The opening round of the 2022-23 season will bring us another battle in the backcourt between two very productive floor generals, Yogi Ferrell of Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana and Derek Needham of Frutti Extra Bursaspor.

These two players had great EuroCup campaigns last season, with Needham earning All-EuroCup First Team honors for helping Bursaspor reach the EuroCup Finals. He posted EuroCup career-highs across the board, scoring 13.2 points while ranking 10th with 5.0 assists, sixth in the EuroCup with 1.4 steals and eighth with 49.1% three-point shooting.

Ferrell joined Cedevita in the early part of last season and went on to average 15.3 points, 4.7 assists and 2.6 rebounds in EuroCup action, pacing a high-scoring Cedevita offense to the quarterfinals where they lost against Bursaspor. Ferrell had 20 points on 3-for-7 three-point shooting, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in that quarterfinal game, while Needham had 20 points on 4-for-7 three-point shooting, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. They are now poised to lead their respective teams against one another one more time.

Major matchup: Yogi Ferrell, Cedevita vs. Derek Needham, Bursaspor

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana v Frutti Extra Bursaspor (2022-10-12T18:00:00.000Z)

There is plenty of history between Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana and the last year's finalist Frutti Extra Bursaspor, which clash in the opening round of the 2022-23 season. Even though they never played each other before November 2020, the two teams have faced off five times in a span of 19 months, which has created a bit of a rivalry between them. Cedevita won three of those games. The most important one, however, went Brusaspor's way, an 83-85 thrilling quarterfinals win last April.

Their last encounter was also the lowest-scoring game between the two teams. Cedevita has averaged 94.2 points per game against coach Dusan Alimpijevic's Bursaspor, which in turn has scored 86.4 points on average against Cedevita. Each team has scored at least 80 points in each of the five games and Cedevita enters this season having scored 82 or more points in 10 consecutive games. Offenses with the likes of Yogi Ferrell and Alen Omic on one side and Derek Needham and Onuralp Bitim on the other, there should be plenty of fireworks at Stozice Arena on Wednesday.

Cedevita vs. Bursaspor: A high-scoring history

One notable addition in the 7DAYS EuroCup during the offseason saw Dolomiti Energia Trento secure 19-year-old guard Matteo Spagnolo on loan from Real Madrid. The Italian is widely regarded as one of the most promising talents in Europe, and he should get a chance to play plenty of minutes with Trento this season. After spending last season with Cremona of the Italian League, Spagnolo now gets the chance to get his first taste of action in the EuroCup, having not appeared in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague for Real. Spagnolo has shown what he can do with Real in the Adidas Next Generation Tournaments, and he will be looking to get his Trento career off to a good start when it hosts Promitheas Patras in Round 1.

On the other side of things, Patras fans will have been delighted to see that the team has kept hold of Trevis Simpson for this season. The 31-year-old swingman averaged 9.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist during eight games in the EuroCup in 2021-22, his debut campaign in the competition, and he will be keen to start the new season with a bang when Patras travels on the road to take on Trento. Simpson recorded a season-high 17 points in an 84-77 win over Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse on February 2, 2022, so a similar scoring night in Round 1 would be the perfect way to begin the new campaign. Much of the spotlight will be on Spagnolo, but Simpson could steal the show.

Marquee matchup: Trento's Spagnolo vs. Patras's Simpson

Dolomiti Energia Trento v Promitheas Patras (2022-10-12T18:00:00.000Z)

Dolomiti Energia Trento and Promitheas Patras both had seasons to forget in the 2021-22 7DAYS EuroCup, as they finished bottom of their respective groups and missed out on the playoffs. Yet, the arrival of the new EuroCup season brings fresh hope and optimism among the clubs' fanbases, so this Round 1 meeting at BLM Group Arena is a good opportunity for these two teams to show that they are ready to have a better campaign this time around.

Curiously, rather than reshape their entire rosters, Trento and Patras have entered this season with eight and seven players, respectively, that were part of their EuroCup rosters last year. On the benches, meanwhile, Trento has kept faith with head coach Emanuele Molin, while Makis Giatras has come in to replace Ilias Zouros at Patras. Both clubs are used to demands that the EuroCup brings, with Patras entering its fourth season in the competition and Trento heading into its seventh, and this will be the third meeting between the two teams, as they last played one another in the 2020-21 season. During that campaign, Trento did the double over Patras – winning 78-51 in Trento before securing an 80-89 victory in Patras – en route to reaching the Top 16. Patras will no doubt be out for revenge, as it looks to start the season with a win.

Trento vs. Patras: Turning the page

Two seasoned point guards will meet each other when Pau Ribas of Joventut Badalona and Amedeo Della Valle of Germani Brescia go at it on Tuesday.

Ribas's career is one of the longest among active players in Europe right now. He played a total 165 EuroLeague games in 10 seasons, and also 85 more in the EuroCup in six seaons. This will be the third season of his second stint at Joventut. His leadership will be a valuable asset for a team that wants to go all the way, and it will all start with this first game. Last season, Ribas averaged 10.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 15 games.

Della Valle is ready to come back to the EuroCup after missing last season. He was one of the most promising young players in the competition years ago, and that allowed him to get a couple of EuroLeague seasons under his belt with Milan. He returned in 2020-21 and played with Gran Canaria and Buducnost. Back to Italy, Della Valle is ready to put experience on the table to help Brescia start on the right foot in Badalona and make a splash in the competition.

Marquee matchup: Joventut's Ribas vs. Brecsia's Della Valle

Joventut Badalona v Germani Brescia (2022-10-11T18:45:00.000Z)

Joventut Badalona will have another go at the 7DAYS EuroCup after its attempt last season was stopped short in the first round of the single-game elimination rounds. This path will start with a visit from EuroCup returnee, Germani Brescia. These two teams stand at a 1-1 head-to-head record when they met each other in the abbreviated 2019-20 season.

Joventut kept much of its core from last season, with experienced leaders like Pau Ribas and Ante Tomic plus key younger contributors such as Joel Parra, Andres Feliz and Guillem Vives. The club has also brought in some strong reinforcements in Kyle Guy and Henry Ellenson. Joventut has some problems already as two more signings, William Howard and Leonardo Okeke, will miss a few games due to injury, which is why Jarrod Jones was signed late on a temporary deal.

Brescia has another go at the EuroCup in 2022-23 with a group that is a mix of EuroCup debutantes and experienced players. David Moss, Amedeo Della Valle, Christian Burns, Kenny Gabriel and David Cournooh are all seasoned veterans who have played at EuroLeague level and also know what the deal is in the EuroCup. They will be expected to lead a group with some new faces like CJ Massinburg, Troy Caupain, Nikola Akele all Mike Cobbins, all with limited or no experience in the competition.

Joventut tries again with home start against Brescia

Two of the best forwards in the 7DAYS EuroCup come head-to-head in Round 1, as Aaron White and his Buducnost VOLI Podgorica take on Seth Hinrichs and his Veolia Hamburg Towers in Round 1 of the regular season on Wednesday.

New Buducnost signing White returns to the EuroCup for the first time since 2016-17, having spent the last five seasons playing in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Last year, he averaged 5.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18 games for Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade. He is known for his versatility, especially on offense, without keeping the basketball in his hands too much. In this opening-round fixture, White will be determined to get off to a strong start and lay down a marker of what is to come this season.

Hinrichs, meanwhile, saw his importance at Hamburg grow as the season progressed last year, as he became a point-forward and did a bit of everything for the team. During the offseason he was rewarded with a two-year contract extension, making him just one of two players from last year's roster who will play the upcoming campaign with Hamburg. Hinrichs will be out to at least balance White’s production, but just as important, provide leadership to the EuroCup newcomers on Hamburg.

Marquee matchup: Buducnost's White vs. Hamburg's Hinrichs

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica v Veolia Towers Hamburg (2022-10-12T17:00:00.000Z)

The beginning of their first-ever 7DAYS EuroCup meeting on Wednesday, there exists a vast difference in experience between Buducnost VOLI Podgorica and visiting Veolia Hamburg Towers. Buducnost is entering its 16th season in the competition, while Hamburg made its EuroCup debut only last year. Plenty of change has occurred inside the two organizations since the conclusion of the 2021-22 campaign, too, both on the bench and in terms of the rosters.

Buducnost and Hamburg fell at the eighthfinals stage of last season's EuroCup, and since then Vlada Jovanovic has replaced Aleksandar Dzikic as Buducnost’s head coach while Raoul Korner has taken the reins from Pedro Calles at Hamburg. Buducnost has also made some eye-catching additions to its roster, such as Aaron White, Phil Booth and Cameron Reynolds, whereas Hamburg has looked for more under-the-radar talents that it hopes will make an impact, like Kendale McCullum, Ziga Samar and Len Schoorman. From last season's rosters, just five players remain at Buducnost compared to two at Hamburg, so there could be some growing pains for both teams in this early-season matchup.

Buducnost vs. Hamburg: The start of a new battle

The 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup blasts off on Tuesday and Wednesday with 10 games loaded with storylines. Check them out below.

### Rematch to watch in Ljubljana

The last time Frutti Extra Bursaspor played a 7DAYS EuroCup game, it was last year's EuroCup Finals in which the team came up short against Virtus in Bologna. The last time Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana played a EuroCup game, it hosted Bursaspor in a single-game quarterfinal, which for a few moments Cedevita thought it won until the instant replay showed that what seemed to be a game-winning triple actually came after the buzzer and Bursaspor escaped with an 83-85 win. It is only fitting that these two teams [open the new season facing each other again](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/cedevita-olimpija-ljubljana-frutti-extra-bursaspor/U2022/1/).

In that game, Zach Auguste scored 13 points for Cedevita. On Wednesday night, he will be in a Bursaspor jersey. Many of the main protagonists are still with both teams, including Yogi Ferrell, Edo Muric and Alen Omic for Cedevita and Derek Needham, Onuralp Bitim and David Dudzinski for Bursaspor. Both coaches, EuroCup Coach of the Year Dusan Alimpijevic of Bursaspor and Cedevita's Jurica Golemac are on their teams' respective benches. It will be a fun one at Stozice Arena.

Watch the Game Highlights from Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana vs. Frutti Extra Bursaspor, 04/27/2022

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana vs Frutti Extra Bursaspor| Highlights | Quarterfinals

### Standard-bearers and debutants

In another rematch carried over from last season's playoffs, [Gran Canaria starts its 15th EuroCup season](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/gran-canaria-slask-wroclaw/U2022/9/) by playing its 207th games against visiting Slask Wroclaw on Wednesday. On the same floor last spring, Gran Canaria won their of their winner-take-all eighthfinals matchup last season with ease, 87-60. 

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica, which has 182 game played and [opens its campaign by welcoming Veolia Towers Hamburg](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/buducnost-voli-podgorica-veolia-towers-hamburg/U2022/10/), will join that exclusive [200 games played club](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/stats/key-stats-teams/?size=25&misc=&category=GamesPlayed&seasonMode=All&sortDirection=descending&aggregate=accumulated), which currently includes only Gran Canaria, Valencia Basket (227) and leader UNICS Kazan (231) at the end of the regular season.

While those two teams with almost 400 EuroCup games combined get started in a familiar setting, five clubs are set to make their very first appearances in the competition. Three of those debutants will get the season started on Tuesday, with two of them facing each other.

[Hapoel Tel Aviv and London Lions](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/hapoel-tel-aviv-london-lions/U2022/7/) will have their first EuroCup tipoff in Group B on Tuesday at 19:00 CET, at the same time as Paris Basketball will be making its own EuroCup history when it [visits Turk Telekom](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/turk-telekom-ankara-paris-basketball/U2022/6/) in Group A.

Two more Group A newcomers will get their first tests on Wednesday: Ukrainian side [Prometey Slobozhanske will debut](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/prometey-slobozhanske-7bet-lietkabelis-panevezys/U2022/3/) against visiting 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys, in Riga, Latvia, while [U-BT Cluj-Napoca starts things off](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/mincidelice-jl-bourg-en-bresse-u-bt-cluj-napoca/U2022/5/) on the road to face Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse.

Watch the Game Highlights from Herbalife Gran Canaria vs. Slask Wroclaw, 04/20/2022

Gran Canaria vs Slask Wroclaw | Highlights | Eightfinals

### Collision of youngsters and veterans

The opening-game Group A encounter between [ratiopharm Ulm and Umana Reyer Venice](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/ratiopharm-ulm-umana-reyer-venice/U2022/4/) will be a clash between the former's youth and the latter's experience. Half a dozen Ulm payers are 23 or younger. That includes a backcourt featuring 23-year-old playmaker Yago dos Santos, 18-year-old Juan Nunez on loan from Real Madrid, and 19-year-old Fedor Zugic. Meanwhile, Ulm's frontcourt consists of forward Philipp Herkenhoff and center Nicolas Bretzel, each 23, as well as small forward Latrell Grosskopf, 21.

Reyer, meanwhile, is loaded with proven veterans, like the play-making duo of Jayson Granger and Marco Spissu both of whom arrived to Venice from Turkish Airlines EuroLeague clubs. Big man Amedeo Tessitori won the EuroCup with Virtus Segafredo Bologna last season. Allerik Freeman has been scoring in bunches and Derek Willis doing damage around the rim in recent EuroCup seasons. That's in addition to the likes of Michael Bramos, Jeff Brooks and Mitchell Watt, who have been carrying this team in the past. They will look to put all that experience to use against the Ulm youngsters.

Ulm roars 23 down to beat Reyer in OT! | Round 3, Highlights | 7DAYS EuroCup

### Redemption starts in Round 1

[Joventut Badalona opens on its home floor against Germani Brescia](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/joventut-badalona-germani-brescia/U2022/2/) on Tuesday, hoping for another successful regular season, but a longer run than last year. Joventut finished the 2021-22 regular season with a competition-best 12-4 record, which earned it home-court advantage in every playoff game. Despite going a perfect 9-0 at home in its group, Joventut stumbled on the very first playoffs obstacle, losing its single-game eighthfinal against ratiopharm Ulm. Joventut's first guest this season is Germani Brescia, a returnee to the competition after a year away. In the 2019-20 EuroCup, Brescia finished last in its regular season group and will be aiming for much better this time around.

The season will start with a victory for one of two teams hoping to put the 2021-22 campaign behind them as Dolomiti Energia Trento and Promitheas Patras [face each other on Wednesday. ](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/game-center/2022-23/dolomiti-energia-trento-promitheas-patras/U2022/8/)Each ended last season at the bottom of its group. Trento enters this one on a 12-game EuroCup losing streak, five of those defeats coming at home. Promitheas has lost is last five EuroCup games and six in a row away from home. One of them will certainly end a bad streak on Wednesday.