04 October, 2022
14 May, 2023
0 Tj Shorts Ii (BONN), 9 Karsten Tadda (BONN), Cheering, Win, Party
14/03/2023
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Bonn win 10th straight BCL game; Jerusalem, Strasbourg through to Quarter-Finals

MIES (Switzerland) - Tuesday saw three eventful games in the Basketball Champions League, with both Telekom Baskets Bonn and Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem extending their respective win runs to ten games and SIG Strasbourg benefiting from the latter's win to also secure a spot in the Quarter-Finals.

Bonn book homecourt advantage

Telekom Baskets Bonn won their 10th consecutive BCL game, becoming the third team in League history to pick up ten or more wins in a row. AS Monaco still own the record with 14 straight, Lenovo Tenerife had 12 in a row.

BAXI Manresa put up a fight in the first half, but coach Tuomas Iisalo's team found a way through their defense late in the second quarter, creating a 48-40 lead at the break. The hosts did not let their foot slip off the gas pedal in the second half, storming to an 85-75 win.


TJ Shorts had 13 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds to lead the way once again. Javontae Hawkins scored a team-high 17 off the bench, three other players were in double digits to propel Bonn to a 5-0 record in the Round of 16.

The leaders of the German Bundesliga know they will finish first in Group J and will enter the Quarter-Finals draw as a seeded team, meaning that they will have homecourt advantage in the best-of-three series in April.


"At the end of this competition there are some great teams, it's a great competition. Bonn is one of those great teams and I believe they have the option for sure to go to the Final Four. And I hope they do because I like very much how they play, how they defend, how they run on the fast break. I think it's a very good team, very well coached, and hope they arrive to the Final Four, but it's going to be very difficult for everybody," Manresa head coach Pedro Martinez acknowledged Bonn's successful season.

His team, meanwhile, will have to keep looking at their rear-view mirror, because Rytas Vilnius could still catch them. If the Lithuanian champions defeat Bahcesehir College on Wednesday, it will all come down to Gameday 6, when Rytas get to host Manresa and chase the 13-point deficit from the reverse fixture.

  GAMES STREAK GAME POINTS POINTS
# Team P W L % Last 5 For Agt +/- FA AA  
1 BONN Telekom Baskets Bonn * 5 5 0 100   431 363 68 86.2 72.6 10
2 MANR BAXI Manresa 5 3 2 60.0   393 389 4 78.6 77.8 8
3 VILN Rytas Vilnius 4 1 3 25.0   315 355 -40 78.8 88.8 5
4 BKSK Bahcesehir College 4 0 4 0   304 336 -32 76 84 4

Jerusalem eliminate Dijon, push Strasbourg through

In Group I, Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem's physicality destroyed JDA Bourgogne Dijon's hopes of advancing to the Quarter-Finals. Aleksandar Dzikic's men won their tenth straight game in all competitions, taking down Dijon 73-64.

 

That win puts Jerusalem at 4-1, sending both Hapoel and SIG Strasbourg through to the Quarter-Finals, as Dijon can't catch Jerusalem anymore, and don't own the tiebreaker over Strasbourg.

"It's not like we didn't want to play better, [but] they gave us a taste of our own medicine: they played super aggressive, a lot of contact, aggressive on the ball, great scrambling. We managed to survive, but I think they don't get enough praise for their defense," coach Dzikic went all-in complimenting Dijon's effort.

Jerusalem have a thing of getting players to torch their former clubs. Levi Randolph did it against Strasbourg, now it was down to Khadeen Carrington to hit three straight threes when it mattered most to silence the crowd that backed him in Dijon last season.

Carrington had 17 points in 22 minutes off the bench, Zach Hankins collected 13 with 10 rebounds and 2 blocks, Speedy Smith was also in double digits with 12 points.

Jerusalem held Dijon to 4-of-18 from beyond the arc, setting up the big battle next week. They will be back in France, facing Strasbourg, winner takes first spot and gets homecourt advantage in the Quarter-Finals.

  GAMES STREAK GAME POINTS POINTS
# Team P W L % Last 5 For Agt +/- FA AA  
1 JLM Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 5 4 1 80.0   373 356 17 74.6 71.2 9
2 SIG SIG Strasbourg 4 3 1 75.0   363 330 33 90.8 82.5 7
3 JDA JDA Bourgogne Dijon 5 2 3 40.0   376 402 -26 75.2 80.4 7
4 HOLO Hapoel Atsmon Holon 4 0 4 0   319 343 -24 79.8 85.8 4

Back-to-back wins for Darussafaka

In Group L, Darussafaka Lassa are now up at 2-3, with a chance to reach the Quarter-Finals while matched up with three Spanish teams.

After fighting back in double overtime to get their first win of the Round of 16 last week, Dacka's new-found confidence led them to a 12-2 closing run against Surne Bilbao, getting them a 95-85 win on the day.

 

Gabe Olaseni had a monster double-double of 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting, with 12 rebounds to his name, and Darussafaka were a +23 team with him on the floor.

Dogus Ozdemiroglu did a bit of everything with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal, Wayne McCullough and Aaron White combined for 27 points off the bench.

Since they don't own the tiebreaker over Murcia, and are in negative points' difference in a potential three-way tie with Murcia and Bilbao, Dacka need to defeat Lenovo Tenerife on the road to have any chance of advancing.

 

But they won't give up.

"We were in a bad mood because of the game at the weekend and we weren't only fighting our opponent, we also fought against our bad feelings. [At halftime] we regrouped, we came together, we remembered why we dedicated our lives to this sport and we managed to start enjoying what we do. One [game] at a time. Let's check again next week," coach Selcuk Ernak said.

  GAMES STREAK GAME POINTS POINTS
# Team P W L % Last 5 For Agt +/- FA AA  
1 LNTF Lenovo Tenerife * 4 4 0 100   317 262 55 79.2 65.5 8
2 DSK Darüssafaka Lassa 5 2 3 40.0   421 450 -29 84.2 90 7
3 UCAM UCAM Murcia 4 2 2 50.0   355 349 6 88.8 87.2 6
4 BILB Surne Bilbao 5 1 4 20.0   380 412 -32 76 82.4 6