By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Valencia is back in the BKT EuroCup, and the Spanish side looks eager to make it all the way.
After their opening win over Hapoel Jerusalem, Pedro Martinez’s side dominated Hamburg in the final 14 minutes for a convincing 105-78 victory.
Former Baskonia center Matt Costello led the way with 23 points, while Stefan Jović and Brancou Badio added 14 points each. Jean Montero recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists.
As for Hamburg, which held its ground until the last period, Brae Ivey had 19 points, Jaizec Lottie followed with 14, while Kur Kuath scored 12 and Jordan Barnett added 10 points.
Dreamland Gran Canaria led 63-75 with five minutes to go in regulation, but a late resurgence by the hosts saw the game head to overtime. In the extra period, the 2023 BKT EuroCup champion secured an 86-89 triumph on a John Shurna corner three-pointer with 17 seconds on the clock.
Caleb Homesley led the guests in Podgorica with 23 points, joined by Nicolas Brussino (11 points) and Miquel Salvo (10). Rasheed Sulaimon led Budućnost with 16 points, while Juwan Morgan added 15, and Fletcher Magee and Kenan Kamenja chipped in with 12 apiece.
Türk Telekom improved to 2-0 with a 63-68 road win against Aris, as Anthony Brown led the scoring charts with 17 points, while Vasileios Charalampopoulos added 15, Ismet Akpınar 13, and Kyle Alexander completed a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
On the other side, Josh Roberts was on the verge of a double-double with 14 points and nine boards, while Landers Nolley followed with 13, and David DeJulius added 12 points.
Last season’s finalists, JL Bourg, also notched a second victory, this time at home, by taking down Cluj-Napoca 84-73, handing the Romanian team their second defeat.
Xavier Castaneda stood out for the winning side with 18 points, while Sasu Salin’s 18 and Zach Hankins’ 17 points weren’t enough for Cluj to secure their first win.
Trento got back to winning after losing the opener to Gran Canaria, thanks to an 84-78 home win over Trefl Sopot, with Jordan Ford leading the charge by scoring 20 points.
For the guests, Aaron Best and Jakub Schenk scored 16 points each, Marcus Weathers added 15 with eight rebounds, while Tarik Phillip reached a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists – but it wasn’t enough.
BKT EuroCup 2024-25 – Round 1
Group A
Bahcesehir College Istanbul – Besiktas Fibabanka Istanbul 87-66
ratiopharm Ulm – Joventut Badalona 87-83
Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv – Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius 89-84
Buducnost VOLI Podgorica – Dreamland Gran Canaria 86-89 OT
Dolomiti Energia Trento – Trefl Sopot 84-78
Standings
- Bahcesehir 2-0
- Ulm 2-0
- Gran Canaria 2-0
- Trento 2-0
- Hapoel Tel Aviv 1-1
- Joventut 1-1
- Besiktas 1-1
- Trefl Sopot 0-2
- Wolves 0-2
- Buducnost 0-2
Group B
7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys – Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 74-94
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana – Umana Reyer Venice 87-82
Aris Midea Thessaloniki – Turk Telekom Ankara 63-68
Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse – U-BT Cluj-Napoca 84-73
Valencia Basket – Veolia Towers Hamburg 105-78
Standings
- Valencia 2-0
- JL Bourg 2-0
- Cedevita Olimpija 2-0
- Turk Telekom 2-0
- Venice 1-1
- Hapoel Jerusalem 1-1
- Cluj-Napoca 0-2
- Aris 0-2
- Lietkabelis 0-2
- Hamburg 0-2