Name: Mike James: 'It's a great way for us to start the season'
Channel: Euroleague Basketball

Mike James spoke to the EuroLeague TV cameras after AS Monaco Basket beat Maccabi Tel Aviv BC 85-79 in Round 3 of the 2024-25 EuroLeague season.

Mike James: 'It's a great way for us to start the season'

Mike James spoke to the EuroLeague TV cameras after AS Monaco beat Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 85-79 in Round 3 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

AS Monaco v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2024-10-09T17:00:00.000Z)

Trefl Sopot-Joventut Badalona | Round 3 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup   

Trefl Sopot v Joventut Badalona (2024-10-09T17:00:00.000Z)

Joventut Badalona grabbed its first road win of the 2024-25 EuroCup season by beating Trefl Sopot 73-78 in Round 3.

Joventut subdues Trefl, 73-78, clinching first road win 

Joventut Badalona improved its BKT EuroCup Group A record to 2-1 after a scrappy 78-73 win at Trefl Sopot in Round 3, with Kassius Robertson leading the way for the Spanish side as he racked up 20 points and 6 assists.

Devon Dotson added 18 points and 6 boards for Joventut, Kaiser Gates chipped in with 14 points and Adam Hanga scored 12 to underline a fine team effort. At the other end, Tarik Phillip paced Trefl with a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds and Andy Van Vliet added 15 points, but Trefl’s duo lacked support from their teammates.

Trefl, which dropped to 0-3, raced into an 11-4 advantage early on and led 18-13 in the closing stages of the first quarter, before Robertson sank a treble of three-pointers in a row to turn the tide. A tight battle followed, with the lead changing hands several times before Dotson gave the visitors a 37-40 halftime lead with a buzzer-beating triple off the glass from the halfway line.

Phillip, who scored 10 points in the opening half, kept firing on all cylinders at both ends in the third quarter while Robertson’s firepower dried up, allowing Trefl to conjure a 12-0 run and take its biggest lead of the game, 51-43.

It seemed the Polish side was on its way to grinding out a first regular season win but Dotson had other ideas, draining a long triple to complete a 4-15 run and once again turn the match on its head. Trefl then launched one last onslaught to lead 71-70 in the home straight but the hosts then ran out of steam, allowing Joventut to force the final twist.

Game News

Cool free-throw shooting in the final minute saw the visitors have the last laugh in a physical rollercoaster, and the outcome delighted Robertson, who was held to 5 points in the second half.

“My teammates picked me up in the second half and we did what we had to do,” he said in a courtside interview. “We got our first road win and it’s a big one for us. Our offensive rebounds late in the game were huge and we got some second chance point off them. Those are game breakers."

Joventut head coach Dani Miret was equally pleased. “It’s a great victory for us,” he said. “We have a lot of talented players but we are a new team and this kind of game will really help us improve. Our big guys struggled a little bit today, but in the end we hit some open shots. I am really happy the way we worked together.”

The Spanish side prevailed in a tense finish thanks to cool free-throw shooting 

Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem-Veolia Towers Hamburg | Round 3 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup   

Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem v Veolia Towers Hamburg (2024-10-09T17:00:00.000Z)

AS Monaco-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 2 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Donta Hall tries to dunk but Joel Bolomboy stops him with a dunk!

 Bolomboy stops Hall! Motorola Magic Moment 

 Donta Hall tries to dunk but Joel Bolomboy stops him with a dunk!

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade v Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (2024-10-09T18:00:00.000Z)

Ford fired a pass to Cale, who denotated a two-handed dunk on the break!

Cale explodes to the rim in transition! Magic Moment

 Ford fired a pass to Cale, who denotated a two-handed dunk on the break!

Dolomiti Energia Trento v Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (2024-10-09T18:00:00.000Z)

Hapoel Jerusalem improved to a 2-1 record in this year's EuroCup after beating the Hamburg Towers, who remain winless, 89-74 in Round 3.

Jerusalem pulls away in fourth against pesky Hamburg, 89-74

Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem picked up its second straight victory in Group B as it defeated Veolia Towers Hamburg 89-74 in Samokov, Bulgaria, on Wednesday night. The game was closer than the final result indicated as Hamburg fought tough until the Israeli side put the game away with a 19-5 fourth quarter run for a 2-1 record. Hamburg, meanwhile, is still looking for its first win at 0-3.

Jared Harper led the way with 19 points and 6 assists, Yovel Zoosman scored 14 points, Austin Wiley picked up 12 points and 17 rebounds, and Speedy Smith added 10 points and 5 assists. Jerusalem grabbed 25 offensive rebounds to set a new club record. Hamburg’s Jaizec Lottie tallied 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in the defeat. The visitors gave up just 89 points after its opponents had averaged 102.5 points in the first two games.

Jerusalem started the game with the first 8 points, including two three-pointers with Hamburg needing two minutes before it could score – hitting a triple of its own. Five points from Kenneth Ogbe pulled Hamburg to within 10-8. The home side pulled ahead 16-10 and was leading 21-18 after 10 minutes.

The hosts were missing shots but getting offensive rebounds, and they scored the first 8 points of the second quarter to lead 29-18. Hamburg did not make it to the scoreboard for more than three minutes. Jordan Barnett hit two three-pointers and Camron Reece had two baskets as Hamburg trimmed the margin to 39-36. Jerusalem weathered the storm and led 46-37 at the break.

Hamburg once again struggled out of the gates to start the quarter and Jerusalem increased the lead to 13 points, 50-37, with the first four points of the second half. Hamburg didn’t score until more than three minutes had been played, as it got three-pointers from Brae Ivey and Lottie to trim it to 50-43. Lottie added another triple and the deficit was just 58-54, with Jerusalem’s lead being 59-54 after 30 minutes.

Early in the final frame, Barnett buried a triple for Hamburg and the hosts were within 61-57. Jerusalem responded and put the game to bed with a 19-5 run thanks to Yovel Zoosman hitting two three-pointers and converting a three-point play to make it 80-62 with under five minutes to play. Hamburg could not get closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

The Israeli side were dominant on the glass, grabbing 25 offensive boards

Luka Mitrovic connects with Dejan Davidovac for a two-handed dunk!

 Davidovac throws it down! Motorola Magic Moment 

 Luka Mitrovic connects with Dejan Davidovac for a two-handed dunk!

Monaco fights to edge Maccabi, 85-79

AS Monaco edging visiting Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 85-79 in the Round 2 opener on Wednesday to improve to 2-0 after two home games. The loss dropped Maccabi to 1-1 on the young season. The visitors had control in the first half and led 23-33 in the second quarter, but the hosts halved that deficit before halftime. In the third quarter, a 19-6 spurt fueled by Donatas Motiejunas put Monaco up for good. 

Mike James led the winners with 17 points and 6 assists, while Elie Okobo scored all of his 17 points in the second half. Motiejunas scored 9 of his 11 points in a key third-quarter run and Georgios Papagiannis collected 10 points and 7 rebounds. Jordan Loyd paced Maccabi with 16 points and Jaylen Hoard had 13 points and 7 rebounds. Jasiel Rivero also scored 13, Levi Randolph had 10 and Tamir Blatt dished 10 assists in defeat.

Game Videos

Monaco's protagonists in the early going were Mam Jaiteh and Matthew Strazel, but Blatt dished 4 assists for, mostly, easy buckets for Maccabi, including a fastbreak dunk for Hoard and a 9-14 lead. James netted back-to-back triples and a pair of baskets inside from Georgios Papagiannis made it 19-15. But after that Monaco 10-1 run, Maccabi had a strong finish to the quarter with Rokas Jokubaitis sinking a pair of jumpers to give the visitors 21-23 lead after 10 minutes.

Roman Sorkin opened the second quarter with a three and Jokubaitis had a runner to make it 21-28. A transition three-pointer from Loyd opened a 23-33 margin with 6:39 left in the half. But then James started pulling all the Monaco strings: he sank a triple and then set up Jaiteh and Motiejunas for layups. Strazel and Blatt traded threes before two more baskets from James cut the deficit to 37-40. However, Loyd and Jokubaitis made sure the visitors kept a 41-46 lead at halftime.

Maccabi opened the second half with a big dunk from Hoard, but Motiejunas got Monaco going, scoring 9 points in a 10-2 run - including a corner triple - and giving Monaco a 53-52 lead. A jumper from Okobo and a triple from Blossomgame opened 60-54 advantage. Maccabi stopped the bleeding through Rivero from close range and John DiBartolomeo from long range, but Okobo's three-pointer made it 65-60 after three quarters.

A jumper from Okobo and a triple from Blossomgame gave the hosts their first double-digit lead of the night, 70-60, early in the fourth. Maccabi quickly halved the deficit behind Blatt, and got within 72-69 after Blatt fed Rivero for a layup. Okobo kept Monaco in front, but Loyd and Rivero kept getting Maccabi within 3 points, with Rivero making a shot-clock beating tip from 3 meters away. But Okobo's three put Monaco up 83-77 in the penultimate minute and the hosts prevailed for their second win of the season.

Guards Mike James and Elie Okobo combined for 34 points to pace the winners

Kamar Baldwin somehow finds Donta Hall for a one-handed slam!

Baldwin finds Hall! Motorola Magic Moment

Kamar Baldwin somehow finds Donta Hall for a one-handed slam! 

 Inbounding the ball with 0.2 seconds on the shot-clock, Rivero makes a bucket you do not see often, if ever!

Improbable volleyball buzzer-beater by Rivero! Motorola Magic Moment 

  Inbounding the ball with 0.2 seconds on the shot-clock, Rivero makes a bucket you do not see often, if ever!

Speedy Smith delivers a sweet bounce pass assist to Austin Wiley for the dunk.

Speedy Smith with the beautiful dish! Magic Moment 

Valencia Basket set a new EuroCup record by hitting 20 three-pointers in its win at U-BT Cluj-Napoca in Round 3 of the 2024-25 EuroCup season.

Valencia tied all-time EuroCup record for made three-pointers in Round 3 triumph

Valencia Basket remained undefeated in Group B by [downing U-BT Cluj-Napoca 96-105 in Round 3](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/valencia-stays-perfect-after-storming-comeback-win-at-cluj-96-105/), tying an all-time BKT EuroCup record in the process.

The Spanish side buried 20 three-pointers on the night, becoming the third time to do so in competition history. UNICS Kazan was the first team to reach that mark, burying 20 three-pointers in a 101-76 home win against Besiktas Fibabank Istanbul on November 24, 2009. Most recently, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne also made three-pointers in a triple-overtime instant classic against Dreamland Gran Canaria, grabbing a 128-129 victory on December 27, 2017.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">𝙍𝙀𝘾𝙊𝙍𝘿 🧡 Los 20 triples anotados hoy son récord, no sólo de nuestra historia <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroCup?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroCup</a>, sino de los 5️⃣1️⃣1️⃣ partidos europeos de la historia del Valencia Basket 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/Xabi6lopez?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Xabi6lopez</a> 🔥🔥🔥🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/brancoupapi99?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@brancoupapi99</a> 🔥🔥🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/jeanmontero03?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jeanmontero03</a> 🔥🔥🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/semi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@semi</a> 🔥🔥 Puerto 🔥🔥… <a href="https://t.co/hscjSuu7Ws">pic.twitter.com/hscjSuu7Ws</a>&mdash; Valencia Basket Club (@valenciabasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/valenciabasket/status/1844082729555468422?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 9, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Xabi Lopez-Arostegui](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/xabi-lopez-arostegui/005356/) buried 6-of-8 shots from downtown, including one at the buzzer, which allowed Valencia to set a new club – and EuroCup – record. Its best mark until tonight were the 19 three-pointers it hit in a 98-52 victory against Paris Levallois on November 19, 2013. Those 6 three-pointers made are also a career high for Lopez-Arostegui, who also had a personal-best PIR of 29.

"I think we were more focused and played with more pride in the second half to push from our offense and kept running," Lopez-Arostegui said. "In the end, we got the win because we played harder, like they did in the beginning, and scored the last shots." 

In addition to the 6 triples converted by Lopez-Arostegui, [Brancou Badio](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/brancou-badio/007527/) struck 4 times from beyond the arc, [Jean Montero](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/jean-montero/010042/) and [Semi Ojeleye](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/semi-ojeleye/011982/) each hit 3 three-pointers, and [Josep Puerto](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/josep-puerto/006643/) and [Matt Costello](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/matthew-costello/010444/) sank 2 apiece.

Valencia buried 20 three-pointers, becoming the third time to do so in competition history.

Valencia hits 20 threes, ties EuroCup record

Cluj led 42-25 midway through the fourth quarter and kept a 52-44 margin at halftime, outrebounding Valencia 23-11 until then. Valencia hit 12 second-half three-pointers, going 8 of 10 from downtown in the fourth quarter to complete a comeback victory.

"I think they played much better than us for a lot of minutes, with more energy and a better defense but we had good personality, shooting three-pointers with Matt Costello, with Xavi \[Lopez-Arostegui\]," Valencia head coach Pedro Martinez said afterward. "A lot of players believed that we could win and we have to be happy for this, but we have to think about what happened in the moments when we played with less energy than the other team."

Valencia outrebounded Cluj 13-18 in the second half and had 13 second-half assists compared to Cluj's 7. Its 105 points also tied for its third-best scoring mark in EuroCup history. Valencia had scored 108 points twice: against Ostend on November 12, 2002 (80-108) and against EWE Baskets Oldenburg on January 13, 2016 (89-108). Remember, Valencia scored 105 points against Veolia Hamburg Towers in Round 2 last week, too.

"If you look at a simple stats sheet, you will see that they scored 20 threes with 50% \[shooting\], something unbelievable," Cluj head coach Mihai Silvasan commented after the game. "They came into this game with very bad percentages, but we know they have valuable players that can score. This is something unbelievable for any team at any level, and I think that made the difference in the second half."

Pedro Martinez's squad lit it up from deep to complete their comeback at Cluj

Valencia tied EuroCup record for three-pointers in Round 3 triumph

U-BT Cluj-Napoca v Valencia Basket (2024-10-09T16:00:00.000Z)

U-BT Cluj-Napoca-Valencia Basket | Round 3 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup   

Niang with a clever pass for Mawugbe, who throws down the slam!

Mawugbe dunks with force! Magic Moment

 Niang with a clever pass for Mawugbe, who throws down the slam!

Benedikt Turudic goes up but Chris Johnson recovers with a massive block.
 

What a block by Johnson, Magic Moment

 Benedikt Turudic goes up but Chris Johnson recovers with a massive block.
 

Valencia Basket rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat U-BT Cluj-Napoca 96-105 in Round 3 of the 2024-25 EuroCup season on Wednesday.


Valencia stays perfect after storming comeback win at Cluj, 96-105

Valencia Basket rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat U-BT Cluj-Napoca 96-105 on the road in Round 3 of the 2024-25 BKT EuroCup season on Wednesday. Valencia improved to 3-0 and is one of three undefeated teams in Group B, along with Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse and Turk Telekom Ankara. Cluj dropped to 0-3.

Semi Ojeleye and Xabi Lopez-Arostegui paced the winners with 22 points apiece. Brancou Badio added 14, Jean Montero had 13 while Jaime Pradilla got 11 for Valencia, which tied an all-time BKT EuroCup record by hitting 20 three-pointers. De'Shawn Stephens led Cluj with 17 points. D.J. Seeley and Adam Mokoka each added 15, Zavier Simpson had 13 and Sasu Salin 12.

Mareks Mejeris got Cluj going with a layup and Seeley added a jumper for a 4-3 lead. Lopez-Arostegui and Badio each struck from downtown to give Valencia a 4-9 margin. After Salin buried back-to-back triples, Lopez-Arostegui insisted from beyond the arc. Simpson's stop-and-pop jumper tied it at 12-12. Badio sank his second three-pointer and Montero erased Zach Hankins's jump hook with a step-back jumper. Mokoka stepped up with consecutive baskets and then Karel Guzman's floater put Cluj back ahead, 20-19. Stevens followed an alley-oop layup with a jump hook for a 24-19 Cluj lead after 10 minutes.

Stephens capped a 13-0 run with a three-point play early in the second quarter. Pradilla stepped up with a layup-plus-foul, Stephens scored again and Guzman hit a three-pointer in transition that prompted Valencia to call timeout at 32-22. Badio banked in a three-pointer but Seeley, Simpson and Mejeris boosted Cluj's lead to 42-25. Ojeleye and Lopez-Arostegui each scored in penetration before Salin and Montero traded triples. Stephens's tip-in restored a 47-32 Cluj margin. Ojeleye struck from downtown, Ethan Happ scored down low and Lopez-Arostegui brought Valencia within 47-39. Ojeleye kept pacing Valencia but Mokoka kept Cluj in charge, 52-44, at halftime.

Seeley buried a floater shortly after the break, which Ojeleye erased with a power layup. Simpson took over with a wild driving layup and Stephens scored around the basket for a 58-48 Cluj cushion. After Stephens and Badio traded coast-to-coast layups, Patrick Richards finished a great Cluj offense with a corner triple. Ojeleye kept trying to change things for the visitors and Badio buried a triple to give his team hope at 63-58. Stefan Jovic scored off a steal to cap a 0-10 run. Kevin Hervey rescued Cluj with a three-pointer. Guzman stopped the show with a huge dunk and Richards added a three-point play, but Lopez-Arostegui and Montero drew Valencia within 75-70 after 30 minutes.

Costello struck from beyond the arc early in the fourth quarter and Pradilla's tip-in tied it at 75-75. Seeley hit a three-pointer but so did Montero and Lopez-Arostegui to complete Valencia's comeback, 78-84. Salin and Seeley each buried a three-pointer to tie it again, 84-84, with over 6 minutes left. Costello also downed a triple, then Ojeleye gave Valencia fresh air at 84-90. Mokoka and Guzman each scored in penetration, then Josep Puerto sank back-to-back three-pointers for a 90-96 score. Jovic found Pradilla for a Fastbreak layup and Ojeleye restored a 94-100 Valencia edge with 1:09 left. Montero sealed the outcome with a layup, as Cluj never recovered.

The visitors trailed after each of the first three quarters, but a strong fourth quarter saw Pedro Martinez's men grab the victory