MoraBanc Andorra scored its third straight win and punched its playoff ticket with a 76-83 road triumph over Turk Telekom Ankara thanks to a well-balanced offensive effort.

Everybody joined in on Andorra's party

Andorra scored 83 points, but had only three scorers in double figures, led by big man Victor Arteaga who finished with 13 points. That was because Andorra had seven different players score 8 or more points.

Codi Miller-McIntyre not only scored 12, but also dished 7 of the team's 20 assists and Mario Nakic scored 10, including a key fourth-quarter three-pointer.

Other big contributors were Connor Morgan with 9 points and 7 rebounds, and David Jelinek with 9 points plus 6 rebounds. Each player also nailed a pair of three-pointers. Moussa Diagne had a fast start to the game and had 9 points and Clevin Hannah scored 8.

Coach David Eudal used 11 players and all but one scored. That was Amine Noua, who made up for missing all four of his shots by pulling down 3 offensive rebounds.

It was a team effort that improved Andorra to a 9-6 record. Not only did the team secure its place in the post-season, but also remained on course to earn home-court advantage in the first round.

Conor Morgan - MoraBanc Andorra (photo Turk Telekom) - EC21-RS15

Turk Telekom Ankara v MoraBanc Andorra (2022-03-16T17:00:00.000Z)

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana earned its fifth consecutive victory by downing Virtus Segafredo Bologna 74-86 in Round 15. And Jacob Pullen had a lot to do with it. 

Pullen put Cedevita on the right track 

Pullen briefly played for Virtus almost a decade ago. He wore the famous Black-V jersey for eight Italian League games in the 2012-13 campaign. 

Pullen was ready to deliver against his former team and showed that as soon as he came off the bench. He took Daniel Hackett one-on-one and used a screen to bury a three-pointer from the top of the key. He soon added a mid-range jumper off the dribble to give Cedevita a 14-19 lead.

Before the end of the first quarter, Pullen found Zoran Dragic for a layup, connected with Zach Auguste for a big slam and struck twice more from downtown to keep Cedevita ahead, 24-29, after 10 minutes. 

Jacob Pullen (20 points) Highlights vs. Segafredo Virtus Bologna, 03/16/2022

Pullen shines in return to Bologna

Pullen remained on fire early in the second quarter, hitting a pair of free throws and his fourth three-pointer to give his team its first double-digit lead, 26-36. Pullen scored 16 points in his first 7 minutes on the floor and when he returned to the bench, Cedevita had the game flow required to keep going. 

Yogi Ferrell and Jaka Blazic led Cedevita the rest of the day. Pullen ended up leading Cedevita with 20 points in as many minutes. In his sixth EuroCup season, Pullen continued to lead Cedevita with instant offense off the bench. 

Jacob Pullen - Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (photo Matteo Marchi - Virtus) - EC21-RS21

Virtus Segafredo Bologna v Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (2022-03-16T19:30:00.000Z)

Lukas Meisner has seen some highs and lows in his first season in the 7DAYS EuroCup. But his career night in Hamburg Towers’ 92-86 win over Slask Wroclaw was definitely one of his biggest showings.

Magnificent Meisner helped Hamburg to vital victory

The 26-year-old knocked down 5 three-pointers en route to scoring a career-high 23 points. He also set personal bests in rebounds (12), defensive rebounds (8), offensive rebounds (4), steals (3) and performance index rating (29) while also dishing out 2 assists and blocking 1 shot.

Meisner is playing his fourth season professionally in Germany after two years in Bayreuth and one in Braunschweig. His maiden EuroCup campaign has included some less than spectacular performances, including going scoreless over a three-game stretch from Rounds 6 to 8. But the season has also seen Meisner be a real leader for Pedro Calles’s team. 

He made 4 three-pointers in scoring 20 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in Hamburg’s 96-100 victory at Lietkabelis Panevezys in Round 4. And he was one of Hamburg’s few bright spots in last week’s 85-62 loss at Boulogne Metropolitans 92, collecting 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Meisner’s last two games have seen him pour in 40 points, which is just 26 more than the total he had combined in his first 11 games in the EuroCup. And the two contests have definitely been two of his biggest highlights.

Lukas Meisner 3- Hamburg Towers (Photo Marvin Contessi) - EC21-RS15

Hamburg Towers v Slask Wroclaw (2022-03-16T18:30:00.000Z)

Partizan NIS Belgrade led by as many as 27 points in the fourth quarter before settling for an 87-72 win over visiting Boulogne Metropolitans 92 on Wednesday night.

LeDay, Koprivica, paced Partizan in runaway win

The visitors had a good start to the game and led 14-17 after the first quarter, which is when Zach LeDay gave the hosts a boost they needed.

LeDay opened the second with a corner triple and then added a second-chance three-pointer to put Partizan in front, 25-24. When Metropolitan pulled even, his driving dunk and another triple fueled a quarter-ending 16-4 spurt that opened a 43-31 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, it was Balsa Koprivica's time to shine. The 21-year old center already had 6 points, 3 offensive boards and 2 blocks in the first quarter, but he did not waste any time getting in on the action in the second half, too. 

He strung together 6 points midway through the third quarter, capping an 11-0 run that opened a 61-38 lead and Partizan never looked back. Koprivica had 6 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block in the third quarter alone, and finished the night with 14 points and 13 rebounds, both personal highs, as well as 3 blocks.

As for LeDay, after scoring 13 points in the second quarter, he finished with 15 points in 16 minutes on the floor, having made 2 of 4 two-pointers and 3 of 4 triples as Partizan celebrated a big win.

Balsa Koprivica 2- Partizan NIS Belgrade (photo Dragana Stjepanovic - Partizan) - EC21-RS21

Partizan NIS Belgrade v Boulogne Metropolitans 92 (2022-03-16T19:30:00.000Z)

Six Valencia players tried a total of 8 three-pointers in the first quarter, but only Xavi Lopez-Arostegui found the bottom of the net as Reyer staked an 11-22 lead that the hosts had to fight to recover all night.

Klemen Prepelic found his rhythm with 3 triples in the second quarter, helping trim the difference to 30-33, but he would not hit from downtown after that while Reyer reclaimed a double-digit lead, 43-53, in the third quarter. Valencia was still stuck on 5 triples made with 14 minutes left to play before Martin Hermannsson hit his first in 4 tries, which proved to be the icebreaker, as he didn’t miss again.

Lopez-Arostegui followed suit and Mike Tobey copied them on the first shot of the fourth quarter for Valencia's first lead all game, 67-64. When Reyer went up again by 70-75 with 6 minutes left, young Guillem Ferrando was left open on the arc and made the visitors pay. Hermannsson did the same twice more in the last 3 minutes, with his third triple of the night coming with 1:27 left and giving Valencia an 81-80 lead that stood up until the finish. 

In the end, six Valencia players shared in 11-of-35 shooting from the arc, which at 31.4% wasn't stellar accuracy, but came with the right timing to get a tough job done.

Valencia Basket's slow start against Umana Reyer Venice on Wednesday included very cold outside shooting on its home rims at La Fonteta. But at game's end, key three-pointers pushed the hosts over the top to an 86-80 victory.

Valencia's shooters found rhythm just in time

Martin Hermannsson - Valencia Basket (photo Miguel Angel Polo - Valencia) - EC21-RS21

Valencia Basket v Umana Reyer Venice (2022-03-16T19:30:00.000Z)

Emanuel Andrea Apicella beat everyone else in Round 15 with his team Chacholandia. He had a Fantasy Challenge score of 196.15.

Emanuel had the following lineup: team captain Jaron Blossomgame of ratiopharm Ulm, Ante Tomic of Joventut Badalona, Zach LeDay of Partizan NIS Belgrade, Travis Trice of Slask Wroclaw and Andrew Andrews of Frutti Extra Bursaspor as starters, Caleb Homesley of Hamburg Towers as sixth man and Nikos Rogkavopoulos of Promitheas Patras, Artem Pustovyi of Gran Canaria, Gediminas Orelik of Lietkabelis Panevezys and Petar Popovic of Buducnost VOLI Podgorica as bench players, as well as Aleksandar Dzikic of Buducnost as head coach. As his prize for finishing first in Round 15, Emanuel wins a free subscription to Euroleague TV for the 2022-23 season!

The leader of the [EuroCup Fantasy Challenge](https://eurocupfantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/es/home) overall standings stands strong, as Daniel Gomes stays at the top with his team Lisboa Tugas which has 2744.47 points.

Trades are now open for Round 16. Remember, three trades are allowed before each round until the end of the regular season, and you can also trade your head coach.

The first games in Round 16, Turk Telekom Ankara vs. Dolomiti Energia Trento and Lietkabelis Panevezys vs. MoraBanc Andorra, are scheduled to tip off on Tuesday, March 22 at 18:00 CET, and thus mark next round's deadline.

Make new teams now or improve your existing ones and try to become our next round winner!

7DAYS EuroCup fans, we have a new winner in the EuroCup Fantasy Challenge!


EuroCup Fantasy Challenge Round 15 winner

Partizan NIS Belgrade registered an 87-72 win over visiting Boulogne Metropolitans 92 with one stat clearly standing out.

Telling numbers: Partizan dominated the boards

Partizan and Metropolitans had similar shooting percentages on Wednesday night at the legendary Aleksandar Nikolic Hall. Partizan made 53.9% of its two-pointers compared to the visitors' 51.4%, but Metropolitans did a little better from long range (40.9%) to Partizan's 39.3%.

Telling numbers: Cedevita protected the paint 

The game had a fast rhythm and many missed shots. Both teams pulled down 48 rebounds in the game and neither Cedevita nor Virtus shot the ball well. Cedevita did a little bit better, however, and that made the difference. It limited Virtus to just 19-of-49 two-point shooting. That was Virtus's lowest two-point shooting percentage this season (38.8%) and its second-lowest in competition history. It previously made 35.4% inside the arc in an 85-79 home victory against Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar early in the 2020-21 campaign.

Cedevita made 44.7% of its two-point shots (17 of 38) and buried 15 of 37 three-pointers (35.1%). Virtus had a similar percentage, 34.6%, but took fewer shots from downtown (26). Cedevita committed only 7 turnovers in what was another big key to this game. It was a new season-low and tied the club record in the competition - it also had 7 turnovers against JL Bourg en Bresse last season. Virtus finished the game with 21 assists and 4 blocks, but Cedevita protected its paint very well and that led to an important win.

Alen Omic - Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (photo Matteo Marchi - Virtus) - EC21-RS21

Hamburg Towers regained its identity of being aggressive and carried it to a big victory over Slask Wroclaw, dominating the offensive glass and setting a club record in steals in a 92-86 win at home.

Telling numbers: Hamburg dominated on the offensive glass

Hamburg took the rebounding battle 48-38 while grabbing a club-record 22 offensive boards and turning them into a 24-13 advantage on second-chance points. Maik Kotsar grabbed 5 offensive rebounds while Lukas Meisner ripped down 4 boards at that end to lead the way.

The hosts came into the game as the second-best offensive rebounding team in the competition and the 22 number was 9.8 more than the team’s average. The Hamburg strength was also a Slask weakness as the visitors allowed 11.3 offensive rebounds a game - the fifth-most in the competition.

 

Hamburg’s aggressiveness also showed with a club record 14 steals, forcing Slask into 19 turnovers leading to 19 points, while Slask only had 6 points off Hamburg’s 13 turnovers.

Maik Kotsar - Hamburg Towers (Photo Marvin Contessi) - EC21-RS15