ratiopharm Ulm bounced back from its home loss against Prometey Slobozhanske by defeating the visiting Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 97-85 at ratiopharm arena on Wednesday evening. A 13-0 run early in the second period allowed Ulm to escape with a 53-41 lead at halftime, and even though Cedevita got within 55-53 early in the third, another great offensive display from the hosts boosted it to a solid margin that the visitors could never overturn. Ulm improved to 9-7 to remain in the fight for home-court advantage in the playoffs, while already-eliminated Cedevita dropped to 3-13.

Bruno Caboclo led all scorers with 26 points in as many minutes, plus he added 5 boards and 2 assists. Fedor Zugic followed with a season-high 21 points, going 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, while Yago Dos Santos poured in 12, and Joshua Hawley and Thomas Kelepeisz provided 10 apiece. Juan Nunez excelled in rebounding, pulling down 10 boards and also dishing 6 assists. Zoran Dragic paced Cedevita with 24 points, Yogi Ferrell contributed 18 and Alen Omic produced 13 in the losing effort.

Game News

Dragic sustained the guests in the early going, scoring the first 7 points for Cedevita, but Ulm found a timely response from the Brazilian duo of Caboclo and Dos Santos, who combined for 13 points to establish a 13-10 home lead after four minutes. The hosts used the three-point line to keep a high-scoring pace. Even though Dragic did his best with another 7 points, Ulm reached the end of the first period leading 30-26.

Cedevita tried to react from behind the arc but missed its first 5 three-point attempts in the second quarter, as Ulm chained together 3 three-point plays that made it a double-digit advantage, 39-28. Zugic soon extended the run to 13-0, which helped Ulm make it a 43-28 score and put Cedevita on the ropes. The guest went to the experienced Omic, who provided 7 points and 1 assist to get his team within 46-39 after 18 minutes. Ulm had lost its offensive momentum but survived from the free-throw line, then Hawley showed up with a reverse layup that Klepeisz followed with a contested buzzer-beating shot to return a safe margin for the hosts, 53-41, at halftime.

Game Videos

Ferrell opened fire from deep when the game resumed, but that was the only bucket Cedevita got in the first three minutes. Ulm wasn’t better, though, as only Karim Jallow scored in that span. The trend was broken by a layup by Rok Radovic that sparked a 0-7 run capped by a trey from Dragic that trimmed the difference to 55-51. Ulm’s timeout couldn’t prevent Ferrell from making it a one-possession game midway through the third period, but Dos Santos and Caboclo came to the rescue again to pace Ulm, restoring a 63-55 edge. A three-pointer by Dragic seemed to get Cedevita back on track, but 7 consecutive free throws by Ulm, 1 of them coming from a technical foul called on the visiting side’s bench, allowed the home team to enter the last stanza with a dominant advantage, 72-61.

Cedevita improved on offense and found a steady scoring rhythm, but it couldn’t stop Zugic on the other end, so Ulm increased the margin to 84-70 with seven minutes remaining. Caboclo and Ferrell took the reins on each side and swapped baskets, which led to a 93-83 score entering crunch time. Zugic scored twice from the line to keep Ulm safe, and even though Adams quickly answered from the same place, the visitors were unable to add any more points in the last two minutes, allowing the hosts to celebrate.

Ulm controls Cedevita at home, 97-85

ratiopharm Ulm v Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (2023-03-15T18:30:00.000Z)

Michael Bramos had an evening to remember on Wednesday, as his 7 triples in Umana Reyer Venice's 73-89 win at Frutti Extra Bursaspor allowed him to pass three historic players in the all-time 7DAYS EuroCup list for three-pointers made. He set a new career high for triples, too.

The 35-year-old Bramos went 7-for-10 on three-pointers en route to 24 points. Before the 7 triples he hit on Wednesday, the best mark that he had set was the 6 he made on November 4, 2020, for Reyer at UNICS Kazan.

“Sometimes it happens like this. My teammates did a good job finding some open spots for me, and thankfully I was able to knock them down. But I’m just happy that we got the win,” the sharpshooter said afterward.

The 7 made three-pointers by Michael Bramos in Umana Reyer Venice's 73-89 win at Frutti Extra Bursaspor in Round 16 of the 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season.

Michael Bramos's 7 three-pointers vs. Bursaspor

Bramos was able to break out of his slump in Reyer's game at Bursaspor after having totaled just 6 three-pointers in the previous five games. And he came into the game averaging just 6.0 points per night.

Following those 7 three-pointers in Round 16, Bramos now has 161 made three-pointers in 83 games across seven seasons in the EuroCup with Reyer and Gran Canaria. He entered the game ranked 14th on the all-time list for three-pointers made, but over the course of the contest, Bramos passed hallowed EuroCup names Sergey Monia (156), Alex Mumbru (158) and David Logan (160) to move into 11th place.

Within striking distance for Bramos before the end of the regular season are Marko Marinkovic (164), Sam van Rossom (166) and Demond Mallet (167). Passing them would take him up to eighth place in the history of the EuroCup.

Michael Bramos made a bit of history on career night

Frutti Extra Bursaspor v Umana Reyer Venice (2023-03-15T17:00:00.000Z)

Prometey Slobozhanske downed Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 96-82 at Arena Riga in Round 16 on Wednesday. It was an important fixture for Prometey, and D.J. Stephens had his fingerprints all over the game.

Prometey recorded its ninth straight victory, which means that it has consecutively beaten every team in Group A, an unprecedented feat since the current format was chosen last season. Stephens was at the center of it all, putting in a truly historic performance. He finished the game with 28 points on dunks and three-point shots. He didn't take jumpers, layups or even go to the foul line. Stephens made 5-of-7 two-pointers and went 6-of-9 from downtown for a PIR of 28.

D.J. Stephens had five dunks and six three-pointer in Round 16, leading Prometey Slobozhanske to a 96-82 home win against Mincidelice Jl Bourg en Bresse. Check them out!

Stephens is a human highlight reel!

Stephens was a human highlight reel, pleasing Prometey's fans with some of the biggest dunks of the season, as well as a high-flying block, sending the ball way out of bounds. He got the ball off a jump ball and went all the way to the hoop, before unleashing a double-pump dunk. In the fourth quarter, Stephens proceeded to dunk over Bourg center Amida Brimah, and he finished his one-man show with a huge windmill slam off a steal. Stephens arguably provided one of the most spectacular performances in EuroCup history!

D.J. Stephens was pure showtime against Bourg 

Prometey Slobozhanske v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2023-03-15T17:00:00.000Z)

### Neven Spahija, Umana Reyer Venice head coach

“At halftime I said we have to play way better defense because 47 points \[allowed\] at halftime is not the defense of a serious team at a serious level.

“The defense in the second 20 minutes saved us and gave us this victory. A serious team like us, someone who wants to be a contender and go as far as possible in this competition, needs to play this defense consistently. I would like to congratulate our team for the amazing effort and great win. They pressured \[Bursaspor for\] 40 minutes and didn’t give up for one second. And it’s not easy to win here.”

### Dusan Alimpijevic, Frutti Extra Bursaspor head coach

“It’s a couple of games like this now. We totally lost our flow on offense. We lost our aggressiveness. We don’t look like a team who plays good basketball. We need to go back to our basics. We need to find a way to fix this problem.

"First of all, I have to say that I am really sorry to our fans. People came to support us and we had almost a full gym and a great atmosphere, and they pushed us to our limits, but we couldn’t give it back in our best way. The atmosphere we have in our gym, I don’t think a lot of teams in EuroCup have that. We should help each other more with boxing out, we should show more energy. We didn’t react how we should react in some situations. We should react smarter in most of the situations in the game. There is a very difficult period ahead for us. We still have everything in our hands. We just need to find a way to fix all these problems and find our game from the beginning of the season.”

### Michael Bramos, Umana Reyer Venice forward

“Sometimes it happens like this \[after scoring 7 three-pointers\]. My team did a good job of finding some open spots for me, and thankfully I was able to knock them down. But I’m just happy that we got the win.”

Neven Spahija, Reyer: 'It's not easy to win here'

Umana Reyer Venice continued its positive momentum heading into the final stretch of the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season after securing an important 73-89 victory at Frutti Extra Bursaspor on Wednesday evening. Reyer took control with a 9-26 fourth quarter to snap a four-game road losing streak and improve to 9-7 in Group A, while new head coach Neven Spahija has overseen two straight victories since taking over. Bursaspor, meanwhile, dropped its second game in a row and its fifth in the last six for a 7-9 mark.

Michael Bramos scored 12 of his 24 points in the final frame and had 7 three-pointers to lead Reyer, with Jayson Granger collecting 18 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 8 fouls drawn for a 29 PIR. Jordan Parks added 14 points for Reyer, too. For Bursaspor, Onuralp Bitim scored 23 points and Zach Auguste had 16 in the losing effort.

In a battle between two teams who had already qualified for the postseason, Bursaspor was not intimidated by Reyer’s defense in the early going, opening an 8-2 lead. After Reyer knotted it 10-10, Derek Needham buried 3 three-pointers as Bursaspor twice opened a 6-point lead. After 10 minutes of play, the hosts were up 29-24.

Reyer took its first lead, 29-32, on a three-point play from Amedeo Tessitori. The lead switched hands five times in the rest of the first half as it remained close, but Bursaspor led 47-45 at the break.

Bitim and David Dudzinski helped keep the home side ahead, 56-54. Bramos came off the bench for 2 three-pointers in a 1-8 spurt for Reyer’s biggest advantage, 57-62. Bursaspor raced back with the next 5 points to even the game and was leading 64-63 after 30 minutes.

Bramos continued his hot shooting with 3 more triples, which allowed Reyer to take a 66-72 lead. The 35-year-old Bramos added 3 more points to help open a 71-79 gap with three minutes left. Triples by Derek Willis and Granger ended any hopes for Bursaspor, as Reyer took a 73-87 lead with 39 seconds to go.

Reyer pulls away from Bursaspor late, 73-89

### Ronen Ginzburg, Prometey Slobozhanske head coach

"When you score 96 points, of course you like it. I think we moved the ball well, even when we were struggling a little in the beginning. On defense, I think that even though we gave up 82 points, they made some tough shots and \[we\] respected their shots, so I am satisfied with the game. We knew that they play zone and matchup sometimes, but we were ready. We scored well and shot well."

### Frederic Fauthoux, Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse head coach

"We made too many mistakes on defense and gave them too many fastbreaks and too many three-point shots on drive and kicks. It wasn't a good game, but maybe Prometey was too strong for us."

### D.J. Stephens, Prometey Slobozhanske forward 

"Everybody would think that dunks are my favorites, but I really like shooting and making a lot of threes. For me, it means a lot more because my athleticism is like more natural, God-given abilities, and it is what I have been known for all my career, but I also like to showcase that I am a complete basketball player and I can shoot the ball as well. When the offense is flowing and everybody is touching the ball, everybody is knocking down shots, it is a lot more fun. It makes you want to play harder, it makes you want to compete. It makes you want to go out there and defend. But when the offense get stuck, sometimes guys don't get shots; as a player, you can be frustrated. So, we played very well, moved the ball, and it is a lot of fun for everybody and allows us just to play our best basketball."

Ronen Ginzburg, Prometey: 'We moved the ball well'

Prometey Slobozhanske secured a top-two finish in Group A by downing Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 96-82 at Arena Riga in the Latvian capital on Wednesday evening. Prometey improved to 12-4 in the standings and is on a nine-game winning streak, in which it has beaten each and every opponent in Group A. Bourg, who has already qualified to the playoffs, dropped to 8-8 and has lost its last five games.

D.J. Stephens paced the winner with 28 points on 5 dunks and 6 three-point shots in arguably one of the most spectacular performances in 7DAYS EuroCup history. Gian Clavell added 18 points, Ondrej Balvin had 16 and 8 rebounds, while Illia Sydorov and Caleb Agada each scored 10 points. James Palmer led Bourg with 17 points. Jordan Floyd chipped in with 15 and Axel Julien had 12 for the guests.

Frantz Massenat struck from downtown and fed Amida Brimah for a dunk in traffic that gave Bourg an early 3-5 lead. Sydorov and Clavell each buried a three-pointer, then James Dickey's fastbreak dunk made the guest call timeout at 15-11. Stephens buried back-to-back triples to boost Prometey's lead to 21-16 after 10 minutes. 

Ivan Tkachenko and Stephens soon took over with consecutive dunks, getting help from Dickey to give the hosts a 28-20 lead. Palmer and Julien managed to bring the guest within 39-36. Oleksandr Lypovvy and Sodorov each struck from beyond the arc in an 8-0 run that made it a double-digit game, 47-36, at halftime.

Floyd hit a jumper after the break, which Palmer followed with a triple to bring Bourg closer, 49-42. Sydorov and Stephens rescued Prometey, and Agada struck from downtown for a 59-44 lead. Stephens nailed his fourth three-pointer and Balvin's alley-oop dunk saw Prometey pull away, 64-46. Palmer and Alexandre Chassang each struck from beyond the arc, then Isiaha Mike's three-point play gave Bourg hope at 69-60. Clavell's wild buzzer-beater fixed the score at 74-62 after 30 minutes.

Balvin kept pacing Prometey early in the fourth quarter, before Stephens followed a huge dunk off the baseline with another three-pointer. The hosts boosted their margin to 90-72 and never looked back.

D.J. Stephens shines as Prometey defeats Bourg, 96-82

Head-to-head: Ferran Bassas and Axel Bouteille

A lot will be at stake on Wednesday when [Gran Canaria (12-3) welcomes Turk Telekom Ankara (11-4)](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/gran-canaria-turk-telekom-ankara/U2022/156/) in a clash between two of Group B's top teams. A pair of veteran 7DAYS EuroCup shooters, [Ferran Bassas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/ferran-bassas/001607/) and [Axel Bouteille](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/axel-bouteille/003840/), will find themselves facing off, too, in a matchup that could sway the outcome.

Gran Canaria has already secured home-court advantage in the upcoming eighthfinals and will guarantee itself a top-two finish in Group B with a home win that would mean a season sweep over Turk Telekom.

When these teams met in Round 7, Gran Canaria pulled out an 81-88 win in Ankara with Bassas scoring 7 points and dishing a season-high 8 assists. Bouteille had 9 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists for Turk Telekom. That marked the only game in the last 11 in which Bouteille scored fewer than 12 points.

Since that below-par performance against Gran Canaria, only two players in the competition have scored more than the Turk Telekom forward, who is averaging 19.0 points over that span and ranks fourth in scoring for the season with 17.8 per game.

The 30-year-old Bassas and the 27-year old Bouteille might not play the same position but they know each other well from the Spanish League and Bouteille's time there.

They were on opposite times one more time in the EuroCup prior to this season. On that occasion, in March 2021, Bassas scored 21 points on a career-best 6-of-10 two-point shooting and 3-for-4 behind the three-point line. He also had 3 assists and 2 rebounds playing for Joventut Badalona in a 77-90 loss against Unicaja Malaga. Bouteille netted 14 points on 4-for-7 two-point and 2-for-6 three-point shooting for Unicaja that day. He also had 2 assists, 2 rebounds and a career-high 5 steals.

Both of those games finished with road teams victorious. Bouteille would love to continue that trend, as then Turk Telekom would remain in play for first place in the group. Bassas, who ranks seventh with 5.5 assists and first with 10.4 assists prorated over 40 minutes, will try to make sure that Gran Canaria protects its home floor it hopes to play on as much as possible in the playoffs. 

Gran Canaria v Turk Telekom Ankara (2023-03-15T20:00:00.000Z)

A really important game for the final outcome in Group A is coming on Wednesday evening, when [Prometey Slobozhanske hosts Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse at Arena Riga](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/prometey-slobozhanske-mincidelice-jl-bourg-en-bresse/U2022/152/) in the Latvian capital, which is where the Ukrainian team has been playing most of its home games this season.

Prometey has been on a roll lately, winning its last eight 7DAYS EuroCup games to go from a record of 3-4 to 11-4 and first place in Group A. A win against Bourg would mean guarantee Prometey a top-two finish in the group. It would also mean that Prometey will become the first EuroCup team since the current format was introduced to defeat all its group rivals in a single winning streak. Due to rescheduled games last season, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana beat all but one of its group rivals over a nine-game streak.

Cedevita had lost against Bourg before that streak started last season, just as Prometey's last loss also came against Bourg, way back in Round 7. Bourg edged Prometey 92-85 behind 23 points and 9 rebounds from James Palmer. Prometey had gotten as close as 86-85 on free throws by Issuf Sanon. Hugo Benitez stepped up with a critical basket, then Pierre Pelos and Palmer sealed the outcome from the foul line, capitalizing on Bourg's key defensive stops.

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse - Prometey Slobozhanske | Round 7 Highlights | 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup

Bourg, by contrast, is trying to break a four-game losing streak after having opened the season 6-0, the best start of any 2022-23 EuroCup team. Head coach Frederic Fauthoux's team has won just twice in the last nine games, however, and must fight for home-court advantage in the eighthfinals, a goal that Prometey has already secured. For that, Bourg needs a top-four finish in Group A and a win on Wednesday would definitely help. 

Prometey is now the fourth Ukrainian team to reach the EuroCup Playoffs. Kyiv made it to the 2008 eighthfinals, losing against PGE Turow Zgorzelec. Donetsk made it to the 2012 quarterfinals, but fell to Rytas Vilnius. Budivelnik Kyiv has been the most successful Ukrainian team until now, reaching to the 2011 quarterfinals and the 2014 semifinals, but losing to Spanish sides Cajasol Sevilla and Bilbao Basket, respectively. 

Wednesday's game gives fans the chance to see two of the best dunkers in the EuroCup go against each other. Prometey's D.J. Stephens has surprised fans and experts alike with his jumping skills, great timing to catch alley-oop dunks, and overall energy. Bourg's Isiaha Mike has also been a human highlight reel, blocking shots and detonating dunks all over Europe. Stephens didn't dunk in Bourg, finishing the game with 4 points. Mike had 8 points in a winning effort. 

D.J. Stephens and Isiaha Mike, two of the most spectacular players in the 7DAYS EuroCup this season, go against each other in Round 7.

D.J. Stephens vs Isaiah Mike in Round 16!

Prometey is the second-best scoring team in the competition (87.2 ppg.), trailing only Hapoel Vegan Friendly Jerusalem (87.3), and ranks first in steals (9.8). Prometey's playing style emphasizes aggressive defense leading to easy transition baskets, hence its high two-point efficiency (56.6%). On the other hand, Bourg ranks second in three-point shooting (39.7%), doing way better than Prometey (31.4%). Five Bourg players – Mike, Pierre Pelos, Palmer, Frantz Massenat and Maxime Courby – shoot 43.0% or better from downtown. Stephens is Prometey's best three-point shooter at 38.0%. 

Expect a fun-to-watch, fast-paced clash of opposites when the action begins on Wednesday evening! 