Congratulations to Matej Kalamarko, our first winner in the 2024-25 EuroCup Fantasy Challenge! Matej's team mk10 posted a score of 196.35.

EuroCup Fantasy Challenge: Round 1 winner

Congratulations to Matej Kalamarko, our first winner in the 2024-25 [EuroCup Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/)! Matej's team mk10 posted a score of 196.35.

The team featured the following lineup: Jordan Ford of Dolomiti Energia Trento as team captain, then Georgios Kalaitzakis of 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys, Deividas Sirvydis of 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys, Kevin Hervey of U-BT Cluj-Napoca, Yovel Zoosman of Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem and Kyle Alexander of Turk Telekom Ankara as the other starters. Ante Tomic of Joventut Badalona was his sixth man, while Eleftherios Mantzoukas of Aris Midea Thessaloniki, Adam Mokoka of Cluj, Noa Essengue and Ben Saraf of ratiopharm Ulm made up the rest of the bench. Frederic Fauthoux of Cosea JL Bourg en Bresse was the head coach.

The prize for finishing first in Round 1 is a free subscription to Euroleague TV for the 2025-26 season!

Obviously, Matej is also first in the overall standings with 196.35 points. Trades are now open for Round 2. Remember, four trades are allowed before each round until the end of the regular season.

Make new teams now or improve your existing ones and try to become EuroCup Fantasy Challenge's next winner!

EuroCup Fantasy Challenge offers weekly prizes to the top team manager, so get in the game and go for the gold!

Joventut Badalona center Ante Tomic has earned MVP of the Round honors in Round 1 of the 2024-25 EuroCup season.

Round 1 MVP: Ante Tomic, Joventut Badalona

[Ante Tomic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/ante-tomic/002507/) turned back the clock as he played a key role in Joventut Badalona grabbing a 78-75 overtime victory against Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv, which saw him earn MVP of the Round honors in the opening round of the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup season.

The 37-year-old center finished with a PIR of 32, a career-high in the EuroCup and the most of any winning player in Round 1. He also had 17 points and tied his career-best mark in rebounds with 12. As such, this was his third double-double in the EuroCup, with the others coming in Rounds 2 and 14 of the 2023-24 season. Tomic was near-perfect from the field, shooting 8 for 9 on two-pointers, and he made his 1 free throw. He drew 3 fouls on the night, too.

Coming is second place is Dolomiti Energia Trento’s [Jordan Ford](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/jordan-ford/013270/), who had a round-high 36 PIR but ended up tasting defeat against Dreamland Gran Canaria. Ford made a gigantic impression on his EuroCup debut, netting 32 points after going 11 for 11 on two-pointers, 3 for 4 on triples and 1 for 1 from the charity stripe. His 14 made field goals are the joint third most all-time. In third spot is U-BT Cluj-Napoca guard [Zavier Simpson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/zavier-simpson/013302/), who finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal and a 28 PIR on his first-ever game in the EuroCup, an 86-93 loss to Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana. The fourth-highest PIR belonged to Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem guard [Jared Harper](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/jared-harper/011970/), as his EuroCup debut saw him record 27 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists en route to a 27 PIR in his team’s 64-80 defeat to Valencia Basket. Rounding out the list of best performers in Round 1 is ratiopharm Ulm’s [Noa Essengue](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/noa-essengue/011391/), who smashed his previous career high with a 26 PIR in his side’s 93-96 overtime win at Trefl Sopot. He also set career-best marks in points (18), rebounds (6) and blocks (2), while he tied his personal bests in assists (2) and steals (1).

Valencia Basket has completed the signing of Goran Filipovic, who will cover the injuries of Chris Jones and Sergio De Larrea.

Valencia adds Goran Filipovic on two-month deal

Valencia Basket has confirmed that point guard [Goran Filipovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/goran-filipovic/004548/) has signed for the club on a two-month contract.

With guards [Chris Jones](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/chris-jones/010568/) and [Sergio De Larrea](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/es/eurocup/players/sergio-de-larrea/010750/) both injured at present, Valencia has opted to bring in Filipovic for the first couple of months of the season.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr">Benvingut, Goran! 🧡<br><br>Cas 👉 Valencia Basket incorpora al base Goran Filipovic con un contrato temporal de dos meses<a href="https://t.co/OVvQ4kj5v7">https://t.co/OVvQ4kj5v7</a><br><br>Val 👉 Valencia Basket incorpora al base Goran Filipovic amb un contracte temporal de dos mesos<a href="https://t.co/Uc8W7spKT0">https://t.co/Uc8W7spKT0</a><br><br>Eng 👉 Croatian… <a href="https://t.co/BRmI899M1x">pic.twitter.com/BRmI899M1x</a></p>&mdash; Valencia Basket Club (@valenciabasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/valenciabasket/status/1839213308756263092?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Filipovic (1.83 meters, 27 years old) split the 2023-24 season between Polish side Twarde Pierniki Torun and Bosnian outfit KK Igokea. In 21 Polish League games, he averaged 15.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.1 steals per contest. Then, at Igokea, he posted 14.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals in eight Adriatic League fixtures.

Previously, Filipovic has played for KK Split (2013-2018) in his native Croatia, BC Siroki (2018-2020) in Bosnia, SCM Universitatea Craiova (2020-2021) in Romania, KK Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (2021-2022) in Slovenia, and Club Basquet Coruña (2022-2023) in Spain.

More Valencia News

He will help cover the injuries of Chris Jones and Sergio De Larrea

Reyer Venezia had not enjoyed a good start at home in the EuroCup for years. That changed with a rock-solid performance against Aris BC in Round 1.


Team effort gave Reyer elusive first home win 

After losing its home opener in each of the last three seasons, Umana Reyer Venice was able to start off on the right foot this time around, [downing Aris Midea Thessaloniki 95-75](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/tyler-ennis-leads-reyer-past-aris-95-75/) at Palasport Taliercio in Round 1.

It took a team effort and a game-deciding run in the third quarter to get the victory. Reyer finished the game with seven players scoring in double digits. [Jordan Parks](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/jordan-parks/011909/) led all scorers with 17. [Tyler Ennis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/tyler-ennis/008858/) amassed 12, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, making sure everybody was involved on his Reyer debut.

"We wanted to come out and set the tone of the year in our first home game," Ennis said after the game. "I have a lot of talent around me as a point guard, playmaker. I want to get them involved and mixing scoring as well. I think tonight we did a good job of playing defense when it mattered and running."

Game Videos

Reyer built a double-digit lead early and only trailed after the opening basket, a three-pointer by [Landers Nolley](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/landers-nolley/013249/). Aris fought back and tied the game, 39-39, late in the first half. After another Reyer push, the guests managed to get within 47-46 on another triple by Nolley. Then, the hosts started to showcase their depth and potential.

As many as five different Reyer players scored in a 16-0 run that sealed the outcome. Parks beat the shot clock with a corner three-pointer that got the run started. Ennis, [Amedeo Tessitori](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/amedeo-tessitori/003759/) and [Xavier Munford](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/xavier-munford/007759/) contributed to that 16-0 run, highlighted by [Aamir Simms](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/aamir-simms/011928/)'s two-handed dunk. Reyer boosted its margin to 63-46 and kept full control of the game until the final buzzer.

Reyer showed great aggressiveness, too. It broke two club records by drawing 30 fouls and taking 27 free-throw attempts. The hosts outrebounded Aris 41-27, pulling down 17 offensive boards. It had 25 assists against just 11 turnovers, while its opponent had more turnovers (17) than steals (14).

Umana Reyer Venice used a 16-0 run to break its Round 1 game open and beat Aris Midea Thessaloniki

Reyer's decisive 16-0 run

"We played good basketball," Reyer head coach Neven Spahija commented. "We had probably \[took\] too many threes in the first 20 minutes. After that, we solved the problem and continue to play our way to win the game. I am so happy for the team. Congrats to everyone, also to our fans. Hope we can continue to build from here."

Reyer faces a tough stretch now as it visits Ljubljana to face Cedevita Olimpija next week before hosting last season's finalist Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse in Round 3 and visiting Valencia Basket in Round 4. Wednesday night's first win should give the team plenty of confidence going forward.

Game News

Reyer had not enjoyed a good start at home in the EuroCup for years. That changed with a rock-solid performance in Round 1 

Umana Reyer Venice v Aris Midea Thessaloniki (2024-09-25T18:00:00.000Z)

Offensive balance was the name of Cedevita's game

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana got its first win of the season by beating U-BT Cluj-Napoca on the road, 86-93, on Wednesday. Cedevita made 14 triples on 28 attempts and also finished the game with better than 50% shooting on two-pointers (17-for-33). What sticks out, however, is that Cedevita did so with an offensive balance that was consistent throughout the game.

For starters, Cedevita had five scorer with 13 or more points. Devin Robinson led the way with 20 points, Brynton Lemar scored 18, Devante Jones had 15 points, Aleksej Nikolic 14 and DJ Stewart 13 points.

Each of these five players made at least one three-point shot, and the sixth player who was successful once from downtown was Jaka Blazic. More importantly, no other player apart from these six even attempted a three-point shot.

Also important, those triples did not come in bunches, but were spread out equally throughout four quarters. Cedevita made 4 three-pointers apiece in the second and third quarters and 3 in the first and final quarters.

Cedevita's worst scoring quarter was the opening one, when it had 19 points. The team scored 27 and 25 points in the middle two quarters and had 22 in the fourth. In addition, every one of those 22 points came in the final 7 minutes of the fourth quarter, and after Cluj's 14-0 run, propelling Cedevita to a big opening round win.

The winners had five players with at least 13 points

Offensive balance was the name of Cedevita's game at Cluj

U-BT Cluj-Napoca v Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (2024-09-25T16:00:00.000Z)

Valencia Basket hit the ground running on its return to the BKT EuroCup by securing a 64-80 victory away at Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem, in a game that took place at Samokov Arena in Bulgaria. 

Board dominance was the key as Valencia rolled over Jerusalem

Valencia Basket hit the ground running on its return to the BKT EuroCup by securing a 64-80 victory away at Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem, in a game that took place at Samokov Arena in Bulgaria. The visitors’ defense kept Jerusalem to just 29 points in the first half, but it was their dominance in rebounds that allowed the four-time EuroCup champion to clinch the victory.

The Spanish side matched its record for defensive rebounds by collecting 30 boards, which helped them dictate the tempo. Valencia secured 22 offensive rebounds, which provided them with valuable extra possessions.

“We were very active and very aggressive, trying to go for the offensive rebounds, and that gave us second opportunities,” head coach Pedro Martinez said in the post-game press conference.

In fact, more than one-quarter of their points (24 of 80) came from second chances, with nine of the 11 players who stepped onto the court picking up at least 1 offensive rebound each to deal Jerusalem a blow in confidence.

“I think it’s a really good start to the season,” Valencia center Matthew Costello said after the game. “We played really well on offensive boards, which gave us a lot of extra chances.”

Costello was one of the three Valencia summer signings who stole the spotlight on Wednesday evening. The former Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz center shot 5-for-7 from inside the arc and made 2 triples to finish the game with a team-high 16 points. Three more Valencia players recorded double digits in scoring, with two of them being newcomers. Nathan Sestina paired his 10 points with 6 rebounds in less than 17 minutes, with Jean Montero registering 10 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds and 5 drawn fouls.

Having kicked off the season in style, Valencia will host Veolia Towers Hamburg next week, as the EuroCup returns to La Fonteta. From the off, the Spanish side has demonstrated that its energy on the court, insistence on fighting for the rebounds and defensive prowess are enough reasons to be considered favorites to go all the way to the title for the fifth time in their history.

The victors had 18 more rebounds than their opponents 

Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem v Valencia Basket (2024-09-25T17:00:00.000Z)

The well-rounded guard did a little bit of everything to make sure his team grabbed its first win. 


Tyler Ennis leads Reyer past Aris, 95-75

Umana Reyer Venice enjoyed a strong start to the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup season by downing Aris Midea Thessaloniki 95-75 at Palasport Taliercio in Group B on Wednesday.

Jordan Parks led the winners with 17 points. Mfioundu Kabengele and Aamir Simms each added 13, Tyler Ennis tallied 12 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, Amedeo Tessitori netted 11 points and Xavier Munford and Carl Wheatle each scored 10 for Reyer. Landers Nolley led Aris with 14 points. Eleftherios Mantzoukas and David de Julius each added 11 and Vassilis Toliopoulos had 10 for the visitors.

Nolley got Aris going with a three-pointer. Simms matched that with a layup-plus-foul and Ennis struck from downtown for a 6-3 Reyer lead. Kabengele took over with a dunk-and-foul and Parks's alley-oop slam boosted the hosts' lead to 11-5. Mantzoukas struck twice from beyond the arc and Toliopoulos's floater brought Aris within 15-13. Ennis and Munford fueled a 9-0 run that made it a double-digit game, 24-13. Trey Woodbury and Toliopoulos brought Aris closer, 30-22, after 10 minutes.

Alessandro Lever scored down low and Wheatle improved on Joshua Roberts's layup with a triple for a 35-24 Reyer lead. Molley hit a three-pointer and de Julius added a jumper, prompting the hosts to call timeout at 35-30. Mantzoukas insisted from downtown and an unstoppable James Banks dunked three times to tie it at 39-39. Ennis and Tessitori stepped up to help Reyer to a 47-41 lead at halftime.

Roberts hit a jump hook after the break and Molley added a triple to bring Aris within 47-46. Parks beat the shot clock with a corner triple and Ennis added a tip-in, igniting a 14-0 run that Simms capped with a two-handed dunk that broke the game open, 65-46. Woodbury and Banks rescued Aris, bringing their team within 69-57 at the end of the third quarter.

Parks dunked again early in the fourth quarter to restore a 72-57 Reyer lead. The hosts kept going to the foul line often and started to use longer possessions to run the game clock down. Aris could not find the way to the basket and Simms hit a wide open triple in transition that sealed the outcome, 79-62, as the guests never recovered.

The well-rounded guard did a little bit of everything to lead his team to a perfect start

ratiopharm Ulm fought off a valiant effort from BKT EuroCup returnee Trefl Sopot to snatch a 93-96 overtime victory on the road as Justinian Jessup hit the game-winning three-pointer with 2.0 seconds left. 

Jessup triple wins the game, Ulm ruins Trefl’s return to EuroCup

ratiopharm Ulm fought off a valiant effort from BKT EuroCup returnee Trefl Sopot to snatch a 93-96 overtime victory on the road as Justinian Jessup hit the game-winning three-pointer with 2.0 seconds left. Ulm rallied from 12 points down to ruin Trefl’s first EuroCup game since 2012.

Jessup scored a team-high 20 points while Noa Essengue had 18 points, fellow teenager Ben Saraf collected 17 points and 10 assists and Alfonso Plummer chipped in 12 points. Jakub Schenk drained 5 three-pointers for 22 points and Geoffrey Groselle collected 11 points and 10 rebounds in the Group A encounter. 

The game was tight in the first quarter with Philipp Herkenhoff and Jessup both scoring 6 points for Ulm while Jaroslaw Zyskowski picked up 6 points of his own for Trefl, which was down 12-14. Trefl’s veteran leaders of Tarik Phillip, Groselle and Aaron Best sparked a 12-4 spurt for a 24-18 advantage. Schenk added two triples and the hosts led 32-23 after 10 minutes.

The Ulm struggles continued in the second quarter and Trefl extended the cushion to 39-27. The German team started to come up with defensive stops, holding Trefl scoreless for nearly 4 minutes and scored 9 straight points to close within 39-36. Trefl led the game 41-38 at halftime. 

Trefl had the better start to the second half and went ahead 48-41. Ulm again had a strong defensive stretch, keeping Trefl scoreless for 4 minutes and getting as close as 48-41. Trefl regained control thanks to 5 points from Marcus Weathers and a third three-pointer by Schenk in a 12-3 surge to make it 60-50. Alec Anigbata came off the Ulm bench for 5 points and the guests were down 62-55 after 30 minutes.

Ulm continued to get closer and made it 64-60 only to see Zyskowski and Schenk hit back-to-back triples and the cushion was double digits again 70-60. Saraf was not ready to give up the game with a tough jumper, three-point play and 2 more free throws to make it 72-67. Trefl increased the lead to 77-69 but Saraf fed fellow teenage star prospect Essengue for two dunks and Saraf hit a jumper and put back a miss to knot the game 79-79 with 78 seconds to play. Saraf then raced ahead after a missed shot, got the ball from Plummer but gave it back to the Puerto Rican for the layup and an Ulm lead, 79-81, with 21 seconds. Groselle missed for Trefl but stole the ball from Plummer and laid it in for the tie game 81-81 with 6.2 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.

Essengue stepped up in the extra session with an alley-oop dunk and three-pointer and Plummer’s triple had Ulm up 85-89. Phillip drained a three-pointer of his own and 2 free throws as the game was tied again 93-93. That set up Jessup’s heroics with a three-pointer with 2 seconds to go. 

Ulm's teenage stars Ben Saraf and Noa Essengue also came up big

Trefl Sopot v ratiopharm Ulm (2024-09-25T17:00:00.000Z)

Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul cruised to a comprehensive 94-76 home win over Buducnost Voli Podgorica to make a perfect start in Group A of the BKT EuroCup, after Derek Needham rolled back the years.

Derek Needham shines as Besiktas breezes past Buducnost 

Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul cruised to a comprehensive 94-76 home win over Buducnost Voli Podgorica to make a perfect start in Group A of the BKT EuroCup, after Derek Needham rolled back the years.

The 33-year-old guard racked up a game-high 18 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds after he came off the bench to run the show in front of a vocal home crowd who roared on Besiktas throughout. Kelan Martin added 14 points for the hosts, Conor Morgan netted 12 and Jonah Mathews posted 10 in a concerted team effort.

At the other end, Rasheed Sulaimon and McKinley Wright led Buducnost with 13 points each while Juwan Morgan chipped in with 12, but the visitors struggled as their influential point guard Yogi Ferrel was largely subdued.

Ferrel finished on a mere 8 points, having been kept scoreless until midway through the fourth quarter, with Buducnost making only 3 of 14 shots from downtown. Besiktas hit 9 of 24, having also amassed 38 rebounds and a whopping 23 assists.

Besiktas head coach Dusan Alimpijevic was delighted with his team’s effervescent performance, with Buducnost powerless to cope with the home side’s electrifying pace which generated a barrage of fast breaks.    

“The number of rebounds and assists shows just how ready we were to hustle today,” the Serbian tactician said. “I am very happy because the opening game is always tough to play in any competition and we need to build on this performance.”

Buducnost briefly carved out a 10-12 advantage after Besiktas had raced into a 5-0 lead, but that was as good as it got for the Montenegrin outfit. Powered by Needham, Besiktas pulled 43-28 clear in the second quarter and held on for a 49-39 halftime lead, as Sulaimon and Wright tried to keep Buducnost afloat.

The writing was on the wall for Buducnost after a 10-2 run allowed Besiktas to race away into a 64-47 lead late in the third quarter and the advantage swelled to 20 points in the fourth, as the home team kept its foot on the gas.

“Great game and great energy by us, it’s something we’ve been looking for throughout the preseason,” said Needham. “I came off the bench today, I always try to be the youngest guy with the energy needed. “

In Round 2, Besiktas visit Istanbul arch-rival and EuroCup debutant Bahcesehir, while Buducnost is at home to the competition’s 2023 champion Dreamland Gran Canaria.

The 33-year-old veteran pulled all the strings for the home side in a lopsided contest 

Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul v Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (2024-09-25T17:00:00.000Z)