20 October, 2020
09 May, 2021
3 R. J. Hunter (GALA)
16/11/2020
News
to read

Week 5 Tuesday games preview

MIES (Switzerland) - The fifth week of action in the 2020-21 Basketball Champions League Regular Season tips off on Tuesday, with a three-game slate.

All four Group C teams will take to the floor, while the day concludes with an eagerly anticipated Group A clash in Spain. Let's take a closer look at all three Tuesday games:

Hapoel Holon (1-1) vs. Tsmoki Minsk (1-1) -- Group C, 18:30 CET

 

  • Holon will be without Richard Howell and Willy Workman in Tuesday's game, as both players picked up injuries at the weekend. Howell is expected to be out of action for at least 10 days, while there is still no timetable for Workman.

  • Holon lost 88-81 at home to Galil Gilboa in Israeli Winner League acton on Saturday, despite Tyrus McGee erupting for a game-high 25 points. Minsk meanwhile did not see VTB United League action this weekend, but they defeated Rubon 79-67 in their domestic league.

  • Holon are looking to record two wins in their first two home games of a BCL season for only the second time in their four league campaigns.

  • The Israeli team team gave up fewer than 70 points in each of their last two home games in the BCL, a defensive feat they have never achieved in three consecutive home games.

  • Holon are so far second in the league in most made free-throws, with 42 so far this season, right behind Rytas Vilnius which has made 46 shots from the foul line.

  • Minsk have the lowest defensive rebounding rate in the league after the first two games. The Belarus side has so far allowed opponents to collect 40 percent of rebounds available on their end.

  • Holon's C.J. Harris has scored 25 or more points in each of his two games in the BCL this season, which means that if he scores at least 25 also on Tuesday he will draw level with Kevin Punter as the only two players to have scored 25 or more points in at least consecutive games in league history.

  • Minsk's Rob Lowery has a total of 32 points and 15 assists so far this season, as the only player besides Dinamo Sassari's Marco Spissu to have tallied already more than 30 points and 15 assists.


AEK (2-0) vs. Cholet (0-2) -- Group C, 18:30 CET

  • Cholet traveled to Athens without Yoan Makoundou and Terrel Parks, however Vafessa Fofana has finally been cleared to play and will step out in his first BCL game with the French team.

  • Neither AEK nor Cholet saw action in their respective domestic leagues at the weekend, so the last time either one of them stepped out on a court was Week 4 of the BCL, when AEK defeated Tsmoki Minsk and Cholet fell to Hapoel Holon on the road.

  • AEK, who are riding a two-game winning streak in this season's BCL, are looking to make it three out of three for the first time in their five campaigns in the competition.

  • The Greek team scored 90 or more points in five of their last six home games in the BCL.

  • Cholet, who are taking part in the BCL for the first time in club history, have lost both their games so far and will aim to avoid becoming the second French team to lose their first three games of a BCL campaign. Of the 10 French teams that have participated in the competition, Pau-Lacq-Orthez in 2019-20 has so far the only one to start off on a three-game losing skid.

  • French teams have a 1-5 record against AEK on the road in the BCL, the only French side to taste victory in Athens was SIG Strasbourg, in January 2018.

  • AEK are so far averaging a league-high 1.42 points per possession, and also have a league-high assists ratio of 24.6 percent.

  • AEK's Keith Langford has made at least two three-pointers in 15 of his 19 games in the BCL. The 2019-2020 BCL MVP is averaging 20.6 points per game in his 12 appearances at home.

  • Cholet's Gerry Blakes, who just turned 27 years old on Monday, is the only player so far this season to have posted multiple games in the BCL of at least 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.


Iberostar Tenerife (1-1) vs. Galatasaray (1-1) -- Group A, 20:00 CET

  • Galatasaray will miss Alex Hamilton and Baris Ermis through injuries, with both players initially expected to be sidelined for about four weeks.

  • Tenerife are coming off a big win in the Sunday derby against Gran Canaria as Tyler Cavanaugh and Sasu Salin led the way with 19 and 17 points, respectively. The yellow-blacks are now second in the Spanish Liga Endesa standings on a 9-1 record, behind only the still undefeated Real Madrid.

  • Galatasaray on the other hand lost their fifth straight game in the Turkish BSL league on Saturday, 91-82 at fellow BCL side Darussafaka, despite an 18-point showing from Daryl Macon.

  • Galatasaray aim to become the second Turkish team to win a BCL game in Spain. Pinar Karsiyaka, the only Turkish team to have pulled off this feat, have actually done it twice, as they defeated UCAM Murcia 96-91 in November 2017 and in the 2020-21 season opener, last October, they won 81-71 at RETABet Bilbao.

  • Tenerife are currently leading the league in two-point field goal percentage, as they shot 68.7 percent on average in the first two games of the season.

  • Tenerife's Bruno Fitipaldo scored a BCL career-high 24 points in the November 4th loss at Dinamo Sassari. The Uruguay international has never scored 15 or more points in consecutive games in the competition.

  • Galatasaray's Brock Motum is averaging a team-high 20.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in the BCL, on 62 percent (13 of 21) shooting from the floor and 92 percent free-throw shooting.