The well-rounded guard did a little bit of everything to make sure his team grabbed its first win. 


Tyler Ennis leads Reyer past Aris, 95-75

Umana Reyer Venice enjoyed a strong start to the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup season by downing Aris Midea Thessaloniki 95-75 at Palasport Taliercio in Group B on Wednesday.

Jordan Parks led the winners with 17 points. Mfioundu Kabengele and Aamir Simms each added 13, Tyler Ennis tallied 12 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, Amedeo Tessitori netted 11 points and Xavier Munford and Carl Wheatle each scored 10 for Reyer. Landers Nolley led Aris with 14 points. Eleftherios Mantzoukas and David de Julius each added 11 and Vassilis Toliopoulos had 10 for the visitors.

Game Videos

Nolley got Aris going with a three-pointer. Simms matched that with a layup-plus-foul and Ennis struck from downtown for a 6-3 Reyer lead. Kabengele took over with a dunk-and-foul and Parks's alley-oop slam boosted the hosts' lead to 11-5. Mantzoukas struck twice from beyond the arc and Toliopoulos's floater brought Aris within 15-13. Ennis and Munford fueled a 9-0 run that made it a double-digit game, 24-13. Trey Woodbury and Toliopoulos brought Aris closer, 30-22, after 10 minutes.

Alessandro Lever scored down low and Wheatle improved on Joshua Roberts's layup with a triple for a 35-24 Reyer lead. Molley hit a three-pointer and de Julius added a jumper, prompting the hosts to call timeout at 35-30. Mantzoukas insisted from downtown and an unstoppable James Banks dunked three times to tie it at 39-39. Ennis and Tessitori stepped up to help Reyer to a 47-41 lead at halftime.

Game News

Roberts hit a jump hook after the break and Molley added a triple to bring Aris within 47-46. Parks beat the shot clock with a corner triple and Ennis added a tip-in, igniting a 14-0 run that Simms capped with a two-handed dunk that broke the game open, 65-46. Woodbury and Banks rescued Aris, bringing their team within 69-57 at the end of the third quarter.

Parks dunked again early in the fourth quarter to restore a 72-57 Reyer lead. The hosts kept going to the foul line often and started to use longer possessions to run the game clock down. Aris could not find the way to the basket and Simms hit a wide open triple in transition that sealed the outcome, 79-62, as the guests never recovered.

The well-rounded guard did a little bit of everything to lead his team to a perfect start

Umana Reyer Venice v Aris Midea Thessaloniki (2024-09-25T18:00:00.000Z)

ratiopharm Ulm fought off a valiant effort from BKT EuroCup returnee Trefl Sopot to snatch a 93-96 overtime victory on the road as Justinian Jessup hit the game-winning three-pointer with 2.0 seconds left. 

Jessup triple wins the game, Ulm ruins Trefl’s return to EuroCup

ratiopharm Ulm fought off a valiant effort from BKT EuroCup returnee Trefl Sopot to snatch a 93-96 overtime victory on the road as Justinian Jessup hit the game-winning three-pointer with 2.0 seconds left. Ulm rallied from 12 points down to ruin Trefl’s first EuroCup game since 2012.

Jessup scored a team-high 20 points while Noa Essengue had 18 points, fellow teenager Ben Saraf collected 17 points and 10 assists and Alfonso Plummer chipped in 12 points. Jakub Schenk drained 5 three-pointers for 22 points and Geoffrey Groselle collected 11 points and 10 rebounds in the Group A encounter. 

The game was tight in the first quarter with Philipp Herkenhoff and Jessup both scoring 6 points for Ulm while Jaroslaw Zyskowski picked up 6 points of his own for Trefl, which was down 12-14. Trefl’s veteran leaders of Tarik Phillip, Groselle and Aaron Best sparked a 12-4 spurt for a 24-18 advantage. Schenk added two triples and the hosts led 32-23 after 10 minutes.

The Ulm struggles continued in the second quarter and Trefl extended the cushion to 39-27. The German team started to come up with defensive stops, holding Trefl scoreless for nearly 4 minutes and scored 9 straight points to close within 39-36. Trefl led the game 41-38 at halftime. 

Trefl had the better start to the second half and went ahead 48-41. Ulm again had a strong defensive stretch, keeping Trefl scoreless for 4 minutes and getting as close as 48-41. Trefl regained control thanks to 5 points from Marcus Weathers and a third three-pointer by Schenk in a 12-3 surge to make it 60-50. Alec Anigbata came off the Ulm bench for 5 points and the guests were down 62-55 after 30 minutes.

Ulm continued to get closer and made it 64-60 only to see Zyskowski and Schenk hit back-to-back triples and the cushion was double digits again 70-60. Saraf was not ready to give up the game with a tough jumper, three-point play and 2 more free throws to make it 72-67. Trefl increased the lead to 77-69 but Saraf fed fellow teenage star prospect Essengue for two dunks and Saraf hit a jumper and put back a miss to knot the game 79-79 with 78 seconds to play. Saraf then raced ahead after a missed shot, got the ball from Plummer but gave it back to the Puerto Rican for the layup and an Ulm lead, 79-81, with 21 seconds. Groselle missed for Trefl but stole the ball from Plummer and laid it in for the tie game 81-81 with 6.2 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.

Essengue stepped up in the extra session with an alley-oop dunk and three-pointer and Plummer’s triple had Ulm up 85-89. Phillip drained a three-pointer of his own and 2 free throws as the game was tied again 93-93. That set up Jessup’s heroics with a three-pointer with 2 seconds to go. 

Ulm's teenage stars Ben Saraf and Noa Essengue also came up big

Trefl Sopot v ratiopharm Ulm (2024-09-25T17:00:00.000Z)

Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul cruised to a comprehensive 94-76 home win over Buducnost Voli Podgorica to make a perfect start in Group A of the BKT EuroCup, after Derek Needham rolled back the years.

Derek Needham shines as Besiktas breezes past Buducnost 

Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul cruised to a comprehensive 94-76 home win over Buducnost Voli Podgorica to make a perfect start in Group A of the BKT EuroCup, after Derek Needham rolled back the years.

The 33-year-old guard racked up a game-high 18 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds after he came off the bench to run the show in front of a vocal home crowd who roared on Besiktas throughout. Kelan Martin added 14 points for the hosts, Conor Morgan netted 12 and Jonah Mathews posted 10 in a concerted team effort.

At the other end, Rasheed Sulaimon and McKinley Wright led Buducnost with 13 points each while Juwan Morgan chipped in with 12, but the visitors struggled as their influential point guard Yogi Ferrel was largely subdued.

Ferrel finished on a mere 8 points, having been kept scoreless until midway through the fourth quarter, with Buducnost making only 3 of 14 shots from downtown. Besiktas hit 9 of 24, having also amassed 38 rebounds and a whopping 23 assists.

Besiktas head coach Dusan Alimpijevic was delighted with his team’s effervescent performance, with Buducnost powerless to cope with the home side’s electrifying pace which generated a barrage of fast breaks.    

“The number of rebounds and assists shows just how ready we were to hustle today,” the Serbian tactician said. “I am very happy because the opening game is always tough to play in any competition and we need to build on this performance.”

Buducnost briefly carved out a 10-12 advantage after Besiktas had raced into a 5-0 lead, but that was as good as it got for the Montenegrin outfit. Powered by Needham, Besiktas pulled 43-28 clear in the second quarter and held on for a 49-39 halftime lead, as Sulaimon and Wright tried to keep Buducnost afloat.

The writing was on the wall for Buducnost after a 10-2 run allowed Besiktas to race away into a 64-47 lead late in the third quarter and the advantage swelled to 20 points in the fourth, as the home team kept its foot on the gas.

“Great game and great energy by us, it’s something we’ve been looking for throughout the preseason,” said Needham. “I came off the bench today, I always try to be the youngest guy with the energy needed. “

In Round 2, Besiktas visit Istanbul arch-rival and EuroCup debutant Bahcesehir, while Buducnost is at home to the competition’s 2023 champion Dreamland Gran Canaria.

The 33-year-old veteran pulled all the strings for the home side in a lopsided contest 

Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul v Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (2024-09-25T17:00:00.000Z)

Valencia celebrates EuroCup return with 64-80 road win over Jerusalem

Four-time BKT EuroCup winner Valencia Basket has made an impressive comeback to the competition by grabbing a 64-80 victory against Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem at Samokov Arena in Bulgaria on Wednesday evening. The visitors were in control of the duel from the off and imposed their game on Jerusalem, which struggled on offense due to Valencia’s defensive prowess.

Matthew Costello paced Valencia with 16 points and Semi Ojeleye scored 12, with Jean Montero and Nathan Sestina netting 10 each. Former Valencia guard Jared Harper led all scorers with 27 points and Kenneth Smith recorded 10 in defeat.

Xabi Lopez-Arostegui opened the scoring with a slam before Sestina netted 2 triples in a row to give Valencia a 2-8 lead. Yet, Jerusalem made the most of some Valencia turnovers and took the lead 10-8, with Harper, Yovel Zoosman and Chris Johnson opening their accounts. The visitors responded with an Ojeleye triple before Sestina took his tally to an early 8 points with a bucket inside, 10-14. Then, Stefan Jovic, Costello and Jaime Pradilla came off the bench to extend Valencia’s lead to 14-26 heading into the second quarter.

Johnson and Xabi Lopez-Arostegui exchanged triples, with Valencia maintaining a double-digit lead, 19-31. An Ojeleye dunk after a smooth team move was followed by a Smith buzzer-beating midrange jumper on the other end, before Jovic hit in transition to make it 22-35. Montero scored the next 8 Valencia points before setting up Costello, who netted a layup in transition for a 29-45 cushion at the break.

Three points from Smith were followed by a hard-fought basket from Sestina, who became the first Valencia player to reach double digits in scoring, 32-47. Lopez-Arostegui responded to a Harper triple with a floater before Smith hit 2 free throws to trim the deficit to 37-49. Buckets from Costello, Jovic and Nathan Reuvers saw Valencia extend its lead again, with the visitors taking a 44-59 cushion into the closing quarter.

Harper scored 7 points, with Wiley sinking a hard-fought basket to cut the difference to 53-63. Yet, Valencia responded with triples from Josep Puerto and Costello to make it 55-69. Then, Costello’s fifth basket from inside was followed by a Montero bucket and an Ojeleye triple to extend Valencia’s lead to 57-76, with the visitors practically putting the game to bed with less than 3 minutes to go.

Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem v Valencia Basket (2024-09-25T17:00:00.000Z)

Second-half defense made the difference for Bahcesehir

Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius's fans were more than happy after the first quarter of the opener against Bahcesehir College Istanbul on Wednesday evening, as the home team led 26-23 and showed a very good face - especially offensively - against one of the strongest teams in Group A.

The hosts had shot 5-of-6 from two, 3-of-6 from behind the arc, and 7-of-9 from the line, as Anthony Cowan had 15 points with 5-of-6 from the field and 3 free-throws after 4 attempts.

“The beginning was not good, we made a lot of mistakes,” Bahcesehir head coach Dejan Radonjic recognized in the press conference. But after that it was different… Our defense was much better."

The numbers prove Radonjic right, as his team allowed just 17 points in the second quarter to reach halftime leading 43-45, and suffocated its opponent by allowing only 26 points in the second half - the same amount it received in the first period.

"The key for this victory was our defense in the second half. We didn't play fluidly in offense but our defense in the last 20 minutes was really good. This was key for the win and I congratulate my players for this game," he added.

Wolves’ offensive struggles turned into below-par shooting in the last 20 minutes, especially from the perimeter, making only 2 of 15 threes. That was a big difference compared to the first half stat-line, which showed a more than acceptable 6-of-13 from downtown.

As such, Cowan was unable to score a single field goal in the second half with his only 2 points coming from the free-throw line in the last minutes of the last period. On the other hand, Axel Bouteille recorded 13 points of his total 17 after the break, fueling Bahcesehir when it mattered most.

"I think we played a solid game. The first half was good, but we got too many points in the first quarter," the French forward emphasized too. "We allowed less points in the second half and thanks to that we got the win. It’s nice for us to start like this, winning the first game of the season \[on the road\] but we know it’s a long season and we have to keep working."

The Turks suffocated Wolves after the intermission

Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius v Bahcesehir College Istanbul (2024-09-25T16:00:00.000Z)

Cedevita Olimpija rallies to stun Cluj in a thriller

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana hit 14 three-pointers, including a pair in the final minute of the game, to beat U-BT Cluj-Napoca 86-93 on Wednesday, getting its 2024-25 BKT EuroCup campaign in Group B on the right foot.

Cedevita Olimpija overcame a 12-0 fourth-quarter spurt by the home team, and after being down 78-71, used a 2-9 run to catch up, before scoring the final 8 points of the night to register a win in which it had five scorers in double figures. Devin Robinson had 20 points, Brynton Lemar scored 18, Devante Jones collected 15 points, 7 assists and 4 steals, while Aleksej Nikolic scored 14 and DJ Stewart 13 points. Zavier Simpson had 16 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds for Cluj. Adam Mokoka also scored 16, Zach Hankins had 15 an Kevin Hervey 14 points plus 7 rebounds in defeat

Cluj had the better start, repeatedly going inside first to set the tone with an early 8-2 margin, then to put together a 10-3 run which gave the hosts a 22-14 lead as they made 10 of 12 two-point shots in the opening quarter. But Nikolic came off the bench and hit his first triple and help cut the margin to 24-19 after 10 minutes, then his second triple tied the game at 27-27 inside the first 4 minutes of the second quarter.

Cedevita went in front after a 0-6 run, capped by Robinson's basket in transition. A triple from Jones followed, and a long-distance dagger from Lemar made it 38-46 at the break.

Cluj halved the gap right away in the third quarter, then Simpson scored all the points in a 6-0 run to give Cluj a 57-56 lead after a fastbreak layup. But Nikolic nailed his fourth triple, and Lemar hit one of his own, before Stewart banked one to help make it 66-71 after 30 minutes.

But Cluj scored the first 12 points of the fourth quarter, a run sparked by a triple from Patrick Richard on his first shot of the game, and two baskets from Mareks Mejeris, also his first points of the night. Hervey's triple and a dunk from Mejeris made it 78-71 with 7 minutes to go in the game. However, Jaka Blazic beat the shot-clock with a three-pointer, before three consecutive baskets from Robinson made it 80-80.

The two teams exchanged leads four more times, with Hervey hitting a three-pointer to make it 86-85 entering the final minute. But Lemar quickly answered with a three-pointer for the visitors, then Jones beat a shot-clock with an off-balanced triple with 13.6 seconds to go to seal the outcome.

The visitors rallied after losing the lead in the fourth quarter

Cedevita Olimpija rallies to stun Cluj in thriller

U-BT Cluj-Napoca v Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (2024-09-25T16:00:00.000Z)

In the first-ever meeting between these two teams, Bahcesehir College Istanbul pulled out a convincing road win over Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius on Wednesday night. 

Bahcesehir suffocates Wolves on the road, 69-80

In the first-ever meeting between these two teams, Bahcesehir College Istanbul pulled out a convincing road win over Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius on Wednesday night. Despite trailing 26-23 at the end of the first quarter, the visitors adjusted their defense to give up only 17 points in the second period and just 13 in each of the third and fourth quarters.

Axel Bouteille paced the winners with 17 points - with 13 of them coming after the intermission. Tai Odiase followed with 14 points and 5 boards, Tyler Cavanaugh chipped in 13 and CJ Massenburg finished with 12. Anthony Cowan led all scorers with 20 points plus 4 assists and Jeffery Taylor and Tre-shawn Thurman scored 10 apiece in the losing effort.

Fueled by Odiase and Cavanaugh the visitors amassed a 3-9 advantage early in the game. With Taylor as the only player to reply so far, the hosts tried to change the trend by putting Marek Blazevic on the court. The reaction ended up coming from the backcourt, though, as Cowan chained together a couple of buckets and an extra free throw to make it 12-13 right before the first timeout of the game. Cowan and Cavanaugh continued firing on each side, going for 12 and 11 points respectively when the score was 19-21. Taylor took over later to make it all square from the line and drawing an offensive foul that gave Cowan an opportunity to close the first period with a three-point play and put the home team in front, 26-23.

Kristupas Zemaitis opened fire after the break with a three, the fourth for his team, to raise the difference to 29-23. By contrast, all Bahcesehir players had combined for 0-for-6 shooting from behind the arc so far. It was Jaleen Smith who converted the first, followed by another bomb by Marko Simonovic that got the guests closer, 32-31. Even though Wolves kept punishing the rim, mainly from the perimeter, Simonovic had already found his momentum on offense and enabled a 0-11 run that turned the tables, 35-42. Taylor showed up again to help this team stick to the game, right before Cowan returned to the scoring ways to make it 43-45 at halftime.

Wolves found unexpected help from Garrison Brooks, who scored 6 points in a row to open the second half and return the lead to the visitors, 49-47. Bouteille and Massinburg combined in offense to prevent the hosts from continuing the rally, as Simonovic’s return to the Bahcesehir frontcourt turned into a perfect fit. A three-point play by Massinburg and a three by Bouteille pushed the visitors back in front, 56-60. The French forward beat the shot-clock and repeated from downtown before Oliase completed a 0-8 run that left the Lithuanian side in shock, 56-65, entering the last stanza.

Wolves ended a 6-minute scoring drought bridging the third and the fourth quarter with a baseline dunk by Regimantas Miniotas to reduce the distance to 58-65 and force a timeout by the visitors. The hosts kept rocking inside with Blazevic, who brought his team within 62-65 midway through the quarter with consecutive baskets. His fourth foul helped the visitors not to panic, though, and later found timely shooting accuracy from Jaleen Smith and Massinburg that cooled it down, 62-70. Cavanaugh, after going scoreless for the previous two periods, showed up with a corner jumper that granted a 9-point advantage to Bahcesehir and sent the home team to the ropes with 3 minutes to go. Despite Andrews’s effort to bring the home team back, Mateusz Ponitka opened his bag of tricks to score 4 points and send the game to bed. 

The visitors allowed only 26 points in the second half

Joventut Badalona secured a Round 1 victory over Hapoel Tel Aviv on the back of its impressive frontcourt, led by Ante Tomic, Artem Pustovyi and Kaiser Gates.

Joventut’s frontline was too much for Hapoel

There has been much talk about the quality of the frontline that Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv put together, with players arriving from the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the NBA. But on opening night, Joventut Badalona’s bigs made the difference in leading their team to [a 78-75 win](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/ec2425-rs1-report-jov-hta/).

Thirty-seven-year-old center [Ante Tomic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/ante-tomic/002507/) turned back the clock as he set a EuroCup career-high in PIR with 32. He scored 17 points with just one missed shot and grabbed 12 rebounds. Both of those numbers were game-highs. 

There was no drop off in production when Tomic rested as [Artem Pustovyi](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/artem-pustovyi/004834/) stepped up with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Meanwhile, newcomer [Kaiser Gates](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/kaiser-evan-bray-gates/013287/) poured in 4 three-pointers in amassing 16 points and 4 rebounds from the power forward spot.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr">Anteeeeee Tomic 🙌<br><br>Màxim anotador: 17 punts 🎯<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Badalona%C3%89sFutur?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BadalonaÉsFutur</a> <a href="https://t.co/Er2JczXfcx">pic.twitter.com/Er2JczXfcx</a></p>&mdash; Club Joventut Badalona (@Penya1930) <a href="https://twitter.com/Penya1930/status/1838695036168605730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“It was a good test for us, opening the season in front of our crowd against probably the best team in the EuroCup,” Tomic said after the game. “An important game for us to see where we stand at this moment. I am very, very proud of these guys for what we did today.”

With the game in the balance entering the fourth quarter, Joventut’s big men answered the bell. Tomic scored 6 points in the last quarter, including the first two baskets of the stanza to increase the pressure on Hapoel. When the visitors closed the gap to 63-62, Gates responded with a clutch triple. Then Pustovyi came to the fore with a three-point play.

Their play led to Joventut outrebounding Hapoel 40-38, which helped overcome the 14 turnovers that the hosts committed. The trio was a combined 10 for 10 on free throws (Pustovyi made 5 of those and Gates 4).

On the other side, the entire Hapoel team was just 8 of 15 (53.3%) from the line. [Bruno Caboclo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/bruno-caboclo/012096/) posted 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals in defeat and [Johnathan Motley](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/johnathan-motley/011157/) had 11 points and 6 boards before leaving the game late with an apparent leg injury, but starting power forward [Ben Bentil](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/benjamin-bentil/009818/) had just 6 points on 0-for-4 three-point shooting and 1 rebound.

While Hapoel will have to go back to the drawing board as it seeks its first win of the season next week against Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius, Joventut will head to Germany next week to face ratiopharm Ulm armed with the knowledge that its frontline has proven itself already to be among the most dangerous in the competition.

Joventut Badalona's Artem Pustovyi dunks on Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv center Johnathan Motley during the two teams' Round 1 matchup in the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup season.

Ante Tomic had big numbers, but was not alone among bigs who shined for Joventut

Joventut Badalona v Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv (2024-09-24T18:30:00.000Z)

Gran Canaria’s third-quarter defense provided confidence in win over Trento

Despite bringing in nine new players over the summer, Dolomiti Energia Trento got off to a great start away at Dreamland Gran Canaria on Tuesday night. The visitors produced a great offensive display in the first half, took the hosts by surprise and secured a 45-49 lead heading into the second half.

“We need to do a much better job on defense,” Gran Canaria center Mike Tobey said at the break. “Our defense was terrible in the first half, so we gotta really pick it up in the second half if we want to have a chance to win this game.”

And that’s exactly what head coach Jaka Lakovic’s players did from the off in the second half.

Gran Canaria tightened up its defense, with Trento scoring just 2 points in the first 5 minutes of the third quarter. In fact, the hosts kept a Trento offense that scored 22 and 27 points in the first and second quarters, respectively, to just 7 points in the third and took a 60-56 lead into the closing quarter.

Trento scored 32 points after the break, mainly thanks to an extraordinary Jordan Ford, who netted half of his team’s points in the second half and finished the game with 32 points, recording 11-for-11 on two pointers and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.

“We are happy to start the season with a win,” Lakovic told EuroLeague TV after the clash. “I think that our approach on defense in the third quarter was decisive. We took control of the momentum of the game and took it to the fourth quarter, having more confidence in our game.”

Gran Canaria recorded 5 steals in the second half, with its players producing numerous deflections on defense that didn’t allow Trento to circulate the ball as smoothly as it did before the break and prevented the guests from finding their rhythm on offense.

“We responded better in the second half,” Tobey, who netted a team-high 20 points, said after the game. “In the first half, our defense was not what it needed to be, but I think that we showed character and we responded, doing a much better job in the second half. Even though we missed a bunch of shots that we’d probably make later on, the defense was what won us the game in the second half and we need to keep this mentality going forward.”

Shifting the energy from defense to offense, Gran Canaria outscored Trento 39-32 in the second half to clinch a hard-fought victory on home soil.

The Spanish side will travel to Montenegro next week, where it will face Buducnost VOLI Podgorica in their first road game of the season. Should they manage to emulate their third-quarter defense at Moraca, Gran Canaria will have little to fear in its bid to double its wins next Wednesday.

The visitors were held to just 7 points in the third period

Dreamland Gran Canaria v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2024-09-24T19:00:00.000Z)