MIES (Switzerland) - There was a shared sense of déjà vu among the ranks of both Nizhny Novgorod and Casademont Zaragoza on Friday evening, despite the fact that the players, coaches and staff members of the two clubs were a few thousand kilometers apart.

When the BCL Final 8 draw paired together the Russian and Spanish team in the Quarter-Finals, the immediate thought in everybody's mind was that this will be the clash that requires the least amount of scouting, since the two sides were in the same Regular Season group.

"First we need to point out the importance of being able to play a second Final 8 within less than a year, it's a testament to a job well done and to the good progress we have achieved in a European competition, the BCL, to which we have given big importance as a team," commented Zaragoza sporting director Pep Cargol.

"We drew Nizhny and of course the first thing we can say is that we are facing the hosts in an arena where there be some fans, and of course those fans that will be supporting Nizhny.

"Second, it's a team we know very well because we played against them twice this season.

"In the first game, in Zaragoza, they were hit hard by Covid-19 and they had a lot of players missing. But in the second game, in Russia, we won in overtime and thanks to that victory we secured first place in our group."

Zaragoza defeated a short-handed Nizhny Novgorod 78-75 in the first game, on November 11 in Spain. In the memorable second clash between the two sides, on January 5 in Russia, Zaragoza stormed back from a third-quarter 11-point deficit, forced overtime and prevailed 98-92 over their hosts.

"Since then, Nizhny have signed Andrey Vorontsevich who is of course a very well-known player from all his years at CSKA Moscow, and he is a very good addition for them," Cargol said.

"They are a very competitive team that plays a dynamic style of basketball, they play modern basketball. It will undoubtedly be a very difficult game, but this is the Final 8, so that's normal.

"I think there is no point in discussing the bracket and potential opponents in the following games, because it all comes down to the first day, if you don't play well and win on the day of the Quarter-Finals then there will be no more games to talk about," the Zaragoza sporting director concluded.