Double-double for Nikola Tanaskovic as Buducnost beats Turk Telekom and climbs the standings
Close game turns in Buducnost’s favor
Buducnost pulled away late to beat Turk Telekom 91-81 in Podgorica in Round 12 of the EuroCup. The match was tightly contested from the tip — the first half finished tied 44-44 and neither side could open up much in the third. Buducnost closed the third quarter stronger and then extended the lead early in the fourth, with a key stretch when Skylar Mays hit a two and followed with a free throw to make it 73-69. Turk Telekom couldn’t recover after that and Buducnost held on for the win.
The hosts were missing Juwan Morgan, while the visitors were without Andrejs Grazulis. With the victory Buducnost improved to 8-4 in Group B, leapfrogging Turk Telekom (7-5) in the standings.
Standouts, scores and what’s next
Nikola Tanaskovic finished with a strong all-around performance, posting a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Rasheed Sulaimon led the scoring for Buducnost with 25 points. For Turk Telekom, Jaleen Smith scored 18 and Kyle Allman added 17.
Other EuroCup results from the night included Bahcesehir 105-68 Hamburg, Cluj-Napoca 94-92 Slask Wroclaw, Bourg 81-79 Panionios and Hapoel Jerusalem 105-69 Manresa. There were also a few standout highlight plays, including a slick assist-to-finish sequence from Dogus Ozdemiroglu to Kris Bankston that got the crowd going.
Buducnost travel to Panionios on January 7, while Turk Telekom will host Trento on the same day. Several coaches and players have spoken this week about their season goals and ambitions, with interviews touching on team targets and hopes to compete at higher levels in the near future.
