### Gran Canaria head coach Jaka Lakovic: 

"It was a tough game, we were solid defensively but in offense were under par. We had poor percentages shooting from the field even with the open shots, we couldn’t break the game and in the end, it came down to the wire and we were a little bit lucky. We were a little bit more experienced and we took the win, but we have to do better. London came back strong, they got a push from its fans, but we stayed good, solid, especially protecting the defensive rebound and managed to squeeze out the win."

### London Lions head coach Ryan Schmidt: 

"It’s a tough loss. They are a really good team. We weren’t good for three quarters. I love our will, our fight but offensively we were rushing too much, we panicked in our attack at halftime, and we should have had better composure. The third quarter was similar to the first half, but the fourth I recognize it was better. But against a team like this, you cannot make mistakes for three quarters and expect to win the game."

### Gran Canaria forward John Shurna: 

"It wasn’t the prettiest of all games but we stuck together and found the way to win. It’s a good atmosphere here in London and we were fortunate we came out with the victory. It feels good \[to qualify for the playoffs\] but there is still a lot of work to do and the playoffs are a long way away so I hope we can continue to improve and be at our best on playoff time."

Game News

Game Videos

Jaka Lakovic, Gran Canaria: 'We were a little bit more experienced'

London Lions v Gran Canaria (2023-01-24T19:30:00.000Z)

Umana Reyer Venice improved its record to 7-5 and stayed firmly on course to reach the EuroCup playoffs after it ground out a 95-90 home win over U-BT Cluj-Napoca thanks to sound three-point shooting throughout the rip-roaring contest. Cluj dropped to 4-8 after wiping out an 18-point deficit to take the lead in the fourth quarter.

Derek Willis paced Reyer with a game-high 19 points, Mitchell Watt scored 16 and Marco Spissu contributed 15 points and 8 assists, including a clutch three-pointer late in the game. Jayson Granger added 12 points for the home side. Leonardo Meindl and Andrija Stipanovic netted 15 points each for Cluj, Stefan Bircevic and Shepherd Casey scored 13 apiece, Patrick Richard amassed 12 and Emanuel Cate added 10 for the visitors.

A fast start was essential for Reyes as it raced to a 9-2 lead and extended it to 21-10, netting 3 of 5 shots from three-point range in the first quarter, with Cluj able to slash the deficit to 25-17 after the opening 10 minutes despite committing 5 turnovers.

Reyer appeared to be out of sight after its advantage soared to 37-19 midway through the second with long-range shots raining in from all angles. Willis and Spissu were particularly lethal from beyond the arc, as the home side nailed 7 of 11 long-range shots by halftime.

Stipanovic kept Cluj afloat with a soft touch in Reyer’s paint, having scored 11 points in the first half, but the visitors still had a mountain to climb as they trailed 38-49 at the interval and hit only 2 of 7 shots from downtown.

Reyer pulled clear 52-38 early in the third but having slowed down in offense, Cluj clawed its way back into the game and gradually reduced the deficit with patient possession and strong defense. The visitors drew level at 67-67 late in the third quarter.

It was a rollercoaster in the final 10 minutes as Cluj grabbed its first and only lead of the night when it nosed ahead 72-71 with 7:48 left on the clock, before Reyer replied with a 9-0 run which turned the tide again.

Cluj refused to roll over and hit back with an 8-0 push that left the game all square at 80-80. Vital three-pointers from Willis and Spissu gave Reyer an 89-82 advantage and the home team never looked back.

The Romanian side fought hard to stay in the match and pushed the hosts all the way, but cool free-throw shooting saw Reyer come away with a vital win in its quest to reach the playoffs.

Reyer edges Cluj 95-90 behind long-range spree

Umana Reyer Venice v U-BT Cluj-Napoca (2023-01-24T19:00:00.000Z)

Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv got 3 three-pointers from Xavier Munford in a 10-0 run to finish the game in beating Turk Telekom 84-82 on Tuesday night. Despite that good run, Hapoel had only made 6 of 18 three-pointers (33.3%) before then. What kept Hapoel in the game – and even gave it a big second-quarter lead – was Hapoel’s play in the paint.

The hosts' success up front was no given. Hapoel was without backup center Idan Zalmanson, forward J.P. Tokoto and swingman Jordan McRae due to illness, leaving the team with only eight rotation players. On top of that, starting center Chinanu Onukaku was called for 3 fouls in the first 5 minutes of the game and fouled out in just over 15 minutes of game time.

Hapoel overcame all those obstacles to outrebound Turk Telekom 37-31 and to make more shots inside – at better percentages – than the visitors. Hapoel shot 25 for 46 (54.3%) on two-pointers compared to Turk Telekom's 13 for 29 (44.8%). What’s more, Hapoel had almost twice as many second-chance as its opponent, 13-7.

Jaylen Hoard played a key role with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting plus 9 rebounds. Onuaku added 7 boards and Munford 6. The game’s top rebounder was Tyrique Jones with 12 for Turk Telekom, but the rest of his frontcourt mates contributed little on the boards.

Where Turk Telekom had success was from the perimeter; it made 16 of 36 threes (44.4%) led by Jerian Grant (6 of 8) and Axel Bouteille (5 of 11), but it was not enough in the end.

Hapoel’s play in the paint was critical in beating Turk Telekom

Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv v Turk Telekom Ankara (2023-01-24T18:00:00.000Z)

### Umana Reyer Venice head coach Walter De Raffaele:

"Absolutely the best way to celebrate and restart. We knew that it was going to be a tough game but we played tough too. We know that EuroCup is tough, but the attitude was great for 40 minutes so congratulations to my players.

"It was a tough game, we were ahead throughout and we fought all evening, which is the most important thing. To go 2-0 against this team is very important. Honestly, I think we didn’t have a great day today as we allowed too many points, but this can happen and we responded. We got something from everybody.”

### U-BT Cluj Napoca head coach Mihai Silvasan:

"We played really well in the second half but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. We played against a really good team and if you give them a small advantage in the beginning, it’s hard to come back. But in the end, I am proud of the way we played and we won’t give up.

"Congrats to the home team from Venice for winning this game, I think it was a really nice game to watch with a lot of points. Unfortunately for us, we didn’t manage to complete the comeback and stay mentally tough after we took the lead."

### Umana Reyer Venice forward Derek Willis:

"We had a rough past week so I think coming here and getting a good win at home was important. At this time of the year, everybody is trying to make the playoffs and stay in a good rhythm, so I am glad we came away with a win."

Walter De Raffaele, Reyer: 'Our attitude was great'

### [Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv 84-82 Turk Telekom Ankara](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/hapoel-vegan-friendly-tel-aviv-turk-telekom-ankara/U2022/116/)

Hapoel made it five wins in a row by rallying past Turk Telekom 84-82 on Tuesday night at Shlomo Group Arena. The visitors erased a 15-point deficit to lead by as many as 9 in the fourth quarter, but Xavier Munford drained a pair of threes in the last 33 seconds to lift Hapoel. The result left both teams with 8-4 records in Group B, though Turk Telekom remains ahead in the standings thanks to its 12-point win over Hapoel in Round 3. Munford finished with a career-high 33 points, while Axel Bouteille paced the visitors with 27.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/xaviermunford?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@xaviermunford</a> calls it GAME😱<a href="https://twitter.com/HapoelTLVBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HapoelTLVBC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/7DAYSMagicMoment?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#7DAYSMagicMoment</a> <a href="https://t.co/v843PxHlYf">pic.twitter.com/v843PxHlYf</a></p>&mdash; 7DAYS EuroCup (@EuroCup) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroCup/status/1617974973477572608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### [Umana Reyer Venice 95-90 U-BT Cluj-Napoca](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/umana-reyer-venice-u-bt-cluj-napoca/U2022/115/)

Reyer improved its record to 7-5 and stayed firmly on course to reach the playoffs after it ground out a 95-90 home win over Cluj thanks to sound three-point shooting throughout the rip-roaring contest. Cluj dropped to 4-8 after wiping out an 18-point deficit to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Derek Willis paced Reyer with a game-high 19 points, Mitchell Watt scored 16 and Marco Spissu contributed 15 points and 8 assists, including a clutch three-pointer late in the game. Leonardo Meindl and Andrija Stipanovic netted 15 points each for Cluj.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="it" dir="ltr">❤️‍🔥 Una bellissima partita al Taliercio, la vinciamo NOI 🔥<br>Avanti leoni 🦁 <br>Fino alla fine!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Reyer150?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Reyer150</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/7DaysEurocup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#7DaysEurocup</a> <a href="https://t.co/5bkROJEKv8">pic.twitter.com/5bkROJEKv8</a></p>&mdash; Reyer Venezia (@REYER1872) <a href="https://twitter.com/REYER1872/status/1617993763531685889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### [London Lions 57-60 Gran Canaria](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/london-lions-gran-canaria/U2022/118/)

In what became a defensive battle, Gran Canaria pulled out a valuable road win from the Copperbox Arena when it defeated London 57-60. Despite enjoying a double-digit lead after 30 minutes, the visitors were limited to just 9 points in the last period and had to wait till the last second to seal the win from the line. John Shurna led the winners with 13 points, followed by Nicolas Brussino with 11. Sam Dekker paced London Lions with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Gran Canaria improved to 10-2 and secured its spot in the playoffs, while London slipped to 5-7 with its third straight home loss.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🏀 Final:<br><br>⚫️ London Lions 57<br>🐥 Gran Canaria 60<br><br>🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VamosGranca?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VamosGranca</a> <a href="https://t.co/241FmBFoVB">pic.twitter.com/241FmBFoVB</a></p>&mdash; CB Gran Canaria (@GranCanariaCB) <a href="https://twitter.com/GranCanariaCB/status/1618000433448120321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Game Center: Gran Canaria is first to playoffs; Hapoel, Reyer win at home

Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv edged Turk Telekom Ankara 84-82 on Tuesday night at Shlomo Group Arena for its fifth straight win. It was a seesaw game that saw the visitors erase a 15-point deficit to lead by as many as 9 in the fourth, but Xavier Munford scored 3 threes in a 10-0 closing run to win it. The result left the two teams even for the second-best records in Group B at 8-4, though Turk Telekom remains in second place by virtue of its 12-point victory over Hapoel from their Round 3 game in Ankara.

Munford finished with a career-high 33 points for the winners, who were without Jordan McRae, J.P. Tokoto and Idan Zalmanson due to illness. Jaylen Hoard added 17 points and 9 rebounds for Hapoel. Axel Bouteille scored a career-high 27 on 5-of-11 three-point shooting, Jerian Grant netted 24 points and Tony Taylor tallied 13 points and 7 assists in defeat.

Hapoel dominated the paint early with 3 tip-in baskets, but soon was left without starting center Chinanu Onuaku who was called for 3 early fouls. Back-to-back threes by Taylor and Grant put the visitors up 8-12. Hapoel came back through Hoard and Munford to lead 20-15 after 10 minutes.

Threes by Munford and Gil Beni saw the lead increase to double-digits early in the second quarter and it reached 32-17 on a second-chance score by Hoard. Bouteille scored 6 in a 0-8 run to revive Turk Telekom.  Then Grant had 8 points in a 0-9 run and a three by Taylor made it 39-37 at the break.

Onuaku scored twice as Hapoel opened the second half with 7 straight points, but Turk Telekom kept it close thanks to threes by Taylor and Bouteille. Munford heated up again to give Hapoel some breathing room and the hosts held on for a 65-57 lead through three quarters.

Grant and Bouteille led a 0-9 start to the fourth quarter that gave Turk Telekom its first lead since the first quarter. After Onuaku fouled out, Bouteille drilled a triple for a 67-74 lead with 5 and a half minutes remaining. The margin peaked at 9, but a late Hapoel charge made it 81-82 on a Munford three with 31.2 seconds remaining and Munford struck again with 5 seconds left with the game-winner. Turk Telekom nearly tied it through Grant, but his jumper came a tenth of a second after the buzzer.

Hapoel edges Turk Telekom for 5th straight win 

### Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv head coach Danny Franco:

"I am proud of my guys playing against such a quality team like Turk Telekom Ankara with an excellent coach. We came with our tank almost empty, but we showed a lot of character today to stick to the game in tough minutes when we were down. Those amazing fans gave us a lot of adrenalin to keep on going. We kept believing. Great job for us against an excellent team… In our good minutes, we played together, we shared the basketball, we didn’t try to prove anything or play hero ball. We stuck together, got everybody involved in the game and we had all the weapons in the end to make that comeback."

### Turk Telekom Ankara head coach Erdem Can:

"That was a good game. At the end of the game, we couldn’t make quality decisions, but I want to congratulate Hapoel. There was a great atmosphere. And I want to congratulate my players. Till the end, we fought. We could have been a little smarter, but there is a long way to go."

### Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv guard Xavier Munford:

"It’s an amazing win. We’ve got guys out, so the whole team, we had to pick up for the guys who are out. We have a deep team. It’s an amazing feeling. It was a must-win for us... When you’re in the rhythm, the rim just looks wide. We ran the \[last\] play exactly like Coach drew it up and thanks to the basketball gods, it went in."

### Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv guard Gil Beni:

"I am glad I could help the team win and look good and I hope it continues this way… We have so many great players whether its J’Covan, X {Xavier\], Jordan, any of them can explode on any given day. It’s a pleasure to play with them. X took over the game at the end and I’m happy for him."

Danny Franco, Hapoel: 'We came with our tank almost empty'

Petar Popovic, Buducnost: 'I am my own worst critic'

Greetings EuroCup fans from a sunny Patras in Greece, where we will play against Promitheas tomorrow. I think we have a good situation in the 7DAYS EuroCup. We strung together a few road wins in the first part of the regular season, which we know is never easy, but we did not manage to validate them on our home court, losing against Hamburg and Paris. So, we could have been in an even better position. But I think we have a good result so far, and ahead of the games coming up, we have a chance to fight for one of the high places in our group standings.

This season in the EuroCup, it is very uncharacteristic, with so many teams winning games on the road. It is especially uncharacteristic for us; we always protected our home floor well, but not as much this season. But we will try to change that in the remaining part of the season, we have some important home games coming, against London and Hapoel and Gran Canaria, our rivals for position in the standings, and I hope we are done with dropping games at home.

Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv - Buducnost VOLI Podgorica | Round 6 Highlights | 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup

We are 4-1 on the road, and I think our best win of the season was the game in Tel Aviv against Hapoel. We were going into that games just before visiting Partizan in the Adriatic League, and we were not playing well at that moment. And I think that's the win that brought us the most. We did not even expected it, probably. There is great parity in our group. I think Turk Telekom stands a bit above everyone else with the quality of their performances. I also think Hapoel was without a couple of their players when we played them, but every other game they played after losing against us was at a really high level. Of course, there is Gran Canaria, too. Altogether, a very even group, and it will be interesting all the way until the end. Anything can happen, including having a surprise group winner.

The reason we battle is to have a home-court advantage, and I think when you have two teams with similar quality, that advantage brings a lot. Yes, a lot of teams are winning on the road this season, and last season we saw situations with Joventut and Partizan, who lost against Ulm and Bursaspor in the first round of the playoffs. We also saw Bursaspor get to the EuroCup Finals winning everything on the road. I believe part of it is also psychological, where the visitors come into the game relaxed and with nothing to lose, while the home teams feel big pressure. So, it creates the foundation for an upset. However, when I think about us, I would love to have a home-court advantage, in the first round at least. I think every team would still love to play at home. Not only that you play in front of your fans, but you also avoid travelling. There are many things that can lead you to lose focus and create a difference in favor of the home team.

" I am not a natural scorer who will score in bunches, but I think I can help my team in other areas."

We had two new players arrive to our team recently, Erick Green and J.J. O'Brien, while Aaron White and Phil Booth left. You never want to see your teammates leave, but it is part of what happens in a season. We got two excellent players in Erick and J.J. However, having two players join your team during the season is a complicated process. There are a lot of games, a lot of travelling, and not much time for practicing, so it takes time for them to adapt. Plus, they have to adapt to our system, offensively and defensively. They have to get to know the team, a new city, the way everything functions, and it takes time for them to get comfortable so they can give you their maximum on the floor, too. But we are here to help, and I think we are getting better as the time passes and the more games we play together. There is no question about their quality, which they showed throughout their careers. I played against both of them in the past, and J.J. played really well in three games against us two seasons ago for Monaco, when they beat us in the EuroCup Quarterfinals. I think when the more important games come, we will be benefit from having those two guys with us.

Personally, I always try not to follow statistics and give it too much importance. I do not think of myself as someone who can bring the team a lot scoring-wise. I am not a natural scorer who will score in bunches, but I think I can help my team in other areas. And I always try to do that. Thanks to certain circumstances, and with my performances, I earned our coach's trust, and this season I am playing more minutes than in the past five years. I feel great, have a lot of confidence, and everything is easier when you spend more time on the floor. And out of that comfort some of the personal best performances come, but they are a result of my desire to do anything that can help my team. But, I am my own worst critic. I always try to be better, that's non-stop, and I don't have a realistic picture in my head if I improve or not. That is something others need to evaluate.

Petar Popovic (12 points) Highlights vs. Slask Wroclaw, 01/18/2023

Popovic was everywhere for Buducnost against Slask

I started this blog mentioning it is sunny here in Patras. It almost feels like summer, and that is so nice, especially because we got here a day earlier than usual. That is not the usual practice, but that's what it was decided due to some flight connections. And it's good that we did come here a day early, because our flights were delayed for hours and the trip on Monday lasted too long.

Patras and Gran Canaria are great destinations to visit during the winter time. But it takes a long time to travel to both. You do feel that nice weather, but you also almost become jealous seeing all the people walking around in shorts in December. Then you also lose a game in overtime before returning home to a five-degree weather. So, it hits you on many levels.

Kidding aside, I enjoy seeing all these destinations. And it is great to see all these new places; I honestly love that. I love to observe how are the crowds in those cities, how interested are in their teams. This season we were in Wroclaw and Hamburg and London for the very first time. Also, we played against Hapoel in Tel Aviv for the first time and I was pleasantly surprised with the atmosphere, full gym, and you love to see that. I said in my earlier blog that we rarely have time to see the cities we visit during the season. But our goal is to play basketball in those places, anyway. Then during the offseason, or after our careers, we will have time to visit as tourists, too.

Promitheas Patras v Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (2023-01-25T17:30:00.000Z)

 Arnoldas Kulboka, Patras: From top prospect to top performer 

Arnoldas Kulboka is a very familiar name around European basketball and until recently, he was also a player shrouded in mystery. Many have heard of him, but few had the chance to see him in action with consistent meaningful minutes. 

Since 2014, when his name first made headlines, Kulboka has played for the Zalgiris B team in his native Lithuania, Brose Bamberg in Germany, Orlandina in Italy, Bilbao in Spain, the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA and the Greensboro Swarm in the G-League. He is still just 25 years old and finally, the general public has a good chance to see what the whole fuss was all about with him playing for Promitheas Patras in the 7DAYS EuroCup.

[MORE...](https://www.eurohoops.net/en/eurocup/1453269/arnoldas-kulboka-from-top-prospect-to-top-performer//)
