MIES (Basketball Champions League) - That time of the week again! The first Power Rankings of 2018, with AS Monaco protecting their top spot once again.

CLUB	MOVE
32		You're looking at the champs of the half-basketball. Rosa Radom keep on squandering big leads all over Europe, and their game away at Venezia was no different. They led by 14, lost in OT. That was their fifth defeat of the season in a game they led by 10+ in the Basketball Champions League.
31		Gaziantep challenged Iberostar Tenerife for a half, but were blown out after the break, extending their losing streak to 8 games. It's crazy, Gaziantep were once a 2-0 team in the Basketball Champions League, now they are 2-8 at the bottom of Group B.
30		Losers of five straight in the Basketball Champions League almost pulled an upset back home in Lithuania. But Zalgiris emerged victorious, taking an 81-79 win over Juventus Utena on an Axel Toupane jumper with 0.4 left on the game clock... Unlucky!
29		An 88-74 win away at Tsmoki-Minsk ended a five-game losing skid and kept Enisey's Play-Off hopes alive in the VTB League, but they are down at 2-8 in the Basketball Champions League after their 94-65 defeat against Monaco last week. At -20 degrees outside, Krasnoyarsk crowd needs something to warm them up. Something like a win over Juventus, let's say...
28		Wake us up when January ends, right? SikeliArchivi Capo d'Orlando are winless in four games of 2018, dropping out of the Play-Off battle in Italy and their Basketball Champions League campaign isn't looking that much better, either. But* if they get back-to-back wins in Group B, they could still challenge the Top 4 of the group. *That's a huge but. Like, so big, we could've written it BUT.
27		Not an easy task, scoring 98 points away from home and still losing the game... But Telekom Baskets Bonn keep on defying the odds in the Basketball Champions League, a 10-7 Bundesliga team falls to 3-7 in out Group D. They need something special over the last four Gamedays to get a spot among the last 16.
26		They had a nice little five-game win-streak in all competition, but a 94-79 defeat at Hapoel Fattal Eilat proved to be fatal* for their winning run. UNET Holon need to defeat Karsiyaka this week, that would still give them a shot of reaching the Round of 16. *Get it? Fattal fatal? Pun time...
25		We didn't think it was possible, but Stelmet Enea Zielona Gora lost a game under Andrej Urlep! After winning their first five with a new man at the helm, including an impressive 99-96 triumph over group leaders Besiktas Sompo Japan, Zielona Gora dropped a game against Trefl Sopot, 90-94, over the weekend.
24		Ehh... Every time we have Dinamo Sassari as the be-careful-they-are-in-fine-form-right-now team of the Basketball Champions League, they end up losing a couple of games. And when we put them as one of the not-in-a-good-shape teams, they pull off something spectacular. A win away at Monaco this week would be just that - spettacolo!
23		So unlucky to be in a tough Group D. Oostende are up to 15-0 in Belgian League, they suffered only two defeats over the last nine games, but those two were against Besiktas and Avellino, putting a huge dent into their Play-Off ambitions.
22		The Emperor's Throne Room is in danger. But Aris can still bounce back from the dark side, Avellino are just a win ahead of them in fourth in Group D. We have a massive game coming up with Aris traveling to Bonn, one of those two will be on their way out following Wednesday's action.
21		Gremo, Slovenci! Slovenian champs had one of the upsets of last week, taking down medi Bayreuth in Germany. Petrol Olimpija are rising up in the Basketball Champions League, but they are also playing the Slovenian League, Slovenian Cup and the ABA League - that kind of a busy schedule saw them drop to 5-11 in the Adriatic League, just a place above the bottom...
20		Saved their best for last? PAOK are enjoying a three-game winning run overall, and have won back-to-back games in the Basketball Champions League, just in time to catch that last train to the Play-Offs. If they defeat Elan Chalon in Thessaloniki on Tuesday, that would be a giant leap towards the Round of 16.
19		French champions are still in the last place of the LNB Pro A, even after their 84-52 dismantling of ASVEL. And after Elan Chalon lost to Ventspils last week, they are on their way out of the Top 20 of our Power Rankings.
18		Remember that Seinfeld episode, the Highs, the Lows and the Break-evens? Well, AEK are just like Jerry, they break-even every time. No matter what happens, it will even out, as AEK are 6-6 in Greek League and 5-5 in the Basketball Champions League. (Trying to find the George and the Elaine of our league now.)
17		I'm just going to tell you that SIG Strasbourg are playing Umana Reyer Venezia on Wednesday. With so much on the line, it will be the Play-Offs before the Play-Offs! (BTW, Strasbourg have lost three straight in the Basketball Champions League. Before that, they had won three straight...)
16		Still with a perfect 14-0 record in Latvia, Ventspils are back in the driver's seat in Group B of the Basketball Champions League. Their Regular Season sweep of Elan Chalon could be decisive, but it all could come down to the final week of the Regular Season, when they play host to PAOK in Latvia...
15		You don't need to have a lot of money to be considered Rich... Jason Rich took home the MVP dell'ultima giornata del girone di andata award, his 33 points have propelled Sidigas Avellino all the way to the top of the Serie A, putting the felice* into the Felice Scandone! Can't wait to see if Rich could be MVP of the giornata in the Basketball Champions League, too... *"happy" in Italian.
14		Not looking good at all for Pinar Karsiyaka with the closing stages of the Basketball Champions League season approaching. They've lost Bryon Allen to injury, and with games away at Holon and Enisey, and at home to Monaco and Murcia coming up, they need to hang on to their Play-Off position right now.
13		MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg were a bit too much for Neptunas to handle, handing the Lithuanian side their first defeat in last six games. They've had a week off, to prepare for their encounter with Gaziantep. No excuses, then. It's a must win to protect their journey to the Play-Offs.
12		Here's a breakdown of medi Bayreuth's maiden Basketball Champions League season: W-W-W L-L-L W-W-W L-... You know what's coming up next in that line... They are playing at home against Banvit, doesn't get any tougher than that in Group C!
11		Here they go again! Umana Reyer Venezia showed what it means to be the champions of Italy, taking down EA7 Emporio Armani Milano away from home! Just like that, that December slump is a thing of past, Venezia have won five straight in all competition. Bad news - Gediminas Orelik suffered a horrid injury, he will be out for a long time... We wish him a speedy recovery!
10		It was a one way street from start to finish against SIG Strasbourg, and Movistar Estudiantes completed a successful week with a big win over MoraBanc Andorra in the Spanish League. Back to the Top 10 in the Power Rankings, they want to stay there a bit longer than last time...
9		You should just read our Champions League Insider about UCAM Murcia and their games within games. Brilliant stuff!
8		We'll just tell you that CEZ Nymburk haven't lost a game since November 8. Winning run extended to 17 (!?) games now... And they really are "running" in that run, they've scored 100+ points in their last five games!!
7		That one-point win away at Pinar Karsiyaka could be the biggest one so far. They should be a lock for the Play-Offs, especially when you consider the fact that EWE Baskets Oldenburg have won seven of their last eight games.
6		We were a bit worried about Banvit early in December. But nobody should doubt what Saso Filipovski is doing - his team got back on track in an impressive 8-game win-streak! Venezia, Darussafaka, Anadolu Efes, Galatasaray, AEK, Karsiyaka - those are some mighty names that have fallen in that run...
5		You know it's a good day when Nanterre 92 score close to their name. They put up 91 last week in the Basketball Champions League, and Jamal Shuler is still the front-runner for the MVP of the season award, averaging 16.4 points and 5.3 assists per game - ranked #7 in both categories.
4		No days off in the Basketball Champions League - Besiktas Sompo Japan have learned that the hard way, taking an L away to bottom-placed Zielona Gora last week. That puts their top position in Group D in jeopardy, but with Juan Palacios and Josh Adams getting to know all the plays and teammates, Besiktas will be an even tougher team as the season progresses. (That's a scary thought.)
3		Having already played 32 official games this season, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg finally got some time off, with the German All-Star game taking place. It was just another day at the office for Thomas Walkup, he helped the international stars defeat the national stars 145-132 with his usual 15-5-5 stat-line.
2		Iberostar Tenerife are just quietly doing their things, winning games all over the place, especially the big ones. Baskonia are the latest EuroLeague team to taste defeat against Tenerife, FC Barcelona Lassa and Unicaja already being there this season. Dishing out 26 assists in a game is a no-big-deal kind of thing with Canarias, even without the injured captain Nico Richotti.
1		Hottest team in Europe? Could be, as AS Monaco a.k.a. Monstars 2.0 celebrate their 12th straight win. Watching their last two games, here's one for you: Have you ever seen Chris Evans score and it wasn't a dunk? Keep doing your thing, Flight 23...

*The power rankings are entirely subjective and is in no way a true, accurate ranking systems. All comments are purely those of the author.