The Italian club turned around its season, but was the hole too deep?
Reyer did its job, put the pressure on Cluj, Bourg

Umana Reyer Venice did its part but now needs help as it waits for the final day of the BKT EuroCup Regular Season to determine its playoff fate. The Italians have applied the pressure on U-BT Cluj-Napoca and Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse, who both need wins to reach the postseason and keep Reyer out.
Reyer fought off multiple comebacks by 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys to win 91-77 at home and finish with a 10-8 record in Group B. Reyer would have been eliminated from playoff contention had it lost to Lietkabelis.
“We deserved the win. We were the better team and controlled the game from the first moment until the end. We had our ups and downs but this game was never in question,” said Spahija. "We won tonight but now we need to wait for the other results and see if they are going to help us to qualify.”
Game Videos
Spahija and the team are hoping for a loss by either Cluj at Aris Midea Thessaloniki or Bourg at Valencia Basket. Reyer missed out on the playoffs last season after reaching the quarterfinals in 2022-23 and the eighthfinals in 2021-22.
Reyer had a slow start to the season with a 2-5 mark after seven rounds - as well as injuries to a number of key players. Some of those players returned and the team reeled off five wins in six games. At that point, the playoffs were looking good at 8-6.
But a loss to Cluj in Round 15 and blowing a big fourth-quarter lead in an 84-81 defeat at Turk Telekom Ankara in Round 17 left the post-season up in the air - and Reyer’s fate no longer in its own hands.
Coming into the EuroCup regular-season finale, Spahija’s team had dropped its last three games - at Turk Telekom as well as at home against Dolomiti Energia Trento and at Virtus Segafredo Bologna in the Italian League.
Tyler Ennis helped Reyer snap the skid with 19 points, 7 assists and 7 fouls drawn for a career-best index rating of 33 against Lietkabelis.
“We’ve been focusing on ourselves. We know what we have to do to win and we have to do that every night now,” Ennis said.
“This is what we have done for the regular season and now we hope the other results will go in our favor and we will qualify,” Spahija added.
The coach has only had his full roster for the past three EuroCup games due to injuries. And the rest of the competition might be rooting for Bourg and Cluj to win on Wednesday as Reyer has a roster strong enough to take the title.
Reyer, after all, is one of only two teams to beat Valencia this season in the EuroCup - in Round 13 at home 81-74. Now the Italians are left to wait.