jump to Serie A wasn’t hard because basketball is basketball everywhere, just some small adjustments. But that was no problem,” he said.

The biggest adjustment from last season to this season for Grazulis is his added confidence and it is showing.

As the competition reaches its half-way mark, a few players are looking unstoppable in EuroCup Fantasy Challenge.

Round 9 fantasy tips: Five players who are on fire

Round 9 marks an important week in the BKT EuroCup, the halfway point of the regular season. When it's over, other than a postponed game between Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv and Wolves Vilnius, all teams in each group will have faced each other at least once. Some players have been on fire lately and we featured five of them who can give [EuroCup Fantasy Challenge](https://eurocupfantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/home) managers an edge whether in private leagues or the overall standings.

[Andres Feliz, Joventut Badalona](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/andres-feliz/011247/) (10.9 credits) – Feliz returned to action after a five-game injury layoff, and as soon as he did, started leading Joventut again. Last week against Hapoel, he had 24 points by making 6 of 8 two-pointers and 4 of 6 threes, adding 4 rebounds and 7 assists for a PIR of 32. Buy him while he is still cheap!  

[Gabe Olaseni, London Lions](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/gabe-olaseni/006600/) (14.8 credits) – Fully established as one of the best big men in the EuroCup, Olaseni has been just unstoppable in the last three games. He has averaged 21.3 points on 25-of-39 two-point shooting, 8.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and a PIR of 26.7. A lot is expected from Olaseni against high-scoring Wolves.

Karel Guzman, Yoan Makoundou, Gabe Olaseni, Andres Feliz and Steven Enoch are featured in this week's article.

EuroCup Fantasy tips: Round 9

[Yoan Makoundou, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/yoan-makoundou/011935/) (10.9 credits) –  Over his last three games, Makoundou boosted his numbers to 20.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and a PIR of 23.7. In Round 8, Makoundou led Buducnost past Trento with a career-high PIR of 33, setting four other personal bests. What's not to like about Yoan?

[Karel Guzman, U-BT Cluj-Napoca](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/karel-guzman/011797/) (11.2 credits) – Added to his spectacular dunks and blocked shots, Guzman is having a really good season. In the last three games, Guzman is averaging 12.0 points on 14-for-19 field goal shooting, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 1.3 blocks and a PIR of 20.3. In other words, he is doing everything right.

[Steven Enoch, Turk Telekom Ankara](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/steven-enoch/011239/) (14.6 credits) – Turk Telekom is not having its great season but its man in the middle is delivering. Enoch has posted four consecutive double-doubles while averaging 15.8 points, 11.5 rebounds and a PIR of 24.3. Enoch's lowest PIR since late October was 20. Outstanding!

Turk Telekom Ankara v Slask Wroclaw (2023-11-28T17:00:00.000Z)

U-BT Cluj-Napoca v 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys (2023-11-29T17:00:00.000Z)

Dreamland Gran Canaria v Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (2023-11-29T20:00:00.000Z)

Dolomiti Energia Trento v Aris Midea Thessaloniki (2023-11-29T19:00:00.000Z)

ratiopharm Ulm v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2023-11-29T18:30:00.000Z)

Umana Reyer Venice v Veolia Towers Hamburg (2023-11-28T19:00:00.000Z)

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana v Paris Basketball (2023-11-29T17:30:00.000Z)

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv v Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul (2023-11-29T18:00:00.000Z)

Joventut Badalona v Prometey Slobozhanske (2023-11-29T19:30:00.000Z)

Either Turk Telekom Ankara (1-7) or Slask Wroclaw (0-8) will finally celebrate the end of a long losing run in a game that already looks like a battle to avoid the wooden spoon in Group B. 

 Turk Telekom, Slask vie to break losing streaks 

[Rosters](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/turk-telekom-ankara-slask-wroclaw/U2023/90/) | [Notes and Facts](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/ec2324-rs9-game-notes-facts-ttk-wro) | [Quotes](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/ec2324-rs9-prequotes-ttk-wro/) |[ TV](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/tv-listings-ec/)

The game could be a real grind, with Turk Telekom possessing the competition's second-worst offense (76.5 points per game), while Slask is only marginally better at 77.4 points per game. A bright spot for the Turkish team has been the form of Steven Enoch, who has recorded four straight double-doubles with an average PIR of 24.3. A highlight of this game will be his battle in the paint with the equally prolific Dusan Miletic, who will be looking to regain top form after netting 9 points in last week's loss to Lietkabelis, ending a five-game streak of double-digit scoring.

[Turk Telekom Stats](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/turk-telekom-ankara/statistics/ttk/?season=2023-24&phase=All%20phases) | [Slask Stats](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/slask-wroclaw/statistics/wro/?season=2023-24&phase=All%20phases)

Steven Enoch vs. Dusan Miletic: Two of the hottest centers in the EuroCup go head-to-head.

Turk Telekom, Slask vie to break losing streaks

Red-hot London Lions (6-2) will aim for a fourth straight victory as it travels to a Wolves Vilnius team (4-3) that is also looking good for a place in the playoffs after winning four of its last five. 

Wolves, Lions in key Group A duel

[Rosters](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/wolves-vilnius-london-lions/U2023/84/#roster) | [Notes and Facts](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/ec2324-rs9-game-notes-facts-wol-lli) | [Quotes](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/ec2324-rs9-prequotes-wol-lli/) |[ TV](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/tv-listings-ec/)

Expect a fierce rebounding battle: Wolves averages the league's second-highest number of offensive boards, 13.4 per game, with 2.6 coming from Tre'Shawn Thurman; but London protects its backboard better than anyone else, with Donte Grantham (5.6 defensive rebounds per game) contributing to London's league-best average of 28.1 boards off its own glass. Matthew Morgan has scored at least 15 points in seven straight games, so slowing him down will be a key for the Wolves defense.

[Wolves Stats](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/wolves-vilnius-london-lions/U2023/84/) | [London Stats](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/london-lions/statistics/lli/?season=2023-24&phase=All%20phases)

Tre'Shawn Thurman vs. Donte Grantham: This pair of high-producing forwards will have a lot to say in Tuesday's Round 9 opener.

After seeing a promising upturn in form ended by last week's loss against Prometey, Umana Reyer Venice (3-5) will look to get back on the playoff trail with a visit from a Veolia Towers Hamburg team (1-7) whose hopes of challenging for the knockout stages are fading fast.

 Hamburg eyes another road win in Venice 

[Rosters](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/umana-reyer-venice-veolia-towers-hamburg/U2023/85/#roster) | [Notes and Facts](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/ec2324-rs9-game-notes-facts-vnc-ham) | [Quotes](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/ec2324-rs9-prequotes-vnc-ham/) |[ TV](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/tv-listings-ec/)

Reyer is one of the best two-point shooting teams in the competition, making 56.9% of shots inside the arc, and will look for Kyle Wiltjer (11.2 points per game) to register his fifth straight double-digit scoring night. Hamburg will look to control him through the dependable William Christmas (7.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game), who has made at least one steal every game this season.

[Reyer Stats](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/umana-reyer-venice/statistics/vnc/?season=2023-24&phase=All%20phases) | [Hamburg Stats](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/veolia-towers-hamburg/statistics/ham/?season=2023-24&phase=All%20phases)

Aamar Simms vs. William Christmas: A key rebounding battle awaits through these two forwards.

Hamburg eyes another road win in Venice

In Wednesday's opening tip-off, Cluj (6-2) will look to get back onto the winning path against Lietkabelis (4-4) which has won three in a row. 

Cluj aims to protect home court vs. Lietkabelis

[Rosters](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/u-bt-cluj-napoca-7bet-lietkabelis-panevezys/U2023/89/#roster) | [Notes and Facts](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/ec2324-rs9-game-notes-facts-clu-lkb) | [Quotes](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/ec2324-rs9-prequotes-clu-lkb/) |[ TV](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/tv-listings-ec/)

Cluj's heavy loss to Gran Canaria last week was partly down to committing 24 turnovers, and guard duo DJ Seeley and Bryce Jones will look to take better care of the basketball after respectively losing 4 and 5 possessions in that defeat. Lietkabelis continued its excellent run with a hard-fought victory at Slask, surviving a fourth-quarter collapse as Vytenis Lipkevicius flirted with a triple-double by posting 8 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, and the Lithuanian team will be conscious of starting in Cluj much better than it finished in Slask.

[Cluj-Napoca Stats](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/u-bt-cluj-napoca/statistics/clu/?season=2023-24&phase=All%20phases) | [Lietkabelis Stats](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/7bet-lietkabelis-panevezys/statistics/lkb/?season=2023-24&phase=All%20phases)

Karel Guzman vs. Gediminas Orelik: Two very different swingmen look to fill it up against each other.

In Wednesday's opening tip-off, U-BT Cluj-Napoca (6-2) will look to get back onto the winning path against 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys (4-4) which has won three in a row. 

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana's (0-8) long quest for a first victory of the season faces its latest chapter with a visit from high-flying Paris Basketball (7-1), which is eager to recover from the blip of its first defeat of the campaign against Besiktas. 

First and last do battle as Paris visits Cedevita

[Rosters](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/cedevita-olimpija-ljubljana-paris-basketball/U2023/83/#roster) | [Notes and Facts](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/ec2324-rs9-game-notes-facts-lju-ced) | [Quotes](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/ec2324-rs9-prequotes-ced-prs/) |[ TV](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/tv-listings-ec/)

The game is highlighted by a backcourt battle between the league's leading assisters, with Cedevita's Klemen Prepelic (9.3 assists per game) going up against Paris orchestrator TJ Shorts (7.6 apg.). The host's cause is helped by the presence of Justin Cobbs, who scored 19 points on his return from injury last week. Paris will again look to the long-range shooting prowess of Nadir Hifi, who has made 15 of his last 26 three-pointers.

[Cedevita Stats](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/cedevita-olimpija-ljubljana/statistics/lju/?season=2023-24&phase=All%20phases) | [Paris Stats](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/paris-basketball/statistics/prs/?season=2023-24&phase=All%20phases)