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we enter into a Quarter-Final where ERA Nymburk are most people's favorites against a giant like Galatasaray
NYMBURK (Czechia) - "Relentless basketball is the ultimate goal
and relentlessness is the word that describes the whole soul of what we do."
when describing the philosophy at ERA Nymburk for the Basketball Champions League website
It's not often that you will hear a basketball coach
Tabellini has an unusual mastery of words and is such a skilled orator that it's not difficult to understand how he's able to get such a laser-focused buy-in from his players to be so relentless every night
"I think there's a lot of people talking about offense-oriented teams or defense-oriented teams
I would describe our team as an effort-oriented team."
Perhaps that is what is to be expected from a literal master of words
"I got a master's degree in Ancient Philology
like I'm a philologist," he said
for those of you like us who weren't instantly familiar with the word
is an academic discipline that studies the structure
despite possessing what is clearly a natural affinity for communication
language alone was not to be the calling for Tabellini
it was whilst taking a job coaching basketball for kids to make his time at University financially more self-sufficient that his true mission in life found him
and I felt it was the most empowering thing I'd ever experienced in my life," Tabellini explained
Tabellini's path into coaching seemed like it was deciding his future for him
like Dorothy on the yellow brick road in Oz
From Virtus Bologna's youth system to Treviso's U20's and eventually a maiden chance to become a head coach at the professional level with USK Prague in Czechia
All whilst receiving influence from mentors like Stefano Pillastrini or Max Menetti
and Johan Roijakkers at Gottingen and Bamberg
Whilst we will now steer our glare onto the product of the journey that we see on the floor for ERA Nymburk, if you want to take a deeper dive into Tabellini's road to Nymburk, it was fantastically well documented by Cesare Milanti and Eurohoops here.
Of all the mentors and influences that have shaped Tabellini's view on basketball and sport in general, it was his own fandom as a child that possibly had the most profound impact.
Growing up an AC Milan fan, a young Tabellini was permanently influenced by the years under Arrigo Sacchi in the late 80s and early 90s when that legendary Milan team dominated everyone in their path with high pressing, a strong defensive structure, and an almost Total Football approach.
To this day, Sacchi's ethos provides an aspirational watermark to strive for.
"For me, it was really inspirational because it was not just winning; it was destroying the opponents on the field, and that's where everything is rooted," he explained.
After coming through the Qualifying Rounds, Nymburk have only lost two games all season in the BCL. The first was against Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola on December 17, but only after they had already secured top spot in Group D of the Regular Season.
The second was to Nanterre 92 on March 4, immediately after the FIBA Qualifying Window.
When you watch this team play, it's easy to see that they do things differently in Nymburk.
The shades of Iisalo's Bonn team are there in full view, but it's nothing like an imitation or copycat. Nymburk are their own animal that, if anything, take the intensity and tempo up another level from that Bonn team in 2023.
And it's an animal that is yet to be tamed this season.
"I think there's a lot of people talking about offense-oriented teams and defense-oriented teams, I would describe our team as an effort-oriented team," Tabellini said before clarifying: "We esteem and value effort above everything."
If we look at the #4 play from the Top 5 Plays of the final week in the round of 16, we can get some further insight into exactly what Tabellini means by effort-oriented basketball.
If we watch that same clip through his eyes, the value gained from winning individual races becomes clear.
In the video below, you will see the play, but with an arrow on screen to demarcate the key points that Tabellini analyzed when watching the clip.
Arrow #1 - First of all, I see a very good defensive effort to fix a mistake because there's a mistake on ball screen coverage here. This is the foundation of our defense. The faster you play, the more aggressively you play defensively, the chances of making mistakes are increasing, and for us, fixing mistakes is crucial.
Arrow #2 - Then, Ondrej Sehnel is great; we have a no-catch area for the outlet pass. He is catching the ball very high and already running. That's huge!
Arrow #3 - Now, the other players are basically trying to win the race. Martin Kriz, the four-man on the left wing, is putting the pressure on the defense, attacking with a 28-metre cut.
Arrow #4 - Finally, Nighael Ceaser, the five-man, he's running and he's drawing the attention of Antetokounmpo. Without Nighael Ceaser, Ryland Holt would have never dunked the ball because most likely Antetokounmpo would have been lower and not focused on Nighael Caesar.
What Tabellini is describing for that clip is all about mentality and reward for effort.
Whilst Holt will correctly get the plaudits for his effort to run and express his athleticism for the dunk, as a team, Nymburk attach as much value on the effort the team made on defense to prevent an easy two-pointer or an open three-pointer after a mistake and then the effort from all four players doing their job to win the race down the floor.
Kriz, Ceaser, and Birts won't show up on the boxscore or on the name-credits for a Top 5 highlight reel, but the dunk doesn't happen without them, and Nymburk know they don't win games without making those unseen efforts.
Again, in the sequence below, we see more of what makes Nymburk's up-tempo basketball so tough to play against.
In the first possession of the video, we saw Tylan Birts unable to be as aggressive as they want on the hand-off with Kurucs and Ennis.
As a result, when Nymburk hedged on the pick and roll, there was space for Ennis to make the pass to Birgander on the short-roll.
Nymburk's mentality came up tops again as Ryland Holt read the pass, came up with the steal, and Nymburk were off again into another up-tempo transition.
Even when Stephen Brown missed the layup on that play, J.T. Shumate was the first to fix the mistake with his effort on the offensive glass (more on offensive rebounds later).
The next possession, Murcia countered the hedge coverage on the pick-and-roll by flipping the angle of the screen. And again, the pass to Birgander was open. Nymburk made a mistake on where the help should come from, but the team recovered from the mistake and got up with the steal.
Tabellini and his coaching staff track sequences like this. They call them Kills, which means three possessions in a row with a defensive stop.
When each of those stops within the kill usually results in a dunk at the other end, the psychological battle for teams playing against this relentless Nymburk team only gets more intense.
Whereas the Nymburk players are focused on recovering from mistakes, their system allows them to increase the consequences of each mistake for their opponents, only making the pressure to avoid mistakes even higher.
Kills aren't the only stat that shows just how ruthlessly effective Nymburk's up-tempo, effort-oriented basketball has been so far this season.
"It's not the coach being smart, it's the way in which we are together, in which everybody contributes."
They are first in the BCL for fastbreak points at 16.5 per game, first for Pace with 76.8 possessions per 40 minutes, and first for the percentage of their offensive possessions being in transition at 20 percent (per Synergy).
That Pace statistic becomes even more eye-opening when you consider that the way Pace is calculated an offensive rebound doesn't result in a new possession.
So, in effect, whilst an offensive rebound increases the number of opportunities to get up shots, it actually reduces the time in the game for more possessions.
Now factor in that Nymburk lead the BCL for offensive rebounds at 17.4 and also for the percentage of available offensive rebounds they collect at 41.2 percent.
Somehow, Nymburk are managing to be the best in the BCL at pulling offensive rebounds and reducing the number of possessions in the game, but at the same time, also record the most possessions per 40 minutes - entirely thanks to the tempo that they play and the fact that they are winning races down the floor every possession.
So, we have seen the footage that shows us the up-tempo offense in transition, but what is enabling them to pull down all these rebounds?
Well, it's not by accident, and it's not just by pure effort alone. Nymburk are implementing a rebounding system called Tagging Up.
Made popular by Aaron Fearne in the Australian NBL, tagging up consists of all five offensive players matching up with their own defender as soon as a shot goes up. We can see Nymburk tagging up in the video below.
In the first clip, you can clearly see all five Nymburk players matched up and on the basket side of their man as soon as the shot goes up.
This means they are in position to defend in transition, but also able to compete for rebounds from behind and attempt to tip the missed shot back to a teammate or off the opponent and out of bounds.
In that second clip, you can also see the relentlessness that Tabellini espouses. Even in transition, all five Nymburk players are winning the race down the floor and ready to tag up on a miss. Nymburk lead the league in second-chance points at 18.1 per game, and this clip shows you exactly why.
The overall picture results in a team that has the best Defensive Rating in the BCL, allowing just 98.4 points per 100 possessions and also first for points allowed in the paint at just 27 per game.
On the offensive end, the overall picture of relentless basketball also results in league-leading numbers for Nymburk.
The tempo they play at and the number of offensive rebounds they secure have sent their number of shooting opportunities through the roof.
They put up a genuinely remarkable 72 shots per game, which not only ranks top this season, but is also the most shot attempts per game of any team in BCL history.
"I think also the players are proud of these numbers," said Tabellini when discussing the buy in and execution of his team when it comes to executing such a selfless style of play.
He described the long walk to the press conference room in Murcia with Vojtech Hruban when the two of them were perusing the stat sheet, looking for smart things to say in front of the Spanish media.
"He (Hruban) looked at me and asked 'how many shots did I take?' I think he'd taken 14 shots in 18 minutes," Tabellini recalled with a smile on his face.
And it is with the players that Nymburk's coach seeks to attach the lion's share of the credit.
"It's not the coach being smart, it's the way in which we are together, in which everybody contributes," he said.
In particular, Tabellini wants to credit his Czech players. Not because the recruitment of their import players hasn't been impeccable.
The likes of the incredibly underrated Stephen Brown and Tylan Birts, or Nighael Ceaser and Christian Bishop, or JT Shumate and Ryland Holt have all fit the system like a glove.
But that is the point Tabellini is so keen to make: These players were scouted and recruited to play this way, their Czech teammates, however, were not.
"These Czech guys, not all of them were built for this kind of basketball, and not all of them are used to playing basketball this way, but there's a lot of their effort in developing the system and developing the kind of basketball we are playing," he said.
"They really pushed it to the limits."
The final place that Tabellini wants to apportion credit is for his coaching staff.
"I think they are the youngest coaching staff in BCL history," he stated.
We can't corroborate nor refute this claim, but a team consisting of 2005-born Serbian scout Mihajlo Markovic, 25-year-old Giovanni Spessotto - whom Tabellini used to coach in Treviso’s youth system - and recently retired 1998-born Eduard Kotasek is surely one of, if not the youngest coaching teams we have seen.
What is also clear is that Tabellini's motivation behind constructing a team of young coaches was not to seek inexperienced people who wouldn't challenge him and his ideas but to find hungry, ambitious coaches who would.
"I believe they're doing a great job of pushing me and proving me wrong," he said.
"They're making me a better coach and a better person on a daily basis."
Spessotto is given primary responsibility for offense, Kotasek for defense and Markovic handed the responsibility for monitoring and tracking the team's efforts on the glass.
A special mention and perhaps the strongest reaction of the whole interview was elicited by Strength and Conditioning coach Ricardas Reimaris.
Tabellini's face lit up when discussing the Lithunian former sprinter.
"He's amazing, I found him here, and I would say he's the one in the office most in love with up-tempo basketball. He's constantly pushing us to be not only the best version of ourselves but also the fastest version of ourselves."
And so we come to it, maybe the biggest series of games in the history of ERA Nymburk. Starting this Wednesday, Tabellini and the crew take on a familiar foe in the shape of the Turkish giants Galatasaray.
The two sides met twice already in the Regular Season, with Nymburk winning both.
As a result, Nymburk somehow find themselves as the consensus favorites for pretty much everyone outside of Türkiye.
Gala are a very different team now than the one that fell to Nymburk earlier in the season, really without even putting up much of a fight.
"I think they are most likely the most talented players and the best team amongst all the second-placed teams that qualified for the Quarter-Finals," said Tabellini.
And he's almost certainly right, Gala's roster has changed, and they recently proved their threat by ending Unicaja's record-breaking 18-game win streak.
Tabellini and Nymburk are not looking to release any pressure, though.
"I'm not escaping from the favorite thing," he said.
His team has, after all, been specializing in creating psychological pressure to handle mistakes all season. Pressure is a huge part of what they do.
"Really, we feel privileged to be here in the Quarter-Finals after starting in the Qualifying Rounds," reflected Tabellini.
And an outstanding achievement to reach this far it truly is for ERA Nymburk. They have never gone further in this competition and almost certainly have never had a better opportunity to do so.
The Final Four awaits at the other end of a best-of-three series with one of European basketball's biggest names. If that isn't a privilege then what is?
No doubt they will approach this test in exactly the same way as they have faced every other this season: Relentlessly.
4 min to readPreviewThe Czech champs will meet up against the Turkish lions for the first time in the BCL Quarter-Finals
MIES (Switzerland) - Two different paths to make their presence among the best eight teams of this season's Basketball Champions League
but probably the most balanced of all matchups
Here's what you need to know about the upcoming best-of-three series between ERA Nymburk and Galatasaray
the two teams have been protagonists of completely different adventures to reach the 2024-25 BCL Quarter-Finals
Nymburk's season started way back in late September, jumping into the BCL Qualifying Rounds in Antalya where they clinched a spot into the Regular Season by beating Kosovar representatives BC Trepca, and then getting over Estonians BC Kalev/Cramo
Drawn into Group D with Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola
ERA Nymburk's 2024-25 season in ten picturesERA Nymburk's 2024-25 season in ten picturesERA Nymburk's 2024-25 season in ten picturesERA Nymburk's 2024-25 season in ten picturesERA Nymburk's 2024-25 season in ten picturesERA Nymburk's 2024-25 season in ten picturesERA Nymburk's 2024-25 season in ten picturesERA Nymburk's 2024-25 season in ten picturesERA Nymburk's 2024-25 season in ten picturesERA Nymburk's 2024-25 season in ten picturesThis time
they had to go up against Falco-Vulcano Szombathely
Clinching home-court advantage in the Quarter-Finals wasn't to be taken for granted
but another 5-1 run gifted the Czech champs a long-awaited shot
Despite being already qualified into the 2024-25 Regular Season
they played one more game then Nymburk (15-14)
Galatasaray's 2024-25 season in ten picturesGalatasaray's 2024-25 season in ten picturesGalatasaray's 2024-25 season in ten picturesGalatasaray's 2024-25 season in ten picturesGalatasaray's 2024-25 season in ten picturesGalatasaray's 2024-25 season in ten picturesGalatasaray's 2024-25 season in ten picturesGalatasaray's 2024-25 season in ten picturesGalatasaray's 2024-25 season in ten picturesGalatasaray's 2024-25 season in ten picturesWell
the answer relies in another best-of-three-game series
this time in the Play-Ins against Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball
surviving only thanks to James Palmer Jr's heroic run in Game 3
Their overall record in the competition this season is 10-5
counting Regular Season defeats to Nymburk
one defeat in the Play-Ins to the French side
and two more setbacks to Rytas Vilnius and Unicaja in the Round of 16
The two Turkish derbies against Manisa Basket Divissa were both successful
Eventually, the unexpected 86-84 win over the reigning champs
interrupting their 18-game and 15-month unbeaten streak in the BCL
was crucial for Gala's first-ever qualification to the Quarter-Finals
Since making their move to the Basketball Champions League in the 2020-21 season
Galatasaray have never managed to go as far as this season into the competition
After an inaugural elimination in the Regular Season
they would have reached the Round of 16 in three straight campaigns
losing the opportunity to extend their runs aiming to travel to Bilbao
have a past history when it comes to participating in the BCL Quarter-Finals
even though on both occasions they happened to occur in the context of the Final Eight
Nymburk didn't advance in consecutive years. Losing to home-crowd favorite AEK, the following campaign they went out against another Turkish team, Pinar Karsiyaka
While Nymburk's season has been characterized by nothing but collective efforts
significant help was given by Christian Bishop
who has averaged a team-high 15.2 in efficiency with 12.2 points
One of his worst performances of the season happened to be against Galatasaray
contributing with only 4 points in the 80-70 home win; in the reverse fixture
Even though Francesco Tabellini doesn't want him away from the basket
it's likely that we will see him cover James Palmer Jr on certain occasions
The 28-year-old forward has been on a mission
also posting the only 20+10+5 performance for a Galatasaray player in the competition
Despite not getting any wins in both games played against Nymburk in the Regular Season
he averaged 17.0 points (11-of-23 from the field
Expect him to get double-teamed more than once
there will probably be some shooting space for the Galatasaray newcomer Rob Gray
leading scorer in Italy with 21.1 points per game
it's a combo-guard showdown between Stephen Brown (12.9 points and 5.4 assists per game) and Will Cummings (15.3 points and 3.8 assists per game)
Don't miss the inside battles between Nighael Ceaser and Ebuka Izundu either
If there's something both Nymburk and Galatasary like to do
The representatives from Czechia and Türkiye are respectively 1st (76.81) and 4th (75.38) in pace
It first starts from being aggressive in fighting for rebounds
Nymburk averages a competition-high 44.2 rebounds per game
while Galatasaray are third in such aspect by grabbing an average of 40.3 boards
The Turks have grabbed 414 defensive rebounds since the start of the season - no other team has captured more than 400 on their end
It's definitely not the first time Nymburk cross paths with Galatasaray
and there's no need to dig into dusty archives to find out about previous matchups between the two
However, there are more meetings from the past, featuring iconic players on the court like Dee Bost, DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, Colbey Ross, Jerrick Harding, and more.
Extending the focus beyond the Basketball Champions League, there are two more meetings between the two teams in the 2010-11 edition of the EuroCup, where Nymburk and Galatasaray met in the Last 16. Once again, it was a seasonal red-and-yellow domination, with back-to-back wins.
Can Galatasaray keep up with the current 4-2 record, or will Nymburk continue being the Turkish team's nightmare in 2024-25?
and tickets to progress to the Basketball Champions League Final Four are on the line
Two Spanish powerhouses against two Italian underdogs
and one Greek side welcoming the French style
Find out more about Game 1s of this season's Quarter-Finals
This will be the third game between ERA Nymburk and Galatasaray in the BCL this season
with the Czechs winning the two previous games by double-digit margins; overall
this will be their fifth encounter in league history
after Galatasaray’s two victories in 2021-22
Nymburk have won 10 of their 12 games in the BCL this season
but their two defeats have happened at home; Galatasaray have won just one of their last four road games in the BCL
allowing 85 or more points in each of those four fixtures
Nymburk have made the most two-pointers per game in the BCL this season (23.8)
but Galatasaray have the best defensive two-point percentage
allowing their opponents to score only 48.1 percent of their two-point shots
If Vojtech Hruban sees any playing time in this game
he will become the fourth player to reach 100 appearances in the BCL history; he faced Galatasaray twice in the competition
James Palmer Jr - the MVP of the Round of 16 - has scored more than 12 points in each of his last five games played with Galatasaray in the BCL
but is yet to have a longer such scoring sequence in the league; he scored 15 and 19 points in his two previous meetings with Nymburk
Both teams are entering such a crucial part of the season off domestic league victories
Francesco Tabellini's team took down 103-89 a former BCL participant in Opava; in Türkiye
Will Cummings (25 points and 7 assists) inspired Galatasaray's 88-81 road win over Yalova Belediye
AEK Betsson BC are undefeated at home in the BCL in 2024-25
only once before have they had a longer such streak
winning seven straight home fixtures in 2016-17
Nanterre have won five of their seven road games in the BCL this season
with their 71.4 winning percentage on the road being the highest ever for this French side in a BCL campaign (37.5% in 2017-18 and 55.6% in 2018-19); this will be their third BCL trip to Greece
Nanterre have made the most steals per game in the BCL this season (9.9) and have scored 18.7 points per game after turnovers
the third highest average in the league in 2024-25 (BAXI Manresa 19.8 & Unicaja 18.8)
Grant Golden (AEK) is averaging 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in his last four games played in the BCL
after averaging 7.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in his first eight appearances in the competition; Golden has made 69.2 percent of his FG in his last four BCL games
Desi Rodriguez has scored more than 20 points in three of his last four BCL games, after scoring more than 20 only once in his previous 20 games played in the competition; he is averaging more points on the road (16.8ppg) than at home (14.3ppg) in league history.
AEK are on a seven-game winning streak in Greece, as their most recent domestic loss happened in late January to Olympiacos, and they lastly beat PAOK 89-76 with Hunter Hale (23 points and 7 assists) shining; during the LNB weekend, Nanterre were called up to the big road challenge in Monaco and they weren't successful, losing 89-74 despite Desi Rodriguez's 25 points and 4 steals.
Unicaja have won their last 13 games at home in the BCL, with their last defeat in Malaga dating back to the Third-Place Game at the 2023 Final Four; Unicaja have scored more than 90 points in each of their last five games at home in the BCL, but no team has ever had a longer such scoring run.
Pallacanestro Reggiana lost their most recent road game in the BCL, but are yet to lose back-to-back road fixtures in the league this season; this will be their third trip to Spain this season, after losing at La Laguna Tenerife and Manresa home courts, allowing more than 90 points on both occasions.
Unicaja have the highest Offensive Rating in the BCL this season, scoring 126.6 points per 100 possessions, while also boasting 21.1 assists per 100 possessions, the highest assist ratio in 2024-25.
Tyson Carter has scored 15 or more points in four of his last five games at home with Unicaja in the BCL, with Carter coming off the bench in all those four fixtures; since the start of the 2023-24 season, only two players have scored more points off the bench than Tyson Carter in the BCL (239; Zoltan Perl, 389 & Mindaugas Kuzminskas, 248).
Kenneth Faried has grabbed 7+ rebounds in eight of his nine games played in the BCL, with the only exception happening in his most recent trip to Spain (6reb at Manresa); he is averaging 8.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game against Spanish teams in the competition.
Reggiana celebrated at home a wonderful 87-78 win over Italian powerhouse Milano, while in Spain Unicaja recovered from a three-game losing streak in the ACB by beating Básquet Coruña 114-105 also thanks to Alberto Diaz's 13-assist majestic night.
Tenerife are on a 12-game winning sequence in the BCL, and winning this game will see them reach their longest victorious run in league history (also W12 in January-October 2022); they have won their last 28 games at home and have won all their seven quarter-final games at home in league history.
Bertram Derthona Basket have won their last four games in the BCL, and one victory at Tenerife will see them match their longest winning run in the competition; however, their three defeats this season have all happened on the road.
Tenerife have scored 11.7 shots from behind the arc per game, more than any other team in the BCL in 2024-25; they have the highest dependence on three-point shots in the BCL this season, with 41.3 percent of their total points being scored from behind the three-point line.
Tenerife’s Lluis Costa has scored 16+ points in each of his last two BCL games, after scoring that many points only once in his previous 10 appearances (16 vs. Kolossos); in fact, Costa has scored 16 or more points in each of the three occasions in which he has played 20+ minutes in the competition.
Ismael Kamagate has blocked 29 shots in the BCL this season - only five players have blocked 30+ shots in a single BCL campaign; he has had five different games with three or more blocks this season, while only three players have had more such games in a single season.
Can anybody stop Tenerife? It looks impossible, as they just celebrated a 10-game winning streak between ACB and BCL, lastly crushing Granada 95-87 with 19 points apiece by Giorgi Shermadini and Jaime Fernandez; Derthona, instead, had to surrender at home to the LBA season's revelation Trapani Sharks, which are now standing on top of the standings.
MIES (Switzerland) - In the first week of this season’s Basketball Champions League Quarter-Finals, both Galatasaray and Unicaja enjoyed blowout wins in Game 1.
Galatasaray have won three of their five games against Nymburk in the BCL, including the first leg of this Quarter-Finals tie (106-80), but they lost when they met in Türkiye earlier this season (75-87). Two of the four times Gala have scored more than 100 points in a BCL game were against Nymburk.
Galatasaray have won their last three BCL games, but they have won more in a row only once before, four wins in December 2023 - January 2024 and they have won their last six home games in the competition; Nymburk have won their last seven road games in the BCL, by an average margin of 16.3 points, and they were leading at halftime in each of those games.
Nymburk have grabbed 16.9 offensive rebounds per game in the BCL 2024-25, the most of any teams, and thus, they are the only team to have grabbed at least 40 percent of the rebounds available under their oppositions' boards this season (40.1%). However, Galatasaray are grabbing the most defensive rebounds per game among all teams this term (27.7).
Will Cummings scored 33 points in the first leg of these Quarter-Finals, the joint-most for a player with Galatasaray in the competition (Melo Trimble, also 33 vs. Nymburk in October 2021); Cummings has scored 95 points in five games against Nymburk in the BCL (19.0 per game on average), only DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell has scored more points than him against the Czech side (121).
Christian Bishop (Nymburk) has grabbed 10+ rebounds in three of his last four BCL games, including 12 in each of the most recent two, after never reaching double digits in rebounds in any of his first nine games in the competition. No player has ever grabbed 10+ rebounds in four games with ERA Nymburk in the BCL.
While Francesco Tabellini's team didn't play during the weekend in Czechia, Galatasaray kept on rolling by beating Bursaspor 95-89 with Ebuka Izundu's 23 points and 8 rebounds.
Reggiana suffered their heaviest defeat in the BCL during the first leg of these Quarter-Finals against Unicaja (68-105), but they have won five of their last seven home games in the competition.
Unicaja have won nine of their last 10 road games in the BCL, scoring 89.6 points per game in the process, but two of their last three road games ended with margins of two points or fewer.
Unicaja have scored 10+ three-pointers in each of their seven BCL games played in 2025, their best such run in the competition; in fact, they have made 10+ three-pointers in 15 of their last 17 playoff games, including in each of the most recent nine.
Kwan Cheatham Jr (Pallacanestro Reggiana) has scored 10+ points in each of his last six BCL games, averaging 16.2 points per game in that run, after reaching double digits in scoring in only one of his first nine games (7.8 points per game on average).
Melvin Ejim has scored 10+ points in each of his last two BCL games, his first such run in 39 games with Unicaja in the competition; the last three times he scored 15+ points in BCL games were during Quarter-Finals (twice in March 2017 with Umana Reyer Venezia against Karsiyaka, and last week against Pallacanestro Reggiana).
Opposite results between Unicaja and Reggiana, as the reigning champions lost 84-75 to Valencia while the Italians stayed in contention for the domestic Playoffs with the 84-69 road win in Scafati. Cassius Winston had 21 points and 7 assists in his team's victory.
MIES (Switzerland) - It looks like it will go down to the wire between ERA Nymburk and Galatasaray in the battle for the top spot in Group D
as both teams picked up valuable wins on Tuesday
Jordan Walker cooked up 19 straight points in the fourth quarter and nearly upset Galatasaray all by himself
the Turkish juggernauts came prepared for his late game show
Promitheas's point guard scored 10 in a row in the final stanza on Tuesday
Roberts Blumbergs and Angel Delgado had the perfect response
They put together a powerful answer as Walker pushed his team to cut the deficit to 76-73 with four minutes to play
only for a Galatasaray 15-1 run to seal the deal and for the hosts
meaning they cannot finish lower than second in Group D anymore
Livingston and Palmer Jr led a balanced offense with 14 points each
but Tuncer deserves a special mention for 10 points and 8 assists in less than 19 minutes off the bench
Galatasaray were a +18 team with him on the floor
Walker finished with 22 for the Greek team
the Czech champions had absolutely no troubles en route to their fourth straight win of the BCL season
Nymburk put up 32 points in the first quarter and 53 by the half
opening up a 16-point lead after 20 minutes of action
They could take their foot off the pedal down the stretch
but playcaller Francesco Tabellini has instilled an identity which is not compatible with that approach
So Nymburk continued to push and led by as many as 28 points late in the game
sending out a clear message that this is a whole new team compared to their previous two BCL campaigns
"Nymburk are really a top team in the BCL this season
I think surprisingly so generally speaking
they play a really good brand of basketball so congrats to them and let's see how far they can take it," Vechta head coach Martin Schiller praised the opponents afterwards
Nymburk picked up an incredible 21 offensive rebounds in Germany
JT Shumate getting four of them to go along with his 14 points
Ondrej Sehnal was the top scorer with 16 points and 7 assists off the bench
while Christian Bishop registered another game in double digits with 15 points in 22 minutes of work
but they are down in a hole at 0-4 right now
ERA Nymburk
Galatasaray
Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola
RASTA Vechta
The third game of the day was a big one in Group B. Filou Oostende completed the sweep over King Szczecin, meaning they are certain of a spot in the Play-Ins at the very least, regardless of what happens in the remaining two games, as they are 2-2 with a tiebreaker over the 0-4 Szczecin.
Oostende opened up a double digit lead in the second quarter, but the Polish team went on to hit five straight three-pointers in the second half to crawl back into a one-possession game.
But there was no panic for coach Dario Gjergja and his players, with a bit of help from their fans, they managed to keep Szczecin at bay, winning the game by a comfortable 12 points in the end.
Timmy Allen continued his hot run, getting a team-high 18 points, while Chase Audige had 17 points and 7 rebounds. Davion Mintz was also in double figures with 12.
Aleksander Dziewa was by far the best player for Szczecin with 17 points.
ERA Nymburk won nine Basketball Champions League games in a row
It feels like 2024-25 could be a bit of history repeating
That's because the perennial Czech champs are on another six-game winning streak in the BCL
and securing the top spot in Group D with a game in hand
Galatasaray chased a 13-point deficit from their first matchup
and opened up a 51-36 lead to start the second half
the Turkish juggernauts were the top ranked team of the group
ERA Nymburk are a different animal this season
erasing that deficit by the end of the third quarter
and going on to create a 71-60 advantage with just over five minutes left to play in the final stanza
That 26-point swing in 12 minutes of action was enough to secure a calm finish to the game for the home team. Final score said 80-70.
JT Shumate led a balanced offense with 16 points on five made three-pointers, while Jaromir Bohacik and Frantisek Rylich had 11 each for coach Francesco Tabellini.
"Honestly, I'm not putting a ceiling on our dreams, I believe in things. I really believe if you are surrounded by special people and if you really commit, if you really want things, you will be able to get those things. It's a purpose for me, more than a dream. It's a purpose," an emotional Nymburk coach said after the game.
At 5-0, his men cannot be caught anymore, while Galatasaray are at 3-2, with a consolation prize of having the home court advantage in the Play-Ins in January. They will face the third-placed team from Group C.
Nymburk will now move to the Round of 16 Group L, alongside Group H winners (Manisa Basket or UCAM Murcia), and two additional Play-In winners (A2 vs B3 and F2 vs E3). They have been to the Round of 16 three times before, including a pair of trips to the Quarter-Finals in 2020 and 2021.
Pascal Donnadieu was still coaching Nanterre 92
and helped them reach the Basketball Champions League Quarter-Finals; in 2021
ERA Nymburk were competing at the same stage
The latest Wednesday of action in the Round of 16 brought both back to the best eight teams in the BCL
UCAM Murcia went out of last season's Final Four in Belgrade with high hopes
they would have had different hardware around their neck
this season turned out to be a disappointing one
as Sito Alonso's team were eliminated in the Round of 16
they needed to beat one of the hottest teams in the whole competition
but coming out of the locker room to start the third quarter
it looked clear which team wanted this win more
Francesco Tabellini's high-tempo squad produced a 27-14 (including a crucial 9-0 run) partial in the third
escaping all the way to the final 76-60 road victory in Murcia
With Nanterre 92 beating Falco-Vulcano Szombathely
the chances of qualifying disappeared all of a sudden for UCAM Murcia
all in a horrible shooting night (17-of-53 from the field
everybody shone: Francesco Tabellini's team had another collective-effort performance
who returned to the club for nights like this one
Jonah Radebaugh (15 points) had three three-pointers in the first quarter
contributing to his team's 14-0 early run that looked promising heading to the rest of the game
returning to the BCL Quarter-Finals after four years of absence
will now face one of Bertram Derthona Basket
with home-court advantage in best-of-three series
They will learn their opponent in the draw
Philippe Da Silva accepted Nanterre's head coaching call with a giant burden: make sure that he didn't disappoint such an audience
accustomed to seeing Pascal Donnadieu on this bench for 37 years
putting Nanterre back into the best eight teams in the whole Basketball Champions League picture for the first time since 2019 doesn't sound too bad for a first season at guidance
That's exactly what the French side managed to get after finding consistency in the Round of 16
Beating 95-89 the winless Falco in Szombathely was part of their duty
but thanks to Nymburk's success on Spanish soil
they could fully celebrate the move to the next round
Desi Rodriguez (23 points) and Justin Tillman (18 points
4-of-5 from deep) continue being the winning duo for Nanterre
which have now won six of their last eight games in the BCL
including the reverse fixture against Falco (83-71)
That was their biggest win this season in the competition
"We knew what we were coming into this game for
There was only one goal and that was to win the game and hope the result in the other game goes well
We came out sluggish and they got up to a quick lead
Our coach Phillippe got on us about that and we were able to climb back into the game," Rodriguez described the secret behind the comeback from -14 to +6
Falco in the BCL means Hungarian players giving their all for this club
and Benedek Varadi combined for 59 points and 19 assists
the French team won't count on home-court advantage after being classified as second-seeded in Group L
They will therefore face a seeded team in the best-of-three series starting away from France
Their opponent will be either AEK Betsson BC
Nanterre 92
UCAM Murcia
Falco-Vulcano Szombathely
ANTALYA (Turkiye) - They failed to qualify to the Regular Season last time around
ERA Nymburk will once again be a part of the group stage in the Basketball Champions League
making it their eighth time in nine seasons that they are among the best 32 BCL teams
joining SL Benfica as the other Champions Path winner in Antalya this week
Nymburk trailed by 13 early in the game, but a dominant 26-10 third quarter paved the way to a 80-66 win over Estonian champions Kalev/Cramo
Coach Francesco Tabellini used his ten-men rotation to perfection
while Tylan Birts and Nighael Ceaser finished with 11 each
Honorable mention goes out to Ondrej Sehnal
who dished out 8 assists in just 21 minutes off the bench
Patrick Tape scored 13 with 7 rebounds before fouling out for Kalev/Cramo
ERA Nymburk now move to BCL Regular Season Group D
With less than six weeks to go before the Senior European Championships in Podgorica
the top contenders for titles are rounding up in the Nymburk OTC this week
Many of them are in fact coming off the back of the Upper Austria Grand Prix
which for some was their return to competition following the Olympic Games in Paris
With a total of 824 athletes from 36 nations registered for the training camp
there will be high volume randori for not only the top judoka
but also for the younger generation hoping to go toe to toe with their idols
The numbers aren’t only made up from Team Europe either
with many travelling from further afield to remain on the European circuit a little longer; Australia
South Africa and the United States of America
Tenerife rise to 3-0; Nanterre stun Nymburk in Czechia 4 min to readReviewThey may have been on the road
but AEK's fans made them feel at home in Germany
MIES (Switzerland) - A four-game Tuesday saw some changes in the standings of the Round of 16
The biggest winners of the day are the 2018 champions
along with the two-time winners from Spain
and the only French team left in the competition
It was the battle of the 2-0 teams in Germany
with the hosts feeling good about finally having Zac Seljaas back from injury
as Hunter Hale and Prentiss Hubb went crazy in the first half
hitting 7-of-11 three-pointers before the break
and setting the stage for the big guys to guide the ship to safety in the second half
Grant Golden finished the game with 20 points on 9-of-9 shooting from the field
Colorful fans showed up for this gameColorful fans showed up for this gameColorful fans showed up for this gameColorful fans showed up for this gameColorful fans showed up for this gameColorful fans showed up for this gameColorful fans showed up for this gameColorful fans showed up for this gameColorful fans showed up for this game"I already knew it's never easy to win in this arena
It was a big win for us but we gotta get back to work
lock in and we are gonna see this team again next week
We are happy to leave here with a W and get back to work," Bryce
The game was played in an incredible atmosphere in front of packed stands with the loudest fans on opposite ends of each other
creating a memorable Tuesday evening in Germany
Wurzburg got 17 points from Jhivvan Jackson and 16 from Davion Mintz in his first game with the team
AEK Betsson BC
FIT/One Würzburg Baskets
Bertram Derthona Basket
Make that 27 in a row! La Laguna Tenerife continued their incredible run at home in this competition, picking up their 27th straight win at the Santiago Martin Arena, and coach Txus Vidorreta got closer to another milestone.
Tenerife's playcaller in now up to 99 BCL wins, and could became the first coach to register 100 already next week, when his team makes the trip to Italy to face Pallacanestro Reggiana.
If there is one way you could upset Vidorreta and Tenerife in their backyard, it would be hoping they have a horrible shooting night.
However, they went 9-of-16 from beyond the arc in the first half alone, opening up a 16-point gap, and putting the air out of Petkimspor's sails after 20 minutes of action. The road team came to within five in the third quarter, but Tenerife bounced back to double digits early in the fourth quarter.
Thomas Scrubb had a team-high 15 points with 6 rebounds for the two-time BCL champions, while Marcelinho Huertas flirted with another double-double with 9 points and 9 assists.
Bryson Williams had 19 points and 11 rebounds, 7 offensive, to lead Petkimspor.
Tenerife are up at 3-0 in Group K, while the Turkish team fell to 0-3 with this defeat.
Consider it a major upset, as Nanterre 92 managed to defeat the perennial Czech champs on the road. The French team did not panic when ERA Nymburk opened up a 10-point lead, and kept feeding their frontcourt player to steal this one.
Coach Philippe Da Silva balanced the minutes perfectly after Ahmad Caver left the game with less than two minutes played and made it an eight-men rotation.
"Imagine playing against one of the best in the (Basketball) Champions League with only one guard and one wing man against this type of pressure, against this type of rhythm. It's one of the highest tempo teams."
"We have one team in our league (like this), Paris, they play more possessions than Paris," coach Da Silva praising Nymburk's offense
"That's an amazing job from my players and they deserve it because they never quit. Even when we were down 10 we came back into the game. We have shown growth as a team in the last three weeks and I'm really proud of these players and work," Da Silva added.
Milan Barbitch orchestrated the offense with 9 assists, Desi Rodriguez and Justin Tillman scored 25 each on 19-of-31 shooting, with Rodriguez becoming the first player in BCL history with 25+ points, 5+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 5+ steals in a single game - he had 25 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 steals.
Nymburk picked up 16 offensive rebounds - to no avail, they suffered their first defeat of the Round of 16. Without Jaromir Bohacik in the lineup, Tylan Birts led the offense with 14 points, but Nymburk were never going to win this game shooting 9-of-32 from beyond the arc.
Behind all the headlines and close call games, Bertram Derthona Basket cruised to a comfortable win over Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola, getting their first in the Round of 16.
Rising to 1-2, Derthona are now just a win behind Wurzburg in Group I standings, and if they complete the sweep in Greece next week, they could lift their chances of making the Quarter-Finals significantly, since they still have to play against both AEK and Wurzburg at home, in Italy.
The Italians put up 30 points in the first quarter alone and never looked back in this one.
Christian Vital poured in 20 points in just 15 minutes of work, Tommy Kuhse scored 15 with 5 assists, while Justin Gorham did a bit of everything with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
Jordan Walker scored 16 in a losing effort. Promitheas need to defeat Derthona next week to have any chance of making the Quarter-Finals.
ANTALYA (Turkiye) - The Basketball Champions League field will be set at the end of this week, as 24 teams fight for the last four tickets to the Regular Season.
The Qualification Round includes four tournaments, held at the Gloria Sports Arena in Turkiye.
There are six clubs in this tournament, with the same format as in the previous editions of the Basketball Champions League Qualifiers. Four teams will play the Quarter-Finals round, while two await in the Semis.
In Tournament 2, BC Trepca from Kosovo are taking on Keravnos BC from Cyprus, and the winner of that duel meets ERA Nymburk from Czechia in the Semis.
In the other half of the bracket, Kutaisi 2010 from Georgia are up against Patrioti Levice from Slovakia. The Semi-Finals opponent in that part of the draw is Kalev/Cramo from Estonia.
Keravnos BC made their upset run through the Qualifiers in 2020, to play the Regular Season in 2020-21, but their campaign ended in the group stage.
ERA Nymburk took part in seven seasons of the BCL so far, reaching the Final 8 in back-to-back seasons in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Coach Oren Amiel won the Coach of the Year award in 2019-20.
Kalev/Cramo also made the Regular Season, back in 2021-22. They were eliminated in the group stage.
BC Trepca found a new scoring option in Desmond Cambridge. The 25-year-old spent the last season with Sabah in Azerbaijan and had six games in double digits in the FIBA Europe Cup, leading the way to the Regular Season of that competition.
Jaye Crockett is the most familiar name of the Keravnos roster, career journeyman coming back for another season in Cyprus after putting up 14.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game for Keravnos a season ago.
Another big guy to keep an eye on - Beka Bekauri. The legend of Georgian club basketball is 33 now, and as a career double-double threat, he is back to Kutaisi 2010 for the first time since 2019-20.
Patrioti Levice went through a lot of changes over the summer, but bringing in Ty Nichols has improved their chances of scoring a lot, as the guard averaged 21.3 points with 5.5 assists in Czechia last season, playing for Usti nad Labem.
Arik Smith will take care of Kalev/Cramo's offense, and keep in mind that he has averaged 13.0 points or more in each of his six European seasons so far, last one being in Torun in Poland, with a career-high 4.6 assists per game.
ERA Nymburk bring back a lot of familiar names, but the biggest one is probably Jaromir Bohacik. A lefty point forward returned to Czechia last season, after three years of testing the waters in Strasbourg and Bamberg. He is the floor general and an Olympian who deserves all the respect on the court.
NYMBURK (Adriatic League) - Nymburk are making sure their first season in the Adriatic League is a memorable one.\r\n\r\nThe Czech outfit treated their home fans to a 73-69 triumph over defending champions Partizan Belgrade at the weekend.\r\n\r\nChester Simmons had 22 points and Afik Nissim 21 for Nymburk, who spoiled the homecoming for Czech international Jan ...
MIES (Switzerland) - One all-Greek clash, Cinderellas making their way deep into the competition, high-tempo and physicality-first encounters, favorites and underdogs.
The opening Wednesday night of this season's Basketball Champions League Round of 16 is all about that. Find out 30 stats, notes, domestic results, and a lot more before tuning into these games!
AEK Betsson BC have lost their previous two meetings with Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola in the BCL. It was already during a Round of 16, in 2023-24 (79-80 on the road and then 67-79 at home); AEK have lost their last four home games in the Round of 16 after losing only two of the first nine.
Promitheas have won their last two road games in the BCL, but are yet to win three in a row in the competition; the team leading at halftime managed to win the game in Promitheas's last six road games in the BCL.
Promitheas have allowed their opponents to grab 15.6 offensive rebounds per game in the BCL this season, more than any other team while only FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets (7.0) have allowed their opponents to grab fewer offensive rebounds than AEK (8.8).
The former Promitheas player, Hunter Hale, now with AEK, has averaged 18.1 points per game in his last nine BCL appearances; he scored 20+ points in three of his six Round of 16 games last season with Promitheas.
Kenny Williams (Promitheas) has scored more than 20 points in two of his 42 games in the BCL and both were during the Round of 16 last season, with Peristeri; in fact, his best scoring game was when playing away from home in that round, 25 points at La Laguna Tenerife in January 2024.
Both AEK and Promitheas were called up to the biggest of challenges in the Greek League, respectively facing Olympiacos (on the road in Piraeus) and Panathinaikos (at home in Patras): they both lost, but Promitheas had 22 points a piece from Jordan Davis and Jordon Varnado, while AEK had four players (Hunter Hale, C.J. Bryce, Grant Golden, and Raiquan Gray) finishing in double-digits.
Falco-Vulcano Szombathely have won their last two home games in the BCL, but have not won more in succession since a run of four home wins between December 2020 and December 2021; none of their last eight home games ended with a margin of greater than 10 points.
ERA Nymburk have won their last four road games in the BCL and in case of a win, they would equal their longest winning run away from home in the competition (W5 in 2019-20); they have won seven of their last eight games played in the Round of 16.
Nymburk are allowing on average 25.3 points in the paint per game in the BCL this season, fewer than any other team, while only three teams are conceding more points in the paint per game than Szombathely (38.0).
Zoltan Perl (Szombathely) has scored 20+ points in five of his last seven BCL home games, averaging 22.0 points per game in that span; he scored more than 20 points in each of his previous two home games in the Round of 16.
Martin Kriz has played 86 BCL games and could become the player with the most games played with Nymburk in the competition if he features in that game (currently tied with Petr Benda); among the players who have played in the BCL with only one team, only Aaron Doornekamp (89 with Tenerife) has more appearances than Kriz.
Whether it's Hungary or Czechia, there are only two giants standing on top of the respective domestic leagues. Falco stays unbeaten at 16-0 after beating Szedeak by 20 points (95-75), while Francesco Tabellini's team improved to 21-2 following the 36-point margin win (97-61) over Sokol Pisek.
Rytas Vilnius have won their last five games in the BCL, their best winning run in the competition; they have won 11 of their last 13 home games in the BCL and won the three played this year by margins of 10+ points.
Galatasaray have lost all their previous nine road games in the Round of 16 of the BCL, despite leading at halftime in four of those games; they have allowed 80+ points in seven of those nine road games played at that stage.
Rytas (28.8) and Galatasaray (27.8) are the teams grabbing on average the most defensive rebounds per game in the BCL this season; Rytas have also averaged the most points in the paint per game (45.0) but Galatasaray are one of the five teams that are conceding fewer than 30 points in the paint per game (29.8).
Steven Enoch (Rytas) has made 76.2 percent of his two-pointers attempted in the BCL this season, the best 2PTS percentage among the players with 35+ attempts. He has grabbed 5+ rebounds in each of his last five games in the competition.
Will Cummings (Galatasaray) had 20+ points and 5+ rebounds in each of his last two BCL games, as often as in his first 25 appearances; he has made multiple steals in each of his last four BCL games. However, he won't be available to start this season's Round of 16 due to injury.
Opposite results for Rytas and Galatasaray entering the Round of 16. The Lithuanians are second only to Zalgiris Kaunas after beating Jonava 84-80, while the Turkish Lions suffered their third straight domestic league defeat by losing 78-73 at home to Turk Telekom - despite Otis Livingston's 23 points.
Unicaja have won their last 16 games in the BCL, the longest-ever winning run for a team in the competition history, and have seen an average margin of victory of 29.0 points in their last five games; they have won their last seven home games played in the Round of 16, scoring 85+ points in each of the most recent four.
Manisa Basket have won three of their four road games in the BCL, however, those three wins all ended with margins of six points or fewer; they have allowed at least 84 points in each of their four road games in the competition (92.0 on average).
Unicaja are averaging 1.31 points per possession in the BCL this season, more than any team, while Manisa rank fourth, with 1.21 points per possession; however, only Kolossos H Hotels and King Szczecin (both 1.21) averaged more points allowed per possession than Manisa this term (1.18), while Unicaja are one of the two teams allowing fewer than one point per possession on average (0.99, Tenerife 0.98).
Tyson Carter (Unicaja) has scored 15+ points in three of his last four BCL games, as often as in his previous 22 appearances; he made exactly four three-pointers in each of his last two games after never reaching that total in any of his first 35 appearances in the competition with Unicaja.
Saben Lee (Manisa) has averaged 35.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game in his three road appearances in the BCL, making at least 12 free-throws in each of those three games. This is the first time that a player has an average of 30+ points over a three-game span while playing away from home in the competition (excl. neutral venues).
Unicaja is indeed beatable, in the end: after seven consecutive wins between BCL and ACB, Ibon Navarro's team had to surrender to Basquet Girona; on the other side, Manisa found their first victory in the Turkish League following a three-game losing streak, beating Bursaspor 96-80 on the road. Surprisingly, Saben Lee didn't lead in scoring but dished out 14 assists.
UCAM Murcia have won 25 of their last 27 home games in the BCL and each of their last seven home games played in the Round of 16, scoring 90+ points in four of those seven games. However, seven of their last eight games in the competition ended with margins of seven points or fewer.
Nanterre 92 have won their last three games played as the road team in the BCL, but are yet to win more such games in a row in the competition; each of their last four road games ended with a single-digit margin.
Nanterre are the only team averaging 10+ steals per game in the BCL this season (10.9). They have made more than 15 steals in each of their last two BCL games, the best such run for a team in the competition history.
Murcia’s Jonah Radebaugh has scored 15+ points in four of his five home games played in the Round of 16 in the BCL, including 31 points in his most recent one, against AEK last season, his best total in a game in the competition; in fact, seven of the 10 games where he scored 15+ points in the BCL where in non-Regular Season games.
Ahmad Caver (Nanterre) has scored 10+ points in each of his last four BCL games, but has never done it in more games in a row; in fact, the only previous time he scored 10+ points in four games in a row was during the round of 16 last season, with Dijon.
Sticking with Spanish teams in terms of domestic results, Murcia fought until the end but lost 95-90 in overtime at home against Barcelona even though Simon Birgander, Dylan Ennis, and Jonah Radebaugh combined for 67 points. In France, Nanterre did the same but eventually lost 100-97 in Bourg-en-Bresse.
MIES (Switzerland) - It's becoming a tradition in the Basketball Champions League. During the February break, we talked to the general managers of the BCL clubs, searching for answers to crucial questions ahead of the closing months of the season, and the decision-making time called the off-season.
The votes are in, and the GMs seem to trust Unicaja to go all the way once again, after lifting the spiky trophy for the first time in Belgrade in 2024.
Manisa Basket's Saben Lee received a whopping 50 percent of votes to the question about the MVP of the Season, while ERA Nymburk stunned everybody, getting 64 percent of votes as the most surprising team this season.
David Kramer, Jaromir Bohacik and Loic Schwartz received votes as the best shooters, while the question about the best player in five years' time showed just how loaded with talent this BCL season is.
Johann Grunloh received the most votes, but Neoklis Avdalas, Mario Saint-Supery, Mouhamed Faye, Hannes Steinbach, Lucas Fischer, Nolan Traore, Eduardo Francisco and Yaman Alisan also got a mention.
Without further ado, here are all the questions and the answers of the general managers of the BCL Season 9 clubs.
We could have the first Round of 16 teams confirmed this week
MIES (Switzerland) - Winning the group became a priority in this format of the Basketball Champions League
allowing the best Regular Season teams to skip the tense Play-In series in January
four groups could get their winners confirmed
Hapoel Netanel Holon
Igokea m:tel
Hapoel Netanel Holon vs FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets (Tuesday
the Germans will advance to the Round of 16 as group winners
they will be out of contention for both the Round of 16 and the Play-Ins
Unicaja
Aliaga Petkimspor
Filou Oostende
King Szczecin
Aliaga Petkimspor vs King Szczecin (Tuesday
they will advance to the Round of 16 as group winners
Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola vs RASTA Vechta (Wednesday
Manisa Basket
FMP SoccerBet
Peristeri Domino's
Peristeri Domino's vs FMP SoccerBet (Tuesday, 18:30 CET)
Manisa Basket vs UCAM Murcia (Wednesday, 18:00 CET)
If Manisa win, they will advance to the Round of 16 as group winners.
If Murcia win by more than six points, they will advance to the Round of 16 as group winners.
If Peristeri lose, they will be out of contention for both the Round of 16 and the Play-Ins.
If FMP lose by more than 12 points, they will be out of contention for both the Round of 16 and the Play-Ins.
DISCLAIMER: The above analysis has been prepared solely for the purpose of improving the experience of fans. It is not to be understood as advice or as binding information on the Basketball Champions League for competition purposes.
with Manisa Basket and ERA Nymburk the only two teams to climb to 3-0
Hapoel Netanel Holon and Filou Oostende picked up their first wins
while UCAM Murcia improved to 2-1 with ease
and as of Tuesday they have a 3-0 record in Group H
in what is their maiden Basketball Champions League campaign
Manisa Basket have specialized in clutch finishes
With Peristeri looking like they could steal a big win on the road
Martynas Echodas detonated a massive dunk for the lead
and Hugo Besson followed suit with 30 seconds on the clock
Peristeri had one chance to win the game almost at the buzzer
but George Papas could not get a contested shot to drop and Yunus Sonsirma set the final score from the line
while another former NBA player joined the club last week
6 rebounds and 4 assists in his first BCL game
Chris Coffey had 14 for Peristeri in a losing effort
The Turkish newcomers are now one win above UCAM Murcia and two clear of FMP SoccerBet
Last season's Final Four team Peristeri are off to a 0-3 start
The fact that Murcia had lost their first home game to Manisa
made them that much more serious in their approach to the matchup with FMP SoccerBet
getting the first double-digit lead after just six minutes
and the 36-point final margin makes this their largest win ever in the BCL
Troy Caupain being the most effective with 13 points in just under 13 minutes
Simon Birgander grabbed 10 rebounds in just 13 minutes
the least playing time for any player with 10 or more rebounds in a single BCL game
These two will face off once again in two weeks' time
Coach Dario Gjergja became only the second coach with 100 games in the Basketball Champions League, and his players made sure this milestone was a memorable one, picking up a big road win over King Szczecin in Poland.
"The most important thing about the 100 games [milestone] is that they are all at the same club. This means that people in my organisation believe in me, that they stayed behind me, and I give them big credit and I thank them for this chance to promote our team in Europe," the Croatian coach said.
He took over the helm back in December 2011, when most of his current players were just kids.
On Tuesday, Davion Mintz, Timmy Allen and Servaas Buysschaert all came off the bench and combined for 45 points, while club legend Pierre-Antoine Gillet had 13 with 5 rebounds as a starter.
King Szczecin got 20 points from Kassim Nicholson, but they are down at 0-3 with more trouble on the horizon, as they have to face Oostende in Belgium next time around.
Another team got off the mark on Tuesday as Hapoel Netanel Holon held off the Bosnia and Herzegovina champions, breaking away with a 25-13 third quarter and never allowing Igokea to fight back.
Marcus Bingham Jr continued his fine form with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals and an efficiency rating of 26. Holon were a +17 team with him on the floor, that's how dominant the 24-year-old center was on the day.
Elijah Mitrou-Long reached double digits again, 13 points on 3-of-5 three-pointers with a series of his usual crossovers to push Holon to 1-2.
Igokea are also at that mark, meaning they cannot afford to lose to Holon at home in Laktasi on November 6. Dragan Milosavljevic had 16 of his team-high 18 points in the first half.
The hottest team right now? Probably ERA Nymburk, who are already up to 11-0 in all competitions this season.
The perennial Czech champs enjoyed the ovations from their fans in this one, as they took the lead late in the first quarter and never looked back, storming to a 22-point lead at one point in the second quarter.
Stephen Brown led the way with 25 points, done in 23 minutes, Jaromir Bohacik had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals, while Christian Bishop finished with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals.
This is only the second time in BCL history that Nymburk started the season with a 3-0 record. The previous time it happened, they made it to the Final Eight, back in 2020.
Tyger Campbell was once again Vechta's best player with 22 points to his name, but the Germans are now down at 0-3.
NYMBURK (Eurocup) - Galatasaray's Ermal Kuqo tore apart CEZ Nymburk on Tuesday night as the Turkish club stayed firmly in the hunt for a spot in Eurocup quarter-finals.\r\n\r\nGala won the game, 77-72, to improve to 2-2 in Last 16 Group K.\r\n\r\nBig man Kuqo (pictured) made seven of 10 shots inside the arc and buried two of three from long range en route to a ...
Here are 15 things you need to know before watching the games
MIES (Switzerland) - Tuesday's three-game slate may appear somewhat light but it can prove pivotal
Here's a closer look at some facts and figures for each of the three games
Galatasaray lost their most recent home game in the BCL (87-75 to ERA Nymburk) after winning the previous three; they have lost back-to-back games at home only once
with defeats against La Laguna Tenerife and Dinamo Sassari
Promitheas have lost five of their last seven BCL games
however both wins in that stretch were on the road
Each of their last three away games in the BCL Regular Season was decided by a margin of 3 points or fewer (W2 L1)
Galatasaray committed fewer than 20 fouls in each of their three BCL games this season
after committing 20+ fouls in 12 of their previous 14 games in the competition
The Turkish team commit fewer fouls (15.3 per game) than any other team so far this BCL season
Will Cummings of Galatasaray tied his BCL career-high of 21 points in the reverse fixture against Promitheas
Cummings scored 10 or more points in nine of his 11 home games in the competition
RASTA Vechta have lost their last six games in the BCL
including the reverse fixture against ERA Nymburk (which finished 93-74 for the Czech champions)
after losing only five of their first 11 games in the competition
The team that was leading at half-time has won in each of RASTA Vechta’s eight home games in the BCL
ERA Nymburk have gone 4-0 in their last four BCL games
The Czech side have won their last three road games and
they will have put together their second-longest win streak on the road in the BCL
ERA Nymburk's opponents so far this BCL season score only 35.2 percent of their points from 2-point range
Nymburk's opponents score 41 percent of their points from 3-point range
as the Czech champions' perimeter defense is the only one so far this BCL season to allow a percentage higher than 40 percent
RASTA Vechta's Tyger Campbell has scored at least 12 points and shot at least 50 percent from downtown in each of his three BCL games so far
His 22 points in the reverse fixture against ERA Nymburk is the highest scoring tally by a Vechta player so far this BCL season
Filou Oostende won 84-73 in the reverse fixture
snapping a three-game losing streak in the BCL
Each of their last six home games in the BCL Regular Season was decided by a single- digit margin
with Oostende claiming victory in four of those
King Szczecin have lost seven of their last eight games in the BCL
and are yet to win when playing away from home (L4)
The Polish side allowed more than 80 points in each of their previous four road games in the competition
are two of the only three teams with a defensive rebounding rate lower than 60 percent so far this BCL season
Oostende's Pierre-Antoine Gillet is two 3-pointers away from becoming the 5th player in BCL history to reach 150 made 3-pointers
Gillet made two or more 3-pointers in each of his last five games
Kassim Nicholson scored 20 points in the reverse fixture against Filou Oostende
the highest scoring tally by a King Szczecin player in a BCL game
The Nymburk EJU Olympic Training Camp (OTC) is a well occupied training camp by many champions on a yearly basis
The training camp itself has been running since the 80s and in 2012
officially became an OTC and with that part of the EJU calendar
over 700 judoka across 44 countries from 4 continents were bettering one another twice a day
the organisers as well as the teams to ensure a top-quality camp is on offer
Paris will soon arrive and be over in a blink of an eye
this camp begins to serve the next generation too
Having this opportunity on your doorstep as a young judoka is gold and the local organisers ensured to seize the moment
The President of the National Judo Federation of Czechia
Mr Pavel VOLEK summarised his experience;
I am proud that we were able to organize this event
But we have managed to do it and I feel happy to hear “Thank you for an excellent camp” from the coaches
It is a great opportunity for our young judoka to train with the best athletes
We invited our juniors and the best female cadets to take part in the camp
it is also a fantastic experience for them.
One of our promising cadet who is 16-year-old and competes in the -57kg category told me during the camp that she admired Marica Perisic
I then encouraged her to ask Perisic to have a randori with her
Eventually our youngster succeeded and told me later how happy she was to have that chance
My personal highlight was the randori between Teddy Riner and Lukas Krpalek
we thank and appreciate everyone’s effort in coming here.
Some of the youngsters on the mat past week will become the ‘olds’ as part of the LA2028 crew. For now, let’s stay focused on the city of love, Paris. With that, the next opportunity to gather for more quality sparring will be the Tata EJU OTC from 8-13 April 2024