Five playoff spots remain – three in Group A, two in Group B – entering the final round of the regular season
Round 18 at a glance: It's all come down to this!
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The final round of the BKT EuroCup regular season arrives with playoff places and home-court advantage still up for grabs and several showdowns between direct rivals. Here’s your overview of Round 18’s action.
Tuesday, February 4
Trefl Sopot vs. Dreamland Gran Canaria (19:00 CET)
Group A’s rock-bottom Trefl (1-16) will attempt to finish on a high against a Gran Canaria (11-6) which needs victory and a Hapoel defeat to claim second place. The Spanish team bounced back to form last week with a big win over Besiktas, and will look for Caleb Homesley to stay hot after scoring 20 and 18 points in the last two games. The inside presence of Mike Tobey (9.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game) will be important against Trefl big man Geoffrey Groselle, who has recorded double-digit scoring in eight consecutive games. But the Polish team’s leaky defense, which has allowed 86.8 points per game, should give Gran Canaria plenty of opportunity to secure the win it needs.
Umana Reyer Venice vs. 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys (20:00 CET)
Reyer (9-8) will look for the win it needs to keep its postseason hopes alive by overcoming eliminated visitor Lietkabelis (5-12). The Lithuanian team showed it is still fighting hard with last week’s dramatic victory over Cluj, when 17 points and 6 rebounds from Djordje Gagic helped secure a spectacular late comeback. Reyer has faltered recently with two losses out of three, last week losing at Turk Telekom despite another monster performance – 20 points and 18 rebounds – from Mfiondu Kabengele. The Italian team leaned on 22 points from Kyle Wiltjer in a high-scoring thriller, 93-100, when the teams met in Round 9, and will hope for a push from the home fans as it attempts to advance to the playoffs.
Wednesday, February 5
Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius vs. Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (18:00 CET)
A huge matchup between two of the four teams tied for fourth place in Group A will see the winner progress to the playoffs and the loser in danger of elimination as Wolves (9-8) welcomes Buducnost (9-8). Both teams are confident, with Wolves winning two in a row while free-scoring Buducnost has roared back into playoff contention with three straight wins. The Montenegrin team won easily, 104-77, in Round 9’s meeting between the teams as Rasheed Sulaimon netted 23 points on 6-of-7 three-point shooting. Wolves also offers a deep threat, with Matas Jogela knocking down 4 triples in last week’s big win at Trento, while the backcourt battle between Andrew Andrews and Yogi Ferrell could be another decisive factor.
Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul vs. Dolomiti Energia Trento (18:00 CET)
Besiktas (9-8) will look to recover winning ways and secure a place in the eighthfinals by beating the visiting Trento (6-11). The Italian team has been eliminated and delivered a poor performance to suffer a 26-point home loss against Wolves last week with nobody scoring more than Saliou Niang’s 11 points, so will look to recover its spirits to finish the season on a high. Besiktas is coming off a defeat at Gran Canaria, where 18 points from Jonah Mathews – who averages 21.0 points over the last four games – wasn’t enough to compensate for an unusually porous defense. The Turkish team beat Trento comfortably, 68-83, in Round 9, and will be confident of taking a fourth straight home win on Wednesday.
ratiopharm Ulm vs. Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv (19:00 CET)
It’s a must-win battle for both teams as Ulm (9-8) attempts to secure a playoff berth against a Hapoel team (11-6) which knows victory will secure second place. The teams are in contrasting form, with Ulm losing four straight to jeopardize its postseason hopes, while Hapoel has won five of the last six behind a potent offense which last week used Johnathan Motley’s double-double – 22 points and 10 boards – to thrash Trefl. Ulm must rebound well to limit Motley’s ability to grab extra possessions for his team, but can take confidence from its memories of an 80-82 Round 9 road victory over Hapoel powered by 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists from all-action forward Justinian Jessup.
Aris Midea Thessaloniki vs. U-BT Cluj-Napoca (19:00 CET)
Group B’s last-placed team Aris (3-14) will attempt to reverse recent form and deny the playoff ambitions of visiting Cluj (9-8). The Romanian team has already missed out on a chance to secure postseason action with last week’s late collapse at Lietkabelis, and will be determined to add more misery for an Aris team which has lost five straight and allowed at least 90 points in each of those games. Cluj will look to establish physical control through big man De’Shawn Stephens (9.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game), while backcourt star Adam Mokoka will look to repeat the form which saw him register a season-high 24 points when his team overcame Aris, 87-79, in November.
Veolia Towers Hamburg vs. Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (19:30 CET)
Dangerous Hamburg (5-12) will look to continue its strong finish to the season by upsetting the second-place ambitions of visiting Cedevita (10-7), which must win to have any chance of finishing second in Group B. The German team has won two in a row after last week’s overtime triumph at Aris, when Brae Ivey showed his all-round game by combining 25 points with 5 assists and 5 steals. Cedevita’s offense was throttled in last week’s home loss to Valencia – a second straight loss for the Slovenian team. Devin Robinson did deliver a strong performance with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, but his teammates need to rediscover their long-range radar after only making 6 three-pointers in both of the last two games.
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem vs. Turk Telekom Ankara (19:30 CET)
An exciting tussle between two already-qualified teams could deliver a second-place finish in Group B for the winner as Hapoel Jerusalem (10-7) hosts Turk Telekom (10-7). Both teams are coming off vital wins, with Jared Harper again underlining his scoring prowess by netting 31 points to power Jerusalem past Bourg. Turk Telekom overcame Reyer on the back of 17 points from Braian Angola, who will look to maintain his outstanding record of double-digit scoring in every game this season. Jerusalem ranks second in the competition in rebounding, partly thanks to Chris Johnson with 6.1 boards per night, and Turk Telekom needs to physically compete as well as stopping Harper, who scored 35 to secure an easy win, 77-94, when the teams met in Round 9.
Valencia Basket vs. Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse (20:30 CET)
Group B winner Valencia (15-2) will look to gear up for the playoffs by overcoming a Bourg team (9-8) which needs to win to avoid jeopardizing its postseason place. The French team needs a fast start to recover confidence after suffering a 27-point home loss against Jerusalem last week, and must improve its long-range accuracy after only shooting 5 triples in that game. Valencia’s ability to complement dynamic offense with tough defense was showcased in last week’s battling win at Cedevita, and the Spanish team has the motivation of needing to win to secure the best all-round record across both groups, with Xabi Lopez-Arostegui among its form players after netting double-digit scoring in five straight games.
Joventut Badalona vs. Bahcesehir College Istanbul (20:30 CET)
Eliminated Joventut (6-11) will look to go out on a high against a Bahcesehir team (14-3) which already knows it has won Group A. The game features a showdown between two of the competition’s best big men, with veteran Ante Tomic (12.5 and 6.6 points per game) taking on visiting powerhouse Tai Odiase, who averages 17 points over the last seven games. The home team can also count on an in-form Sam Dekker, who netted 25 points despite suffering a heavy loss at Buducnost last week. Jaleen Smith led Bahcesehir to victory over Joventut in Round 9, netting 17 points in an 89-78 home win, and he also arrives in great form with an average of 17.4 points over the last four games.