By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
With the clock ticking down in the final minutes of the second overtime period, everybody was biting their nails inside Twinsbet Arena. Zavier Simpson is handling the ball and being covered by Anthony Cowan Jr., with U-BT Cluj-Napoca up by a single point.
This was the matchup of the night as Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius’s leader tried to answer whatever was coming from his main opponent. Two double-doubles – 23 points and 12 assists for Cowan, 26 points and 13 assists for Simpson – had been already registered up to that point.
The home fans feared another penetration towards the basket, maybe concluding with Simpson’s special trick: the hook shot. Karel Guzman points toward his right side just before running to set a screen at the top of the key, freeing up some room.
Jeffery Taylor, who has never been a liability on defense even in his Real Madrid days, loses a millisecond of attention and Cluj’s No. 3 opts for what is likely the quickest two-handed pass of his career, finding Patrick Richard with enough freedom. He just has to let it go and hope for the best outcome.
“When the ball came to me, I didn’t second guess or even think twice about it: I just let it fly, shot it with confidence and I was able to knock down a big shot,” Richard tells Eurohoops. The first three-pointer made after two misses and Cluj, importantly, up by four points.
It was the shot of the EuroCup Eighthfinals as it secured qualification for another do-or-die game in the quarterfinals, a stage the Romanian side has now reached in back-to-back seasons. “I was super excited, happy to be there, be a part of it, and be able to help the team advance to the next round,” he adds.
Never underestimate the heart of a captain
Patrick Richard’s season has been the toughest of his 12-year professional career. After suffering a fractured forearm in Round 5, a game in which he spent just 1:45 minutes on the court against Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem, he returned in some style against Wolves.
At a certain point, he didn’t even know if he would be able to contribute further to the black-and-white team’s encounters this season. “While everything was going on in the game, I was just thankful to even be playing. It’s been an uphill battle, trying to come back from the injury I had in October,” he recalls.
“I did come back, but then I had another small little setback when I played a game here in the Romanian Cup with my hamstring. It was a lot going on, but I was thankful to even be able to play and be ready for the moment, as I’ve always been in my career.”
Maybe he wasn’t expecting a double-overtime matchup to beat, on the road in Lithuania, one of the most enjoyable teams to watch in this EuroCup season in Wolves, coached by Alessandro Magro. The key was stepping up on the defensive end once the two teams returned to the court after the break.
“In the second half, our defense was much better. In the first half we didn’t really play too well defensively: they had a lot of easy baskets, wide-open shots. But we didn’t go down too much at halftime, we still had confidence. Coach [Mihai Silvasan] made adjustments and we played a little smaller with our lineups,” Richard explains.
“We fought, we kept playing and staying with it. A lot of guys made a lot of big plays in crunch time on both ends, offensively and defensively. Obviously Zavier [Simpson] carried us big time, he’s been doing amazing all season.”
Zavier Simpson’s crucial 14th assist in the eighthfinals was the icing on the cake of an exceptional 2024-25 EuroCup campaign by the 28-year-old guard, who is experiencing the first overseas season of his career. Not a bad one thus far, as he’s first in assists (7.8) and third in points (18.2) per game in the competition.
“This dude works hard every single day, before and after practice. Even on his days off. He’s a gym rat. He’s had a lot of success, but that’s going to take him a long way even past this because he’s constantly working and trying to get better,” Richard says.
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The Cluj veteran has seen tons of players come and go from Romania, but the Michigan Wolverines product is one of a kind. “The dude just works his ass off, in all honesty. And you see the results of how he’s been playing and leading us throughout this season,” he adds.
Earlier in the season, Zavier Simpson spoke of Cluj’s captain as “top one or top two in leadership of teams” he has been part of. “From the outside, I’ve been out for a long time, and I was away from the team, but I tried to stay engaged, always messaging and being around: being the leader without actually being out there,” Richard notes.
“Now that I’m back it’s easier because I’m around them much more often, we can have those conversations and go through the fire together.”
Before signing with Cluj in 2019, Richard had to go through seven different teams in less than seven years: Sandringham Sabres, Matrixx Magixx, Syntainics MBC, Châlons-Reims, Maccabi Rishon LeZion, Joventut Badalona, the New Zealand Breakers, and Pallacanestro Reggiana.
Now, he has found his home. “I didn’t think it was going to be like this, just being honest. It’s a family-oriented club. They brought me in and wanted me to be myself. I just fell in love with the place immediately, I got citizenship and started playing for the country. Romania is home, it’s home away from home,” he reveals.
“It’s my sixth year here. I never thought I’d be here this long, but I definitely don’t regret it. As we kept on improving every single year, going up step by step, I’m just glad to be a part of that. I always wanted to find some place that felt like home, and I never thought it would be possible. Of all places, finally I found Romania.”
Ultimately, his experience with the Romanian side hasn’t only meant comfort and stability, but also growth in terms of results on the court. “From the first year, I saw the aspirations of the club. We had success starting from the FIBA Europe Cup Qualifiers, literally from the bottom,” he says.
“Each year it was step by step, we kept building and getting better at the European level. The breakthrough was 2021-22, when we had a great year in the Basketball Champions League.” Four years later, they’re one win away from the EuroCup Semifinals. But one of the toughest opponents in the competition is in their way.
Up next? The team to beat
In order to beat Wolves, Cluj didn’t just need the all-around play of Simpson, Richard’s clutchness, and all the other players stepping up. It also needed Mihai Silvasan’s coaching ability.
With the club since 2016, he has been another cornerstone of Cluj’s upwards trajectory. “He’s the constant. Players come and go, we try to keep the core as much as possible, but he’s always believed. Every single day is one day at a time, every game is one game at a time. When we were 0-3, it was no panic,” Richard states.
“He’s the leader of the team, trying to knock it down every single day. We’ve been playing differently than in the last five years, we play much faster. Our pace is different, offensively we really try to get out there to run and score.
“But believing stays. We hit a stride to where we figured things out, other guys stepped up and we were able to start winning games and put us in a position to make the EuroCup Playoffs. Coach has always believed, continuously harping on it every single day for us to just keep on fighting and keep on making it happen.”
Believing led to an eventual 99-100 double-overtime victory against the Lithuanians, one of the most memorable in the team’s history according to Richard – if not the most memorable. “It’s probably number one,” he says.
“Last year we qualified for quarterfinals directly because we finished second in the group, but this was a big one. Especially when you think that we started 0-3 in the regular season. A lot of people probably wrote us off even as far as making the playoffs,” Cluj’s captain reflects.
“We’ve had some ups and downs; we’ve had injuries and changed some players. There was a lot going on. But we still found a way, going on the road to find a big win in double overtime against a really good team. It’s top one, but hopefully we can make top that this week.”
Pedro Martinez’s Valencia Basket is up next for Cluj, with the Spanish side having qualified directly for the EuroCup Quarterfinals courtesy of a marvelous 16-2 record in Group B. Valencia led the entire competition in point scored per game (96.4) and is looking at gold down the line.
“If you ask me at the beginning of the season for a favorite to win the whole EuroCup, it was Valencia. We faced them twice already in the group stage (losing both away and home), and they’re the team to beat. They’ve won the most EuroCup titles in the history of the EuroCup, too,” Richard says.
“All eight teams left have a chance, but they’re definitely the favorite on paper. Anything can happen in one game. We like our chances in a one-game situation, and we’re gonna go out there giving everything we got to try get the win.”
Going up against one of the favorites to win the whole competition later on this season isn’t an easy task, but dreaming doesn’t cost anything. “That would be unbelievable. It would be massive for our club but especially for Romanian basketball.” Richard and Cluj are ready to write history again.
PHOTO CREDIT: U-BT Cluj-Napoca