Name: Dreamland Gran Canaria-Joventut Badalona | Round 15 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup
Channel: Euroleague Basketball

\- Fenerbahce has won four straight home games against Zalgiris, and the home team had won eight straight in this rivalry before Fenerbahce's 65-72 win in Kaunas in Round 10.

\- When Zalgiris beat Fenerbahce in Kaunas 99-62 in December 2020, it recorded a club-record 31 assists.

\- Fenerbahce and Zalgiris met in the 2018 EuroLeague Semifinals, with Fenerbahce coming out on top 76-67 behind 19 points in 12 minutes from Ali Muhammed. Luigi Datome added 16 points and a career-high 3 blocks.

\- Zalgiris swept the then-called Ulker Genclik in the best-of-three eighthfinals back in 1999. Zalgiris went on to win its only EuroLeague title that season.

\- Fenerbahce ousted Zalgiris 3-1 in their 2019 EuroLeague playoff series.

\- In Game 1 of the 2019 EuroLeague Playoffs, Fenerbahce held Zalgiris to 43 points, the lowest it has ever allowed in a EuroLeague game. For Zalgiris, the 43 points were its lowest single-game total this century.

\- Fenerbahce head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius is an icon at his hometown club, Zalgiris Kaunas. He finished his playing career there and started his coaching career with Zalgiris, which he led to its first Final Four this century in 2018 and to the playoffs in 2019.

\- Nigel Hayes-Davis spent two seasons in Kaunas, from 2019 to 2021.

\- Fenerbahce big man Boban Marjanovic played at Zalgiris in the 2010-11 season.

\- Zalgiris forward Edgaras Ulanovas spent the 2020-21 season with Fenerbahce.

\- Edgaras Ulanovas posted his career high in two-point shots made with 9 against Fenerbahce in a Game 2 road win in the 2019 EuroLeague Playoffs.

\- When Zalgiris beat Fenerbahce in Kaunas 98-75 last January, Laurynas Birutis set career highs in PIR (28) and rebounds (10).

\- Laurynas Birutis had a career-high 3 steals in 86-66 win over Fenerbahce in January 2023.

\- Fenerbahce forward Nicolo Melli made a career-high 9 two-pointers on 10 attempts while playing for EA7 Emporio Armani Milan against Zalgiris in October 2013.

\- Zalgiris guard Sylvain Francisco posted his career highs in PIR (27) and free throws made (10) while playing for FC Bayern Munich against Fenerbahce last January.

\- Fenerbahce center Sertac Sanli had a career-high 8 rebounds while playing for FC Barcelona against Zalgiris in March 2022.

\- In the 2022-23 season opener, Fenerbahce's Bonzie Colson had a career-high 4 blocks while playing for Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv against Zalgiris.

\- Fenerbahce guard Scottie Wilbekin had a career-high 5 steals while playing for Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv against Zalgiris in October 2021.

Game Videos

Game News

Game Notes: Fenerbahce vs. Zalgiris

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v Zalgiris Kaunas (2025-01-17T17:45:00.000Z)

\- In Round 6, Olympiacos beat Real 79-69 with Sasha Vezenkov scoring 23 points, while Shaquielle Mckissic pulled down a career-high 9 rebounds.

\- In the 2024 Final Four semifinal in Berlin, Real beat Olympiacos 87-76 behind 20 points from Dzanan Musa.

\- This is a rematch of the 2023 championship game in which Sergio Lull hit a game-winning jumper with 3.1 seconds to go for a 79-78 win in Kaunas for Real to win its 11th EuroLeague championship.

\- Real swept Olympiacos during the 2023-24 regular season, including a 71-77 win in Piraeus as Dzanan Musa scored 23 points and tied a career-best with 5 triples made.

\- Last season in Madrid, Real held off Olympiacos 90-85 with Facundo Campazzo collecting 12 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds.

\- Real Madrid downed Olympiacos in the 1995 EuroLeague championship game, 73-61, behind Arvydas Sabonis, who was chosen as the 1995 Final Four MVP.

\- Olympiacos defeated Real Madrid 100-89 for the 2013 EuroLeague championship in London. Vassilis Spanoulis scored 22 points in that game and was named Final Four MVP.

\- Real Madrid routed Olympiacos 78-59 in the 2015 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game in the Spanish capital. Jaycee Carroll led a balanced Madrid attack with 16 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting and Andres Nocioni was named Final Four MVP.

\- Olympiacos and Real Madrid have faced each other three times in the EuroLeague Playoffs. Real advanced to the Final Four in 1996 with a 2-1 win in the best-of-three series and Olympiacos ousted Real 3-1 in 2009's best-of-five series. Real eliminated Olympiacos in the 2014 EuroLeague Playoffs 3-2. Rudy Fernandez led Los Blancos with an average of 17.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and Sergio Llull starred with 20 points in the decisive fifth game.

\- Olympiacos guard Nigel Williams-Goss spent two seasons with Real, from 2021 to 2023, helping it reach the 2022 EuroLeague championship game and win the 2023 EuroLeague crown.

\- Williams-Goss scored a career-high 23 points in an 88-83 Olympiacos win against Real in November 2018.

\- Real swingman Mario Hezonja and Olympiacos forward Kostas Papanikolaou were teammates at FC Barcelona during the 2013-14 season.

\- Olympiacos point guard Luca Vildoza has been a teammate of Real forward Gabriel Deck and guard Facundo Campazzo on the Argentinian national team. Together they won the silver medal at the 2019 Basketball World Cup.

\- Olympiacos guard Luca Vildoza and Real point guard Facundo Campazzo were teammates at Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade during the 2022-23 season.

\- In the 2024 Final Four semifinal loss against Real, Olympiacos forward Alec Peters grabbed a career-high 6 offensive rebounds.

\- The last time these two teams met in Madrid, Olympiacos forward Kostas Papanikolaou posted a career-high 25 points and tied a career high with 6 triples made in a 90-85 loss against Real.

\- In that same game, Olympiacos guard Naz Mitrou-Long dished a career-high 7 assists.

\- Olympiacos guard Tyler Dorsey had a career game while playing for Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv against Real in January 2021, posting a career-high PIR of 36.

\- Hezonja posted his career high with 4 steals while playing for UNICS Kazan against Olympiacos in December 2021.

\- Real’s All-EuroLeague center Walter Tavares had a career-best 4 steals in an overtime win over Olympiacos in April 2021.

\- Real's Facundo Campazzo collected a career-high 5 steals while playing for Crvena Zvezda against Olympiacos in April 2023.

\- Olympiacos center Nikola Milutinov recorded a career-best 3 blocks twice against Real Madrid, in December 2017 and November 2018.

Game Notes: Madrid vs. Olympiacos

Real Madrid v Olympiacos Piraeus (2025-01-16T19:45:00.000Z)

\- Ettore Messina and Zeljko Obradovic, these teams’ head coaches, have combined to win 13 EuroLeague titles over the past 32 years.

\- The two clubs played in the 1992 Final Four semifinal. Partizan won 82-75 with Zeljko Obradovic on the bench. The team went on to win its lone EuroLeague crown, which was the first of Obradovic's nine.

\- Milan forward Zach LeDay spent the last three seasons with Partizan. He helped the team reach the 2023 EuroLeague Playoffs and win the 2023 ABA League crown.

\- Partizan big man Brandon Davies spent the 2022-23 season with Milan.

\- Davies scored a career-high 27 points by making a career-best 11 two-point shots while playing for Zalgiris Kaunas against Milan in November 2018.

\- Partizan forward Isaac Bonga and Milan guard Leandro Bolmaro were teammates at FC Bayern Munich last season.

\- Partizan forward Mario Nakic and Milan guard Fabien Causeur were teammates at Real Madrid for three seasons, from 2017 to 2020.

\- Partizan's Sterling Brown posted his career high in three-pointers made (5) and rebounds (9) in a Round 10 home loss against Milan.

\- Milan center Freddie Gillespie blocked a career-high 4 shots while playing for FC Bayern Munich against Partizan in February 2023.

\- Partizan's Iffe Lundberg grabbed a career-high 7 rebounds while playing for CSKA Moscow against Milan in September 2021.

Game Notes: Milan vs. Partizan

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan v Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2025-01-16T19:30:00.000Z)

\- Their Round 13 contest was the first-ever official meeting between Paris and Maccabi, with Paris winning the game played in Belgrade 81-93 and TJ Shorts scoring 22 points.

\- Paris guard Maodo Lo and Maccabi's Tamir Blatt were teammates at ALBA Berlin for two seasons, from 2021 to 2023.

\- Paris big man Mikael Jantunen posted his personal best in steals with 3 and also tied his personal high with 8 rebounds in that Round 13 win over Maccabi.

\- Paris center Kevarrius Hayes had career highs in rebounds (9) and offensive rebounds (6) while playing for Zalgiris Kaunas in a 2022-23 season-opening loss against Maccabi.

\- Paris's Daulton Hommes posted his career high in steals with 4 while playing for Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz against Maccabi in March 2023.

\- Maccabi's Trevion Williams posted his career high in blocks with 3 while playing for ALBA Berlin against Paris earlier this season in October.

Game Notes: Paris vs. Maccabi

Paris Basketball v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2025-01-16T19:30:00.000Z)

\- The road team had won six of the last seven games between these two teams before ALBA's 84-79 win in Round 3, which saw the German team pull down a club-record tying 46 rebounds.

\- In ALBA's 63-88 road win at ASVEL last January, Justin Bean had a career-high 3 steals.

\- ALBA's Gabriele Procida posted his career high with 3 steals in ALBA's road win over ASVEL last January.

\- ALBA's Matt Thomas and ASVEL guard Paris Lee were teammates at Panathinaikos Athens during the 2022-23 season.

\- ASVEL center Neal Sako pulled down a personal-best 13 rebounds in a loss against ALBA earlier this season.

\- ASVEL center Tarik Black posted his career high in steals with 4 while playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv against ALBA in November 2019.

Game Notes: ASVEL vs. ALBA

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v ALBA Berlin (2025-01-16T19:00:00.000Z)

Congratulations to Michael Clavaud, our 15th winner in the 2024-25 EuroCup Fantasy Challenge! Michael's team, 'Team Sacha', posted a score of 226.35.

EuroCup Fantasy Challenge: Round 15 winner

Congratulations to Michael Clavaud, our 15th winner in the 2024-25 [EuroCup Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/)! Michael's team, 'Team Sacha', posted a score of 226.35.

Michael had the following starting lineup: Jaleen Smith of Bahcesehir College Istanbul as team captain, and his teammate Tai Odiase, then Turk Telekom Ankara duo of Berkan Durmaz and Yoan Makoundou, as well as Dustin Sleva of Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul. Adam Mokoka of U-BT Cluj-Napoca was the sixth man.

The head coach of Michael's team was Turk Telekom's Erdem Can, while the four bench players were Brynton Lemar of Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana, Anthony Lamb of Dolomiti Energia Trento, Joel Ayayi of Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse and Yovel Zoosman of Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem.

The prize for finishing first in Round 15 is a free subscription to Euroleague TV for the 2025-26 season, so congratulations, Michael!

The leader in the overall standings remains Milos Mihajlovic and his squad, 'BallIsLife', which has a total of 2,619.15 points after the first 15 rounds. Trades are now open for Round 16. 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!

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 21st winner in this season's EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge! Ignas Stancikas beat everyone else in Round 21 with their team 'Muchachas', which had a Fantasy Challenge score of 242.70.

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge Round 21 winner

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 21st winner in this season's [EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/)! Ignas Stancikas beat everyone else in Round 21 with their team 'Muchachas', which had a Fantasy Challenge score of 242.70.

Ignas had the following starting lineup: Facundo Campazzo of Real Madrid as team captain, Olympiacos Piraeus's Shaquielle McKissic, then Zach LeDay of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, Filip Petrusev of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade and Vincent Poirier of Anadolu Efes Istanbul. His sixth man was Isaia Cordinier of Virtus Segafredo Bologna. On the bench, Ignas had David McCormack of ALBA Berlin, Marko Guduric of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, Andrejs Grazulis of Virtus and Giampaolo Ricci of Milan. His team's head coach was Milan play-caller Ettore Messina.

The prize for finishing first in Round 21 is a free VIP Euroleague TV subscription for the 2025-26 season, so congratulations, Ignas!

Marko Dukic and his team 'Kughat' remains the leader of the [EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/) overall standings with 3,635.24 points.

Trades are now open for Round 22. Remember, four trades are allowed before each round until the end of the regular season. You can either trade up to four players, or a head coach and three players.

The first game in Round 22 tips off on Thursday, January 16, as LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne hosts ALBA Berlin at 20:00 CET. That game marks the next round's deadline.

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

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge offers weekly prizes to the top team manager. 

Shabazz Napier's game-winning three rightfully earned many plaudits, but FC Bayern Basketball would not have got its win against AS Monaco Basket were it not for the play of Nick Weiler-Babb.

Nick Weiler-Babb returned in style as Bayern downed Monaco for very first time

[Shabazz Napier](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/shabazz-napier/011224/) may have earned plenty of plaudits for his game-winning three-pointer in [FC Bayern Munich](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fc-bayern-munich/mun/)’s [95-94 win over AS Monaco](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/bayern-holds-off-monaco-to-win-thriller-95-94/) on Tuesday night, but had it not been for [Nick Weiler-Babb](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nick-weiler-babb/010391/)’s defense on [Mike James](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mike-james/005985/) on the last possession, the visitors could easily have escaped with an epic comeback victory.

A thumb injury sidelined Weiler-Babb for Bayern’s previous two Turkish Airlines EuroLeague contests at Real Madrid and Olympiacos Piraeus – both defeats – yet the 29-year-old guard returned in style to help his team snap a three-game losing streak. It was the club's first-ever win over Monaco, too, having gone 0-7 against the Monegasques since their introduction to the EuroLeague in 2021.

Bayern led by as many as 23 points midway through the second quarter, but Monaco turned the game around and took its first lead (88-90) with 1:25 to go. James took on Weiler-Babb in an iso situation and nailed a mid-range jumper in front of the Germany international to make it 92-94 with just 18 seconds left on the clock. Napier came to the fore on the other end of the floor by drilling a step-back three with 8 seconds remaining, meaning that Monaco would have the last possession of the game.

Enter a locked-in Weiler-Babb, who didn’t allow James to get an open look and forced the EuroLeague all-time top scorer into an airball on a three-point shot.

“It was a tough situation,” Weiler-Babb told EuroLeague TV after the game. “Shabazz hit a big-time shot and on the play right before that, Mike hit a tough one on me. So I took a little pride in getting the stop for the game. Mike is known for making tough shots, so I just had to lock in and do the best I could.”

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Easy choice today 😉 <a href="https://twitter.com/nickbabb12?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nickbabb12</a> <a href="https://t.co/CSf7O9vNxL">pic.twitter.com/CSf7O9vNxL</a></p>&mdash; FC Bayern Basketball (@FCBBasketball) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBBasketball/status/1879656284552888639?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Weiler-Babb’s contribution was extraordinary on both ends. He finished the game with a season-high 18 points, having gone 4 for 7 from beyond the arc. He also registered 6 assists and 3 steals, earning plaudits by Bayern head coach Gordon Herbert for what was a complete performance at SAP Garden on Wednesday night.

“I’ve said this before: my opinion is that he is the best all-around player in Germany,” Herbert said in the postgame press conference. “I could say that he proved me right today. He’s been out for three weeks. To come back from three weeks out and play like this is pretty amazing. 

"He runs the team well. He can organize the game, and I think the biggest thing is that he’s got a purpose on offense and he’s got a presence on defense. He is our best defender. He played tonight with confidence. It’s something you can’t buy at the store – you’ve got to develop it. He shot the ball extremely well.”

Bayern has its glue guy back and it will now be looking to build a winning streak. To do so, the Germans will need to down Virtus Segafredo Bologna at home on Friday night. Already sitting in the playoff spots, a second straight victory could see Bayern climb up the standings again – and Weiler-Babb will make sure to do what it takes for his team to achieve that goal.

The guard has a telling impact on both ends of the floor

FC Bayern Munich v AS Monaco (2025-01-15T19:30:00.000Z)

Joventut used a balanced attack to defeat Gran Canaria 77-83 and improve to 6-9 in Group A - just one victory behind both Buducnost VOLI Podgorica and Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius for the last spot in the playoff zone

Joventut still breathing after beating Gran Canaria again

Go back to December 11, 2024 and it looked like an almost certainty that the illustrious [Joventut Badalona](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/joventut-badalona/roster/jov/?season=2024-25) would miss the BKT EuroCup playoffs. Fast forward just more than a month and the Spanish side is alive and well in the race for the post-season after knocking off Spanish rival [Dreamland Gran Canaria](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/dreamland-gran-canaria/roster/can/?season=2024-25).

Joventut used a balanced attack [to defeat Gran Canaria 77-83](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/joventut-wins-again-beats-gran-canaria-77-83/) and improve to 6-9 in Group A - just one victory behind both [Buducnost VOLI Podgorica](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/buducnost-voli-podgorica/roster/bud/?season=2024-25) and [Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/wolves-vilnius/roster/wol/?season=2024-25) for the last spot in the playoff zone.

“It’s a good feeling for us. We knew this was a must-win for us. We knew it was a big game on the road. I’m proud of the team, the way they executed. The game plan was solid. We came out and attacked from the beginning. And I liked that about the group,” said Joventut playmaker [Devon Dotson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/devon-durrell-dotson/013285/), who collected 9 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists in the win. “Hopefully we can keep it going in the coming weeks and try to make the EuroCup Playoffs.”

Thoughts of the post-season were fading fast back on December 11 as [Joventut lost 88-102](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/ulm-downs-joventut-88-102-for-third-straight-victory/) at home against ratiopharm Ulm to fall to 3-8.

The 2008 EuroCup champion has turned its season around with three wins in the last four EuroCup games. Add the Spanish League and Joventut is 9-1 in its last 10 games. And two of those wins came against Gran Canaria - beating the islanders at home in domestic league action 89-78 on December 30.

“It was the third time we were playing against this team. We adjusted some different things,” said Joventut coach [Daniel Miret](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/joventut-badalona/jov/miret-daniel/?season=U2024), whose team lost to Gran Canaria [76-78 after overtime at home in Round 6](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/nico-brussino-the-hero-as-gran-canaria-beats-joventut-in-ot-76-78/) of the EuroCup.

“We need to keep the momentum. We are in a sweet moment. A lot of players helped the team. We are close to the team that we want to be. We just want to focus on the things that we can control,” added the coach.

One of the main reasons Joventut prevailed was getting the better of Gran Canaria’s three-point defense. [Jaka Lakovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/dreamland-gran-canaria/can/lakovic-jaka/?season=U2024)’s team had allowed opposing teams to shoot 31.0 percent from long range - good for fourth best in the league. But [Yannick Kraag](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/yannick-kraag/010161/), [Kaiser Gates](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/kaiser-evan-bray-gates/013287/) and [Miye Oni](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/miye-oni/012079/) all made 2 three-pointers as Joventut converted 47.6% of its three-point attempts. That was much higher than the 33.6% the team had been shooting coming into the game.

Seven players scored at least 8 points for Joventut and the team from the Barcelona suburbs is right there in the playoff race - something many thought was next to impossible just more than a month ago.

Joventut downed its Spanish rival for the second time in about two weeks 

Dreamland Gran Canaria v Joventut Badalona (2025-01-15T20:00:00.000Z)

Jabari Parker had 19 of his 25 points in the second half to lead FC Barcelona to an 82-73 victory over Panathinaikos BC.

Jabari Parker lit the fuse for Barcelona's second-half turnaround against Panathinaikos

Things were not looking good for [FC Barcelona](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fc-barcelona/bar/) in its Round 21 showdown against defending champions [Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/panathinaikos-aktor-athens/pan/). At halftime, all the numbers pointed towards a bad result: Barca had missed all 9 of its 9 three-point shots, was outrebounded by Panathinaikos 18-23 and allowed the Greens to grab 8 offensive boards. [Joan Penarroya](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fc-barcelona/bar/penarroya-joan/?season=E2024)'s men went into the break trailing 30-38 on the scoreboard.

Barca needed a go-to guy and [Jabari Parker](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jabari-parker/012745/) immediately stepped up, making sure his team would collect a third consecutive victory. He was the first player to score in the second half, draining a three-pointer, and soon added a fast-break dunk that gave Barca plenty of hope at 38-41. 

Parker was far from done, hitting three more shots from downtown and finding [Dario Brizuela](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/dario-brizuela/009992/) for another one. All that allowed Barca to get a 59-50 lead at the end of the third quarter. Parker outscored the entire Panathinaikos team in the third quarter, 15-12, and had a higher PIR, 16-5.

The 29-year-old forward kept pacing Barca in the fourth quarter, getting help from Brizuela and [Alex Abrines](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/alex-abrines/003478/). Parker scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half, while Brizuela had 11 of his 15 points in the final 12 minutes and Abrines scored his team's last 5 points to help Barca put [the 82-73 victory](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/parker-leads-barcelona-past-the-greens-82-73/) on ice. 

Afterward, Parker highlighted the fact that he played with one of his opponents for four years in the now distant past.

"First and foremost, it's a blessing to share the court with a former teammate of mine \[Kendrick Nunn, Chicago Simeon High School\]. It's only two others that's playing right now from my high-school class, so I don't take that for granted. They had a good team and played well and we gave the fans what they wanted, " Parker said. "All that hard work should make it easier being back in our climate \[Palau Blaugrana\] where we are used to."

FC Barcelona forward Jabari Parker had 19 of his 25 points in the second half to lead his team to an 82-73 victory over Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens.

Parker's outstanding second half against the Greens

Barca did a better job at both ends and once the three-pointers started to fall, that was the ballgame. The hosts buried 9-of-13 three-pointers (69.2% 3FG) after the break and forced Panathinaikos to pick up 12 turnovers in the second half, having had just 2 in the first half. Nunn amassed a PIR of -7 after the interval, missing 9 of his 10 field-goal attempts and picking up 5 turnovers.

Nunn finished the night with 7 points and a PIR of 1. He had scored 25 points or better in each of the last five games, averaging 28.8 points and a PIR of 28.8.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr">GRAN TRIOMF, BARÇA 💙❤ <a href="https://t.co/hrpGROobWT">pic.twitter.com/hrpGROobWT</a></p>&mdash; Barça Basket (@FCBbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBbasket/status/1879649020651737313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

"We are having a good run and we wanted to make a statement today because they are the defending champs," Brizuela said. "And I think we did it, we played an amazing second half and this is the way for us to keep playing in both leagues, both the EuroLeague and ACB. We are happy about it, but we've got to keep going and keep growing."

After a sub-par first half, the Blaugrana showed their quality after the break

FC Barcelona v Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (2025-01-15T19:30:00.000Z)

D.J. Seeley, Zavier Simpson and Sasu Salin played key roles by scoring or assisting in 24 of U-BT Cluj-Napoca's 28 fourth-quarter points in Round 15 of the BKT EuroCup

Cluj backcourt made the difference in the end

Having won six out of its last seven games in the competition, [Umana Reyer Venice](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/umana-reyer-venice/roster/vnc/?season=2024-25) came to its game against visiting [U-BT Cluj Napoca](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/u-bt-cluj-napoca/roster/clu/?season=2024-25) as one of the hottest teams of the BKT EuroCup right now. So, when it managed to get ahead late in the third quarter, 60-58, after trailing all game, many thought Reyer would extend its winning streak one more time.

But Cluj didn’t step back at that moment and managed to grab [a 77-88 win in Venice](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/cluj-shocks-venice-on-the-road-77-88/) with a 0-10 run in the last 3 minutes of the game.

“I’m really proud of the way my guys reacted, they were tough,” Cluj head coach [Mihai Silvasan](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/u-bt-cluj-napoca/clu/silvasan-mihai/?season=U2024) celebrated in the press conference. “They were tough in the second half, when Venice came back, evened the game and they even led with one or two points in the third quarter… But we stood tough, we made plays, we focused on each possession, even if we allowed some offensive rebounds.”

That play creation mentioned by Silvasan was enabled by a fantastic performance of his backcourt, with [D.J. Seeley](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/dennis-seeley/004862/), [Zavier Simpson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/zavier-simpson/013302/) and [Sasu Salin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/sasu-salin/002820/) playing key roles in that run and also in the entire last period. They were involved - scoring or assisting - in 24 of Cluj's 28 fourth-quarter points, making the difference for their team.

Salin shined in one of the best plays of the game when he dove to the floor to convert a loose ball into an assist for [Adam Mokoka](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/adam-mokoka/012698/)’s dunk early in the last quarter and became the go-to guy in the last 3 minutes by drilling a couple of threes in the 0-10 final spark that helped Cluj close the game.

But Salin’s winning shots wouldn’t have been relevant without Simpson's steady performance. The competition's assist leader took the reins when his team needed and delivered 11 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and 3 fouls drawn in the last 10 minutes. He finished with 25 points, 6 boards, 7 assists and 8-of-8 shooting from the line to record a career-high PIR of 36, completing a game to remember.

“It was good. Obviously, it was a tough atmosphere. The fans were really engaged, so that's always good when playing an away game,” Simpson said after the game. “We played against a good team, but we executed. They made a run in the third quarter... So I'm just happy my team was able to stick together in the tough environment, be able to come with the dub, they trusted me down the line to make plays, not just for myself, but also for others."

This win game also gave Cluj an advantage against Reyer on a potential tie-breaker at the end of the regular season, after the Romanian champs defeated the Reyer twice this season.

“I’m really happy for this win. It was a very important game for us," Silvasan continued. “They won the last five games in both competitions, so they were in pretty good shape... We managed to win, which put us in a good spot before our next game against Turk Telekom. We are enjoying this win but we have three more games and we must stay focused.”

Seeley, Salin and Simpson combined for 20 points in the fourth quarter

Umana Reyer Venice v U-BT Cluj-Napoca (2025-01-15T19:00:00.000Z)

Bahcesehir improved to 13-2 on the season, and has a three game lead over Dreamland Gran Canaria, the second-place team in the group, and the only other team that could reach 13 wins in this group. But since Bahcesehir won their head-to-head tiebreaker, it has secured the first place.

Bahcesehir’s character showed up to clinch first place

[Bahcesehir College Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/bahcesehir-college-istanbul/roster/bah/?season=2024-25) can fly back home from Poland very happy. Even though it was not pretty against the last-placed host, [Trefl Prokom](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/trefl-sopot/roster/tso/?season=2024-25), Bahcesehir pulled out a victory [to clinch first place](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/bahcesehir-rallies-against-trefl-to-win-group-a/) in Group A.

Bahcesehir improved to 13-2 on the season, and has a three game lead over Dreamland Gran Canaria, the second-place team in the group, and the only other team that could reach 13 wins in this group. But since Bahcesehir won their head-to-head tiebreaker, it has secured first place.

And that’s a big deal, because it means Bahcesehir has not only clinched a direct berth in the quarterfinals, but there it will have home-court advantage, the same as in the best-of-three semis.

But, the victory against Trefl, which has only won one game this season was everything but easy. The hosts led by 18 points midway through the second quarter, and had dominated in all segments of the game.

“We didn’t play well from the beginning, except the last few minutes of the second quarter,” Bahcesehir head coach [Dejan Radonjic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/bahcesehir-college-istanbul/bah/radonjic-dejan/?season=U2024) said. “So many mistakes, defensively we were soft, and offensively was also not good.”

But a strong finish to the second quarter, a 2-12 run that cut the deficit to 45-37 got Bahcesehir going, and the team carried that momentum into the second half.

“The second half, we changed our approach”, Radonjic said. “Our defense was totally different, we played tough, very focused with a lot of energy.”

The team erased the deficit, and went in front in the fourth quarter after back-to-back triples from [Sehmus Hazer](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/sehmus-hazer/011201/) and [Jaleen Smith](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/jaleen-smith/011192/), but Trefl did not give up and the two team were tied entering the final minute.

That’s when Bahcesehir put the ball into the hands of its two most experienced players. Smith, who starred with 25 points and 9 rebounds, made a tough runner, then [Axel Bouteille](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/axel-bouteille/003840/) made a tough baseline jumper, compensating for a rough night during which he made only 2 of his 8 field goal attempts.

Those two baskets gave Bahcesehir a 74-78 lead with 30 seconds to go, before Smith sealed the deal from the foul line.

“Credit to our team, we fought well to get back in it,” Smith said. “It just speaks of the character of our team.”

Because of the fight, energy and character, now all roads to the EuroCup Finals lead through Istanbul, where Bahcesehir is 8-0.

Thanks to a change of approach in the second half, Bahcesehir rallied from 18 points down on the road

Trefl Sopot v Bahcesehir College Istanbul (2025-01-15T18:00:00.000Z)

Dreamland Gran Canaria-Joventut Badalona | Round 15 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup   

Fenerbahce Beko scored a season-high 96 points in its 91-96 win at KK Crvena zvezda to rise up to second in the EuroLeague standings, with offense being central to the team's win.

Red-hot offense carried Fenerbahce past Crvena Zvezda

[Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/ulk/) took a big step towards securing a postseason berth in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague on Wednesday night after sound three-point shooting propelled the competition’s 2017 champion to [a vital 91-96 win at Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/rampant-fenerbahce-earns-big-road-win-at-crvena-zvezda-91-96/), which is a season high in points for Saras Jasikevicius's men.

The result left Fenerbahce second in the standings (following [AS Monaco’s loss at FC Bayern Munich](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/bayern-holds-off-monaco-to-win-thriller-95-94/) a little later on Wednesday) with a 13-7 record while Zvezda slipped to ninth with a 12-9 mark, as a fiercely competitive regular season looks set for a dramatic finale in the battle for postseason spots.

The outcome also produced a third successive victory for Fenerbahce and simultaneously ended Zvezda’s four-game winning streak, with the visitors hitting an impressive 17 of 35 from downtown to silence a fervent home crowd inside Belgrade Arena.

Among a pack of impressive performers, forward [Nigel Hayes-Davis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/nigel-hayes-davis/008962/) stood out with a game-high 27points,s which earned him the player of the game accolade. [Nicolo Melli](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/nicolo-melli/002849/) also sank a season-high 16 points to go with 7 boards.

“We took some steps in the right direction and although I sound like a broken record, the goal in a EuroLeague season is to constantly get better,” Hayes-Davis said in his postgame comments, underscoring the importance of consistency.

“Tonight we did a fantastic job moving and sharing the ball, as that’s something we wanted to work on. We need to work on defense as that’s where we are going to hang our hat on if we want to accomplish anything this year.”

Melli pointed out that it is going to be a thin line between success and failure this season, with a bunch of teams breathing down each other’s necks in the battle to advance into the business end of Europe’s premier club competition.

“We knocked down shots and that allowed us to win the game,” the Italian veteran said. “We wanted to win this game after losing the last one \[against Zvezda at home\] as every game is almost like a final at this stage. Two losses and you’re out of the playoffs; two wins and you’re top of the rankings. We’re happy because we won on a very tough court against a very good team.”

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">Bizimkiler! 💛💙<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YellowLegacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YellowLegacy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroLeague</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ocr6ZAZm6p">pic.twitter.com/Ocr6ZAZm6p</a></p>&mdash; Fenerbahçe Beko (@FBBasketbol) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBBasketbol/status/1879644313858277763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Coach Jasikevicius](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/ulk/jasikevicius-saras/) also praised his team’s smooth offense which generated 22 assists and a mere 6 turnovers, as it also produced 8 steals for Fenerbahce.

“We were fantastic offensively pretty much the whole game,” said the Lithuanian tactician. “Defensively we were good in the second and third quarter but in the end it got a little bit dangerous when they started coming back. Overall, it was a great performance by the boys.”

Zvezda head coach [Ioannis Sfairopoulos](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/crvena-zvezda-meridianbet-belgrade/red/sfairopoulos-ioannis/?season=E2024) conceded that the Serbian side was dismantled by Fenerbahce’s superior offense. “We tried different things in an effort to stop them but they kept finding ways to score,” he said. “Our defense was just not good enough for this type of game.”  

Next up for Fenerbahce is a home game against Zalgiris Kaunas while Zvezda entertains AS Monaco on Friday, with more fascinating basketball in store at the end of the double-round week.

The visiting team thrived from long-range shooting which forced the Serbian side into submission

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2025-01-15T19:00:00.000Z)

Joventut Badalona refuses to give up in its fight for the playoffs as it downed Dreamland Gran Canaria 77-83 on the road to continue its great run of play

Joventut wins again, beats Gran Canaria 77-83 

Joventut Badalona refuses to give up in its fight for the playoffs as it downed Dreamland Gran Canaria 77-83 on the road to continue its great run of play. Joventut took control of the game with a 0-13 third-quarter run for its third win in the last four games in the EuroCup. That takes its record to 6-9 in Group A. Joventut improved to 2-6 on the road as it collected its ninth victory in the last 10 games in the Spanish League and EuroCup combined.

Kassius Robertson and Sam Dekker led the way with 13 points each, Artem Pustovyi had 10 points and 7 rebounds and Devon Dotson chipped in 9 points and 8 assists. Joventut clinched its first win in the EuroCup against its Spanish rivals, having lost in the 2023 semifinals as well as Round 6 this season. Gran Canaria has now lost three of its last four EuroCup games for a 10-5 record. John Shurna finished with 14 points and Mike Tobey had 13 points in the loss.

The game was tight in the early going with Yannick Kraag and Tobey both scoring 5 points for their respective teams as the scoeboard showed 13-13. Gran Canaria had a strong finish to the first quarter with George Conditt scoring 6 points in a 10-2 run over the final nearly 4 minutes to lead 23-15 after 10 minutes.

Joventut stepped up its play in the second quarter with Kaiser Gates and Robertson burying three-pointers to make it 23-21. Dekker scored 6 points and Dotson added 4 in a 4-14 Joventut charge to open a 32-37 advantage. The hosts finished the second quarter strong as well with the final 5 points to send the teams even 37-37 into the break.

Adam Hanga tallied the first 5 points of the second half to make it 37-42 only to have Pierre Pelos and Tobey bury triples at the other end to put Gran Canaria back ahead 45-44. The host’s offense dried up without a point for more than 4 minutes while Kraag and Miye Oni bookended a 0-13 run with three-pointers for a 45-57 lead. A Guillem Vives increased the visitors’ advantage to 48-62, and the score was 50-62 after three quarters.

Another Oni triple opened the final quarter and it was 50-65 for the guests. Gran Canaria could only trade baskets over the next few minutes and it was 58-72 with 6 minutes to go. Mehdy Ngouama cut the game to single digits 63-72 with a three-pointer but Pustovyi and Robertson answered at the other end and it was 63-76 with only 4 minutes to play. Dekker’s corner triple had Joventut up 69-81 with 111 seconds left. Ngouama gave Joventut a scare with 5 quick points to pull within 77-81 with 35 seconds to go. But Robertson iced the game by making 2 free throws with 17 seconds remaining.

Joventut will not give up its playoff chances without a fight 

It depends on who you ask. Was Buducnost VOLI Podgorica lucky to beat Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv on Wednesday night? Or did the Montenegrin champs deserve to win because they were sharper in many "details"? 

Buducnost paired details and luck to defeat Hapoel

It depends on who you ask. Was [Buducnost VOLI Podgorica](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/buducnost-voli-podgorica/roster/bud/?season=2024-25) lucky to beat [Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/teams/hapoel-shlomo-tel-aviv/roster/hta/?season=2024-25) on Wednesday night? Or did the Montenegrin champs deserve to win because they were sharper in many "details"?

Ironically, the man who summed up the game with Buducnost being lucky to claim a come-from-behind [84-83 home win](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/buducnost-rallies-past-hapoel-84-83/) was that team's head coach!

"As you saw, it was a very tough game. Like some of the games this season that we didn’t have luck in the end, today we were lucky in the end," Coach [Andrej Zakelj](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/buducnost-voli-podgorica/bud/zakelj-andrej/?season=U2024) said in the post-game press conference. "I think most important is that with 5 minutes to go, we were behind and the players believed they could win. They showed character, they fought and in the end, it paid off."

In fact, with 8 minutes to go, Buducnost was down 13. With 1 minute to go, Hapoel led by 8 and seemed to have the game wrapped up. But in the final 60 seconds, the hosts did not miss a shot, making 1 three-pointer, 2 two-pointers and 3 free throws. Meanwhile, Hapoel missed 2 field goals and was 1 for 4 from the foul line. If any of the above numbers change, Hapoel wins the game.

"The game was very exciting," Hapoel head coach [Dimitris Itoudis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/hapoel-shlomo-tel-aviv/hta/itoudis-dimitris/?season=U2024) said. "Details decided the game. Congratulations to Buducnost for the win. It could have gone a different way. It could have gone our way. It would have been deserved because we played good basketball. But in the game of basketball, details are very important. Free throws, rebounds, turnovers.

"The fact that we had 17 turnovers and we allowed them to stay in the game in the first half with 9 offensive boards and scoring out of that 15 points, that’s too much."

There is a reason Itoudis harped on those three stats. Hapoel outperformed Buducnost in most other areas and had a team PIR of 94 compared to Buducnost’s 86. But on free throws, Buducnost was 85 percent (17 of 20), while Hapoel was 62.5% (10 of 16).

[Yam Madar](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/yam-madar/011052/) entered the game shooting 95% for the season (19 for 20) before missing twice, including once in the final minute. [Ish Wainright](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/ishmail-carzell-wainright/013284/), who missed the other 2 late free throws for Hapoel, hadn’t missed multiple foul shots in a game since Round 2.

Meanwhile, [Fletcher Magee](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/fletcher-magee/012630/), the player [Patrick Beverley](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/patrick-beverley/001927/) fouled in the closing seconds who made the game-winning free throws for Buducnost, is his team’s best foul shooting at 94.3% (33 for 35) on the season.

Buducnost’s rebounding advantage at first seems marginal, 29-28. But the home team grabbed 12 offensive boards – including 5 from [Alen Omic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/alen-omic/004222/) – and had 19 second-chance points. Hapoel had just 8 offensive rebounds and 11 second-chance points.

And finally turnovers. Hapoel’s 17 were 4 more than Buducnost. And Buducnost’s 15 points off turnovers were 5 more than Hapoel had.

Add it all up and you get a sweet victory for Buducnost. And a long trip home for Hapoel, which will have to go to work on the details.

Free throws, rebounds and turnovers were key in Podgorica 

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica v Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv (2025-01-15T18:00:00.000Z)

FC Bayern Munich guard Carsen Edwards spoke to EuroLeague TV after his team beat AS Monaco in Round 21 of the 2024-25 EuroLeague season.

Carsen Edwards: 'Shout-out to Nick Weiler-Babb with the big stop'

FC Bayern Munich guard Carsen Edwards spoke to EuroLeague TV after his team beat AS Monaco in Round 21 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

Dreamland Gran Canaria-Joventut Badalona | Round 15 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup

Carsen Edwards: 'Shout-out to Nick Weiler-Babb with the big stop'

FC Bayern Munich-AS Monaco | RS Round 21 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague