By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After parting ways with Virtus Bologna on Tuesday, Brandon Taylor was officially announced as a new signing by Panionios Cosmorama Travel on Wednesday. However, he was previously added to the BKT EuroCup roster, ahead of the deadline to register new players on Tuesday.
The team coached by Nenad Markovic was knocked out of postseason contention after a narrow loss to Dolomiti Energia Trento in BTS Arena and falling to 2-12 in Group B of the Regular Season on Tuesday. Therefore, the newcomer will likely debut in the second tier of Euroleague Basketball over the remaining four outings on the 18-game double-legged round-robin schedule, lacking the prospect of qualifying to the next stage, besides also taking on a domestic challenge in Greece’s Stoiximan GBL.
Coming out of his NCAA run with Utah from 2013 to 2016, Taylor took his talents to Hungary, Romania, France, China, and Spain, before a third return to Italy. Joining Vu Nere late in the 2024-25 season, his contributions went into capturing Italy’s LBA UnipolSai championship in June with 5.5 points and 2.8 assists per game in the Playoffs 2025. This season, he averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 assists per contest over his first 11 EuroLeague career appearances, and 4.1 points per LBA game. With UnaHotels Reggio Emilia, Steaua Bucuresti, and Alba Fehervar, he was featured in 18 FIBA Europe Cup fixtures.
Silins to Neptunas
Fellow EuroCup outfit Neptunas picked up Karlis Silins at the deadline, making 28-year-old forward/center eligible for the remainder of the 2025-26 continental schedule, similar to Taylor. At 6-8 in Group A, the Klaipeda outfit is 1.5 games away from a berth in the Eighthfinals.
A veteran of one Basketball Champions League game and 12 in the FIBA Europe Cup with BG Gottingen, also capped with the senior national team of Latvia in the Qualifiers of the EuroBasket 2025 and FIBA World Cup 2027, Silins is set to introduce himself in the EuroCup. After launching his professional career in Latvia and developing in the NCAA between 2016 and 2021, he moved on from Germany to Italy, Spain, and Turkiye.