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

"We beat a great team. We played maybe one of our better games, complete on both sides. Defensively and offensively we displayed concentration. That’s the way we need to keep working... I’m really happy for this game. I think we played one of the best games of the season in terms of concentration, discipline and consistency for 40 minutes. We had an amazing defense for 40 minutes against one of the best teams in the competition. We arrived to this game with the right energy, but also with the calm that the owners transmit so we have to thank them. We also have to thank the fans, it was an amazing crowd. Now we have to keep going."

### Frutti Extra Bursaspor head coach Dusan Alimpijevic:

"Let’s say congratulations to the Venice team for a well-deserved win and to their coach for good preparation for this game. We will see what we can change for the next game... 

"When someone jumps on your head 20 times with offensive rebounds, when you miss 10 free throws, you can't say you deserve more. This is very obvious. We’re in a moment that we didn’t expect. The season is long, we will have a lot of games and it’s not a problem to play like this in December, but for sure it’s a problem if we don’t show some changes in our game. Venice is a really respectable team with good investments and big goals. If it’s not the best team, for sure the second best in both groups. Venice has rights to dream about something bigger with this roster."

Game News

### Umana Reyer Venice forward Derek Willis:

"We’ve been having meetings, trying to get our team right. We’ve not been playing the way we want, so tonight we came out, had good energy, good emotion and played a good defensive game. I’m really happy with how we played tonight."

Game Videos

Coach De Raffaele, Reyer: 'We played one of our better games'

Umana Reyer Venice v Frutti Extra Bursaspor (2022-12-06T19:00:00.000Z)

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse extended its advantage at the top of Group A on Tuesday night after beating Prometey Slobozhanske in overtime at Ekinox. The hosts now have a record of 6-1 on the season, Prometey finds itself 3-4.

James Palmer was the main man in Bourg's 92-85 victory, finishing with game-highs of 23 points and 9 rebounds. Frantz Massenat and youngster Hugo Benitez also aided Bourg's efforts with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Pierre Pelos had 10 points and 7 rebounds for the hosts. Prometey had five players record a double-digit number of points, with Issuf Sanon leading the way with 18. Ondrej Balvin was the team's second-highest scorer with 16 points, and he also grabbed 8 rebounds. DJ Kennedy and Gian Clavell had 12 apiece, while Denys Lukashov finished with 10.

In a battle between the leaders of Group A and the best offense in the EuroCup, it was Bourg who got off to the quickest start, racing out to a 5-0 lead thanks to 5 points from Palmer. Prometey quickly fought back in what became a very equal first quarter, with Balvin dominating on the interior for the visitors and Palmer putting his fingerprints on the box score with points and rebounds. At the end of the first 10 minutes, Prometey had a 19-22 lead after a 6-0 run involving baskets from Clavell and Sanon. It was Prometey that had the momentum in the second quarter, opening up a 10-point lead, 24-34, after some dominant play from Balvin on the interior. Yet, Bourg kept fighting and managed to close the gap just before halftime, as the teams went into the break tied at 37-37. A very back-and-forth third quarter followed, but Benitez and Palmer stepped up with a combined 13 points to keep Bourg in the game. Heading into the fourth, Bourg began to put its foot on the gas and managed to create a bit of breathing room, 68-60, after a Massenat three-pointer with 4:39 minutes remaining. However, Sanon continued to drive to the rim with success and Kennedy knocked down clutch free throws to pull Prometey back into it. In fact, with just 5.6 seconds left on the clock, Sanon made his first triple of the night to draw the game level, 77-77. Massenat then missed on a drive to the rim, so the game went to overtime. During the additional period, the 21-year-old Benitez showed that he was ready for the moment, twice showing his poise to extend a one-point Bourg lead into a three-point advantage. Prometey seemed to be out of gas at the end, with Pelos and Palmer scoring free throws to wrap up a 92-85 win, the team's sixth triumph from seven games.

Bourg finds a way past Prometey in overtime, 92-85

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse v Prometey Slobozhanske (2022-12-06T18:30:00.000Z)

Umana Reyer Venice prevailed in a battle of direct rivals, comfortably downing Frutti Extra Bursaspor 78-65. Reyer improved to 5-2 with five straight victories, while Bursaspor is now 4-3.

Reyer was in front nearly all the first half, leading by as many as 9 points and ahead 34-31 at the break. The host continued to dominate and went ahead by double digits, 53-42, midway through the third. Reyer’s lead continued to grow, and there was no way back for Bursaspor. Derek Willis was the inspiration with a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds, Mitchell Watt added 18 points and Riccardo Moraschini scored 12. Onuralp Bitim was outstanding for Bursaspor with 24 points and 6 rebounds.

Watt dominated inside with 3 early baskets as Reyer took charge, 13-7. Bursaspor made it closer before Andrea De Nicolao and Bitim traded triples for a 20-18 score at the end of the first. A low-scoring start to the second quarter saw the host stay ahead, 26-21. Consecutive scores from Amedeo Tessitori made it 32-23, but 6 points from Bitim pulled it closer, 34-31, at halftime. 

Willis, Watt and Ahmet Duverioglu all scored twice in a fast-paced start to the second half, 45-42. Willis capped a 9-0 run for a double-digit lead, 54-42, and it grew to 63-47 as Watt and Willis continued to excel. The scoring was evenly shared in the final period, with Reyer never looking in danger.

Reyer dominates Bursaspor, 78-65

The London Lions had a rough time before rallying late to defeat Promitheas Patras on the road 67-77 on Tuesday night. Even though London started strong and led by 10 in the first quarter, Promitheas was predictably unpredictable and rallied to create some drama.

Promitheas was playing without the EuroCup’s top scorer, Joe Young, due to injury and debuting new head coach Ioannis Christopoulos, who took over after Makis Giatras stepped down due to health reasons. London knew that things would be different with Promitheas due to the coaching change and Young’s absence.

"That’s a tough team," London head coach Ryan Schmidt said in the post-game press conference. "Just watching them on film in their previous game here domestically, we could see the difference defensively in their effort. I thought they did a really good job with pressure. That kind of threw us off our spots quite a bit in the first half and we struggled with that."

Indeed, what looked briefly like it might be a blowout early turned into a tight contest for a while in the fourth quarter, which featured seven lead changes before London pulled away for good.

Schmidt chose to single out four players for their late efforts: "I thought Ovie \[Soko\] was really good in the second half, especially the fourth quarter. Josh Sharma defensively was amazing for us. And down the stretch, Sam \[Dekker\] and Aaron \[Best\] made some big plays and hit shots that kind of sealed the deal."

Interestingly, those players were London’s top four in the +/- stat. Sharma, who finished with 6 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks in 21 minutes, had a +18. Dekker and Soko each posted +14. Dekker led the team in scoring with 20 points plus 6 rebounds in 34 minutes. Soko posted 9 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 18 minutes. And Best produced a +9 in 2 minutes, during which he scored 13 and grabbed 5 boards.

Those four helped London win the battle of the boards 32-46, in what was one of the game’s deciding numbers.

London regrouped late to win in Patras 

Promitheas Patras v London Lions (2022-12-06T17:30:00.000Z)

### Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana head coach Jurica Golemac:

"We deserved it. We controlled 40 minutes, we played good defense, offensively we were sharing the ball, trying to find the best player in the best position so congratulations to the players, thanks to the fans. We are moving on. We got offensive stability and offensive players who can score but we need to play defense, we need to keep working and we need to be much more better."

### ratiopharm Ulm head coach Anton Gavel:

"Hundred and eight points, seven guys in double-digits, defensively we were not existing today. We fell apart completely in the second half, after the third quarter. This cannot happen.

"We allowed them easy baskets, we lacked physicality, we lacked intensity. We knew Cedevita was going to play for their lives and that’s what they showed us. It’s a great lesson for us that brought us back to earth. We thought that we can outscore any opponent, especially after our last game, but this is not going to work. It’s the second time this season we allow the opponent to score 100 or more, and we are not going to win games like that."

### Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana guard Yogi Ferrell:

"It’s our first win of the season in the EuroCup and it’s big for us. It gets our spirits up, our emotions high. We must credit everybody for coming out and playing well, even coming off the bench, giving great minutes offensively and defensively. Our bigs did a great job in pick-and-roll defense, talking the whole time, so it’s really a team effort tonight. Once we get up and down, flying on the court, we give our best. We've got a lot of shooters on the court that go up there and score for us and we got bigs that can run and get the ball in the post. We got those 2 things going together, so great things can happen."

Ferrell, Cedevita: 'This gets our spirits up'

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana v ratiopharm Ulm (2022-12-06T19:00:00.000Z)

London Lions chalked up their third straight win by defeating Promitheas Patras 67-77 on Tuesday at Dimitris Tofalos Arena. In a game that featured seven lead changes in the fourth quarter alone, London used a 0-9 fourth-quarter run to pull away for good and improve to 4-3 on the season. The result dropped Promitheas to the same record.

Sam Dekker scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Londoners. Vojtech Hruban added 14 points, Aaron Best 13 and Kosta Koufos posted 10 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks for the winners. Arnoldas Kulboka paced Promitheas with 18 points and Trevis Simpson scored 16 in defeat. The hosts were without the EuroCup’s leading scorer, Joe Young, due to injury. It was also the debut on the bench for Promitheas head coach Giannis Christopoulos, who was ejected in the fourth quarter.

Simpson scored 9 points in the game’s first 6 minutes before Nemanja Dangubic gave the hosts their first lead, 15-14. Hruban had back-to-back threes in a 0-11 London run that put the visitors ahead by double figures. Anthony Cowan free throws drew Promitheas within 18-25 after 10 minutes.

Kulboka buried back-to-back threes to open the second quarter before London recovered through Luke Nelson. However, Promitheas kept the margin close and Mo Soluade’s layup on the halftime buzzer made it 36-40 at the break.

Nikos Gkikas had 5 quick points early in the second half before Simpson’s triple evened things and a three by Kulboka gave Promitheas a 46-43 lead. The lead reached 5 before London came back, but a put-back by Kulboka gave Promitheas a 55-54 edge heading into the third quarter.

The lead changed hands with each of the first four baskets of the fourth quarter. With the score tied at 64-64, Promitheas center George Conditt fouled out and Coach Christopoulos was ejected with his second technical foul of the game. Free throws by Best and Ovie Soko saw London push ahead for good and Dekker capped a 0-9 run that made it 64-71 with less than 3 minutes remaining.

London wins in Patras, 67-77, for its third straight victory 

### London Lions head coach Ryan Schmidt:

"I’m really proud of our guys. It’s a resilient win for us. Obviously, it wasn’t pretty. We really struggled scoring the ball; we missed a lot of shots that we normally would hit, but I think we buckled down defensively, especially in the fourth quarter.  We’re just trying to stack wins right now and continue to build. I’m really proud of our effort."

### Promitheas Patras assistant coach Charalampis Markopoulos:

"I think we didn’t start the game properly. In the second half, we made a great effort defensively, we controlled the tempo in the third quarter. But in the fourth quarter, despite the fact that we had some good selections, we didn’t score the baskets and as a result, we received the baskets on our defensive end."

### London Lions center Kosta Koufos:

"It’s great to be above .500 right now. I gotta give credit to our opponent, they played hard tonight. They played very well. I’m glad we came out with a win. We still have a lot of work to do. The guys who came off the bench gave us a lift tonight and that was the biggest thing."

Coach Schmidt, London: 'I'm really proud of our effort'

Alpha Kaba has recorded a double-double in each of Buducnost VOLI Podgorica's last four games. He leads the EuroCup in rebounding (11.3 ppg.), and also averages 14.5 points on 66.1% shooting, 1.2 blocks and a PIR of 21.8, which is third in the competition. He has corralled 68 rebounds and is on track to set a competition record for most boards in a EuroCup season

Alpha Kaba, Buducnost: 'We can do amazing things this season'

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica is this season's 7DAYS EuroCup road warrior. It is one of four teams, along with Paris Basketball, Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse and Turk Telekom Ankara, to start the season with a 3-0 road record. Its frontcourt pillar has been center Alpha Kaba, who has recorded a double-double in each of the team's last four games. He leads the EuroCup in rebounding (11.3 ppg.), and also averages 14.5 points on 66.1% shooting, 1.2 blocks and a PIR of 21.8, which is third in the competition. He has corralled 68 rebounds and is on track to set a competition record for most boards in a EuroCup season, which Vladimir Golubovic holds at 202 in the 2013-14 season with Aykon TED Ankara Kolejliler. Kaba said he believes that the EuroCup's competitiveness is what sets the competition apart from others, as he said in this [EuroCupBasketball.com](http://EuroCupBasketball.com) interview. "What I like about the EuroCup is that it doesn't matter which team you play for, there's always great, great intensity. Every game is like do-or-die," Kaba said. "Everybody wants to go get the trophy." 

**Alpha, congratulations on the team's last win in Tel Aviv and your great start to the season. Did you expect Buducnost to do so well right away, especially on the road?** 

 "Honestly, I was expecting even more because we should have won more games and because I think we were missing the chemistry in our team earlier. And that's why maybe we lost those games. But for me, yes, I was expecting even more, but I'm still happy that now we finally found our chemistry and things are going pretty well. So yes, I think we can do amazing things this season."  

**Right now, Buducnost has the best defensive numbers in the competition. Has defense been your focus since the start?**  

"We wanted to be a strong defensive team and we are still trying to improve because we're still missing some stuff sometimes. I will just say that we are not at the level we can be defensively yet, but we are still doing pretty well. So yeah, our coach has really insisted on defense since the preseason. So that's how we want to win games and not just to wait on the offensive side."

Buducnost

I need to be the best rebounder. For me, that's the mindset I have every single season."

**Your rebounds average this season is one of the EuroCup's highest all-time. What's the secret to being such a great rebounder?** 

"Rebounding has always been a part of me. I'm just trying, anytime I can, to go to get the rebound, offensively and defensively. That's one of my best qualities since I started playing basketball. And so I know that every single season, I just need to keep this quality in me and don't let it just go. So every season, for me, I need to be the best rebounder. For me, that's the mindset I have every single season. It's just about that, just being willing to go for the rebound every single time. That's the mindset I'm trying to have. Every time there was a shot, I'm just trying to go get the rebound, you know? And of course, I have some athletic quality, but I'm not just taking rebounds because of that. If you want to have the rebound, you just need to think of it and go get the ball." 

**Against Hapoel, you had your fourth consecutive double-double. In recent years, your numbers are better and better on offense, too. Is that experience or an evolution in your game?** 

"I think it's coming with experience and also with confidence. You know, lately, I've been doing well. I'm just coming off a \[Turkish League\] MVP season last year, so this also helps a lot, having this confidence, even though I can say I always had confidence in myself. So yes, it's just coming from experience, too. Every time I'm trying to improve, improve and every single game, I'm just telling myself, 'You need to do better.'"

**This is your fourth EuroCup season after playing with ASVEL and Nanterre. What do you like the most about this competition?** 

 "What I like about the EuroCup is that it doesn't matter which team you play for, there's always great, great intensity. Every game is like do-or-die. Every game is intense, you feel it in the game, and that's what I really like about this competition. Everybody wants to go get the trophy and I really like it. I don't know, in any competition, you feel some type of intensity, but yes, EuroCup games are maybe even more intense for me. It is a feeling you have when you are on the court."

Alpha Kaba of Buducnost VOLI Podgorica is the EuroCup's best rebounder at 11.3 boards per night.

2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup highlights: Alpha Kaba, Buducnost

 **Is there any team that has impressed you so far or any player that has stood out?**

 "There are always some very good players. I have been following the games and there are a lot of quality players. One of the players I am following is AJ Slaughter, who I played with when I was in ASVEL. He is doing pretty good with Gran Canaria. There are good players in this league and every single game, every single team we're playing against, we always have great matchups. So that's also one of the things I like in the EuroCup." 

**How about Ismael Kamagate of Paris Basketball? I am sure you know him better than most...**

"Kamagate is a really impressive player. He is young and talented, and he's improving every single season, doing better in the French domestic league also because I have been following the league and yes, he is a good player. He had a good game when I played against him and we lost that game, unfortunately. But yes, he is a really good player and I think he's going to be a great player in the future." 

**For a big guy who finishes alley-oops, point guards are always important. How do you like playing with Trae Bell-Haynes and Petar Popovic?** 

 "Oh, I love it. I love it because both of them are really good players. They can pass the ball and do a lot of things on the court and they bring a lot of intensity, offensively and defensively. They are the type of players you really need to have on your team, so I'm really glad to have them by my side. And yes, they are really helping us in a lot of things." 

There are many good teams in this competition. I think that... we can contend to win the trophy.'

**In early February, Buducnost plays in Paris, just a two-hour ride from Blois, your hometown. How much are you looking forward to that game? Will you bring family and friends?**

 "Oh, yeah, that's for sure. You know, I'm really waiting for this game, playing back home. It's going to be a really good feeling. And, of course, as you say, it's like two hours from my place so I'm going to have some of my family coming, some of my friends. And yes, it's going to be a nice game, playing back in your country is always something you really appreciate. So I'm really waiting for this moment."  

**Looking around the competition, which teams do you see as the main candidates to fight for the EuroCup title?** 

"I would say us first, because I really trust in our team and I think we can really do great things this season. And then I was talking about Slaughter playing with Gran Canaria, and that can be a good, good contender, too. They have been playing great and also Bourg en Bresse are playing good. I don't know, there are many good teams in this competition. I think that, in this EuroCup, we can surprise, or we can contend to win the trophy or get to the final."

**What would you consider a good season for you, personally, and for Buducnost?** 

"For me, as I say, we can challenge to go to the final. So I think we need to focus on every single game to reach this goal. And for me, that is what I expect. And then personally, I am just trying to, of course, help my team to go this way. I still try to do what I have been doing lately, and try to help my team win games day by day."

### Buducnost VOLI Podgorica head caoch Vladimir Jovanovic:

"All previous matches in the Eurocup have shown that there is no clear favorite and that every team can win, regardless of the name of the rival. Trento comes to Podgorica in a good mood, having achieved two victories in the Italian championship and they won against Gran Canaria in the EuroCup. It is certain that they will do their best to achieve another victory in a row. So far, we have played better away from home than at our court. I hope and believe that the moment has come to present a good game in front of our fans, to be at a high level in both directions, because that is the basic prerequisite to reach the goal, which is victory."

### Buducnost VOLI Podgorica center Alpha Kaba:

"I think we just need to keep the same intensity we have put in every EuroCup game. It’s all about the energy, and intensity and we are playing at home, so we have to take advantage of it, which we didn’t during the season. And the most important thing is to bring energy to the game."

Coach Jovanovic, Buducnost: 'The goal is victory'

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2022-12-07T18:30:00.000Z)