Paris Basketball beat BC Prometey 93-72 in Round 14 of the 2023-24 EuroCup Regular Season.

Paris Basketball races past BC Prometey, 93-72, for sixth straight victory 

Paris Basketball kept rolling in the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup season as the Group A leader stormed past Prometey Slobozhanske, 93-72, to record its sixth straight victory. Paris led by 10 points at halftime but blew the game wide open with an 18-3 start to the second half, as it improved its record to 13-1. Prometey had won three of its last four games but fell to 7-7, including 2-5 on the road.

TJ Shorts led the way with 18 points and 10 assists, while Tyson Ward scored 18 points and Collin Malcolm added 16 points. Tai Odiase was Prometey’s leading scorer with 14 points and Oleksandr Lypovyy had 11 points. DJ Kennedy collected 3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in his first game of the season.

Game News

Prometey was playing the game without its head coach Ronen Ginzburg, who was sick and replaced by assistant coach Mantas Sernius. The guests started hot with 7 straight points to take a 6-14 lead after just 3 minutes. Promotey was up 12-19 before Paris started its first run, with Shorts scoring 6 points to get the hosts within 22-24 after 10 minutes.

Shorts added 4 more points to spark a 10-0 start to the second quarter for a 30-24 lead. Prometey answered with the next 5 points to cut the margin to 1 point. Yet, Bandja Sy, Malcolm and Nadir Hifi all hit three-pointers as Paris grew its advantage to 39-31. After 5 Prometey points, Paris hit 2 triples and the cushion grew to 47-36. The Group A leader was up 49-39 at the intermission.

Game Videos

Paris did not slow down in the second half, with Ward scoring 9 points in an 18-3 start to the third quarter for a 67-42 lead. Prometey did finish the third quarter with the final 4 points and trailed 73-52 after 30 minutes.

Three-pointers by Gian Clavell and Lypovyy trimmed the margin to 77-61 with 7 minutes to go. The advantage was down to 14 points, 79-65, after a Clavell score with 6 minutes to play. After scoring just one more basket in the next 3 minutes, Hifi and Mehdy Ngouama both drained three-pointers as Paris’s lead grew to 85-67 with 4 minutes to go. Prometey would not get closer the rest of the way.

Justin Simon of Paris Basketball in action against Prometey Slobozhanske in Round 14 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

The French side remains in control at the top of Group A.

Paris races past Prometey, 93-72, for sixth straight victory 

Paris Basketball v Prometey Slobozhanske (2024-01-10T19:30:00.000Z)

Slask Wroclaw defeated ratiopharm Ulm 100-88 in Round 14 of the 2023-24 EuroCup Regular Season.

Slask shocks Ulm to grab first home win, 100-88

Slask Wroclaw grabbed its first home win of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup season when it defeated visiting ratiopharm Ulm 100-88 at Hala Orbita on Wednesday night. The hosts set the foundations for its victory with a great second quarter, in which they scored 31 points to lead 52-37 at halftime. Ulm attempted to come back several times in the second half, but Slask used a strong fourth quarter to prevent the visitors from getting closer than 5 points. Slask improved to 2-12, while Ulm slips to 8-6 after suffering its third loss in a row.

Dusan Miletic led the winners with 19 points, going perfect from behind the arc and adding 4 rebounds and 3 assists for a PIR of 26. Artsiom Parakhouski followed with 14 points, while Andrii Voinalovych and Mateusz Zebsky netted 13 points apiece. New Slask signing Marek Klassen had a 13-point, 10-assist double-double on his debut. Hassani Gravett completed a Slask six-player group scoring in double figures with 12 points. Karim Jallow paced Ulm with 22 points and 4 assists, Thomas Klepeisz finished with 15 points, LJ Figueroa chipped in 14, and Trevion Williams flirted with a triple-double by recording 12 points, 14 boards and 8 assists.

### Slask started slow, soared in the second period

Juan Nunez fed the visitors’ offense with a bucket and a timely assist for Jallow’s triple, which established an early 3-5 edge for Ulm. The guests displayed a balanced performance attacking the rim, with four different contributors when the score was 9-13 midway through the first period. The hosts were not fazed, though, and found Miletic and Zebski as its main weapons to earn a 18-16 lead after sparking a 9-3 run in less than 3 minutes. Klepeisz showed up from downtown to break the trend, but Aleksander Wisnieski replied from the same place to keep Slask in front, 21-19, after 10 minutes.

The home team continued punishing the visitors from deep, as back-to-back triples by Klassen and Gravett extended the gap to 31-24, forcing Ulm to call for a timeout. The answer came from the hands of Williams, who took over with 6 points in a row as he tried to bring Ulm back into the game. But the hosts were very sound offensively and made it a double-digit advantage, 42-32, when Voinalovych nailed his third trey. Things got even worse for the guests when Parakhouski showed up inside for Slask, providing 6 points in a 10-2 run that lifted the home team to a 15-point difference, 52-37, at halftime.

### Ulm reacted but fell short in the end

Ulm made the most of the break, coming out with a renewed spirit after the intermission. Figueroa and Klepeisz turned the lights on for the visitors, combining for 3 triples and 11 points to bring their team within 56-48 early in the third period. Williams got Ulm even closer, 58-52, with an inside bucket soon after to make it a ballgame once again. Zebski came to the rescue with 5 points in a row, followed by a lucky off-the-glass three-pointer by Miletic that returned a double-digit margin to Slask, 68-56, and aborted the visitors’ rally. A late push by Ulm behind a 1-7 run to end the third quarter allowed the visitors to stay alive, 70-62, entering the last stanza.

Klassen and Miletic opened fire from behind the arc early in the fourth, good for a 76-64 advantage for the home side. Ulm hit back with a strong 0-7 run capped by a three by Klepeisz to make it 76-71, but the rally didn’t go further because of Miletic’ timely contribution. The Serbian center hit twice from deep and added a two and a free throw to help Slask hold off Ulm, 87-78. That wouldn’t be the last time the visitors tried to come back, though, as Figueroa made it 89-83 from behind the arc a few minutes later. Slask remained cold-blooded, though, with Gravett and Klassen drilling back-to-back threes to put the game on ice, 96-86, entering the last minute.

Marek Klassen of Slask Wroclaw has possession against ratiopharm Ulm in Round 14 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

The Polish side gave its fans something to cheer in what has been a complicated season.

Slask Wroclaw v ratiopharm Ulm (2024-01-10T19:00:00.000Z)

McKinley Wright scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter as Budućnost VOLI beat JL Bourg-en-Bresse 78-74 in Round 14 of the 2023-24 EuroCup season.

McKinley Wright went to another gear as Budućnost VOLI downed Bourg

With 20 minutes played between Buducnost VOLI Podgorica and Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse, [McKinley Wright](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/mckinley-wright-iv/012606/) had just 4 points and 1 rebound to his name, with 0 assists. Buducnost trailed 30-39 at that point and it looked like Bourg was about to notch its eighth successive win in the BKT EuroCup.

Come the final buzzer, though, [Buducnost had won 78-74](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/news/buducnost-voli-stuns-group-b-leader-jl-bourg-en-bresse-78-74/) and Wright had improved those numbers to 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. Wright had just 1 turnover after the break after also having 1 in the first half, too. Perhaps most impressively, 12 of those 16 points came in the final period as he kept his cool from the line and made some timely buckets.

McKinley Wright scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter as Buduunost VOLI Podgorica beat Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 78-74 in Round 14 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup season.

Wright's highlights vs. Bourg

### Wright is the engine for this Buducnost team

This season has not quite gone to plan for Buducnost, which came into this campaign hoping to be much further up the standings in Group A, but one of the few shining lights has been the play of Wright. The ex-Dallas Mavericks guard has shown in glimpses that he is more than capable of playing at this level, even if he has committed his fair share of turnovers.

Crucially, though, he knows how to put points on the board – and that’s exactly what he did in the second half against Bourg on Wednesday evening, as he had the most points in the game. Wright seems to be replicating his early-season form, too, as he has scored 10 points or more in four consecutive games after previously managing that same feat in the first four games of the campaign.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hard fought win 🔵⚪️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KKB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KKB</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HukMora%C4%8De?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HukMorače</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ojp5C1nAtc">pic.twitter.com/Ojp5C1nAtc</a></p>&mdash; KK Budućnost VOLI (@KKBuducnostVOLI) <a href="https://twitter.com/KKBuducnostVOLI/status/1745179281355845876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

By beating Bourg, Buducnost can still dream of making the EuroCup Playoffs, as the seventh-placed team shares a 6-8 record with Aris Midea Thessaloniki in fifth and Dolomiti Energia Trento in sixth. With just four games remaining in the regular season, Wright will now be looking to keep up his impressive level and guide his team into the postseason.

More Buducnost News

McKinley Wright of Buducnost VOLI Podgorica looks to score against Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse in Round 14 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

He led his team in the second half en route to a very important win.

McKinley Wright went to another gear as Buducnost downed Bourg

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2024-01-10T18:00:00.000Z)

Budućnost VOLI secured a 78-74 win against JL Bourg-en-Bresse in Round 14 of the 2023-24 EuroCup Regular Season.

Budućnost VOLI stuns Group B leader Bourg, 78-74

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica has kept its BKT EuroCup playoff hopes alive by beating Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse, the leader in Group B coming into Round 14, 78-74 at Moraca on Wednesday evening. This triumph improved Buducnost to a 6-9 record, giving it hope entering the final regular-season games of the campaign, while Bourg’s seven-game winning run came to an end as it dropped to 11-3.

McKinley Wright paced Buducnost with 16 points, followed by Yoan Makoundou with 12, Vladimir Mihailovic with 11 and Brandon Paul with 10. For Bourg, Jeremy Morgan and Jequan Lewis had 13 points apiece in defeat.

Andrija Slavkovic got the game off to a perfect start for Buducnost with a floater from the right wing, but he landed badly on his ankle on that play and saw his night come to a premature end. Buducnost boosted its lead to 9-0 before Bourg finally got on the board thanks to Zaccharie Risacher, who drained a three, 9-3, with 7:00 minutes left in the first quarter. That bucket provided a boost for Bourg, which cut the gap to 9-8 on a Maksim Salash layup. But, Bourg led at the end of the opening period, 15-14.

Salash drained a triple with the first basket of the second quarter to give Bourg its first lead of the night, 15-17. Buducnost kept fighting back, but Bourg continued to find ways to nudge itself in front. There was Kevin Kokila’s put-back layup to set a 20-23 score, then an Isiaha Mike triple in transition to set Bourg’s biggest lead, 22-28, before a new game-high advantage – and the joint highest overall – was established when Earl Rowland made a tough three-pointer, 28-37. At the halftime break, Bourg retained its 9-point lead, 30-39.

When Risacher knocked down a three to set a game-high 11-point lead, 35-46, it seemed hard to imagine Buducnost responding. Yet, that’s just what it did and Mihailovic’s triple cut the gap to just 1 point, 44-47. There was a showtime alley-oop between Mihailovic and Marvin Jones, too, as he made it 46-47 before Paul stepped up from beyond the arc, 49-47. That 12-0 run saw Buducnost get back into the game and, crucially, in front. However, a strong response from Bourg meant that the visitors led 51-54 after 30 minutes.

Fletcher McGee got the fans off their seats by resolving a broken play with a three at the start of the fourth, 54-54, and the hosts then took a 60-54 advantage before Mike got Bourg’s first points of the final frame with a dunk, 60-56. When Makoundou scored a put-back dunk following some questionable defense by Bourg, the scoreboard read 68-60, with Buducnost having outscored the visitors 17-6 to that point in the fourth. Bourg refused to give up, though, and responded through Lewis and Morgan, but it proved to be in vain as Buducnost grabbed a 78-74 win.

Petar Popovic of Buducnost VOLI Podgorica looks to score against Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse in Round 14 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.

The Montenegrin side’s playoff push was given a boost by securing its sixth win of the season.

Buducnost stuns Group B leader Bourg, 78-74

Looking for a recipe to stay in the Group B playoff race, last season's finalist found the ingredients in defense and rebounding its own misses.

 Turk Telekom knows it has to keep on winning 

Turk Telekom Ankara edged even closer to the playoffs ranks in Group B after beating Dolomiti Energia Trento 78-70. But the Turkish side knows it still has work to do.

Turk Telekom not only beat Trento for its fourth win in the last five games for a 5-9 record but it also now holds the tiebreaker over the Italian club, which dropped to 6-8. 

"It was a must win for us. You need to win all your home games to be able to qualify," Turk Telekom coach Selcuk Ernak, whose team moved to 3-4 at home this season, said. 

"Now we have won four of five and we are only thinking step by step, game by game. We have to keep on winning."

The 2023 EuroCup runner-up has home games left against 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys and Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse, but still must play at reigning champion Dreamland Gran Canaria and Slask Wroclaw in the last four rounds. 

### Turk Telekom's defense, offensive rebound were key

Turk Telekom did a good job defensively against Trento, holding the guests to just 70 points – 13.2 points below its average coming into the game. 

A major reason for that was limiting Andrejs Grazulis to just 3 points and keeping Kamar Baldwin under wraps at 8 points. Both of Trento’s stars came into the game averaging 14.1 points per game. 

“Except for the first quarter, I am pretty satisfied with the defense we played," the Turk Telekom coach said. "Trento is a very talented team and scores more than 80 points per game. We managed to keep them at 70 points. That was the key."

Turk Telekom also dominated the glass, winning the rebound battle 42-27 with 11 offensive rebounds to keep up its league-high average of 13.1. Trento managed just 3 boards off its own glass, 8.5 below its average. That helped Turk Telekom to a 13-6 advantage in second-chance points. 

Turk Telekom knows it has to keep on winning

Turk Telekom Ankara v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2024-01-10T17:00:00.000Z)

Cluj built a 20-point margin in the third quarter and cruised the rest of the way to register its 10th win of the season.

 Cluj secured postseason spot with an eye for more 

There was not much doubt about the outcome at BT-Arena on Wednesday night where U-BT Cluj-Napoca dominated on defense and rolled on offense en route to a playoff-clinching 90-74 win over the visiting Aris Midea Thessaloniki.

Cluj had built a 20-point margin in the third quarter and cruised the rest of the way against a visitor that has playoff aspirations of its own.

"Another great victory for us in the EuroCup so we are enjoying it, and we enjoy that we played a very good basketball," Cluj coach Mihai Silvasan said after the game.

"I think in the second half we showed a lot of quality basketball, especially on the defensive side."

Cluj won the middle two quarters 53-32, during which it forced 9 turnovers and held the visitors to 4-for-13 three-point shooting. That defense led to a bunch of fastbreaks and paved the way to a victory that sent the team into the playoffs – with an outlook for more.

### Cluj holds third place in Group B

"I am happy I could help the team win and we are now in a very good position," big man Emanuael Cate, who led the way with 18 points, said.

Indeed, Cluj's 10-4 records puts it alone in third place in Group B. Finishing there or in fourth place would bring home-court advantage in the eighthfinals, while second place means a jump right to the quarterfinals and a home game at that stage. Cluj now has a four-win advantage over the fifth place team but is just is a win behind second-place Dreamland Gran Canaria (11-3).

Cluj's coach does not want to get ahead of himself, however.

"We have four more games and we will take it game by game, and see in which place we finish," Silvasan said. "We have to play each game with this type of mentality, and we will be fine."

Cluj secured postseason spot with an eye for more

U-BT Cluj-Napoca v Aris Midea Thessaloniki (2024-01-10T17:00:00.000Z)

To rebound from three straight losses, the defending champs turned to passers throughout the lineup.


Telling numbers: Gran Canaria's ball circulation is key 

Dreamland Gran Canaria broke a three-game losing streak in Group B by topping 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys 84-92 on the road on Wednesday. Sharing the ball better than its opponent was arguably the biggest key to this win. 

The defending EuroCup champions finished the game with 27 assists and 11 turnovers. That means that head coach Jaka Lakovic's team dished 2.45 assists per each turnover. On the other hand, Lietkabelis struggled to circulate the ball as Gran Canaria's defense forced the hosts to a lot of one-on-one situations. The hosts ended up with more turnovers (15) than assists (13) in the game.

### Everybody was dishing for Gran Canaria 

It was a team effort, as Gran Canaria's main ballhandlers – playmakers A.J. Slaughter, Andrew Albicy and Ferran Bassas – combined for 7 assists and 8 turnovers. That means that the rest of the team compiled for 20 assists and just 3 turnovers. Nico Brussino dished 7 assists, had 0 turnovers and also finished the game with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Ethan Happ had 5 assists and 1 turnover. He averaged 1.7 assists in his first 10 games and boosted that average to 5.5 in the last two games.

Gran Canaria's top assists vs Lietkabelis Panevezys

### Difference in deep shooting, another key

Gran Canaria also shot the ball better from beyond the arc, which also made a difference in the game. The guests hit 12 of 29 three-pointers (41.4% 3FG) and limited Lietkabelis to just 10 of 32 three-point accuracy (31.3% 3FG). Gran Canaris deserves a lot of credit for its three-point defense, as Lietkabelis had buried 72 of 152 three-pointers (47.4% 3FG) in its previous six home games.

The guests stopped Lietkabelis shooters but had troubles against Deividas Sirvydis in the fourth quarter. Sirvydis scored 19 of his 31 points in the final 10 minutes, single-handedly giving Lietkabelis a chance to win the game. Happ, Albicy and Brussino allowed Gran Canaria to seal an important road win and help their team return to winning ways.

Telling numbers: Gran Canaria's ball circulation was key 

7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys v Dreamland Gran Canaria (2024-01-10T17:00:00.000Z)

The Romanian champs made history by reaching the EuroCup Playoffs for the first time in their second season.

Cluj dismisses Aris, books playoff ticket

U-BT Cluj-Napoca protected its home floor in style and secured a spot in the playoffs with a convincing 90-74 win over the visiting Aris Midea Thessaloniki on Wednesday night. Cluj improved to 10-4 record in Group B, sweeping Aris, which dropped to 6-8 on the season. With four games to go, Cluj mathematically secured a finish among the top six teams in the group.

Cluj took control and lead for good with an 11-0 second-quarter run that opened its first double-digit lead. The visitors kept it close for the rest of the first half, but Cluj made multiple runs that saw it open a 22-point margin late in the third quarter and cruise to victory. Emanuel Cate led all scorers with 18 points, while Bryce Jones scored 10 of his 17 points in that key third quarter. Andrija Stipanovic scored 16 and DJ Seeley netted 13 for Cluj. Silvio De Sousa had 14 points for Aris, while Jonathan Stark finished with 13 in defeat.

### Cluj started fast, but Aris regrouped

Cluj scored the game's first 9 points behind a triple and 3 assists from DJ Seeley. But Aris answered through Vassilis Toliopoulos and De Sousa, to take 10-11 lead. The teams continued trading blows, with Stipanovic scoring on a three-point play and Roberts Blumbergs answering with a triple. But a long ball from Jarell Eddie and a three-point play from Cate got the hosts to a 23-22 lead after 10 minutes.

Cluj started the second quarter on fire, too, with Cate and Adam Mokoka combining for the first 7 points in an 11-0 run that Seeley capped with a jumper at 34-24. Eleftherios Bochoridis nailed a triple for Aris that helped stop the bleeding, but Seeley hit his own from long range, too, keeping Cluj's lead safe. Patrick Richard scored twice from close range, but Blumbergs knocked down another one from deep for Aris to trim the Cluj lead to 45-38 a halftime.

In the first 3 minutes of the third quarter Bryce Jones and Seeley his 2 triples each to open a 55-42 breach on the scoreboard. Roberto Gallinat and Jonathan Stark each hit a three to keep Aris in range, but only briefly because Seeley then sparked a 7-0 run that Stipanovic capped with a put-back layup. Cluj was not done, making a defensive stop after a defensive stop, and using another 7-0 spurt to extend the margin to 22 points, and 76-54 after 30 minutes.

Cate extended the lead to 24 points at the start of the fourth quarter before a 0-7 run by Aris behind Ronnie Harrell and Stark. The visitors kept fighting and Harrell and Stark combined for 7 more points to get the deficit down to 85-74, but it was too little too late for a comeback as Cluj closed it out without drama, booking a spot in the playoffs.

The long-time Group B leaders put an end to their three-game losing streak with a tight victory on the road.

 Gran Canaria bounces back to top host Lietkabelis, 84-92 

Dreamland Gran Canaria returned to winning ways in the BKT EuroCup Regular Season by downing 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys 84-92 on the road in Round 14 on Wednesday. Gran Canaria improved to 11-3 in the standings and could yet take back first place in Group B this week. Lietkabelis dropped to 5-9 and remains on the bubble for a playoff berth.

Ethan Happ paced the winners with 23 points on 10-for-13 two-point shooting, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Nico Brussino added 16 points while Miquel Salvo had 11 for Gran Canaria. Deividas Sirvydis led Lietkabelis with 31 points, 19 in the fourth quarter. Gediminas Orelik and Dovis Bickauskis each added 11 for the hosts.

### Gran Canaria took off early

Happ and Brussino combined for all points in a 0-7 run that gave Gran Canaria an early 2-7 lead. John Shurna joined the three-point shootout and Happ soon boosted the guests' margin to 6-13. Orelik and Gabrielius Maldunas fueled a 0-7 run that Vytenis Lipkevicius capped with a triple for a 13-13 tie. Brussino each struck from downtown, then Salvo and Pierre Pelos added layups for a 13-23 Gran Canaria lead after 10 minutes.

### Lietkabelis bounced back

Salvo buried a three-pointer to cap a 0-13 Gran Canaria run early in the second quarter. Lietkabelis had been scoreless for 6 minutes until Nikola Popovic hit a jumper. He got help from Sirvydis to bring the hosts within 20-30. Roko Prkacin and Salvo each scored down low for the visitors, then Amar Gegic boosted Gran Canaria to a 22-38 lead. Orelik stepped up for Lietkabelis, getting help from Sirvydis and Liutauras Lelevicius to bring the hosts within 38-45 at halftime.

### Gran Canaria held its ground

Brussino buried his fourth triple right after the break. Sirvydis answered with a layup and Lipkevicius struck twice from beyond the arc to bring Lietkebalis as close as 46-48. Gran Canaria found answers from downtown, as Shurna, A.J. Slaughter and Ferran Bassas hit a triple apiece to restore a 53-61 margin. Dovis Bickauskis also buried a three-pointer and Dziugas Slavinskas gave the hosts hope, 58-63, after 30 minutes.

### Down to the wire!

Sirvydis took over with 7 unanswered points to complete the hosts' comeback and give Lietkabelis a 65-63 edge early in the fourth quarter. Sylven Landesberg, Salvo and Happ provided answers on offense for Gran Canaria, but a red-hot Sirvydis single-handedly let Lietkabelis tie it again, 73-73, with over 4 minutes left. Shurna struck from downtown and Happ added a fastbreak layup in a 0-6 Gran Canaria run to break that tie. Sirvydis followed a layup with a three-pointer for a 78-79 score in the next-to-last minute. Happ scored down low and Andrew Albicy added a three-pointer that sealed the outcome, 78-85, with 1:02 left.