### Turk Telekom Ankara head coach Erdem Can:

"First of all, we take it step by step, game by game, and we will see where we will go. Right now, we played against a big basketball culture. We are very proud that we fought until the end. As I said, the game was going to be tough, against a tough opponent, tough basketball culture, so we are very happy to win. The key was to fight.

"In the first half, we gave up 9 offensive rebounds and kept our opponents in the game. In the second half, we gave up only 3 offensive rebounds and then we started to play rhythm. We secured defensive rebounds and started to run the floor, play our basketball. I want to congratulate my players, this is a very important win for us. Our only expectation is to improve every single day. That is our motto. Right now, we have not done nothing. We play good, we are winning, but the goal is to improve every single day."

### Buducnost VOLI Podgorica head coach Vlada Jovanovic:

"Second half we did not have energy, first of all. With small rotation without Alpha Kaba, without size, with two guys who came from injury two days before, it is a big problem against a good team such as Turk Telekom.

"We had good offense for the better part of the first half, with good ball movement and good three-point shooting. In the second quarter, we started having problems with the defensive rebounding. I expected us to go with a lead into halftime, but we lost our advantage that we made in the first quarter. I tried to find five players who can match the energy, and at certain moments it was not bad, but it was not enough against a team that has a serious quality, one of the best in the entire EuroCup. Kaba is recovering from having a flu, we will see how soon he will be back, but he means a lot to us."

Game Videos

### Turk Telekom Ankara forward Axel Bouteille:

"I think we knew it is a tough place to play here. It was tough in the first half, and then we stuck to our principles, we played our game, and it went good for us.

Game News

Coach Can, Turk Telekom: 'The key was to fight'

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica v Turk Telekom Ankara (2022-12-21T18:00:00.000Z)

ratiopharm Ulm trailed by as many as 15 in the third quarter and 10 entering the fourth, but rallied late to beat U-BT Cluj-Napoca 81-84 on Wednesday at BTarena. Robin Christen scored 26 points on perfect shooting, Karim Jallow tallied 21 points and 4 steals and Brandon Paul added 10 points, but it was Juan Nunez who buried the game-winning three with 11.5 seconds remaining. The result raised Ulm’s record to 5-4, while Cluj fell to 3-6 at the midway point of the regular season. Emanuel Cate and Patrick Richard scored 13 points apiece for Cluj and Stefan Bircevic and Nemanja Gordic each had 10 in defeat.

Karel Guzman and Andrija Stipanovic each scored twice as Cluj raced to an 11-5 lead. The hosts then finished the quarter on an 8-0 tear to claim the game’s first double-digit lead, 24-12.

After a lengthy delay to deal with an issue at the scorekeepers’ table, Ulm looked stronger inside with Josh Hawley scoring twice. Cate took charge inside with a pair of baskets to give the hosts a 30-16 advantage. Christen knocked down a pair of triples and a layup to help Ulm reduce the deficit to 33-28. Nandor Kuti’s layup in the final seconds restored a double-digit margin, 44-34, at halftime.  

Richard helped the hosts extend the lead back up to 15, though Ulm's young stars kept the visitors fighting. Brandon Paul’s triple on the third-quarter buzzer made it 65-55.

Ulm scored the first 5 points of the fourth quarter and free throws by Yago Dos Santos made it 69-66 midway through the fourth quarter. Christen’s fifth triple of the night made it a 2-point game. Gordic made sure Cluj maintained the lead, however, Ulm kept it close and Jallow’s triple give Ulm its first lead since the opening minutes, 79-81, with less than a minute remaining. Guzman tied it but Juan Nunez’s three with 11.5 seconds left gave Ulm the lead for good.

Ulm rallies from 15 down to stun Cluj, 81-84 

U-BT Cluj-Napoca v ratiopharm Ulm (2022-12-21T17:00:00.000Z)

Turk Telekom Ankara kept its perfect road record intact after downing Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 71-84 on Wednesday night in the Montenegrin capital. This is the fourth road win in as many games for Turk Telekom, which improved to a EuroCup-best 7-2 record atop of Group B, while Buducnost lost its third home game to drop to 5-4 on the season.

Axel Bouteille netted a career-high 26 points, making a career-best 5 of 8 triples, and also pulled down 7 rebounds for Turk Telekom. Nathan Sestina collected 18 points plus 7 rebounds, while Tyrique Jones and Tony Taylor each scored 16 points in the victory. Cameron Reynolds led the hosts with 17 points on 5-for-8 three-point shooting. Trae Bell-Haynes had 14 points and 6 assists while Aleksa Ilic and Petar Popvic scored 10 points apiece for Buducnost, which was without its top scorer and the EuroCup's leading rebounder, Alpha Kaba.

Jones scored 7 points for the visitors in the early going, but Reynolds hit 3 three-pointers, including a pair during a 14-3 spurt that put the hosts up 21-14. The lead was up to 9 early in the second quarter when Sestina, Taylor and Bouteille hit back-to-back-to-back threes to help the visitors tie the game at 28-28, before three-point plays from Bouteille and Sestina put Turk Telekom in front, helping it to a 38-42 halftime lead.

Reynolds hit his fifth triple of the night for the hosts, but Bouteille's triple during a 0-9 run extended it to 44-53 midway through the third quarter, and a pair of close-range baskets from Jones pushed the margin to double figures for the first time, 46-57. A triple apiece from Phil Booth and Bell-Haynes helped the hosts get within 54-58 entering the fourth quarter, but Taylor and Bouteille each nailed a three-pointer while Sestina had a three-point play as Turk Telekom opened a 56-69 lead, restoring control. Bell-Haynes sparked the hosts' offense, but Bouteille made back-to-back triples to make it 64-78, and the visitors cruised the rest of the way.

Turk Telekom still perfect on the road after downing Buducnost

Joventut Badalona grabbed its third road win of the 7DAYS EuroCup season by downing Lietkabelis Panevezys 76-90 at Cido Arena in Group A. Andres Feliz's late heroics sealed the win for Joventut and lifted its record to 6-3 at the regular season's halfway mark. Henry Ellenson led the winners with 17 points. Joel Parra added 16, Ante Tomic had 12, Feliz 11 and Pau Ribas 10 for Joventut. Vytenis Lipkevicius, Benas Griciunas and Kristian Kullamae each scored 12 points for Lietkabelis, which fell to 4-5. Gyorgy Goloman added 11 for the hosts.

Lipkevicius and Gabrielus Maldunas stepped up early for Lietkabelis and Goloman's layup caused Joventut to call timeout at 17-10. Ellenson got Joventut within 21-16 after 10 minutes. Tomic stepped up for the visitors and Pep Busquets soon tied it at 28-28. Ellenson followed a driving basket with a three-pointer for a 36-37 Joventut lead. Morris answered from downtown to fix the halftime score at 39-37. 

Tomic kept pacing Joventut after the break, getting help from Parra to give the visitors a 46-49 edge. Ribas and Guillem Vives each struck twice from downtown before Parra's coast-to-coast layup made it a double-digit game, 54-65. Goloman and Lipkevicius each made a triple in a 12-0 run that brought Lietkabelis within 72-74 with 4 minutes left. Feliz rescued Joventut with 3 three-pointers to seal the outcome in crunch time.

Joventut outlasts Lietkabelis on the road, 76-90

7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys v Joventut Badalona (2022-12-21T17:00:00.000Z)

### ratiophram Ulm head coach Anton Gavel:

"We are very satisfied with the win. Congratulations to our players. I think they fought until the end, even if we were down 12 or 14 points, they never gave up. We are making progress. A couple of weeks or months ago, we would definitely have lost this game. We have to be honest, we hit some shots. Defensively we are still not where we are supposed to be, but I think we got the stops when it mattered. I think we could move the ball better. But we found solutions and we are happy about it."

 

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

"It doesn’t matter that we controlled the game \[for\] three quarters, we should have controlled it at the end. At the end they made some tough shots, we didn’t play good defense. They scored basket after basket and we struggled offensively. We missed some open shots and that’s the result of the game.  This is it. We go forward. It’s a tough loss for us. Unfortunately, at the end they came and took the win. It really hurts this game, but we need to move forward.”

### ratiopharm Ulm forward Robin Christen:

"Unbelievable comeback. We showed character. I love this team. Big cojones from our Spanish guy at the end. I like it… If you make Dirk fadeaways, then it’s one of those nights. I just enjoyed playing today and I’m really happy that we came out with the victory."

Christen, Ulm: 'Big cojones from Nunez' 

### Joventut Badalona head coach Carles Duran:

"I am very happy. It is very difficult to play here. We talked before the game that it was very important to play good basketball, and I think in the second half the team played with patience, and played good basketball on offense and defense. We didn't have many turnovers, only in the first quarter we played on offense. We played good defense, but in the final minutes, it was bad defense in the three-point line. The team stayed focused and thought on the game, and I am very happy because it is very difficult to play here. Lietkabelis plays well in every game."

### 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys head coach Nenad Canak: 

"We played with low intensity on defense in the third quarter, with no fouls, and received 32 points. Too many open shots and didn't react well in close-outs, so Joventut punished us." 

### Joventut Badalona forward Henry Ellenson:

"Obviously, this was a tough win for us. This team has protected its home court all year during the EuroCup so for us, to come in here and get a win was huge. They played physical and tough but Andres hit some shots at the end. he has shown it this whole season. He has been Mr. Fourth Quarter for us and those 3 threes at the end were huge. I give our team a lot of credit, we played hard and it was a big win for us."

Ellenson: 'Feliz has been Mr. Fourth Quarter for us'

Who's Hot: D.J. Kennedy, Prometey Slobozhanske

D.J. Kennedy of Prometey Slobozhanske (4-4) enters Round 9, the final one of the first half of the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season, as the most productive player of the past four.

A veteran swingman who returned to the competition after seven years, Kennedy has been stacking up all-round performances the entire season. Through the first eight rounds he is the only player in the competition who averages 11.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists, and that is in addition to being a league co-leader with 2.6 steals per game.

Kennedy has been especially productive since Round 5.

Before November's three-week break in EuroCup action, Kennedy was averaging 7.3 points, having converted just 44.0% of his two-point shots. He also had 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

Since Round 5, he has more than doubled his numbers in scoring (14.8 ppg.) and assists (5.5 apg.), while improving his two-point shooting (55.2%), rebounding (6.3 rpg.) and even steals (2.8 spg.).

Kennedy collected 20 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in a Round 5 road win at Cedevita-Olimpija Ljubljana, and posted 23 points with 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals in last week's home drubbing of U-BT Cluj-Napoca.

In Round 7, Kennedy scored 12 points while pulling down 7 rebounds and dishing 6 assists on the road against Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse. His only below-par performance lately came against ratiopharm Ulm, when he had 4 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.

This all led to Kennedy not only posting an average PIR of 24.0 over the last four rounds, which is nearly three times better than what he had in the opening four rounds of the season, but accumulating a higher PIR since Round 5 than any other player in the competition over that span.

Now, in the last round of the first half of EuroCup regular season, and the final round of this calendar year, Kennedy will be poised to keep up the level of his performances when Prometey pays a visit to Umana Reyer Venice (5-3) on Wednesday night.

Umana Reyer Venice v Prometey Slobozhanske (2022-12-21T19:00:00.000Z)

The teams will the best road records in the 7DAYS EuroCup will put their perfect traveling marks on the line in Round 9. Paris Basketball brings a 4-0 road mark to London, while Turk Telekom Ankara’s 3-0 road record will be tested in the Montenegrin capital.

Paris, which surprisingly has a losing record at home (1-3), has already conquered Ankara, Trento, Podgorica and Wroclaw this season and held its nerve in all those games. After coming back from a 15-point second-quarter deficit to win at Turk Telekom, its other three road wins were all by single figures with an average winning margin of 5.3 points. 

Paris guard Kyle Allman is the No. 2 scorer on the road this season with an average of 21.0 points per game. Yogi Ferrell of Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana is first with 22.0 points on the road, but has only appeared in two road games.

Turk Telekom’s three road wins have come in Hamburg, Wroclaw and Patras – in that order. After narrow wins in Rounds 2 and 4, it romped to a 15-point triumph in Greece in Round 6. Thanks to its 3-2 home record, Turk Telekom is tied for first place in Group B. 

Jerian Grant and Tyrique Jones have been Turk Telekom’s go-to guys on the road; they are tied for fourth in the competition with a 20.3 PIR in road games. Gran is among the league leaders with 6.3 assists per game on the road and Jones is third with 9.7 rebounds in road games. 

Only two teams are undefeated at home through eight rounds this season. 7bet Lietkabelis Panevezys puts its 4-0 home record up against Joventut Badalona. The other undefeated home team, Gran Canaria, visits Hamburg this week.

Lietkabelis, which is winless on the road, has won all four of its home games by less than 10 points. The average winning margin in those games is 6.0 points. It has done so without any player dominating; no Lietkabelis is ranked among the top 20 in the EuroCup in PIR at home. Vytenis Lipkevicius is 21st with 16.5 though Kristian Kullamae is ninth in per-minute PIR at home with 30.4 prorated over 40 minutes. 

Only Gran Canaria is assured of taking a perfect home (or away) record into 2023. Tonight we will see how the other three teams do.

Perfect home and away records on the line tonight

London Lions v Paris Basketball (2022-12-21T19:30:00.000Z)

Slask Wroclaw v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2022-12-21T19:00:00.000Z)

Veolia Towers Hamburg v Gran Canaria (2022-12-21T18:45:00.000Z)

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse v Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (2022-12-21T18:30:00.000Z)

Germani Brescia celebrated an impressive 110-74 home win over Frutti Extra Bursaspor after dominating the visitors in every aspect of the game, from start to finish.

The hosts knocked down 15 of 25 three-pointers while its Turkish opponent made only 6 of 18, meaning that Brescia outscored Bursaspor by 27 points from long range. Brescia also shot 61.1% from inside the arc to Bursapsor’s 54.3%, having also converted 21 of its 28 free throws while the visiting team shot 18-of-28.

Just as crucially, Brescia thoroughly dominated the boards as it collected 35 rebounds to Bursaspor’s 23. The hosts also held the upper hands at both ends of the court in handling the ball, as they engineered 25 assists to Bursa’s 20 and committed just 10 turnovers, while the visitors had 16.

The final score did not flatter Brescia as it truly reflected the gulf between the teams in Tuesday evening’s contest. Brescia head coach Alessandro Magro was quick to point out that it was not the most accurate barometer of the two sides’ quality, but his counterpart Dusan Alimpijevic offered a succinct explanation of why his team got blown away.

“We didn’t exist on the court,” he said in a courtside interview. “We didn’t turn up. They prepared the game very well and killed us.”

Magro praised a monumental team effort, with all 12 Brescia players scoring at least 5 points: “Like I said so many times, basketball is sharing,” Magro told reporters at the post-game press conference.

“We shared the ball very well in offense. Everybody was able to score, assist and play the right way. We played tough defense against a very good team, so possession by possession we were able to win by this gap."

Brescia downed Bursaspor in every department

Germani Brescia v Frutti Extra Bursaspor (2022-12-20T19:30:00.000Z)