MIES (Switzerland) - Four games were played on Tuesday in Week 3 of the Basketball Champions League Regular Season, with the most interesting one taking place in Germany.
Telekom Baskets Bonn 93-74 AEK Betsson BC
Back in 2018, AEK won the BCL in front of nearly 20,000 fans in Athens, and they have chased that feeling ever since, coming the closest to it in 2020, when they reached the Final once again.
In 2023, Telekom Baskets Bonn stunned the continent by claiming the spiky trophy, and their faithful fans are now expecting a similar run in Season 9 of this competition.
The two former champions delivered highlight after highlight for three quarters in front of the packed stands in Bonn, Germany on Tuesday. The fourth was a one-way street, though.
"We can say a lot about this team, it's a young team with many guys playing first time in Europe, but one thing we cannot say is that these guys are not mentally tough. They have shown multiple times how strong they are mentally, playing against great opponents, fighting back. Even going back to our BCL qualification, we had moments where opponents took over the game, but we came back," Bonn head coach Roel Moors said.
Darius McGhee led the charge for the hosts as they torched AEK's defense with a massive 34-point haul in the final stanza. AEK could only get 15 points up in that period, not only losing the game, but also ending up with a mountain to climb if they want the tiebreaker over Bonn at the end of Gameday 6.
McGhee came off the bench and had 23 points on five three-pointers, with 5 assists and 2 steals also to his name, all done in 26 minutes of work.
Thomas Kennedy made all six of his field goals for 16 points with 8 rebounds, while Sam Griesel was the key factor with 15 points, as Bonn were a +28 team with him on the floor.
AEK got 18 points from CJ Bryce and looked solid for three quarters, but their worst quarter of the season so far left a bitter taste, for sure.
Maccabi Ramat-Gan 78-71 VEF Riga
AEK and Bonn are now tied at 1-1, and so are Maccabi and VEF in that same group, as the Israelis picked up their first win in this competition.
Amin Stevens did a bit of everything with 16 points and 8 rebounds for Maccabi, while Roberto Gallinat also scored 16.
VEF Riga were without their leader Dairis Bertans, and even though they had a brief seven-point lead in the third quarter, they will probably be happy with the final margin, as they were also down by 13 with just four minutes to play.
Issuf Sanon was their best player in this one, 19 points and 8 rebounds next to his name.
Karsiyaka 84-74 Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball
With all the talks about the youngsters in the BCL, Errick McCollum decided to remind everybody that the veterans still got it, too.
The 36-year-old Karsiyaka guard scored 12 points in the first quarter alone, then finished with 21 while also dishing out a team-high 6 assists, as the Turkish side picked up their first win of the season.
With Sean McDermott suffering a tough injury over the weekend, coach Ufuk Sarica needed somebody to step up, and found a hero in Damien Jefferson. The former Filou Oostende star had 18 points with 6 rebounds as a starter.
Jerome Robinson scored 18 for Saint-Quentin, while Nolan Traore had 10 of his 11 points in the first half, with 6 assists to his name, too.
Bertram Derthona Basket 102-85 BAXI Manresa
Last season, Bertram Derthona Basket had a near perfect Regular Season, but lost the tiebreaker over a Spanish team in the battle for a direct flight to the Round of 16.
This season, they don't want to repeat the same mistake, so they not only defeated BAXI Manresa, but also built a gigantic lead in the head to head with the Spaniards.
The Italians reached triple digits en route to a 17-point win, climbing to 2-0 in Group G, in sole possession of the top spot.
Christian Vital finished with 28 points, 17 of them coming before the break. Arturs Strautins was right next to him with 22, as they combined for 50 points on 17-of-27 shooting, including 9-of-13 from three-point range.
Former Derthona man Retin Obasohan was the best player for Manresa with 18 points, but they drop to 1-1.