MIES (Switzerland) - Lenovo Tenerife v Tofas Bursa on the 6th of April is the last series to get started in the Quarter-Finals but it's most certainly not the least. For Tenerife, this is very familiar ground. This is a club that has reached this stage of the competition every year bar one. They are also in rip-roaring form having just dismantled Real Madrid in the Liga Endesa. For Tofas, this is the reason they decided to join the Basketball Champions League. A chance at reaching their first Final 4 and a puncher's chance in a series against a former champion. 

Data Overview

Tenerife have the most efficient offense in the BCL. They score 116.3 points per 100 possessions which also helps them on their way to the best Net Rating in the league at +11 points per 100 possessions. Tofas might be the most underrated team in the BCL this season and their third-ranked offense supports that idea. They score at a rate of 113.3 points per 100 possessions and their Defensive Rating (DRtg) of 105.9 points conceded per 100 possessions is almost identical to their opponents, Tenerife, who have A DRtg of 105.2. The Canary Islanders are also the most efficient shooting team in the BCL with an Effective Field Goal Percentage of 58 percent. 

Lenovo Tenerife

By now we probably don't need to show you how Txus Vidorreta sets this team up to play. It's a brand of basketball that is recognized by connoisseurs of the game all over the world. So much so that there is even an action named after them; "Tenerife Action". In the clip below we see it. The play is designed to look like a "Spain" pick-and-roll where a shooter sets a back screen for the roller but Tenerife twist it by faking the back screen, only for the shooter to use the roller to get open for a wing three. Teams have got so used to seeing them set up to run it that they can often stop them from scoring the three-pointer. It doesn't really matter much though. This team just keeps playing. They move the ball, read the defense and ride it out until they get the shot they want. In this case, #22, Sulejmanovic drives the ball and creates an advantage, then it's extra pass to extra pass until eventually, #10, Sasu Salin has a wide-open shot from the corner - a layup for him. 

This team is built around the relationship between Marci Huertas and Bruno Fitipaldo as the main playmakers, with Shermadini, Guerra, and Sulejmanovic rotating at the center position. Then you add in the shooting of Salin and Doornekamp and you have the core of this team that feels like it's been together for decades now. The additions of Wiltjer and Sastre have both made huge impacts in very different ways and the return of Dejan Todorovic has only made the squad deeper. Vidorreta can also count on Sergio Rodriguez for reliable minutes in the rotation but there is no doubt that the whole show is built around the chemistry at the core of this squad. And they are only getting better at playing together.

A clear sign of that evolving core is how often you see Tenerife's guards find very late passes to their bigs rolling deep into the paint. In the first clip of the video below, watch how #9, Huertas, and #35 Guerra are patient enough to try and get the right angle to set the ball screen twice before Guerra eventually flips the angle and sets it from the other side. Then, just when the play looks dead Huertas, finds a pass to Guerra under the rim that nobody else was expecting. Nobody else except Guerra that is, who already had his hands up waiting for it. All of this with zero verbal communication, it's almost telepathic. The second clip is very similar only this time it's Salin making the late pass, deep in the paint. Again, Guerra's body position tells you he was expecting a pass that nobody else could even see was coming. 

This squad is big, very big. They have an average height of 1.99m and two 7 footers (2.14m). They use that size not just in protecting the rim but also in the way they defend pick-and-rolls and clog the lane for interior passes. When you watch them play on Wednesday, watch out for how often the likes of Shermadini, Guerra, and Sulejmanovic manage to get their hands on the ball when defending the pick-and-roll. Even if they don't get their hands on the ball, they are all very good at positioning their big bodies in the driving lane when defending ball screens and making it very tough for opponents to create anything. Against Tofas - which is a team led by their playmakers - this will be hugely important, especially as we can probably expect Ennis, Cruz, and Shepherd to be looking to attack Shermadini and Guerra in the pick-and-roll as often as they can.

We mentioned earlier how Joan Sastre has quietly made a huge impact since joining the club from Valencia. He doesn't stuff the stat sheet but he guards several positions and makes really smart plays on the defensive end. This team had needed a defensive stopper in the backcourt since Lahou Konate left. Salin is a great defender but needs his energy to run through 100 screens per game looking for open shots. Sastre takes the load off and makes important reads like the steal in the clip below (watch how he reads the passer's eyes to know when he can release from helping down low to go and get the steal). Against Tofas Bursa's loaded backcourt, he will certainly be  vital. 

Tofas Bursa

 After topping their group and also finishing with a 4-2 record in the Round of 16, it's hard to put your finger on the reason why Tofas Bursa are flying so low under the radar. They don't have a shortage of talent in their squad with Tyler Ennis, Pako Cruz, Kasey Shepherd, Berk Ugurlu, Elgin Cook, Jeremy Simmons, and Tomislav Zubic just to name a few. They also play an exciting brand of basketball and have a versatile roster that can score really effectively in a lot of different ways. The latest addition to the squad, Tyler Ennis, has really tipped the scales even further with his ability to get downhill and finish at the rim. Ahmet Caki is also able to use him as a primary ballhandler or start him off the ball with a player like Berk Ugurlu or Pako Cruz. The latter of those two options has proved to be especially lethal. 

There are three clips in the video below. In the first #3, Ennis starts off the ball as Tofas runs a side-to-mid pick-and-roll. This enables him to attack downhill into an "Angle" ball screen. Manresa try to "Flash" at him with the screener's defender, then rush back to defend the action 2v2 as Ennis' man fights to get back in front of the ball. As you see in the two clips subsequent, this type of coverage is meat and drink to Ennis and once he gets downhill and forces help defenders to come, he's picking out shooters at a very high level. It also helps him to have the likes of #1, Zubcic to pick out. The Croatian is averaging 13 points on 38 percent shooting from deep and at 2.11m closing out to that shot is an almost pointless exercise. 

As we said to start with, Ennis might be the cherry on the top of this Tofas offense but the foundation was already there with the likes of Cruz, Ugurlu, and Shepherd. Ahmet Caki's system is well designed to make the most of their playmakers in the pick-and-roll. In fact, per Synergy, only their opponents Tenerife have scored more points in total from their ballhandlers in the pick-and-roll (Tofas with 167 points, Tenerife with 190). The set play in the video below is probably one of the most common actions you will see them use in this series.

The play starts with a dribble weave between their guards and wings, then flows into a Spain pick-and-roll. The movement into the screen serves to move the defense out of position before the action that they want to score from and when you have threats on the ball as Tofas do, they don't need the defense to be very far out of position before they can take advantage. Also, take note of the alignment and spacing. Tofas usually use a lineup with two "bigs" but with Zubcic, Cook, and Arslan, they will almost always have one of those as a "stretch" player operating on the perimeter with Simmons and Yasar taking most of the minutes at the center spot.

On the defensive end, we need to start with Jeremy Simmons. This is a player that can guard multiple positions, execute multiple types of coverage, and despite giving up height at 2.04m, he still gives you rim protection and his strength means he's not a mismatch for almost any center in the BCL (Shermadini, TBC).

The combination with Zubic also means that the Croatian can use his basketball IQ to play center field and read the play when Simmons is engaged in defending screening actions. In both clips below we see that exact situation and Zubcic comes up with a steal from reading the play. With Cook also operating at the four, his athleticism also means he is a presence at the rim whilst Simmons is defending the pick-and-roll. Against a team like Tenerife that - as we have seen - are so reliant on hitting their giants rolling to the rim, Zubcic and Cook could be major factors, staying "home" in the paint and allowing Simmons to be more aggressive when it comes to forcing the ball out of the hands of Huertas and crew. 

Key Matchups

The key matchup for Tenerife is Giorgi Shermadini. If we are being honest, it's always Giorgi Shermadini regardless of Tenerife's opponent. We have to mention Kyle Wiltjer here as he can score against anyone. That battle of the stretch fours with Zubcic is very natural to pick out and will make for fascinating basketball. Finding a way to slow Huertas as the head of the snake is another permanent question when teams play against Tenerife... but ultimately the biggest headache for Tofas will be the big Georgian. Can you play him 1v1 with Simmons and Yasar, or do you bring doubles, and if you do, where do you bring them from and who can you leave open?

For Tofas we have already looked at Tyler Ennis and much like Huertas, there is no doubt his team will need him to have a huge series but the player that could cause the Canary Islanders to lose the most sleep may well be Elgin Cook. The American is having a fine season averaging 10.6 points and 4.6 rebounds on 37.8 percent shooting from deep. Cook presents a similar challenge to that which somebody like Amath M'Baye has done for Tenerife in the past - he's a shooting threat but also fleet-footed and hard to stay in front of when he puts the ball on the floor. If Caki calls a play to get Cook isolated in a 1v1, it's unclear how Tenerife will cover that without giving up space for the likes of Ennis, Cruz, and Shepherd.

All things considered, Tenerife go into the series with homecourt and as strong favorites. The fact that Tofas will need to travel to the Canary Islands twice if they are to win, is already a factor. However, that doesn't mean the series is cut and dried. There is a lot of basketball to be played and the first game will almost certainly be decisive. If Tofas can come up with a win on Wednesday night that will give them a huge gust of wind in their sails to carry themselves home. If Tenerife get the job done at home, the series will become an even bigger uphill struggle.