The London Lions pounded Veolia Towers Hamburg 75-103 on Tuesday night at edel-optics.de Arena for the club’s first-ever EuroCup win on the road. Tomislav Zubcic led five London scorers in double figures with 22 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting. Sam Dekker posted 19 points and 7 rebounds, Kostas Koufos contributed 18 points, Vojtech Hruban did not miss a shot and made 4 triples in scoring 16 points and Aaron Best added 10 points. Lukas Meisner and Yoeli Childs led Hamburg with 19 points apiece. The result left both teams with 2-3 records in Group B. 

It was all Hamburg early as Christoph Phillips and Kendale McCullum opened the game with back-to-back three-pointers. It was 10-2 already after 2 and a half minutes when the visitors called timeout. Dekker got going for London, during which it reeled off 11 straight points. Zubcic’s steal and slam gave London its first lead, 16-17. Best extended the margin to 18-23 after 10 minutes. The visitors broke the game open with a 0-12 second-quarter run during which Dekker dunked twice and Best scored 5 points, including a triple that made it 30-48. Meisner scored 5 points in the last minute of the quarter to trim the Hamburg deficit to 41-55 at the break. 

Game Videos

Little changed after the break as London continued to score at astonishing rates. Zubcic pushed the margin into the 20s, 51-73, though Meisner continued to supply some Hamburg resistance. Free throws by Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann made it 59-73 through three quarters. Ziga Samar’s basket in the lane got Hamburg within 63-76, but that was as close as the hosts would get in the fourth quarter. Hruban buried some shots for London which pulled away into the 20s again and put the game on ice.

Game News

Lions roar in Hamburg, 75-103

Veolia Towers Hamburg v London Lions (2022-11-22T18:30:00.000Z)

### Ronen Ginzburg, Prometey head coach

"We didn't play a good game on defense, but the players showed character at the end. We played a tough team and I hope that everyone in Ukraine, the president and everybody who's a fan of us, is happy for this win. But we need to improve. Every win is important for our confidence, first of all. We played with missing players, and for our confidence it was good."

### Jurica Golemac, Cedevita head coach 

"Congratulations to Prometey for the win. Unfortunately, in the second half we didn't play good defense, as we should. We received too many points and too many easy points. They scored a lot of easy points. We didn't have energy to keep putting pressure on them. We kept them close and even went in front, but we didn't have a great solution or decision-making in the last couple of minutes."

### Gian Clavell, Prometey guard

"It was a fun game to play. It definitely was up and down. The score was everywhere. We played defense but we could have done better. Anyway, we got the road win. That's important, and we're happy with this win."

### Edo Muric, Cedevita forward:

"In the end, the game was decided by a greater rotation of players in favor of Prometey. They had more players. We stepped onto the floor with seven players. We hope all our injured guys are back as soon as possible. We are a good team, but it is difficult to play in such circumstances. Prometey has good players who have a lot of experience and quality. I'm sorry we lost. We were close. There are still enough games. I hope that we will play with a deeper lineup as soon as possible and that we start to string together victories."

Ronen Ginsburg, Prometey: 'Important for our confidence'

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana v Prometey Slobozhanske (2022-11-22T19:00:00.000Z)

There are no more undefeated teams in the 7DAYS EuroCup after Frutti Extra Bursaspor went on the road to down Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 80-89 on Tuesday night. The win improved Bursaspor to 3-2, while Bourg dropped to 4-1 in Group A.

David Dudzinski led the visitors with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Zach Auguste finished with 19 points plus 10 rebounds. Anthony Clemmons had 18 points and 8 assists and Sindarius Thornwell netted 15 in the victory. James Palmer scored 20 for Bourg, Pierre Pelos had 16 points and 7 rebounds and Jordan Floyd netted 14 in Bourg's first loss of the season.

Bourg opened up an early lead with 3 three-pointers, one apiece from Massenat, Mike and Palmer, but Bursaspor answered back with 4 triples on four consecutive possessions, with 2 from Dudzinski and 1 apiece from Thornwell and Needham. A three-point play from Thornwell and a triple from Clemmons capped a 0-21 run that put the visitors up 12-27 late in the first quarter. A triple from Maxime Courby snapped the hosts' drought before Floyd and Pierre Pelos trimmed the deficit in the second quarter, closing within 27-34. Auguste scored 6 points, and Clemmons added another triple in between those to restore the visitors' double-digit lead, but Massenat scored 5 points and Palmer banked a jumper to help the hosts get within 41-45 at halftime.

Palmer opened the third quarter with a triple before a three from Floyd and a three-point play from Mike put Bourg in front 52-50. The teams traded baskets with the visitors going inside through Clemmons and Needham. Then Duverioglu's basket put Bursaspor back in front 59-62. Palmer's four-point-play in the final minute of the quarter helped Bourg take a 67-65 lead into the fourth quarter. Bursaspor was soon back ahead with Dudzinski scoring 8 points, including a pair of triples. The second of those made it 71-77 midway through the fourth. Mike answered with a three for the hosts, but Dudzinski hit a mid-range jumper and then Auguste nailed an off-the-dribble jumper, before scoring inside to make it 76-85 in the final minute.

Unbeaten no more, Bursaspor downs Bourg 80-89

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse v Frutti Extra Bursaspor (2022-11-22T18:00:00.000Z)

### London Lions head coach Ryan Schmidt:

"I thought we did a really good job on the defensive end, first of all. And then offensively things finally started to click for us. This last week, coming off the FIBA break, it was something we needed from a cohesion standpoint. We basically went back to training camp; we had a tough five days but we got to know each other as a team a little bit better, we cleaned a lot of things up. It was something that was much needed and the result proved, again, that it was worth the time, worth the effort. At the end of the day, the guys will enjoy it. They deserve it. It’s one win, we have to build on it now."

### Veolia Towers Hamburg head coach Raoul Korner:

"You could tell \[that London has\] incredible individual talent, but tonight they also made this work together. They moved the ball really well, they \[shot at\] a really high percentage in all directions. They clicked and if a talented team like this starts to click, it will be very tough for us. If you receive 103 points, I think you have to talk about the defensive end a little more. And we just couldn't stop them, even if we forced them to take contested shots, they still hit them. We limited their offensive rebounds. That was one of the things we wanted to do, especially with the size they have. I thought we limited their post-up actions; it’s also something we did well. But then they shot the ball so well and if you have a tall team like this that drags you out so much because they shoot the ball so well, gaps open up and we just couldnt stop them.”

### London Lions forward Tomislav Zubcic:

"We know what we have to do.  We worked hard for this during this break. So we managed to get a great win and make history. We had a great week of practice. Coach Ryan made us do the things that matter for team chemistry. So we came out to play and we managed to get a great win, a great result with a high percentage from the three-point line and two-point line.”

### Veolia Towers Hamburg forward Lukas Meisner: 

"We played our game at the beginning, with a lot of passion and energy. We showed emotions. Then, in my opinion, we gave up for no reason. We knew there was a lot of talent in the London team. Nevertheless, that cannot be. There is currently a lot missing on the defensive, with over 100 points conceded there are umpteen things that we absolutely have to do better.”

Coach Schmidt, London: 'We have to build on this'

### Walter De Raffaele, Reyer head coach

"This has been a very tough game. We expected it, because Lietkabelis is a very tough team. They played with big physicality. We won the rebounding challenge, but for sure we struggled a lot during the game, but our self-confidence and adjustments on defense at the end made the difference. So we are very happy for this game. We know that in the EuroCup, all the games are tough like this."

### Nenad Canac, Lietkabelis head coach

"Everything worked, we just didn't finish the game. Congratulations to the Venice team. We must be smarter at the end."

### Mitchell Watt, Reyer player

"It's a huge win for us. \[Lietkabelis\] played a great game. They played us really tight all the way to the end. I'm just proud of the guys, the way we showed up in those last three or four minutes."

Mitchell Watt, Reyer: 'We showed up in those last minutes'

Umana Reyer Venice v 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys (2022-11-22T19:00:00.000Z)

Head-to-head: Courby, Bourg vs. Bitim, Bursaspor

The Round 5 opener will feature a pair of on-the-rise teams, the only undefeated side this season Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (4-0) and last year's finalist, an ambitious Frutti Extra Bursaspor (2-2). 

Among the many interesting matchups in this clash, two of the players to keep an eye on will certainly be Bourg veteran Maxime Courby and one of the continent's bright young stars, 23-year old forward Onuralp Bitim of Bursaspor.

The two players went head-to-head once before, a year ago at Ekinox, the same gym where this Tuesday's game will take place. Last year, [Bourg thrashed Bursaspor 95-65](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2021-22/mincidelice-jl-bourg-en-bresse-frutti-extra-bursaspor/U2021/60/#boxscore). Courby had 3 points in that victory while Bitim scored 10 points in 23 minutes on the floor. Since then, Bitim's role on Bursaspor, last season's EuroCup finalist, changed dramatically, and for the better.

This season, only one player logs more minutes than Bitim's 34:24 per game, which just shows how crucial he is for Bursaspor. And he has consistently been delivering, too.

Bitim has not scored fewer than 14 points in any of the four games and is averaging 16.8 points, tied for seventh entering Round 5. He also posts 4.5 assists and 3.8 rebounds on average, along with 1.0 steals per game.

That has improved his career average to 13.6 points in 23 career appearances during this and last season, nearly double what Courby has scored in 32 games he has played since 2020-21 season, when he made his competition debut.

Those numbers, however, are also a product of Bitim playing more minutes, and having attempted nearly twice as many shots as Courby, who makes them with significantly higher accuracy. 

As a matter of fact, it is fair to argue that no one in the competition is a more accurate shooter than Courby, and he has the numbers to back it up.

A swingman who will turn 33 years of age on Wednesday, Courby epitomizes what Bourg is all about this season with players doing their best in their respective roles while all 11 players who entered at least once this season average between 16 and 26 minutes.

Courby has played his role nearly to perfection. He is averaging 8.0 points per game, tied for fourth best on the team, but has missed only 4 shots combined in as many games.

While he made 77.8% of his two-point shots, tied for the 10th best this season, he has been knocking down long-range attempts more accurately than any other player this season. Courby has knocked down 6 of his 8 triples, tied for EuroCup-best 75.0%.

What that has also done is propel Courby into [first place all-time in three-point accuracy](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/stats/expanded/?size=25&viewType=traditional&statisticMode=perGame&seasonMode=All&sortDirection=descending&statistic=fieldGoals3Percent), as he now has made 56.7% of his attempts from downtown in his career.

In this Group A derby, Courby will certainly try to keep his hand hot while he and his teammates will have their hands full against Bitim.

When Paris Basketball center Ismael Kamagate was a young kid making his first steps into the world of sports, he went with arguably the most popular or obvious choice: football.

He played as a goalkeeper before realizing that he wants something different, which led him to basketball. Football and goalkeeping weren’t meant to be Kamagate’s destiny, but he still carries the same role of guarding the rear of his team in his capacity as a rim protector for Paris.

[MORE...](https://www.eurohoops.net/en/eurocup/1422731/ismael-kamagate-paris-goalkeeper/)

Ismael Kamagate: Paris’s goalkeeper, by Eurohoops

The 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season returns after the first break of the season, which means that the EuroCup Fantasy Challenge, powered by Ardu Prime, is also back. As always, three trades are allowed before each round, and you can also swap your head coach. Here are some recommendations for your team ahead of Round 5:

**Sam Dekker, London Lions (13.0 credits) –** When healthy, Dekker has to be everyone's go-to guy in the game. He scores in many different ways, helps on the board and came to London to play a leading role. He returned in Round 4 and posted 15 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists against Buducnost. Dekker remains a must-have player. 

**Jakub Niziol, Slask Wroclaw (8.9 credits) –** After two seasons with Enea Astoria Bygodszcz, Niziol is in his first EuroCup campaign with Slask and playing really well. He's averaged 11.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists for a PIR of 17.5. Niziol has flown under the radar for a while, but is now proving the kind of all-around player he is. 

Sam Dekker, Jakub Niziol, Yago Dos Santos, Isiaha Mike, and Axel Toupane are featured in this week's article.

Fantasy tips: Regular Season, Round 5

**Yago Dos Santos, ratiopharm Ulm (8.8 credits) –** After a short adjustment period, Dos Santos is playing at the same stellar level he displayed in South America. Over the last couple of games, Dos Santos has averaged 16.5 points, 4.5 assists, 5.5 fouls drawn and a PIR of 20.0. Expect him to play an even more relevant role going forward.

**Isiaha Mike, Mindicelice JL Bourg en Bresse (11.4 credits) –** One of the most pleasant surprises in the EuroCup this season. In the last three games, Mike has averaged 14.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and a PIR of 23.3. Mike is one of the leading players on the only undefeated team in the competition and has a reasonable fantasy price. 

**Axel Toupane, Paris Basketball (11.2 credits) –** Other players get the flashes but Toupane has been solid until now, getting a PIR of 12 or better in all four games. His experience, athleticism and energy give him a lot of fantasy value. He is averaging a PIR of 15.8 without great shooting percentages (45.2% 2FG, 35.0% 3FG), so it can still get better. 

Fantasy tips: Regular Season Round 5

[Yago dos Santos](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/yago-dos-santos/012044/) arrived at ratiopharm Ulm with some high expectations thanks to some lofty past achievements. And now after a few weeks of adjusting to his first experience in Europe, the Brazilian point guard is starting to shine brightly in the 7DAYS EuroCup.

Dos Santos’s resume before coming to Germany included Brazilian League championships with Paulistano and Flamengo as well as the Basketball Champions League Americas title and the FIBA Intercontinental Cup with Brazilian powerhouse Flamengo. Not to mention having played at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers and winning silver at the FIBA AmeriCup 2022.

All of those accomplishments as a 23-year-old.

Next up for the native of Tuna, Sao Paulo, in southern Brazil was making the jump to Europe.

"I always wanted to challenge myself at all levels. I did a lot of things in Brazil and it was time to take the next step. I have a lot of dreams and know that the road is not easy, but I am happy for everything I have achieved and thrilled to find out what's left for me to conquer while playing basketball,” said dos Santos, who signed a two-year contract with Ulm this off-season.

"I always wanted to come to Europe and play here and when I got the news that playing for Ulm was a possibility, I was very happy and it was the best decision to play here."

Dos Santos went through some initial growing pains. In his first four games in the German League plus Ulm’s German Cup game, the 1.75-meter playmaker averaged 4.6 points while shooting 33.3% on two-pointers and missing all 15 of his three-pointers to go with 2.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists with 1.8 turnovers in just under 20 minutes.

Things in the last three league games have drastically improved as dos Santos is pouring in 21.0 points on 58.8% two-point shooting and 9-of-21 three-pointers (42.9%) while also chipping in 3.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.3 turnovers in 30.3 minutes.

He also has excelled in international play with Ulm, averaging 10.8 points on 54.5% and 36.8% shooting, 2.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 turnovers in 22 minutes of four EuroCup games.

"I knew that the playing style and the way people play would be different. I also knew that things would get better and it was only a matter of time,” dos Santos said. "I am understanding more about the systems and the playing style, earning my teammates' and coaches' confidence. This helps me a lot.”

Another problem dos Santos faced early on was not being able to take part in Ulm’s pre-season training camp since he was with the Brazilian national team at the 2022 AmeriCup where the South Americans took home the silver medal after a 75-73 loss to Argentina in the final on September 11.

"We did not do our preseason training camp together, and that stood in our way from getting to know each other,” said dos Santos, who tallied 11 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals in the title game. “We are making progress, learning and evolving, even after losses. This is a great team, I love it. All of us in here are going to improve a lot.”

Yago Dos Santos Top Plays from 09/30/2022 to 11/21/2022

Yago Dos Santos ratiopharm Ulm - Top Plays

While he was not in Europe, dos Santos did have ample time to talk about basketball in Europe with two of his Brazilian teammates at the AmeriCup: Vitor Benite and Cristiano Felicio.

Gran Canaria playmaker Benite is playing his third EuroCup season after spending 2016-17 with Murcia and 2018-19 with Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana in addition to winning the Basketball Champions League twice with San Pablos Burgos. In fact, dos Santos beat Benite and Burgos in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

"He is one of the leaders in the Brazilian national team. He helped a lot when I got to the team. He is a great friend and I am a big fan of his. Beating him was a lot of fun,” dos Santos laughed. “It was a great title for Brazil and Flamengo."

Dos Santos also spoke with Felicio, who actually played with Ulm in 2021-22.

"I spoke a lot with Felicio because he is a great friend who had lived in Ulm,” said dos Santos.

Now that the initial struggles are out of the way and Ulm is starting to pick up wins in the German League - two victories in the last three games for a 2-5 record - dos Santos can think about leading Ulm to success just like he did in Brazil.

“I want to win, no matter the game or the championship. It makes Ulm fans happy and we will take the club's name as high as possible. This is encouraging for me.”