Hapoel has not practiced much recently and its BKT EuroCup Round 2 game was postponed. Still the Israeli side defeated Reyer 81-97 in a game that was originally scheduled to take place in Tel Aviv.

 Hapoel prevailed despite heavy hearts  

Hapoel has not practiced much recently and its BKT EuroCup Round 2 game was postponed. Still [the Israeli side defeated Reyer 81-97](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/umana-reyer-venice-hapoel-shlomo-tel-aviv/U2023/23/) in a game that was originally scheduled to take place in Tel Aviv.

"For us it was a tough day to focus on basketball," Hapoel head coach Danny Franco said. "Everything was very weird for us. Basketball players – imports and Israelis – are all on the same team. We didn't play basketball for a couple of weeks and we haven't been together. Mainly coming here was getting everybody back together.

"Our job was not to come and win the game. Our job was to come and do whatever we can – regarding effort, regarding commitment, regarding determination to win the game. That was our desire."

Hapoel excelled especially on offense, scoring 97 points against a Reyer team which conceded only 150 points in its first two losses. Hapoel scored 56 points in the second half, when it registered 14 of its 21 assists and made 9 of 10 three-pointers.

"We didn't play the best basketball we can. We didn't have the flow in our game. Even defensively it was not a great game. But in a situation like that I have to respect my players' effort. They did their best and it was enough to beat a very good team and a very well-coached team," Franco added.

Hapoel came into the season with high expectations of going deep into the EuroCup playoffs and even hoping to raise the trophy. By putting together a performance like this on the road with heavy hearts and minds, the team definitely should be considered a serious challenger for the rest of the season.

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Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv players came up with a strong effort in beating Umana Reyer Venice on the road despite heavy hearts about the situation back in the team's homeland.

Hapoel prevailed despite heavy hearts 

Umana Reyer Venice v Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv (2023-10-17T18:00:00.000Z)

Hapoel uses balance to down Reyer on road, 81-97 

Tomer Ginat paced five Hapoel players in double figures with 21 points while Jaylen Hoard added 19 points and Xavier Mumford chipped in 15 points in helping Hapoel move to 2-0 in Group A after a bye week in Round 2 due to the postponement of its game against Wolves Vilnius. Reyer dropped its second straight home game to fall to 0-3 despite Barry Brown scoring 23 points and Rayjon Tucker 20.

Reyer scored the first 2 points of the game and the visitors needed more than 2 minutes to get on the scoreboard. Tucker netted 7 points and added an assist on a Kyle Wiltjer three-pointer to put the home side up 14-7. Reyer immediately wasted away that lead with Hapoel scoring 11 straight points for a 14-18 cushion. The final 73 seconds saw three lead changes and Reyer was up 21-20 after 10 minutes.

Wiltjer added the first 5 points for Reyer in the second quarter and 5 points from Brown pushed the cushion back to 7 points, 34-27. A big Tucker dunk increased the margin to 40-31. Hapoel finished the first half strong with the final 10 points - including 5 from John Holland - to lead 40-41 at the intermission.

The third quarter was tight throughout with 6 lead changes and 5 ties - Hapoel made 3 three-pointers and Reyer knocked down 2 from long range for a 55-57 scoreline. Ginat’s triple had Hapoel up 55-60. Another Hapoel three-pointer - this one from Braian Angola - made the margin 59-65. Reyer answered with 5 straight points off two Hapoel turnovers only to have Bar Timor connect on Hapoel’s 7th triple of the third quarter for a 64-68 lead after 30 minutes.

Reyer failed to score on its first two possessions of the final frame and Hapoel surged ahead 64-73. The lead was double digits for the first time 66-76 with Holland’s three-pointer. Four points from Mumford helped put the guests up 68-82 with 6 minutes left. Reyer could not get any closer than 9 points the rest of the way as Hoard added 6 more points down the stretch.

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv picked up its second victory in two attempts in the BKT EuroCup as it knocked off Umana Reyer Venice 81-97 on the road thanks to a balanced effort. 

A pitched battle to retain a share of first place in the BKT EuroCup Regular Season's Group B ultimately went to the home team, Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse.

Bourg outlasts Cluj, 92-88, to stay unbeaten

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse continued flying high in Group B by turning back hard-charging visitors U-BT Cluj-Napoca with a thrilling 92-88 decision on Tuesday. Bourg now boasts a 3-0 group record and will wait to see how defending champion Dreamland Gran Canaria (2-0) fares at Dolomiti Energia Trento (0-2) on Wednesday to know if it holds first place alone after three rounds. Cluj suffered its first Group B defeat, dropping to 2-1.

Bryce Brown drilled 5 three-pointers among his game-high 25 points for Bourg. Jeremy Morgan and Isiaha Mike added 15 each while Zaccharie Risacher scored 11, including the free throws that sealed the victory with 7 seconds left. Cluj, which rallied from 19 points behind late in the first half but never tied or led, got 22 points from Dennis Seeley, 12 from Jarell Eddie and 11 from Adam Mokoka.

Risacher scored the game's first 5 points, Hugo Benitez added 4 and Morgan struck from deep as Bourg took a 12-3 advantage. Morgan and Mike connected on an alley-oop and hit a basket each as the lead climbed to 19-10. First baskets by Earl Rowland and Maksim Slash would soon make it a double-digit difference that Cluj's Seeley lowered to 31-22 after 10 minutes. Emanuel Cate helped Cluj keep cutting the gap to 31-26, but Brown's pair of triples restored a 39-28 difference for Bourg. That soared to 51-34 as Mike got hot and Bourg was content to trade baskets until leading 55-38 at halftime.

Cluj focused on defense out of the lockers and made a 2-9 run with 6 points from Seeley to get within 57-47 midway through the third quarter. Partick Richard's steal for a layup by Bryce Jones kept Cluj coming back. Brown's next triple made it 61-51, but Mokoko scored and fed Andrija Stipanovic as the visitors refused to go away. Missed free throws kept Club from getting closer, though, as Bourg stayed in front 66-56 after 30 minutes. Seeley got Cluj within 69-61 before Brown and Morgan hit back-to-back tripes and Risacher finished a block at one end with a layup at the other to make it 77-63. It didn't matter. Mokoka would keep Cluj close until Seeley and Eddie Jarell struck from downtown to make it 83-78 with 2 minutes left. Morgan seemed to settle the hosts with 4 points in the next-to-last minute but Jarell and Seeley buried triples early in the final minute to make it 87-85 with 24 seconds left. A split of 6 free throws by both sides left a 90-88 scoreboard with 7.2 seconds left, when the teenager Risacher dropped both of his to make sure the win stayed at home in Bourg.

A pitched battle to retain a share of first place in the BKT EuroCup Regular Season's Group B ultimately went to the home team.

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse v U-BT Cluj-Napoca (2023-10-17T17:30:00.000Z)

A tie in the middle of the standings in BKT EuroCup Regular Season's Group B went to the ratiopharm Ulm and gave them a share of third place.

Ulm shoots its way to 99-74 home win over Lietkabelis

ratiopharm Ulm bounced back from a humbling defeat a week ago to remain perfect at home by soundly beating 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys by 99-74  on Tuesday. The victory lifted Ulm's record to 2-1 in Group B and gave the German champions a share of third place. Lietkabelis dropped to 1-2.

Dakota Mathias downed 4 of Ulm's 17 three-pointers on the night to lead all scorers with 20 points. Trevion Williams was huge with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists, while Karim Jallow scored 15 points, Maximilian Langenfeld 14 and Georginho De Paula 10. Lietkabelis got 13 points from Gediminas Orelik, 11 from Paulius Valinskas and 10 from Gabrielius Maldunas. 


Orelik's back-to-back three-pointers shot Lietkableis in front 3-6. Ulm responded with the next 7 points as Williams hit from deep to make it 10-6. Mathias took over from deep and Jallow followed him as the lead soared to 19-11. Liekabelis resumed scoring but Georginho and Thomas Klepeisz answered from deep for a double-digit lead by Ulm that held at 27-17 after 10 minutes. Williams, Dakota and Georginho extended the Ulm lead to a new high of 38-23. Martynas Varnas cut the difference with 5 consecutive points for Lietkabelis at 43-32, but Langenfeld answered from deep for Ulm. It was all Lietkabelis could do to stay within 53-42 at halftime.

An 0-6 run to start the third quarter got Lietkabelis as close as 53-48 before Mathias struck again from deep. By the time Williams sent a behind-the-back pass to Jallow for a triple and scored himself, Ulm had restored a 64-50 edge. Lietkabelis kept pushing until a basket by Gabrielus Maldunas and a triple by Donatas Sabeckis made it 68-58. Jallow's answer from deep kept Ulm up 71-58 after 30 minutes. Lietkabelis struggled to score until Orelik hit from deep at 75-64 but Pacome Dadiet answered in kind and then some, with 5 consecutive points at 80-64 with 6 minute left. That proved too little time for Lietkabelis to challenge while Ulm took advantage to drive the difference even higher.

A tie in the middle of the standings in BKT EuroCup Regular Season's Group B went to the hosts and gave them a share of third place.

ratiopharm Ulm v 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys (2023-10-17T17:30:00.000Z)

The Buducnost attack was too much for Slask

Buducnost had almost no problems on offense throughout the game and ended up with its best offensive performance in almost three years. The 103 points Buducnost scored was the most in a game since the team put up 108 in a home win over Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse in January 2021.

Buducnost did not show such offensive potential in the first two games, when it scored 76 in a Round 1 home win against 7-bet Lietkabelis Panevezys and then finished with 77 in a road loss against Turk Telekom Ankara.

But in Round 3 against Slask, Buducnost showed a different face. It shot at great percentages in the 14-point win.

Buducnost made 28 of 43 two-point shots (65.1%), netted 12 of 24 triples (50%), and made 11 of 13 free throws (84.6%).

It resulted in Buducnost having six scorers with 12 or more points, despite no player spending more than 25 minutes on the floor.

Colbey Ross was the top scorer in the victory with 19 points, and he also dished 6 assists. Jacorey Williams had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds, and 10 of those points came in a key third quarter. McKinley Wright and Petar Popovic scored 13 apiece, while Yoan Makoundou and Andrija Grbovic and each had 12 points, with Grbovic knocking down 4-of-5 three-pointers for the night.

Buducnost coach Petar Mijovic might not like the fact that his team allowed 89 points, but offensive showings like these can lead to a lot of victories.

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica protected its home floor with a 103-89 win over Slask Wroclaw on Tuesday night in the Montenegrin capital. 

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica v Slask Wroclaw (2023-10-17T16:00:00.000Z)

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica used a fine offensive performance and six scorers in double figures in dismissing the visiting Slask Wroclaw 103-89 at its Moraca on Tuesday. This victory improved Buducnost to 2-1 record in Group B, while Slask dropped to 0-3 in the young season.

The lead man in Buducnost victory was Jacorey Williams who scored 10 of his 18 points in the third quarter, helping the hosts pull away to a double-digit lead. Williams also had 11 rebounds. Colbey Ross had 19 points and 6 assists.

Buducnost dismisses Slask, 103-89

JaCorey Williams starred for Buducnost, which improved to 2-1 record in Group B, while Slask dropped to 0-3 in the young season. Williams scored 10 of his 18 points in the third quarter, helping the hosts pull away to a double-digit lead. Williams also had 11 rebounds. 

Colbey Ross added 19 points and 6 assists, McKinley Wright and Petar Popovic scored 13 apiece, while Andrija Grbovic and Yoan Makoundou each had 12 points. Dusan Miletic finished as Slask's top scorer with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Hassani Gravett tallied 16 points and Saulius Kulvietis scored all 12 of his points in the first half.

Saulius Kulvietis hit back-to-back triples for Slask in the first 3 minutes, but Buducnost answered with an 8-0 run through McKinley Wright and Vladimir Mihailovic, opening a 13-6 lead. Back-to-back three-pointers from Yoan Makoundou and Wright helped Buducnost to a 19-8 margin, but Artsiom Parakhouski scored 6 points in between a triple apiece from Jamonda Bryant and Lukasz Kolenda, as Slask came within 21-20 after 10 minutes.

The offenses picked up early in the second, as the teams traded leads. Andrija Grbovic and Hassani Gravett exchanged triples. Grbovic nailed another three, and Petar Popovic had a three-point play, restoring Buducnost's lead. Colbey Ross from the outside and Williams inside extended it to 39-31 midway through the second, but Bryant scored twice for the visitors, before a three-pointer from Kulvietis cut it to 43-41. However, Makoundou and Popovic made sure Buducnost took a 50-44 into halftime.

Buducnost took it to the rim early in the third and Wright scored on a fast break to make it 56-48, but Dusan Miletic kept the visitors in range with 5 consecutive points and a corner triple from Jakub Niziol cut it to 58-56. But Buducnost remained ahead through Makoundou and Williams, and a triple from Ross helped made it 74-66 after 30 minutes.

Grbovic's triple opened the fourth quarter, before Mihailovic and Popovic each drove for a layup to make it 81-66, forcing a Slask timeout after only a minute and 45 seconds in the fourth. Niziol answered with back-to-back threes, and Gravett had back-to-back long-range shots, but Popovic helped keep the margin in double figures. Ross had a three-point play and a triple, and assisted for a transition triple from Fletcher McGee as Buducnost raced to 99-82 with 3:00 to go, effectively icing the game.

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica used a fine offensive performance and six scorers in double figures in dismissing visiting Slask Wroclaw 103-89 at its Moraca on Tuesday. 

The Joventut Badalona guard was injured in the last domestic league game.

Joventut's Andres Feliz out indefinitely

In the last Spanish League game against Unicaja Malaga, Joventut Badalona guard [Andres Feliz](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/andres-feliz/011247/) suffered a sprain on his left ankle that will keep him sidelined for an unknown period of time. Feliz (1.85 meters, 26 years old) averages 8.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 4.0 steals in the two BKT EuroCup games he has played so far this season. Feliz's recovery period will be reevaluated according to the evolution of his injury, but he will be missing the Round 2 home game against Wolves Vilnius.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr">🚑 Comunicat mèdic: Andrés Feliz<br><br>Les proves mèdiques realitzades al jugador, lesionat a l’últim partit a Màlaga, han determinat que Feliz pateix un esquinç al turmell esquerre.<br><br>L’evolució de la lesió marcarà el seu retorn a les pistes.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Badalona%C3%89sFutur?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BadalonaÉsFutur</a> <a href="https://t.co/coBKGPpUGr">pic.twitter.com/coBKGPpUGr</a></p>&mdash; Club Joventut Badalona (@Penya1930) <a href="https://twitter.com/Penya1930/status/1714224167342502218?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Carles Duran, Joventut head coach

It's very important to win at home. We are already seeing it makes the difference. We value it a lot, because the team always needs the support of the fans after a loss. And I know what we must do to give people the trust we did not in the opening game. We want to play good basketball again. The Wolves are an opponent that plays good basketball, with a core of good Lithuanian players. They are a very talented team.

Joventut (1-1) will defend its home court against a Wolves team (0-1) looking for its first-ever win in the competition.

Pre-game quotes: Joventut vs. Wolves

Joventut Badalona v Wolves Vilnius (2023-10-18T18:30:00.000Z)

Vincent King Jr.’s road to the BKT EuroCup has seen some unusual stops along the way. 

VJ King crossed paths with Bogues, LeBron and Tatum en route to Hamburg

But the Veolia Towers Hamburg forward also has crossed paths with some greats in the game including Muggsy Bogues, LeBron James and Jayson Tatum.

[King - who goes by VJ -](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/vincent-king/012581/) is making his debut in pan-European competition this season with the northern German club after playing his first full year in Europe in 2022-23 with Bristol Flyers of England.

"One of the biggest reasons - if not the biggest reason - that I signed to play with Hamburg was the opportunity to play in the EuroCup competition. I am ready for the challenge and it’s very exciting," said the 26-year-old American.

King's time with Bristol was actually his second experience in Europe after he finished the 2021-22 campaign with AB Contern of the Luxembourg League. He decided to give Europe a try after not getting much playing time in the G-League that season.  

"I wasn’t playing a whole lot and I went to Luxembourg and I was playing every second. As a basketball player, you want to be in a situation that you are going to play. Going out there I didn’t know the league was what it was. I was just excited about it," said King, who in seven games over about three months averaged 40.3 minutes as he played the full game six times, including all 50 minutes in a double-overtime game.

King was just happy to play at all in the 2021-22 season. He had missed the previous 18 months of action - including the entire 2020-21 campaign - with surgery to repair a stress fracture to his right tibia, which was very slow to heal.

"Not being able to play, it made me miss the game more than anything. I never had taken off so much time. I was forced to sit out for over a year," he said. "When I was able to play again I was like an 8-year-old kid when I was starting the first time."

King started the game in his native Cleveland and just a couple years later his family moved to Charlotte. There the young King played at United Faith Christian Academy. His coach there was former NBA star Muggsy Bogues - someone King didn’t even know.

"He was a cool guy. I didn't really know who he was. I thought, wow they have this new head coach and he’s really small," King recalled of the 1.60-meter Bogues who played 14 years in the NBA.

Vincent King Top Plays from 10/01/2023 to 10/17/2023

VJ King's top plays in his first BKT EuroCup games

King’s parents eventually told him who Bogues was and the youngster enjoyed his time with the former star.

"He was a guy who liked to instill confidence in his players," King said.

Another boost in confidence came in 2012 when the King family moved back to Ohio but this time to Akron, where King would attend St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. 

By this point, he was a huge Kobe Bryant fan - and still is to this day. And he didn’t even realize that SVSM was the high school that LeBron James attended.

"I visited for the first time and I walked into the gym and I was walking with Coach Dru Joyce and he was talking about the program and where I can fit in. And I look in the rafters and I see LeBron's name up there. I said: 'Did LeBron go here?' I really didn’t know that either," he remembered. "I was only tuned in to what Kobe was doing. I never paid any attention to LeBron."

King would actually end up paying more attention to King James though as the NBA superstar trained at his former high school in the off-season while King was there. 

"He was there for two months working out. Seeing him in person was crazy. We were in the gym and we thought, 'he’s on the floor, let’s get off and give him some space and let him do what he needs to do.' But he encouraged us to work out with him, shoot with him," King said. "He’s an easygoing guy. That was the biggest thing that surprised me besides how big he was in person. Sometimes he would invite some of us to his house to eat with him."

The summer after his first season in Akron, King was introduced to another future star. He was selected to play for the United States at the FIBA U16 Americas Championship in 2013 and his roommate for the tournament in Uruguay was Jayson Tatum.

"We got real tight," King said of Tatum, who would become an NBA All-Star with the Boston Celtics. "Watching him grow and see where he is now I am really happy for him and you saw it coming. How he plays now is not that much different to how he played back then. And that still is a big motivation."

King and Tatum would win the U16 Americas tournament and then take the title at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2014 in Dubai the following summer.

Those trips would give King a taste of what’s to come in the world of basketball - and his intriguing road to the EuroCup.