MIES (Switzerland) - Four games on Tuesday saw Hapoel Atsmon Holon and SL Benfica as the biggest winners of the day, while Galatasaray Nef and BAXI Manresa lost their pole positions. Joe Ragland achieved another milestone, further expanding his case for the MVP of the season.

We're going through all the news from Tuesday in our usual seven Gameday takeaways.

#1 Joe Ragland in history books

Being the MVP of October, Joe Ragland is not really a player whose scouting report is a secret. Everybody knows he's got a wild left hand and a sense of timing for the passes like a few others in the entire basketball world. But his leadership in a 101-79 win over Legia Warszawa was unlike anything we've ever seen in the Basketball Champions League.

Ragland dished out 18 assists, the most by any player in a single BCL game, ever. He broke the previous mark held by Lenovo Tenerife's Marcelinho Huertas and Cibona's Scottie Reynolds, both of them had 17 assists, but this one could've gone to 20 with the way Hapoel Atsmon Holon's point guard was dissecting the defense.

"I am really all about the team, so to me honestly it [the record] doesn't mean much. I am just going to continue doing what I do to help the team win," Joe said.

It may sound like a typical post game soundbite. However, all of us who had the pleasure of meeting the 33-year-old know that this is 100 percent genuine from the lefty point god.

It's been a year to remember for him, he led Hapoel to Israeli League title, his clutch shooting sent them to the BCL Final Four in Bilbao, he was voted the MVP of March and MVP of October in this competition, he was selected to the Star Lineup First Team in the BCL last season, he set a new single game high in assists, and he also dished out 158 assists in the BCL in 2022.

Yep. You've guessed it. The most by any player in a single calendar year in BCL history.

With Ragland's delivery service, Chris Johnson counted to 25 points, Erick Green had 23, Hayden Dalton 12 and Fred Bourdillon was also in double digits with 11. Holon set a new BCL season-high with 30 assists as a team, and they made all 18 of their free throw attempts.

It was just a perfect night in Israel. To make it even better, a bit of help from Filou Oostende came, and Holon are now #1 in the group, one win away from a direct flight to the Round of 16.

#2 Galatasaray Nef waste a set-point

The Game of the Week saw Galatasaray Nef lose grip of a 13-point lead in the second half, and allow Filou Oostende a way back to a 91-85 win in Istanbul. In tennis terms, Galatasaray were 5-4, 40-0 up on their own serve, then somehow witnessed Oostende turn into prime Kim Clijsters and found themselves a set down.

Galatasaray can still win the match, but the problem is that it's no longer up to them. They have the tiebreaker over Oostende, they are at least second in the group, but if they want to be first and advance straight to the Round of 16, they need to beat Legia Warszawa on the road, and hope Filou Oostende defeat Holon in Belgium, too.

Yes, this whole section exists because of the Clijsters/Oostende backhand return.

		GAMES				STREAK	GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	Last 5	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	Hapoel Atsmon Holon	5	4	1	80.0		430	404	26	86	80.8	9
2	Galatasaray Nef	5	3	2	60.0		424	397	27	84.8	79.4	8
3	Filou Oostende	5	2	3	40.0		386	395	-9	77.2	79	7
4	Legia Warszawa	5	1	4	20.0		361	405	-44	72.2	81	6

#3 Best Young Player battle in Istanbul

Sadik Emir Kabaca will turn 22 in a week. Keye van der Vuurst de Vries will turn 21 in three weeks. Yet they played like veterans, not shying away from the moment when it mattered most.

Kabaca's growth this season has been more than evident, coach Andreas Pistiolis loves using him as the stretch "five," but it's not the usual big-guy-shooting scenario where they just stand behind the arc and shoot threes. Instead, Kabaca has a fine balance to his game, attacking in the low post, attacking with his face to the rim, attacking off the dribble, and catching and shooting.

He had a big play late in the game, when he stormed by his defender, and went up and under to keep Galatasaray alive in this one. But he wasn't the best young player on the day.

That's because Keye van der Vuurst de Vries decided it was his time to shine in the final minute. A dagger three-pointer stunned the crowd in Istanbul, and the 20-year-old had his second points-assists double-double in BCL.

He finished with 13 points and 11 assists, becoming the third under-21 player with multiple double-doubles in BCL history. Alpha Kaba had four of them, Arnoldas Kulboka two. But both of them did it with rebounds, not assists.

Strong case for KVDVDV to claim the Best Young Player award in May 2023.

#4 Limoges' streak continues

Back in 2019-20, Atalanta lost their first three UEFA Champions League games in the group stage. They did not panic, and it paid off, because they connected a couple of wins and a draw over the next three games to claim second spot in the group and go all the way to the Quarter-Finals in the UCL that season.

Limoges CSP are pulling an Atalanta this season in the other Champions League. They lost their first three games, but bounced back with back-to-back wins over VEF Riga and BAXI Manresa. Oh, and they claimed the tiebreakers in both cases.

French juggernauts defeated Manresa 88-77 in Spain, extending their win streak to five games in the BCL and the French LNB Pro A. This is also the first time they won back-to-back games in the BCL, and the first time they won a road game in this League.

A horrible start to the season seems like a distant memory now, and coach Massimo Cancellieri gets to enjoy Desi Rodriguez (22pts) as Josip Ilicic, Javontae Hawkins (21pts) as Mario Pasalic, Nicolas Lang (14pts) as Papu Gomez, and Bryce Jones (13pts) as Duvan Zapata.

Limoges can't finish first in this group, but hey, 2019-20 Atalanta had their charge as the second seed, anyway.

#5 Harding's big quarter goes to waste

BAXI Manresa have now lost four straight games in the BCL and the Liga Endesa, they are 1-6 in their last seven, 2-8 in their last ten games. And they sent Jerrick Harding's big quarter straight to Recycle Bin.

Harding had his first 30-point game in the BCL, with 20 of those points coming in the first quarter alone. He is only the second BAXI Manresa player to reach the 30-point mark in the BCL, following in Luke Maye's footsteps.

Two straight home defeats put Manresa in a tricky situation ahead of the last Gameday. They lose, they could be third. They win, they could still finish first, but need a Limoges win in Lisbon, too.

		GAMES				STREAK	GAME POINTS					POINTS
#	Team	P	W	L	%	Last 5	For	Agt	+/-	FA	AA
1	S.L. Benfica	5	4	1	80.0		411	393	18	82.2	78.6	9
2	BAXI Manresa	5	3	2	60.0		420	390	30	84	78	8
3	Limoges CSP	5	2	3	40.0		359	345	14	71.8	69	7
4	VEF Riga	5	1	4	20.0		330	392	-62	66	78.4	6

#6 Benfica as this season's Nymburk

SL Benfica's message was clear, they aren't here to fool around. And with an 84-71 win over VEF Riga, they are now in sole possession of the number one spot in this group, meaning they are a win away from reaching the Round of 16 as group winners.

Makram Ben Romdhane had a strong game off the bench with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, with Aaron Broussard, Toney Douglas and Terrell Carter also in double digits, and Ivan Almeida and Maik Zirbes right next to them with 9 apiece.

This was their 18th win of the season, they are still perfect in the Portuguese League, and the only two teams that know what it's like to beat Benfica this season are BAXI Manresa and Sporting CP.

Because of their 18-2 record, their team depth and the status of the underdog achieving more than most people expected, Benfica are this season's Nymburk. A national champion making a name for themselves in European basketball, just like the Czech champs did it over the last seven years, or just like Falco Vulcano Szombathely did it last year.

Taking full advantage of their participation in the BCL, you love to see it!

#7 Goodbye to VEF Riga and Legia Warszawa

With the first four games of the week done, we have the first two eliminated teams in Season Seven. Legia Warszawa can no longer catch Filou Oostende in Group C, VEF Riga can no longer catch Limoges CSP in Group F.

They still have Plan B in two weeks' time. Both Legia and VEF can spoil other teams' plans on the last Gameday, so expect them to show up in their battles with Galatasaray and Manresa, respectively.