DIJON (France) - One more spot in the Basketball Champions League Round of 16 Group I was up for grabs today, and that spot was filled by JDA Bourgogne Dijon after they defeated Peristeri bwin in front of their home fans, 89-82.

Turning point: Leonidas Kaselakis started the game on fire and had a perfect first quarter for Peristeri, scoring 13 points and shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and making all three of his three-pointers. Despite missing their first nine attempts from beyond the arc in the first half, Dijon won the second quarter 23-14 to take a 39-38 lead into halftime.

Dijon finally made their first three-pointer a couple minutes into the third quarter and then they put their foot on the gas, winning the quarter 24-13 to go up 63-51. Peristeri committed six turnovers in the quarter. Peristeri got to within five points in the fourth quarter, but Dijon soon went on a 9-3 run to extend their lead again and hold on for the seven-point victory.

Game hero: It was a very solid team effort from Dijon who had five players score in double figures, but Markis McDuffie was once again the star, as he continued his strong level of play with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. The 25-year-old also shot 50 percent from the field, made all five of his free-throws and didn't commit a single turnover.

Honorable mention: Center Gavin Ware (20 points) and forward David Brembly (10 points) were literally both perfect tonight, as the two combined to shoot 14-of-14 from the field.

Stats don't lie: Dijon had 11 steals which led to them getting out into transition to score 18 fastbreak points while also limiting Peristeri to two. Dijon also had a 28-12 advantage in points from turnovers.

Two other striking stats in favor of Dijon included having 52 points in the paint compared to 28 for Peristeri, and then 38 points coming from the bench for Dijon and just 20 for Peristeri.

Dijon's four made threes are the fewest for them in a BCL game since November 2021 while Peristeri's five offensive rebounds were the fewest for them in a BCL game this season.

Bottom line: Dijon defended their home court and won the Play-In series 2-1, eliminating Peristeri from the 2022-23 season and will now play in the Round of 16 Group I alongside fellow French team SIG Strasbourg, as well as the two Israeli teams, Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem and Hapoel Atsmon Holon.

There was a bit of history for Peristeri's Miro Bilan, as he now stands alone as the BCL's third all-time leading scorer with 758 points. Only Giorgi Shermadini (767) and Vojtech Hruban (996) are ahead of him.

They said:

"We knew that it was going to be a tough game. We showed our mentality. We stayed strong even when we were losing, especially in the second quarter, we come back and we took the lead and I think everybody did their job today. I think we deserved to win the game." - Gregor Hrovat, JDA Bourgogne Dijon

"I think it was a very good series playing three very tough games. I think energy was high level. Fastbreak points were 18-2 which means energy, running, good rhythm... I think guys really give heart and all of what they have to win the game. I think the first goal of the season for us was trying to make top 16. We make them, now we continue and go on and I hope that the guys who are a little bit out of the rhythm will come back soon, and we can have 10 players in the rotation together with the young guys." - Nenad Markovic, Head Coach JDA Bourgogne Dijon

"It's kind of hard because we're not in the tournament anymore. It really hurts. We played good in the first quarter, but in the second quarter, the momentum changed. I think the turnovers and fast break killed us. Losing this game was a tough situation, but at the end of the day, we fought until the end, and we got to be proud of us." - Sylvain Francisco, Peristeri bwin

"I think we had one great first quarter exactly like we want to play. You cannot turnover the ball 19 times. It's impossible to win with so many turnovers. Sometimes we made good things, sometimes bad things, but at the end of the day, when you make so many turnovers, this hurts you." - Vasilis Spanoulis, Head Coach Peristeri bwin