Joventut beats Trento for fourth straight win

Joventut Badalona grabbed its fourth consecutive win in Group A by downing Dolomiti Energia Trento 82-65 at home on Tuesday. Joventut improved to 8-2 in the standings while Trento fell to 1-9. Vladimir Brodziansky led the winners with 21 points, Brandon Paul added 14 and Ante Tomic had 10 for Joventut. Johnathan Williams paced Trento with 15 points and Diego Flaccadori and Cameron Reynolds each added 11 for the visitors. Joel Parra shined early and got help from the entire Joventut frontcourt to give the hosts a double-digit margin, 24-11, after 10 minutes. Tomic, Paul and Brodziansky soon helped Joventut boost the margin to 43-24 at halftime. Williams stepped up after the break and Toto Forray and Flaccadori brought Trento within single digits, 56-48, at the end of the third quarter. The guests kept their chances open for the best part of the fourth quarter but Brodziansky buried three consecutive three-pointers to seal the outcome down the stretch.

Ferran Bassas got Joventut going with a three-pointer and Pep Busquets matched Diego Flaccadori's floater with a backdoor layup for a 5-2 lead. Parra found his first points and Derek Willis added a couple of layups, but Andrea Mezzanotte and Reynolds each hit a triple to make it 14-8. Tomic scored down low and Brodziansly buried his trademark jump hook to make it a double-digit game, 18-8. Paul and Toto Forray each struck from beyond the arc and then Simon Birgander dunked to fix the score at 24-11 after 10 minutes.

Paul followed a six-meter jumper with a triple to break the game open, 29-11, early in the second quarter. Reynolds answered from downtown and Maximilian Ladurner erased Andres Feliz's floater with a dunk that kept Trento within 31-16. Birgander hit a jump hook and Parra added an off-balance turnaround jumper for a 35-16 Joventut lead. Williams stepped up with a driving layup and Flaccadori scored in the low post, but Tomic kept the hosts comfortably ahead, 39-20. Joventut kept connecting with its big men and Tomic and Brodziansky gave their team a 43-24 cushion at halftime.

Williams followed a close basket with a floater and Flaccadori added a driving layup to get Trento a bit closer, 45-30, after the break. Paul and Brodziansky rescued Joventut with back-to-back three-pointers and Flaccadori also struck from downtown to make it 51-33. Williams kept pushing Trento with consecutive layups and a three-point play, giving the visitors hope at 53-40. DeSonta Bradford hit a mid-range jumper and Forray added a driving layup, but Parra and Feliz set a 56-44 Joventut margin. Forray and Flaccadori brought their team within single digits, 56-48, after 30 minutes.

Albert Ventura downed a corner three-pointer early in the fourth quarter. Forray quickly answered with a floater that Tomic matched with a layup. Ventura bettered Reynolds's floater with his second triple and Willis dunked, but Ladurner kept Trento within 66-56 with under 6 minutes remaining. Reynolds improved Paul's layup with a bomb from beyond the arc. Brodziansky gave Joventut plenty of fresh air at 70-59. Bradford took over with a wild one-handed slam and soon added a tip-in. However, Brodziansky struck three times from downtown to seal the outcome, 80-65, already in the final minute.

Joventut's first-half defense makes the difference

Joventut Badalona cruised to its eighth victory in Group A by downing Dolomiti Energia Trento 82-65 in Round 10. Joventut sealed the deal with an outstanding first half; it led 43-24 at halftime. Joventut held its opponents to just 5-of-17 shooting on two-point shots (29.4% 2FG) and 4-of-17 on three-pointers (23.5% 3FG), while pulling down 19 defensive rebounds and only allowing Trento to get 5 offensive boards. Despite missing its last three shots inside the arc, Joventut made 14 of 21 two-point attempts (66.7% 2FG) before the break. The teams' PIR at halftime said it all: Joventut had 61 and Trento was limited to just 18.

Joventut relies on its frontcourt

Joventut Badalona grabbed another win in Group A, defeating Dolomiti Energia Trento 82-65 at Palau Olimpic de Badalona in Round 10. Joventut relied on its frontcourt to make the difference in this game. Vladimir Brodziansky scored 11 of his 19 points in the final 3 minutes to seal the outcome down the stretch. Ante Tomic had 10 points and 5 assists, while Derek Willis and Simon Birgander each got 6 points. The four players combined for 41 points, half of Joventut's score in this game. At halftime, Tomic, Brodziansky, Willis and Birgander combined for 21 points on 10-of-14 two-point shooting (71.4%) as Joventut amassed 11 assists before the break.

Brodziansky remains on fire

Another 7DAYS EuroCup round, another chance for Joventut Badalona power forward Vladimir Brodziansky to showcase his skills. Brodziansky led Joventut to an 82-65 home victory against Dolomiti Energia Trento. He finished the game with 21 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting plus 4 rebounds for a PIR of 22, all in less than 19 minutes on the court. In the last three games against Slask Wroclaw, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar and Trento, Brodziansky has averaged 27.0 points on outstanding shooting percentages (65.5% 2FG, 41.2% 3FG, 88.0% FT), 4.7 rebounds and a PIR of 29.0. For the season, Brodziansky has been worth 15.2 points and a PIR of 17.3 in less than 22 minutes per night.