An outstanding individual performance in a road victory allowed Jared Harper of Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem to earn Round 6 MVP honors with a PIR of 43, the highest of any player this season.

Round 6 MVP: Jared Harper, Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem

An outstanding individual performance in a road victory allowed [Jared Harper](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/jared-harper/011970/) of Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem to earn Round 6 MVP honors with a PIR of 43, the highest of any player this season.

Harper led Jerusalem to an 83-94 road victory against Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana with a career-high 30 points on 6-of-8 two-pointers, 2-of-3 three-pointers and 12-of-14 free throws. He added 3 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and 12 fouls drawn for a career-best PIR of 43.

[Johnathan Motley](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/johnathan-motley/011157/) of Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv tied his personal best with a season-high PIR of 39 in his team's 92-72 home win over Buducnost VOLI Podgorica. He had a season-best 30 points on 9-of-13 two-pointers, 1-of-1 three-pointers and 9-of-9 free throws, in addition to 7 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and 7 fouls drawn. 

[Ante Tomic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/ante-tomic/002507/) of Joventut Badalona had a PIR of 30, having racked up 18 points, a career-high 15 rebounds, 5 assists, a block and 4 drawn fouls in a 76-78 overtime losing effort against Dreamland Gran Canaria. 

[Braian Angola](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/braian-angola/010465/) of Turk Telekom posted season-high 29 PIR, having had 21 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in an 89-77 loss at Veolia Towers Hamburg. 

[Marek Blazevic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/marek-blazevic/008186/) of Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius, [Kur Kuath](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/kur-kuath/013313/) of Hamburg and [Marcio Santos](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/marcio-santos/013289/) of ratiopharm Ulm, each with a PIR of 27, complete this week's list of best performers.

### Individual highs: Ante Tomic, Joventut, 15 rebounds

Jared Harper of Jerusalem and Johnathan Motley of Hapoel led all scorers with 30 points apiece in this round. Harper is also the competition's top scorer at 22.0 points per game.

Ante Tomic of Joventut led all rebounders by pulling down 15 in Round 6. [Mfiondu Kabengele](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/mfiondu-tshimanga-kabengele/012796/) of Umana Reyer Venice ranks first in rebounds at 9.7 per night.

[Berk Ugurlu](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/berk-ugurlu/003783/) of Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul dished 8 assists, more than anyone else in Round 6. [Zavier Simpson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/zavier-simpson/013302/) of U-BT Cluj-Napoca is the EuroCup's assist leader at 6.8 per game.

[Andrew Albicy](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/andrew-albicy/003425/) of Gran Canaria collected 5 steals to lead this round's standings. [Patrick Beverley](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/patrick-beverley/001927/) of Hapoel ranks first overall at 2.4 steals per game.

Five players had 3 blocks apiece in Round 6: [Kyle Alexander](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/kyle-alexander/011973/) of Turk Telekom, his teammate [Yoan Makoundou](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/yoan-makoundou/011935/), [Aleksa Ilic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/aleksa-ilic/006561/) of Buducnost VOLI Podgorica, Kur Kuath of Hamburg, and [Mike Tobey](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/mike-tobey/008966/) of Gran Canaria. Ilic is this season’s leader in blocks with 2.2 blocks per game.

Six players posted a double-double in this round: Tomic (18 points, 15 rebounds), Tobey (12 points, 10 rebounds), Marek Blazevic of Wolves (16 points, 10 rebounds), [Tai Odiase](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/tai-odiase/011823/) of Bahcesehir College Istanbul (11 points, 10 rebounds), [Chris Johnson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/chris-johnson/013277/) of Jerusalem (11 points, 11 rebounds), and Marcio Santos of ratiopharm Ulm (23 points, 11 rebounds).

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana v Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem (2024-10-30T17:30:00.000Z)

Congratulations to Daniel Rauch, our sixth winner in the 2024-25 EuroCup Fantasy Challenge! Daniel's team, 'themaster', posted a score of 238.70.

EuroCup Fantasy Challenge: Round 6 winner

Congratulations to Daniel Rauch, our sixth winner in the 2024-25 [EuroCup Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/)! Daniel's team, 'themaster', posted a score of 238.70.

Daniel had the following lineup: Johnathan Motley of Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv as team captain, then the rest of his starting five included Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem duo Jared Harper and Yovel Zoosman, ratiopharm Ulm's Ben Saraf, and Joventut Badalona's Ante Tomic. His team's head coach was Jerusalem play-caller Yonathan Alon.

Trefl Sopot's Tarik Phillip was his sixth man, while the remaining four bench players were Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul's Derek Needham, Ulm's Noa Essengue, Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse's Maxime Courby, and Umana Reyer Venice's Giga Janelidze.

The prize for finishing first in Round 6 is a free subscription to Euroleague TV for the 2025-26 season, so congratulations, Daniel!

The leader in the overall standings has remained the same as Berta Bjelobradic's squad, 'Rodijaci i Kumovi', has a total of 1,042.35 points after the first six rounds and is ahead of everyone else. Trades are now open for Round 7. 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!

Named after Ares, the Greek god of war and courage, Aris Midea Thessaloniki took to the Ekinox court on Wednesday with a warrior mentality that allowed it to produce an upset against the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup runner up, Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse. 

Aris 'warriors' fired on all cylinders at Bourg

Named after Ares, the Greek god of war and courage, [Aris Midea Thessaloniki](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/aris-thessaloniki/roster/ari/?season=2024-25) took to the Ekinox court on Wednesday with a warrior mentality that allowed it to [produce an upset](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/aris-stuns-bourg-88-91-on-the-road/) against the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup runner up, [Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/cosea-jl-bourg-en-bresse/roster/bou/). Despite coming into the duel with a record of 1-4, having lost all its three home games so far, Aris played with extraordinary confidence on offense to down Bourg.

After the game, Coach Ioannis Kastritis hailed his "warriors" for edging past the extremely talented French side, who had lost just one of their first five games.

"Our guys showed great quality today, especially on the offensive end," Kastritis said. "It’s never easy playing here against a very physical and aggressive team like Bourg, but, on the other hand, we are a team full of warriors."

Game Videos

In a tight, back-and-forth affair, Aris didn’t allow Bourg to pull away at any point, with the hosts highest lead being 5 points (38-33, with 3:37 in the third quarter). The Greek side trailed by 58-56 heading into the last quarter, when they netted 35 points to down Bourg. Aris ended the game shooting 15-for-33 (45.5%) from beyond the arc, with 6 of these triples coming in the fourth quarter.

An extraordinary [Vassilis Toliopoulos](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/vassilis-toliopoulos/004292/) led all scorers with 21 points after going 6-for-9 from deep. The last time in the competition that the [Aris guard was on fire](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/vassilis-toliopoulos-leads-aris-past-lietkabelis-74-92/) was away at [7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/7bet-lietkabelis-panevezys/roster/lkb/) in Round 3, where his team also netted over 90 points to grab their first and only win of the season until Wednesday. Toliopoulos finished that game on 26 points, having gone 6-for-8 from beyond the arc.

Game News

"It’s a great win against an amazing team,” Toliopoulos noted. “They are runners-up of last year’s EuroCup. From the first day the coach said that we never give up, we never stop playing even if we’re trailing by 20 or 30 points. We keep playing and that’s how we’ll succeed."

Having struggled in its bid to protect its home court this season, Aris may draw confidence from this morale-boosting win at Bourg. Its [next game](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/game-center/2024-25/aris-midea-thessaloniki-valencia-basket/U2024/69/) against an unbeaten [Valencia Basket](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/valencia-basket/roster/pam/?season=2024-25) (5-0) will be anything but easy, but Kastritis’s warriors demonstrated on Wednesday that they have what it takes to beat a EuroCup powerhouse. 

Vassilis Toliopoulos led all scorers with 21 points after going 6-for-9 from deep

Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse v Aris Midea Thessaloniki (2024-10-30T18:30:00.000Z)

Jerusalem 'playing for each other' stormed to another win

[Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/hapoel-bank-yahav-jerusalem/roster/jer/) went to the Slovenian capital severely depleted, missing forward [Justin Smith](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/justin-smith/013276/) and center [Austin Wiley](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/austin-wiley/013278/). Entering this game, Smith was posting 11.6 points and 4.6 rebounds and Wiley was team's top rebounder with 7.8 per game and scoring 7.0 points.

Those were significant numbers, especially on the glass to make up, but Jerusalem never blinked and ran past [Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/cedevita-olimpija-ljubljana/roster/lju/) [83-94](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/depleted-jerusalem-breezes-past-cedevita-83-94/), registering its fourth win of the season.

We showed to ourselves we are a team," head coach Yonatan Alon was thrilled after the game. "We are supporting each other, we are playing for each other, sharing the ball great. Scoring 94 points is not easy without the big guys."

His team outrebouned the hosts 38-36 and the visitors also made 13 triples, compared to 9 by Cedevita.

"Anytime you play on the road it is a tough to win," game hero [Jared Harper](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/jared-harper/011970/) said. "I felt like we had a good overall game as a team."

Harper finished with 30 points, and also had 5 assists.

Still, the Jerusalem's star found things his team can improve on.

"We kind of let up at the start of the fourth quarter, kind of let them back in the game."

Jerusalem had a 25-point lead in the opening minute of the fourth, but let the hosts get within 12 points with 3 minutes to go. However, Cedevita never got closer than the 11 points, which was the final margin, in what ended up being a comfortable win for Jerusalem.

The visitors overcame missing a pair of starters to win in Slovenia

Aris Midea Thessaloniki grabbed its second road victory of the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup season by edging Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse 88-91 at Ekinox on Wednesday. 

Aris stuns Bourg, 88-91, on the road

Aris Midea Thessaloniki grabbed its second road victory of the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup season by edging Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse 88-91 at Ekinox on Wednesday. It was a tight affair from start to finish in France, with the visitors outscoring Bourg 30-35 in the fourth quarter to pull off the upset. With the win, the Greek side improved to 2-4, while Bourg dropped to 4-2.

Vassilis Toliopoulos led all scorers with 21 points, with Trey Woodbury scoring 14 and grabbing 8 rebounds. David De Julius and D' Moi Hodge had 11 points apiece and Landers Nolley added 10. For the hosts, Mehdy Ngouama netted 15 points, Adrian Nelson scored 12, Xavier Castaneda recorded 11 and Jean-Marc Pansa added 10.

The game started with an exchange of blows from inside, with 5 points from Woodbury and 4 from DeJulius allowing Aris to grab an 8-11 lead. Two Ngouama buckets were followed by a deep triple from Eleftherios Bochoridis before Pansa trimmed the deficit to 14-17. Then, Ngouama took his tally to 8 points thanks to a layup and two free throws before Pansa nailed another basket and Nelson sank a buzzer-beating put-back to put Bourg in front, 22-21, after 10 minutes.

A three-pointer off the glass from Hodge was followed by a hard-fought bucket from Nelson before Bochoridis nailed a triple for a 24-27 Aris lead. Maxime Courby and Nolley exchanged baskets in the paint before Kevin Kokila and Ngouama hit 2 free throws each to put Bourg back ahead, 34-31. Then, Castaneda opened his account with a midrange jumper, but Toliopoulos nailed one from downtown, cutting the difference to 38-36. Five points from Toliopoulos gave Aris back the lead, but Pansa netted from inside after a smooth team move for a 42-41 Bourg lead at the break.

The two teams were held scoreless for almost 2 minutes to start the third quarter before Woodbury gave Aris the lead with a dunk, 42-43. Toliopoulos nailed back-to-back triples, but Ngouama drilled one from deep to end Aris’s 0-8 run and bring the hosts within 45-49. Despite Bourg’s first field goal of the second half coming 5:31 minutes into the third quarter, the French side went on a 10-0 surge before a Toliopoulos three-pointer tied it, 52-52. Then, Pansa and De Julius netted 4 points each, with Joel Ayayi making 2 of 2 from the line for a narrow 58-56 lead heading into the closing quarter.

Ngouama opened the fourth with a layup before triples from Hodge and Toliopoulos sandwiched a Nelson three-pointer, with Bourg maintaining a 63-62 lead. Courby and De Julius exchanged triples before a three-point play from Kokila made it 69-65. Then, Castaneda responded to a Woodbury triple with one of his own, but Hodge nailed another one from deep to bring Aris within 76-75. 

A Hodge layup put Aris ahead and Nolley extended Aris’s lead to 77-81 from inside. Yet, Bourg reacted, with Castaneda netting a long two-pointer and Maksim Salash completing a three-point play to put his team back in front 82-81 with 2:36 left on the clock. Toliopoulos responded to a Jordan Usher three-point play with a triple to put Aris ahead, 86-87, with 38 seconds remaining. An Usher layup gave Bourg back the lead, 88-87, but Nolley made 2 of 2 from the line to bring Aris back in front with 6.7 to go. Castaneda airballed an off-balance midrange jumper on the other end and the visitors clinched the victory.

The visitors erupted for 35 fourth-quarter points

U-BT Cluj-Napoca celebrated its first home win of the season in the BKT EuroCup and improved to 3-3 in Group B after digging deep to grind out an 86-78 victory over visiting Umana Reyer Venice. 

Late surge gives Cluj hard-fought 86-78 home win over Reyer

U-BT Cluj-Napoca celebrated its first home win of the season in the BKT EuroCup and improved to 3-3 in Group B after digging deep to grind out an 86-78 victory over visiting Umana Reyer Venice.

Adam Mokoka paced the hosts with 16 points, Karel Guzman added 15 while Zach Hankins chipped in with 14 and 7 boards. At the other end, Juan Fernandez netted 11 points while Rodney McGruder and Davide Moretti scored 10 apiece for Reyer, which dropped to 2-4.

Both teams played in fits and starts early on, as Reyer raced to a 2-6 lead before Cluj responded with a 10-0 run. The visitors then hit back with a 0-8 streak to turn the tables and carve out a 20-24 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Reyer was particularly lethal from downtown in the first half, making 10 of 17 shots from deep in the opening two quarters to earn a 39-46 halftime advantage, after Fernandez sank a buzzer-beater from way beyond the arc.

Cluj looked down and out for the count after Reyer extended its lead to 45-61 in the third quarter and things got even worse for the hosts as their head coach Mihai Silvasan ejected by the officials for loud protests over a refereeing decision. That, however, seemed to galvanize Cluj as the home team slashed the deficit to 56-67 ahead of the final 10 minutes and then beefed up its defense in the fourth quarter.

It paid instant dividends as Reyer’s long-range artillery dried up while the turnovers piled up, allowing Cluj to draw level 72-72 down the stretch. With the fervent home crowd roaring them on, the home players forced the final twist as Mokoka came up with some big plays before Guzman sank a decisive 3-pointer to give Cluj an unassailable 84-78 lead in the final minute.

Ultimately, Reyer was held to a mere 1-of-11 shooting from downtown in the second half and forced to commit 19 turnovers by an aggressive Cluj defense, while managing a mere 14 assists. The visitors also made only 13 of 27 shots from two-point territory, with Cluj winning the battle of the boards 37-33.  

The Romanian champs trailed for the lion’s share of an enthralling contest before turning the tide in the home straight 

U-BT Cluj-Napoca v Umana Reyer Venice (2024-10-30T17:00:00.000Z)

Jonathan Motley and Marcus Foster ran the show for Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv as it overpowered Buducnost to win by 20

Hapoel’s Foster-Motley duo was too much for Buducnost

[Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/hapoel-shlomo-tel-aviv/hta/?season=2024-25) had a bad taste in its mouth when it trailed 17-22 at the end of the first quarter in the game against visiting [Buducnost VOLI Podgorica](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/buducnost-voli-podgorica/roster/bud/?season=2024-25). Despite [Jonathan Motley](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/johnathan-motley/011157/) and [Marcus Foster](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/marcus-foster/010386/) running the show in the early going, Buducnost took advantage of their absence in the last minutes of the first period to build that lead.

Because on Wednesday night, everything was different for Hapoel with and without Motley and Foster on the court. At the beginning of the game, Foster and Motley had combined for 12 of their team’s first 14 points for a slim disadvantage, 14-15. When they sat down, Buducnost escaped.

Marcus Foster ran wild against Buducnost

“We played a good first quarter”, Buducnost head coach Andrej Zakelj regretted in the press conference. “Then we stopped to play defense, especially in one-on-one situations… without any fight, energy, and you cannot expect to win against this good team with this kind of game.”

Zakelj’s words were surely influenced by the astonishing performances of Motley and Foster, who led Hapoel’s awakening in the second quarter, break away in the third and the outcome confirmation that came late in the fourth.

Motley scored 9 of his team’s last 11 points right before halftime good to reach the intermission with a 46-38 Hapoel lead. Motley had scored 16 points already.

Later, when the game resumed after the break, Foster decided to take over and put up an impressive shooting performance, scoring 16 of Hapoel’s first 18 points in the quarter. He drilled 4 three-pointers and made two buckets without missing a shot in that time span, helping his team raise the difference to 74-55 after 30 minutes.

And finally, when Buducnost tried to get back into the game, 78-65, early in the last quarter, Motley reappeared to put the game to bed. He took the court with 6:26 remaining and scored the next 12 Hapoel points over the next 5 minutes, which definitely broke Buducnost’s defenses.

Overall, Foster finished with 23 points and 20 PIR, both his best marks in the competition, as Motley finished with 30 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists to tie his career-high PIR of 39.

“I see a lot of double teams and traps last game,” Motley reminded after the game. “I didn't play so well in the last game, they were trapping and I was forcing a lot of shots. So, I just wanted to come out here tonight and be more aggressive on the pass. So, you know, when you pass, it loosens up the defense then I can score. So that's kind of what I tried to do tonight.”

And he did so quite well.

Marcus Foster and Jonathan Motley combined for 53 points and a PIR of 59 

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv v Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (2024-10-30T18:00:00.000Z)

ratiopharm Ulm returned to its winning ways in its return home by fighting past Dolomiti Energia Trento 84-82 to snap a two-game losing streak. 

Ulm tops Trento, 84-82, returns to winning way in return home 

ratiopharm Ulm returned to its winning ways in its return home by fighting past Dolomiti Energia Trento 84-82 to snap a two-game losing streak. Ulm rallied from a 13-point deficit but wasted a 13-point late in the third quarter before holding to improve to 4-2 on the season.

Marcio Santos scored 23 points with 11 rebounds as well as the game-preserving defensive stop while Alfonso Plummer drained 6 three-pointers in scoring 21 points and Ben Saraf tallied 14 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists for the winners. Ulm played its first home game since beating Joventut Badalona on October 1 and had lost its last two games by allowing 107 and 125 points. Trento could not build on its surprise win over Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv last week in falling to 2-4. Anthony Lamb and Eigirdas Zukauskas both scored 17 points and Jordan Ford had 14 points in the loss. 

Trento took a 1-5 lead as Ulm needed nearly 3 minutes to score a basket. Ulm went ahead 18-14 after triples from Santos, Nelson Weidemann and Plummer. But Zukauskas and Ford connected from long range and the visitors led 18-20 after 10 minutes.

Trento’s defense stood strong in the early stages of the second quarter, giving up just one basket in the first 6 minutes while Myles Cale scored 4 points and Selom Mawugbe had a block and alley-oop dunk for a 20-33 cushion. Ulm responded with the next 11 points with Santos scoring 5 points and Plummer draining another triple in making it 31-33.  Trento executed better in the final minute with 6 straight points for a 33-41 cushion at the break. 

Plummer started the second half on fire with 4 three-pointers within 83 seconds in a personal 12-3 run to put Ulm ahead 45-44. The hosts just kept going and it was 55-46 after a Santos triple and Isaiah Roby three-point play. Zukauskas did his best to keep Trento close with 7 points, but Saraf completed a three-point play and Weidemann buried a three-pointer to increase the lead to 68-55 with just 86 seconds left in the third quarter. But Trento reeled off 9 straight points and was down 68-64 after 30 minutes.

Both teams struggled to execute offensively early in the final frame with Toto Forray and Saraf each hitting a triple for their side. Saraf’s three-point play made it 76-69 only to see Lamb score 11 straight points to put Trento ahead 78-80 with 2 minutes to play. Santos responded with a dunk and three-pointer and Ulm was ahead 83-80. Mawugbe scored but missed the bonus free throw while Saraf could only split two foul shots with 16 seconds left for an 84-82 score. Santos preserved the win by challenging Zukauskas's shot in the closing seconds. 

Marcio Santos stood out with a double-double for the winners 

ratiopharm Ulm v Dolomiti Energia Trento (2024-10-30T18:00:00.000Z)

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv bounced back from its last road loss in Trento by defeating Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 92-72 at Samokov Arena in Bulgaria on Wednesday night. 

Hapoel shows no mercy to beat Buducnost, 92-72

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv bounced back from its last road loss in Trento by defeating Buducnost VOLI Podgorica 92-72 at Samokov Arena in Bulgaria on Wednesday night. Hapoel got out to a slow start, trailing 15-22 late in the first quarter, but Jonathan Motley, in the second, and Marcus Foster, in the third, fueled the hosts to a 74-55 advantage entering the final stanza that buried the visitors. Hapoel improved to 4-2 and Buducnost slipped to 2-4.

Motley finished as the game's top-scorer with 30 points plus 7 rebounds and 4 assists to tie his career-high PIR of 39. Marcus Foster followed with a career-high 23 points with an almost-perfect shooting card, while Bar Timor contributed 10 points for the winners. McKinley Wright and Rasheed Sulaimon scored 13 points apiece to lead Buducnost and Yogi Ferrell had 11 in the losing effort.

Both teams geared up in offense quickly and built good scoring momentum early in the game. Motley and Foster teamed up for Hapoel, with the former scoring 7 points - including his first three of the season, while Kenan Kamenjas and Sulaimon were pulling the strings for Buducnost. A triple by the latter gave Buducnost a 12-15 edge, which Nikola Tanaskovic extended to 14-19 soon after. Once Hapoel rested Motley and Foster, its scoring rhythm went down, and the visitors started controlling the boards. Ferrell dug it deeper, 15-22, from behind the arc, right before Noam Yaacov closed the first period with the home team trailing 17-22.

The scenario changed dramatically after the break when Joe Ragland showed up and ignited Hapoel with a bucket, a dish for an Oz Blayzer slam and forcing a turnover on the following possession to make it a one-possession game, 21-22. Those actions revitalized the hosts, who found three consecutive three-point offenses to take a 30-25 lead. The run continued with Motley taking the reins again on both sides of the court, good for a double-digit home advantage, 40-28. Buducnost lost energy under the boards but managed to resist thanks to a good scoring spurt coming from its backcourt, which helped the visitors reach halftime still alive, 46-38.

Kamenjas made the gap smaller with an early bucket, but it was nothing but a temporary relief against the show that Foster would put up right away. Hapoel summoned him at the very beginning of the third quarter and the American guard responded with an astonishing performance. He nailed back-to-back threes as Hapoel recovered a double-digit lead, 52-42, and followed with 2 more two-pointers and a couple of extra triples to boost the advantage to 64-50. Overall, Foster scored 16 points without missing a shot in less than 6 minutes, giving room to his team to build the final run. Timor and Yaacov followed with consecutive three-point plays that extended the distance to 74-55 at the end of the third quarter.

Buducnost had not said its last word yet, though, as Dordije Jovanovic and Aleksa Ilic took advantage of the minutes their coach granted them to push the visitors back into the game, 78-65, with less than 7 minutes remaining. Their reaction had forced two timeouts by Hapoel head coach in only 1:11, with the latter resulting in the return of Motley to the court. His comeback was exactly what Hapoel needed, as he provided the next 10 points for his team, bringing a safe cushion back to the home side, 90-70, and sending Buducnost to the ropes.

Motley and Foster combined for 53 points to lead Hapoel