### Makis Giatras, Promitheas Patras head coach:

"We came back hard in the second half. We made some big shots with Jou Young and Nikolaos Gkikas. But we changed things around with our defense. And if we want to make a step forward we need to improve our defense. Young scored 34, Nikolaos is a team captain and a game-changer. I want to thank the fans that came to the arena and supported us. They were our sixth player for us and a reason to win the game."

### Jaka Lakovic, Gran Canaria head coach

"We did not execute well offensively. We had too many turnovers, giving them opportunities to run, come back and gain momentum. With that confidence we gave them, they made shots and we did not. Congratulations to Promitheas."

Game Videos

### Joe Young, Promitheas Patras guard:

"We all stuck together. We did not play as good as we could play, but we stuck together as a team, played defense and we pulled the win out in the end. I thank my teammates, I appreciate my teammates for getting me the ball, getting me going. Thank the coach, too. We played some good ball out there, and got the win."

Game News

Post-game quotes: Promitheas vs. Gran Canaria

Promitheas Patras v Gran Canaria (2022-10-19T16:30:00.000Z)

Makis Giatras - Promitheas Patras (photo Patras) - EC22

U-BT Cluj-Napoca celebrated its first-ever 7DAYS EuroCup victory in style on Wednesday, inspiring 9,300 fans at sold-out bt-arena by taking a huge 94-76 victory over Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana.

 Cluj soars to first EuroCup victory! 

Cluj (1-0) raced to big leads early that reached 44-24 before halftime. A 14-2 run to start the second half seemed to put the game out of reach at 62-33, but a proud Cedevita lowered the difference to single digits before Cluj closed the door. Stefan Bircevic paced Cluj with 24 points. Leonardo Meindl combined 19 points with 11 rebounds. Karel Guzman added 16 points and Emanuel Cate 11. Josh Adams of Cedevita threatened a triple-double with 25 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds before leaving injured with almost 5 minutes left. Alen Omic added 17 points and Aaron Harrison 15 for Cedevita, whose record fell to 0-2.

Bircevic and Cate shot Cluj in front by 10-4 before Meindl's 5 quick points took the hosts up 17-9. Omic's layup sparked a 0-6 Cedevita run, but Nandor Kuti added a triple and Patrick Richard beat the buzzer as Cluj led 28-17 after 10 minutes. Meindl, Guzman, Cate and Bircevic, with a fastbreak slam, lifted the difference to 40-23. Andrija Stipanovic soon copied him for a 20-point lead that Cedevita's Adams trimmed to 48-31 at halftime. Jordan Taylor sparked a 14-2 start to the third quarter which finished with Guzman and Meindl hitting back-to-back threes at 62-33. Cedevita finally reacted with a 6-20 run to finish the quarter within 68-53. Adams hit free throws and a runner to open the final quarter at 68-57, before Guzman's put-back calmed the hosts. Still, Aaron Harrison beat the shot-clock buzzer at 70-60. Bircevic and Rok Radovic traded triples but Adams had the next one at 73-66. Meindl and Guzman came to Cluj's rescue as the hosts used an 11-3 run to go back up 15 and take it to the finish from there. 

Cluj soars to first EuroCup victory!

U-BT Cluj-Napoca v Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (2022-10-19T17:30:00.000Z)

### Milhai Silvasan, Cluj coach

"Obviously, we feel pretty good. I'm really happy for our players and for our fans that we took this victory, and in this manner. We played good for most parts of the game. We were really intense. We played very good defense, and we just had better rhythm than we had last round in EuroCup. So, we need to continue working. It's just one game. We are 1-1 with a lot more games to play. We need to be focused game by game and practice by practice, that's all." 

### Leonardo Meindl, Cluj player

"The first victory at home, everybody is very happy for this. I think we played very good on defense today. We have to keep working on this, and keep improving. If we play like this on defense, we can win more games at home."

Post-game quotes: Cluj-Napoca vs. Cedevita

Bursaspor brings aboard swingman Thornwell

Frutti Extra Bursaspor added athleticism and versatility to its roster by signing swingman Sindarius Thornwell, the club announced Wednesday. Thornwell (1.93 meters, 27 years old) arrives from ratiopharm Ulm, where he averaged 10.5 points on 40.4% three-point shooting and 90.2% free-throw shooting, 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 13 7DAYS EuroCup games last season. 

<center>
<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">Welcome 🤝 Sindarius Thornwell <br><br>Kulübümüz, 1.93 boyunda 27 yaşındaki forvet Sindarius Thornwell ile anlaşma sağladı. <br><br>Thornwell&#39;e hoş geldin diyor, kendisine başarılı bir sezon diliyoruz 🐊 <a href="https://t.co/QUaCgnYSbK">pic.twitter.com/QUaCgnYSbK</a></p>&mdash; Frutti Extra Bursaspor (@BsBasketbol) <a href="https://twitter.com/BsBasketbol/status/1582709329840381958?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center>

Thornwell came to Europe for the first time to play for Ulm after spending the previous four seasons in the NBA with Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans and Orlando. He also played in the G-League for Agua Caliente and Rio Grande. Thornwell played college basketball at the University of South Carolina, which he led to the NCAA Final Four in 2017.

The London Lions made history on Tuesday night, defeating Dolomiti Energia Trento 80-75 at Copper Box Arena to become the first British team to win a 7DAYS EuroCup game since 2004.

 

It's been over 18 years, but the last win by an English team in the competition was one for the history books.

 

Brighton Bears downed Cholet Basket 112-103 in double overtime on January 27, 2004. Despite a 4-6 regular season record, Brighton was eliminated after this legendary game. What makes it so memorable is that guard Randy Duck led the winners with 49 points, which remains an all-time EuroCup record. He scored 12-of-23 two-pointers, 4-of-10 three-pointers and hit 13-of-17 free throws, while also adding 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 14 fouls drawn for a PIR of 45.

It took another outstanding individual performance for a British team to win a game, with Ovie Soko stepping up to the plate against Trento. The 31-year-old was unstoppable against Trento, finishing with 22 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 9 fouls drawn for a PIR of 39.

"I'm just glad we could win, man," Soko said after the game. "This year is going to have a lot of ups and downs – we've got a lot of new players trying to be cohesive and come together – and this was a step in the right direction. We know we have a long way to go, but we'll just keep on plugging away."

Only one other British team has played in the EuroCup in the time between Brighton's last appearance and London's debut this season; Guildford Heat competed in the 2007-08 season but finished the regular season with a 0-10 record. It still holds the record for the biggest-ever loss in the competition's history, losing by 63 points, 116-53, against Joventut Badalona, which went on to win the title in 2008. Nine different Joventut players scored in double digits, and its team PIR of 173 is also the competition's all-time best.

No other British team played the EuroCup until this season, and London has arrived with aspirations of fighting for bigger goals. Despite being without its two main stars, Sam Dekker and Kostas Koufos, London registered its first win and is ready to fight for a spot in the playoffs.

 

"I'm just excited for our team, excited for the organization. Obviously we were down a few key bodies with Sam \[Dekker\] and Kos \[Koufos\] out, but the way these guys responded and came together," London head coach Ryan Schmidt said after the game. "It's just cool for British basketball to see the crowd in here and to do something for the first time in 18 years \[grabbing a win in the EuroCup as a British team\]. I'm just really excited for our players."

 

Without the pressure of having to get its first win, London hopes to keep building momentum when it goes on the road to face Gran Canaria in Round 3.

London ended Britain's 18-year EuroCup drought

London Lions v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2022-10-18T18:30:00.000Z)

After not making the 7DAYS EuroCup Playoffs last season, Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse has opened the new campaign with two wins in as many games. On Tuesday night, Bourg registered its first road victory of the season, downing Umana Reyer Venice 73-79.

After holding to triumph in a high-scoring affair a week ago, Bourg prevailed on Tuesday thanks to its defense.

"I am very happy because my team played very good defense," Bourg head coach Frederic Fauthoux said after the game. "We had a goal tonight to put this team under 72 points. We allowed 73, and we won."

Bourg met its defensive goal despite falling behind 12-2 after 3 minutes, but over the next 9 minutes, the visitors' defense limited Reyer to a single three-pointer made and got back into the game.

In the third quarter, Jordan Floyd got it going, scoring 9 points to put Bourg ahead. Then James Palmer found his range, sinking 3 three-pointers late in the last 11 minutes. Palmer finished with 16 points and Floyd had 15.

What made coach Fauthoux even happier was that this win came three days after losing a French League game at home by 19 points.

"I am very proud of my team," he stressed after his team became the first in Group A with two wins.

Bourg nearly met its challenging defensive goal

Umana Reyer Venice v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2022-10-18T18:00:00.000Z)

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse continued its good start to the season by picking up its second win. Bourg defeated Umana Reyer Venice on the road 73-79.

Bourg did so after shooting just 14 three-point shots and making 6. It came a week after Bourg shot 28 triples in a Round 1 win against U-BT Cluj-Napoca. On this night, Bourg forced the issue inside, going 25-for-45 (55.6%). Bourg also forced 18 turnovers and picked up 12 steals in the process. Those were the keys in this low-scoring affair.

Key stat: Bourg went inside in road win 

Turk Telekom Ankara got its 7DAYS EuroCup season back on track in Round 2 by beating Veolia Towers Hamburg 83-88 at edel-optics.de Arena, with Tony Taylor marking his return to action by recording 25 points and 5 assists off the bench, having missed his team's opening-round defeat to Paris Basketball.

It did not take long for Taylor to make an impact for Turk Telekom. He entered the court with 5:47 to go in the first quarter and scored 8 points while also dishing out 1 assist, which ensured that his team ended the first 10 minutes with a one-point advantage. Another 10 points followed in the second quarter en route to a 38-44 halftime lead, as Hamburg struggled to stop Taylor from scoring points. He would go on to score a further 7 points and dish out 4 assists in the second half.

Taylor is back in the EuroCup this year after last appearing in the competition for PGE Turow in 2014-15, when he averaged 7.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 8 games. Now, at age 32, he has the experience and quality to guide this Turk Telekom team a long way in the 2022-23 EuroCup.

Taylor's return provides spark for Turk Telekom 

Veolia Towers Hamburg v Turk Telekom Ankara (2022-10-18T17:30:00.000Z)

### Ryan Schmidt, London Lions head coach

 

"I'm just excited for our team, excited for the organization. Obviously we were down a few key bodies with Sam \[Dekker\] and Kos \[Koufos\] out, but the way these guys responded and came together… We gave up 27 points in the first quarter, but they just chipped away at it. It's just cool for British basketball to see the crowd in here and to do something for the first time in 18 years \[grabbing a win in the EuroCup as a British team\]. I'm just really excited for our players.

 

"We needed this in a lot of ways. We're in a unique situation where we brought in 15 new guys – we didn't have a foundation, we didn't have a core – and we've got a bunch of guys we're trying to get come together as a team. When you have two of your best players, your starters and your focal points on both ends of the floor, out and you see contributions from everybody, it's more than pleasing as a head coach."

### Ovie Soko, London Lions forward

 

"I'm just glad we could win, man. This year is going to have a lot of ups and downs – we've got a lot of new players trying to be cohesive and come together – and this was a step in the right direction. We know we have a long way to go, but we'll just keep on plugging away.

 

"The team put me in that position \[to have a great game\]. We're trying to make it a habit to move the ball and play off each other, and that just comes with time. It's a different person \[who has the chance to succeed\] every game."

### Emanuele Molin, Dolomiti Energia Trento head coach

 

"I think the turnovers made a difference and the energy that the Lions played with was much more than we showed on the court. In the last quarter we paid for a bit of fatigue, having played the last game less than 48 hours ago, so we suffered with that."

Post-game quotes: Promitheas vs. Gran Canaria

Cluj soars to first EuroCup victory!

Post-game quotes: Cluj-Napoca vs. Cedevita

Bursaspor brings aboard swingman Thornwell

London ended Britain's 18-year EuroCup drought

Bourg nearly met its challenging defensive goal

Key stat: Bourg went inside in road win

Taylor's return provides spark for Turk Telekom

Post-game quotes: London vs. Trento