Joventut and Trento still unbeaten in the Eurocup
This week the showdown between the only unbeaten co-leaders of any group, Virtus Segafredo Bologna vs. AS Monaco on Wednesday, highlights the fourth round of the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season on Tuesday and Wednesday. The winner will join Joventut Badalona and Dolomiti Energia Trento, which both won on Tuesday to become the first teams to climb to 4-0 this season.
Group A
Joventut Badalona remained unbeaten after pulling away in the second half for a 92-78 home victory over Umana Reyer Venice. Vladimir Brodziansky paced six Joventut scorers in double figures with a career-high 15 points for Joventut, which improved to 4-0. Ante Tomic tallied 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists and Nenad Dimitrijevic also scored 14. Reyer dropped to 1-2 despite Stefano Tonut and Andrea De Nicolao both scoring 13 points.
Partizan NIS Belgrade rebounded from a tough loss in Round 3 to fend off Bahcesehir Koleji Istanbul 76-82 on the road. Codi Miller-McIntyre collected 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to lead Partizan, which improved to 2-2. Bahcesehir dropped to 0-4 despite Erick Green tallying 23 points.
JL Bourg en Bresse’s Round 4 home game against UNICS Kazan (2-1) will not take place as scheduled due to the former having multiple players who tested positive for COVID-19.
Group B
Boulogne Metropolitans 92 snatched its second straight win by shaking off short-handed Mornar Bar 78-65 on Tuesday. The hosts led from start to finish in taking their record to 2-2 while dropping Mornar to the same. Rob Gray amassed 16 points and Vitalis Chikoko added 14 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks to lift Metropolitans. Jacob Pullen led the Mornar attack with 22 points.
On Wednesday, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (2-1) and its guest, ratiopharm Ulm (1-2), seek to put Round 3 defeats in the past. Buducnost features the top EuroCup assist-maker so far in Justin Cobbs, but he’ll have to deal with the second-ranked stealer, John Petrucelli of Ulm.
Group B finishes with a potentially pivotal game as Unicaja Malaga (2-1) spends its third home game already on a visit from Germani Brescia (1-2), which is aiming for its first road win. Alberto Diaz ranks third in assists and steals for Unicaja.
Group C
The first of three Wednesday games in this group provides a golden opportunity for Lietkabelis Panevezys (0-3) or Telenet Giants Antwerp (0-3) to pierce the win column. Antwerp features blocked shots co-leader Ibrahim Faye.
On Wednesday, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar (2-1) hosts MoraBanc Andorra (1-2) in a first-time meeting between familiar EuroCup teams. Lokomotiv’s Alan Williams was last week’s MVP and leads all EuroCup rebounders with 11.7 boards per game.
And in a marquee matchup later on Wednesday, two unbeaten teams, Virtus Segafredo Bologna (3-0) and AS Monaco (3-0), face off with first place hanging in the balance. Point guards Milos Teodosic of Virtus and Dee Bost of Monaco will lead their teams in what promises to be a super showdown.
Group D
Dolomiti Energia Trento dominated Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 61-52 at BLM Group Arena on Tuesday night to remain unbeaten and atop the group with four wins from as many games. The hosts displayed terrific defense, holding the visitors to just 34 points in the first three quarters. Cedevita dropped to 1-2. Gary Browne tallied 14 points and 7 assists and JaCorey Williams posted a double-double for the winners. Kendrick Perry scored 13 in defeat.
On Wednesday, a tie will be broken when Promitheas Patras (1-2) and Nanterre 92 (1-2) lock horns in Greece. Top scorers Ian Miller for Promitheas and Isaia Cordineir, both averaging 16.0 points or more, face off in that one.
To finish the group’s Round 4 action, Frutti Extra Bursaspor (1-2) hosts Herbalife Gran Canaria (2-1) for the first time ever. Bursaspor needs to avoid a third home loss in as many tries, while Gran Canaria aims to stay in second place at least despite its third road game already.