Paris Basketball kept its perfect road record intact, rallying from a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit to edge Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 74-77 in their Group B clash on Wednesday. It was the third win in as many road games for Paris, which improved to 3-2 on the season, the same as Buducnost which saw its three-game winning streak snapped.

Buducnost opened a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, but Paris answered with a 0-14 run behind Amar Gegic, and the hosts never led again. In the final minute, Juhann Begarin hit a crucial three-pointer to give Paris a cushion it never relinquished. Aaron White did have a chance to send the game to overtime at the buzzer with a good-look at a three-pointer, but his triple rimmed out.

Kyle Allman and Aamir Simms scored 13 apiece to lead Paris. Begarin scored 12, while Gegic and Ismael Kamagate scored 11 apiece in a winning effort. Alpha Kaba paced Buducnost with 17 points plus 16 rebounds. Phil Booth scored 15, and Trae Bell-Haynes had 10 in a loss.

Game Videos

Kaba scored twice inside and Cameron Reynolds knocked down a triple, but Paris jumped out in front 7-11 behind baskets from Axel Toupane, a three-pointer from Simms and a three-point play from Ismael Kamagate. Allman, Juhann Begarin and Amar Gegic all scored at the rim, including Gegic's big put-back dunk, as Paris led 18-22 after 10 minutes. Begarin doubled the lead early in the second. Reynolds had a transition three and Kaba had an easy fastbreak dunk, but Toupane's triple and Allman's jumper restored an 8-point margin. But Kaba kept doing the damage inside and Petar Popovic hit one from the outside as Buducnost answered with a 9-0 run and the teams ended up tied, 41-41, at halftime.

Game News

The teams traded blows after the break before Booth scored 5 points, including a three-point play, that helped the hosts take 59-55 into the final quarter. Booth then scored the first 5 points in the fourth quarter, including a three-pointer, as the hosts opened a double-digit margin for the first time, 65-55. However, Gegic had a pair of steals and scored 5 points, and also assisted on Sleva's corner triple and Kamagate's dunk, fueling a 0-14 run that put Paris back in front. A jumper from Reynolds ended the hosts' 5-minute scoring drought and Buducnost tied it at 70-70 in the penultimate minute. Begarin nailed a three-pointer with 52 seconds to go to put Paris up for good. Paris had problems at the foul line, but when Toupane missed 2 free throws with 10.2 seconds to go, Begarin pulled down an offensive rebound with Paris up 74-76. Buducnost had have one last possession to tie it, but White's three-point attempt rolled out.

Paris rallies, holds off Buducnost, 74-77

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica v Paris Basketball (2022-11-23T18:00:00.000Z)

### Carles Duran, Joventut head coach

"We just tried to play basketball. Because in the first half, we were only thinking on the bad decisions and the turnovers. And in the second, we were thinking about playing basketball. And Simon \[Birgander\] played very well. Sure, our defense with Simon in the paint played very well and we ran every time, and the second half we played better on offense. We cut down on turnovers and played the pick-and-roll better with Kyle \[Guy\], Andres \[Feliz\] and Pau \[Ribas\]. It's possible that Ulm missed some easy shots, but the key was in the overall defense, the rebounds, the positions, the steals. The key sometimes is that if you defend better, offense becomes easy, and that's what happened in the second half."

### Anton Gavel, Ulm head coach

"We scored 19 points in the second half, and defensively we couldn't get a stop. Their bigs were dominating the paint and just running down the hill, and we were not there to stop them. Offensively, we couldn't find any solution to be somehow successful. We showed in the first half that \[our inexperience\] doesn't really matter, but in the second half, we panicked completely. Our decision on offense were not good; ok, we created some open shots but we weren't capable of hitting them, but still, defense was our problem and that 6-18 third quarter."

### Simon Birgander, Joventut player 

"We had a team talk in the locker room that we had to change our mentality and play much harder. Also, we had to play better defense and especially play better offense. We didn't get it going on offense and that was very important to do in the third quarter."

Carles Duran, Joventut: 'If you defend better, offense becomes easy'

ratiopharm Ulm v Joventut Badalona (2022-11-23T18:30:00.000Z)

With a defensive tour de force after halftime, Joventut Badalona avenged a painful playoff loss from last season by downing host ratiopharm Ulm 54-68 on Wednesday.

 Joventut storms past host Ulm after halftime 

Ulm led 35-30 at halftime but was held to 6 points through the next 14 minutes as the visitors ran away with the win. Joventut improved to 4-1, good for a first-place tie in Group A, while Ulm fell to 2-3. Simon Birgander led the winners with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. Pau Ribas had 11 points and 5 assists. Ulm got 14 points from Karim Jallow, all in the first half, while Yago Dos Santos scored 9 and dished 4 assists. Ulm's 6 third-quarter points were the team's lowest total in any quarter in its 133 7DAYS EuroCup games to date, as were its 19 second-half points the club's fewest in any half.

Pep Busquets drilled 2 corner triples as Joventut jumped ahead 3-8. Thomas Klepeisz tied from before Jallow's second dunk put Ulm ahead, 14-12. Joel Parra's three-pointer let Joventut retake the lead, but Jallow's finger-roll gave Ulm a 20-19 edge after 10 minutes. Guy's 5 points tied it and Andres Feliz layed up for a new Joventut lead at 24-26. Dos Santos broke the next tie from deep for Ulm and dunks by Jallow and Nicolas Bretzel sent the hosts to a 35-30 halftime lead. Parra's next triple drew Joventut within 37-35 midway through a defensive-minded third quarter. Ribas copied him and added a three-point play before assisting Birgander twice as Joventut surged ahead 37-46. Joventut would hold Ulm to just 6 points in the third quarter to lead 41-48. Ribas lifted the lead to double digits, 41-53, with a triple as Ulm remained cold until Klepeisz hit from deep almost 5 minutes into the fourth quarter. By then, Joventut was up 44-62 and well on its way to full revenge for having lost at home to Ulm in last season's eighthfinals.

Joventut storms past host Ulm after halftime

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

"In this competition, every victory is extremely hard. We saw other results and we see that every game is extremely intense and extremely tough. It is a thing that we like, and it is a thing that we need to get used to, to play in some kind of competition. And I am really happy that we stayed strong, mentally and physically, in this game. We won in the end. Big-time thanks to our fans, which were great and really helped us win this game. Each victory in his league is good, we just need to take it step by step. We need to practice good, stay humble, work and fight for every game.

"That was a really intense game in all aspects of it: physically, mentally, it was a close game and each team had parts in which were leading. We needed to stay tough all game and of course, we had the home-court advantage and the fans advantage. I thank them because this was a big plus for us. I am really happy that we took the second win in this group, which is extremely close. Each team can win everywhere. I am happy for this game, especially after a long period in which we didn't have a strong game. That game in the \[Romanian\] championship was not that strong. So I think they guys reacted well, especially in the second half, when we played much stronger defense. In the first half, we allowed too many shots. They had some unbelievable percentages and finished the game with 65% on two-points and 50% on three-points. That's unbelievable but also, that's our fault because we let them shoot and score that easy. We move forward. We are enjoying this win tonight but are thinking about the next games that we have."

### Germani Brescia head coach Alessandro Magro:

"We came here to try to compete. We were not able to have the defense we would like to have, especially against a physical team like this, so we need to restart from our mistakes and try to focus on the next game. All game long, we were not able to pack the paint like we would like. They scored easy baskets and deserved it, because they played probably better than us, trying to target our weak points. We just have to stay calm and keep working.

"They had 20-of-21 in the paint. It is too much if we want to compete. In the first half, our three-point percentage allowed us to stay in the game. Then it is normal that the percentage, even if at the end we finished with 50%, we missed some shots. We missed free throws and if we want to try to compete, we can't allow the others to score 90 with that kind of percentage. Even if at the end, thanks to some steals, we have some chances to run, we were able to have a tight game. We have to control our defense and this is what we need to work on."

### U-BT Cluj-Napoca forward Leo Meindl:

"We are very happy for the victory, but we cannot hide our problems. They made 86 points in our home so we have to improve that. We have to play better defense but we are happy. We have to win at home and away so that's it, that's the way. We had problems but we got the win, that's the most important today, second in the EuroCup. We are playing to get victories and to improve every day. We are here for this, so we are happy."

### Germani Brescia guard John Petrucelli:

"I think they outplayed us tonight, especially down the stretch. We have to be better as a team defensively, starting with myself. Defense always makes the difference."

Meindl, Cluj: 'We had problems but we got the win'

U-BT Cluj-Napoca v Germani Brescia (2022-11-23T17:30:00.000Z)

In a high-scoring showdown, U-BT Cluj-Napoca returned to the winning path by downing Germani Brescia 91-86 at home in Group A on Wednesday, snapping a two-game losing streak. Cluj improved to 2-3 in the standings. Karel Guzman and Leo Meindl led the winners with 15 points apiece. Andrija Stipanovic, Nemanja Gordic, Emanuel Cate and Patrick Richards each added 13 for Cluj. Amedeo Della Valle had 16 points for Brescia, which dropped to 2-3 after losing its last two games. John Petrucelli added 15 while David Cournooh and Kenny Gabriel each added 14 for the visitors.

Petrucelli and Della Valle stepped up early to put Brescia ahead, 13-19. Stipanovic rescued Cluj and Richard's triple tied it, 21-21, after 10 minutes. Richards kept pushing the hosts and got help from Cate and Guzman to give Cluj a 36-34 edge. Cournooh, Akele, Gabriel and Petrucelli each hit a three-pointer for a 49-51 Brescia lead at halftime.

Stipanovic took over after the break and then Gordic and Richard each buried a three-pointer to boost the hosts' lead to 73-68 after 30 minutes. Gabriel capped a 0-7 run with a dunk that put Brescia in charge, 73-75. Meindl and Cate took over in crunch time and Gordic's three-point play gave Cluj an 87-83 lead with 42.3 seconds left. Gabriel answered from downtown before Gordic and Cate sealed the outcome from the foul line.

Cluj outlasts Brescia at home, 91-86

Turk Telekom Ankara took advantage of some unusual three-point shooting accuracy in knocking off Dolomiti Energia Trento on Wednesday night.

The hosts drained 13 of 25 three-pointers (52.0%) in their 81-66 home victory that extended the team's winning streak to four games. Turk Telekom came into the game as the number one team in two-point shooting at 61.2%, but just 13th in three-pointers at 33.9%. Tony Taylor knocked down 4 three-pointers to lead the way and Nathan Sestina (3), Axel Bouteille and Jerian Grant (both 2) all hit multiple triples for the winners.

Turk Telekom also really took advantage of its transition game, scoring 19 fastbreak points to 4 for the visitors. And even though Turk Telekom committed 17 turnovers to 16 for Trento, the hosts collected 20 points off those miscues to 10 for the Italian side.

Turk Telekom uses unusual three-point accuracy, fastbreaks to beat Trento

Turk Telekom Ankara v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2022-11-23T16:45:00.000Z)

Turk Telekom Ankara remained among the leaders in Group B as it cruised past Dolomiti Energia Trento 81-66 to stretch its winning streak to four games. Turk Telekom finished the deal with a 14-5 run in the fourth quarter to improve to 4-1. Axel Bouteille led the way for the home side with 22 points, Jerian Grant scored 17 points and Tony Taylor chipped in 16 points and 7 assists. Matteo Spagnolo set a career-high with 15 points as the top scorer for Trento, which dropped to 0-5 in the group with its 17th straight loss in the competition dating back to last season.

The first quarter was back and forth with four lead changes and two ties. Turk Telekom led by as much as 10-4 as Bouteille totaled 11 points in the quarter. Darion Aktins and Drew Crawford both had 9 points for Trento, which was up 20-22 after 10 minutes. Taylor scored 4 as the hosts re-established a 6-point lead (34-28) and went into the break up 43-35.

After Turk Telekom extended the cushion to 47-35 early in the second half, Trento was able to pull within 47-40, but trailed 54-44 at the end of the third quarter. The gap was up to 59-46 before Trento had one final push from Andrejs Graziulius with 10 points to trim it to 62-57. Grant answered with 5 straight points and Taylor made a pair of three-pointers to put the comeback hopes to bed.

Turk Telekom beats Trento, 81-66, for fourth straight win

### Turk Telekom Ankara head coach Erdem Can:

"Before I talk about the game I would like to talk about the incident that happened last night in Turkey. The earthquake in Duzce. Our hearts are with the people who got hurt. What can we say, we continue with our lives, but our hearts are with them. 

"We really started flat. We focused on our opponent’s offensive rebounds and we gave up 5 offensive rebounds in the first quarter. That balanced the game from the side of our opponent. During the break, we talked about that and eventually we succeeded in stopping that and only gave them 1 offensive rebound in the second quarter. In the second half, we made too many easy mistakes. Sixteen turnovers and allowing 11 steals is not our game. We are not happy about that, but we are trying to get better every single day. I hope this game will help us to get better."

### Dolomiti Energia Trento head coach Emanuele Molin:

"I want to congratulate Turk Telekom because they played consistent for the full 40 minutes. I think my team did a lot of good stuff. But in the third quarter when we got an advantage with our defense, we could not hit a lot of open shots. In the fourth quarter, Turk Telekom had more freshness and better ball distribution and was able to play with its best five players. And that made the difference. But we competed and had a good effort. We go home with something good that we have done."

### Turk Telekom Ankara forward Axel Bouteille:

"It was a good game. We always stayed ahead and in the end, we won by 15 points. So we had a pretty good second half."

Turk Telekom's Coach Can: 'Our hearts are with the earthquake victims'

Who's Hot: Alpha Kaba, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica

Every season produces new stars in the 7DAYS EuroCup, and the latest player to put his stamp on the competition is Buducnost VOLI Podgorica center Alpha Kaba.

In his fourth year in the EuroCup, his first with Buducnost, the 26-year-old Frenchman has posted his highest averages to date in the opening four games of the campaign: 13.2 points on 71.9% two-point shooting, 9.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals, in addition to a PIR of 18.5. In fact, in the last three games, he is averaging 15.7 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals, with a PIR of 22.7.

Kaba previously represented LCLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in 2017-18 and 2018-19, as well as Nanterre 92 in 2020-21, but his dominance in the paint has become more of a factor in this current season.

Not only is his average of 9.5 rebounds per night good enough for fourth best in the 2022-23 EuroCup, but he is also making the fifth-highest average number of made two-pointers with 5.8.

After a relatively slow start in his first game, in which he scored 6 points but grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 2 shots in a 66-73 loss to Veolia Hamburg Towers, his threat on the offensive end of the floor has significantly increased in Buducnost's last three fixtures, all of which have been victories.

Starting on the road at Slask Wroclaw, a game that Buducnost won by 40 points, 58-98, Kaba made his presence felt with several highlight plays on a night when he posted 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Then, in Buducnost's home opener against Promitheas Patras, he once again played a pivotal role, recording a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double which also featured 3 steals in a 95-89 triumph.

Just before the EuroCup's two-week break, Kaba and Buducnost spoiled what should have been a memorable night for the London Lions, as it was playing at the legendary OVO Arena Wembley for the first of two fixtures there this season. Kaba didn't care about that, finishing with a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double in a 78-87 victory. He was a menace once again on the defensive end, ending the game with 2 steals to go with 1 block.

Alpha Kaba Top Plays from 10/15/2022 to 11/22/2022

Alpha Kaba Buducnost - Top plays

As Kaba recognizes, Buducnost has begun to find its feet during this three-game winning run. Aside from Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse, which was 4-0 heading into Round 5 before an 80-89 defeat to Frutti Extra Bursaspor, Buducnost is the most in-form team in the EuroCup.

"We knew it wouldn’t be easy \[to beat London\], and they showed in the second half that we would have to fight. It was a difficult second half, but we will still made it \[through\] and got the W," he said. "That’s all that matters, so we are happy with that. We struggled at the start of the season, but now we are finding our chemistry, so everything is good."

Kaba earned his move to Buducnost after ending the last season as the Turkish League MVP with Gaziantep, and it seems that he has carried that momentum into the 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season. As long as Kaba continues to play at this level, Buducnost will be one of the most dangerous teams in the competition.