Chase for better position in standings starts in Hamburg

The senior squad of Cedevita Olimpija is heading into an important road game in the fight for positioning in the standings ahead of the start of the playoffs. As part of Round 17 of the BKT EuroCup regular season, the Ljubljana side will face Veolia Towers Hamburg on the road. The game will be broadcast live on Šport TV 1.

Two extremely important road games await the senior squad of Cedevita Olimpija in the BKT EuroCup. The Dragons, who have already secured their place in the competition’s playoffs, will be looking to gain the best possible position ahead of the knockout stage in Hamburg and Wroclaw, where they will face teams that no longer have a chance of advancing to the playoffs. The first test comes on Thursday, when they will take the court in Hamburg at 7:30 PM, aiming to record their eleventh win of the regular season.

Cedevita Olimpija still has a chance to finish first or second in Group A, but a look at the standings shows what a challenge lies ahead for the team led by head coach Zvezdan Mitrović, as they will not be dependent solely on themselves in this scenario.

At the top of the standings is Hapoel Jerusalem with 12 wins and four losses. They are followed in second place by Bahçeşehir, who have one win fewer, while Manresa and Cedevita Olimpija are next, both with ten wins. Due to a better head-to-head record, the Spanish side has the advantage in this matchup. Umana Reyer sit in fifth place with nine wins, while Cluj-Napoca are sixth with eight. Neptunas and Aris follow the Romanian team, both with seven wins.

The Dragons could climb to the top of the standings if they record two wins in their final two games, while Hapoel and Bahçeşehir fail to win any of their remaining regular-season games, and Manresa win only once. Second place is also well within reach if Hapoel win at least once in their final two games, but in that case the Ljubljana side would need to finish the regular season with more wins than Bahçeşehir and Manresa, who hold a better head-to-head record against the Dragons.

Fortunately, the ankle injury suffered by Thomas Kennedy in Sunday’s game against Ilirija did not leave any lasting consequences—on Monday and Tuesday, ahead of the trip to Hamburg, he trained normally with the rest of his teammates. After a metacarpal injury that kept him off the court for nearly two months, Cameron Houindo has now returned to full training, although he is training with the U18 team preparing for the adidas Next Gen tournament, which will take place in Ulm from Friday to Sunday. Ognjen Jaramaz continues his rehabilitation following a calf muscle injury.

TV BROADCAST:

The television broadcast of the Round 17 BKT EuroCup game against Hamburg will be available on Šport TV 1. Studio coverage will begin at 6:45 PM.

PRE-GAME STATEMENTS:

“I expect a very difficult game. Anyone who follows basketball can see that Hamburg is a team that started the season very poorly, but in the recent period they have recorded five consecutive wins against quality opponents in the EuroCup and the German league. Hamburg are in good rhythm, and it’s also clear that they have changed players, which has certainly brought results. Our opponents always play in the same system, regardless of whether they are on a winning or losing streak, and our task is to stop them. They are a fast, athletic, physical team, which we could also see in the first head-to-head game. If we respond to their aggressive play and the confidence they have gained during this winning streak, we can hope for a victory,” said Cedevita Olimpija head coach Zvezdan Mitrović ahead of the trip to Hamburg.

“We are aware that a very important game awaits us in Hamburg. We are going on the road to do our job and secure home-court advantage in the playoffs, which we know is also very important. We are definitely highly motivated. We know that Hamburg have loud fan support on their home court. We have to fight, stay together, and record a win,” said DJ Stewart after the final training session in Ljubljana.

GAME PREVIEW:

Cedevita Olimpija travel to face Hamburg, a team that entered the 2025/26 season very cautiously and suffered a total of 19 consecutive losses across the EuroCup and the German league. However, in recent weeks the team from Germany’s second-largest city has shown a completely different face—ahead of the clash with Cedevita Olimpija, Hamburg have recorded five consecutive victories, defeating Ulm, Venezia, Frankfurt, Śląsk, and Chemnitz.

With two EuroCup wins in their most recent outings—both on their home court, where they will play their third consecutive home game on Thursday—Hamburg have shown that they will be a very dangerous opponent for Cedevita Olimpija in Round 17 of the regular season. The last visit to Hamburg in the 2024/25 season is still fresh in memory, when the hosts defeated the Dragons 80:62, avenging their loss from the first head-to-head meeting of that season, when the scoreboard at Stožice read 95:68 in favor of the Slovenian champions.

The first head-to-head matchup of the 2025/26 season also went in favor of the Ljubljana side. They built a more comfortable lead in the second quarter, going on a 12:1 run to pull ahead 41:24. Hamburg were unable to cut the deficit to single digits by the end of the game—12 points was their closest margin in the second half. The final score at Stožice was 93:73 for Cedevita Olimpija, who shot 65.1 percent from the field, grabbed 13 offensive rebounds, and committed just nine turnovers. Five players in green and orange scored in double figures, with DJ Stewart leading the way with 17 points, while Thomas Kennedy added 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The most dangerous scorer for Hamburg is Devon Daniels, who averages 17.3 points per game. In his last two EuroCup appearances, he surpassed the 20-point mark twice—scoring 21 points against Umana Reyer and 26 against Śląsk. In the first head-to-head game against Cedevita Olimpija at Stožice, where he also made his debut for Hamburg this season, he scored 10 points and dished out five assists.

In Hamburg, Cedevita Olimpija will look to end a two-game losing streak and return to winning ways in the EuroCup. A victory would also see the Dragons surpass their win total from the 2024/25 season and equal their achievement from the 2021/22 season, when they collected 11 wins in the regular season.

BKT EUROCUP, REGULAR SEASON, ROUND 17

Inselpark Arena (Hamburg, Germany), Thursday, February 5, at 7:30 PM:
VEOLIA TOWERS HAMBURG – CEDEVITA OLIMPIJA (TV broadcast on Šport TV 1)

STANDINGS

LOOKING AHEAD:

After the game against Hamburg, the Cedevita Olimpija delegation will return to Ljubljana, where they will spend the weekend before traveling to Wroclaw on Monday. There, on Tuesday at 7:00 PM, they will play the final game of the EuroCup regular season. Next weekend also marks the start of the second phase of the AdmiralBet ABA League, although the match schedule has not yet been confirmed. It is already known, however, that on Monday, February 16, at 6:00 PM, Cedevita Olimpija will host Perspektiva Ilirija at Stožice in the return leg of the Spar Cup quarterfinals. The Dragons built a six-point advantage in the first leg. Admission to Stožice will be free for all spectators.