Live. BAXI Manresa – U-BT Cluj-Napoca, decisive match for the Romanian champion in the EuroCup

U-BT Cluj-Napoca is facing a game that can define its 2025-2026 season on a European level. With a record of 8 wins and 7 defeats, Mihai Silvășan's team needs a favorable result in Spain, on BAXI Manresa's ground, to become the favorite to finish 4th in group A of the BKT EuroCup.

Live. BAXI Manresa – U-BT Cluj-Napoca 92-91

Min. 37. 90-88. After several mistakes on both sides, Miletic halved the gap.
Min. 36. 90-86. 4-point lead: Miletic covered Retin Obasohan, but Reyes scored from outside the half circle.
Min. 35. 85-84. The hosts take the lead after Bassas' basket. Moments of impasse for U-BT.
Min. 33. 79-81. Another partial 6-0 for Manresa. The Romanian champion does not manage to break free.
Min. 32. 74-79. The scoreboard remains “frozen” for the first 90 seconds of the decider.
Start of the 4th quarter.

End of quarter 3. 74-79. 5 points scored very quickly by Russell, two from the free throw line and 3 from distance, in the last seconds of the sequence.
Min. 28. 69-68. The Catalans return to the lead, after a “goaltending” offense made by Miletic.
Min. 27. 65-68. Lots of mistakes on both sides. The visitors lead by 3 points at the time of the first time-out of the second half.
Min. 25. 62-62. Partially 6-0 for Manresa and it's a tie again.
Min. 23. 56-62. Black and white, more effective in defense in this sequence.
Min. 22. 52-57. U-BT started the second half of the match very well, quickly scoring 5 points.
The start of the second half.

Kao took flight over two ✈️@BasquetManresa pic.twitter.com/UPbtbJS9eq

— BKT EuroCup (@EuroCup) January 28, 2026

The end of the first half. 52-52. Manresa recovered in the second quarter and “evaporated” U-BT's big lead.
Min. 19. 48-48. The same Creek manages to equalize from the free throw line.
Min. 17. 43-45. The duel is balanced. Penetration completed by Creek, who took advantage of a very good block by Miletic.
Min. 15. 35-39. Another time-out requested by the guest coach. Alex Reyes narrows the gap to 4 points after U-BT led at one point by 17 points.
Min. 14. 30-36. After Ferran Bassas' 3-pointer, Manresa is 6 points closer to the opponents.
Min. 13. 23-34. Four points in a row for Miletic, in a complicated moment for Cluj, who are making more and more mistakes both in attack and defense.
Min. 12. 22-30. Olinde, the best player of the hosts, starts the second quarter with 5 consecutive points, taking advantage of the opponents' mistakes, and Silvășan asks for a rest time.
Start of the 2nd quarter.

End of the first quarter. 17-30. A difference of 13 points in favor of U-BT Cluj-Napoca, after a sequence that they controlled.
Min. 9. 13-27. Taylor, the second position 3 player in Mihai Silvășan's team, also ends up with two fouls, just like Guzman.
Min. 8. 11-27. Creek is excellently served by Iverson Molinar and scores past Louis Olinde.
Min. 6. 7-21. Russell scores with a basket from long range and the black and whites continue to dominate in Pavello Nou Congost.

The fans of U-BT Cluj-Napoca, present in Manresa/Photo: euroleaguebasketball.net

Min. 5. 7-16. Another basket on the counterattack for Creek, after a pass from Miletic, and Diego Ocampo, Manresa's coach, uses his first time-out.
Min. 4. 5-12. Second foul by Guzman, who is quickly replaced by Jeffery Taylor.
Min. 3. 2-11. 5 consecutive points scored by Creek and another “triple” for Woodbury.
Min. 1. 0-3. The first basket of the game was scored by Woodbury, from outside the half circle.
Start of match. U-BT's starters are Daron Russell, Trey Woodbury, Karel Guzman, Mitch Creek and Dusan Miletic.

on tour U-BT decisively defeated the team coached by Diego Ocampo, score 110-86. The match was played in Turda, the BTarena being rented by the artist Andre Rieu, and the leaders of Cluj were Trey Woodbury (26 points), Daron Russell (23 points, 8 assists), Mitch Creek (14 points) and Dusan Miletic (10 points, 12 rebounds).

On the other side, Manresa's main scorers were Alfonso Plummer (17 points) and Grant Golden (16 points), who left the Catalan team in the meantime. However, the opponents of the Romanian champions have excellent players and seem to be in a great period.

U-BT Cluj-Napoca and BAXI Manresa, traveled differently in the last 3 weeks

After 3 consecutive defeats, Manresa won 5 of the next 6 games3 in the EuroCup and two in the powerful championship of Spain. The only defeat in the last 3 weeks came on the field of Baskonia, a Euroleague team, which won 130-85.

Instead, U-BT have lost 4 of their last 5 matchestwo in the EuroCup and two in the Adriatic League. The only success of the black and whites in the last 3 weeks was achieved in the BTarena against Hamburg: 103-92.

“Students” will be encouraged in the city located north of Barcelona by a large gallery. About 35-40 supporters flew on the same plane as the U-BT players and staff and they created a spectacular atmosphere.

Mihai Silvășan, before leaving for Spain: “I had a productive last week”

A new away match is coming up, with the Spanish basketball team, the strongest competition in Europe at club level. We want to win, to return to the EuroCup with a win. We need this win if we want to keep any chance of finishing in the top four.

Everyone is fit, we go with confidence. We have had a productive last week both in terms of training and rest and we will certainly fight to achieve our goal of winning

– Mihai Silvășan, coach of U-BT Cluj-Napoca

Patrick Richard, captain of U-BT Cluj-Napoca/Photo: euroleaguebasketball.net

Patrick Richard: “In a difficult environment, it's great to also have the support of the fans with us”

Obviously, it's a very big game, an important away game, and the fight for the PlayOffs and for the top positions is in full swing. We know it's a difficult environment to play in and they've been in really good form lately. We just have to be ourselves and do everything we can to get the victory.

The main thing, especially after the last game, is to reduce the number of turnovers and defend better. And like I said, let's be ourselves in attack, play fast and impose our style of play.

I know we're going to have quite a few fans coming with us, so I'm really excited about that. Obviously, in a difficult environment, it's great to have the support of the fans with us as well

– Patrick Richard, the captain of U-BT Cluj-Napoca

Cluj is the team that plays the fastest in this competition. They have two very quick defenders, Russell and Molinar, and they base their game on their creation. They also have a core of American players with plenty of attacking quality. They pass the ball very well and are one of the strong teams in the group

– Marc Estany, second coach of BAXI Manresa

Provisional ranking of group A in the EuroCup

EuroCup Group A standings/Photo: capture euroleaguebasketball.net