MIES (Switzerland) - We're not even in March, but we already have the first two qualified teams which have clinched a spot in the Quarter-Finals of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL.
What's special is that they're coming from the same group. Oh, this wasn't even the most shocking event of Tuesday's night action in the Round of 16 - Asisa Joventut's 9-0 run came to an end in France.
Elan Chalon 85-77 Asisa Joventut
They made their way to the BCL Regular Season through the Qualifiers. They entered Season X with a statement victory on the road against the most hyped newcomers, ALBA BERLIN. And now, they made history again.
Elan Chalon played with pride, passion, and heart, leaving everything on their home-court to come back, gain the lead, and escape with an 85-77 win against Joventut, which were unbeaten on a nine-game winning streak.
In a game which featured 10 lead changes throughout the forty minutes and a battle fought close to the rim, as Joventut slightly prevailed in points from the paint 42-40, Chalon won with decisive plays.
One of them has to be Jeremiah Hill's three-pointer celebrated with a no-look, turning his back to the basket. Chalon's leader finished with a 25-point effort, including 4-of-5 from deep and 6 assists too.
If Cameron Hunt (10 points) had a tough 2-of-8 night from deep, Ricky Rubio (15 points, 8 assists) and Ante Tomic (12 points, 10 rebounds) had solid performances for Joventut, but they weren't enough to get the road victory.
"Well, the truth is when we played in Badalona we watched them play. It was beautiful, we had the best seat in the gym, we watched them play. They played beautiful, but tonight we didn’t watch them, we played," coach Elric Delord said.
"The biggest key that we’ve been struggling with, like coach said, solidarity, being together when stuff goes wrong, and trusting that someone has your back. And today we did that very well and we also made some shots so, when we do that, it’s a lot better," Hill added.
Group K action will resume on Wednesday night, as Fitness First Wurzburg Baskets will host Unicaja at 19:00 CET. While the back-to-back champs can't advance, the Germans would be out of contention with a loss.
Karditsa Iaponiki 62-90 AEK BC
Despite playing in the BCL since the very beginning, AEK BC had never won five straight games in the Round of 16 between seasons. On Tuesday, the Queen extended their Sweet 16 winning streak to five straight.
After their win in the Greek derby played at home, they had the same result on the road against Karditsa Iaponiki, pushed by an unlimited support of black-and-yellow fans. AEK prevailed 90-62 and could celebrate in advance.
With this result, they only needed ALBA BERLIN to escape with the victory against Tofas Bursa later on the evening to clinch a spot in the Quarter-Finals. That happened as well in a rock-party night for AEK.
It was definitely a vintage night for James Nunnally, who joined AEK midway through the season to boost their offensive starpower. The 35-year-old veteran erupted for 32 points (10-of-13 FG), 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Frank Bartley joined his teammate, scoring 15 of his 17 points in the first half to push Dragan Sakota's team to the final victory. Overall, AEK dominated also thanks to a brilliant three-point (52.2%, 12-of-23) night.
While the Queen improved to a perfect 4-0 start in the Round of 16, Karditsa remained winless and already out of contention. Aaron Estrada (11 points, 5 assists) was the only one scoring in double-digits for the hosts.
ALBA BERLIN 69-60 Tofas Bursa
We already spoiled you that AEK reached the Quarter-Finals thanks to ALBA's 69-60 win over Tofas. But we didn't tell you that this combination of results would have led to another qualification.
On February 10, in their first season in the BCL, the German powerhouse clinched a spot in the Quarter-Finals, aiming to reach the BCL Final Four in Badalona at the beginning of May.
Despite Tofas leading for the vast majority of the first half, even going up by 11 points (22-11) with eight minutes to play before halftime, Pedro Calles' team found their way back into the game, controlling in the second half.
A collective effort was needed by ALBA to prevail over the Turkish team, as four players ended in double digits: Justin Bean (13 points), Moses Wood (12), Jack Kayil (10), and Malte Delow (10, with 9 rebounds).
"I’m not only just happy, I’m actually extremely proud to be the coach of this group because the way that they are playing, the way that they play together, it’s something that I will not forget, I am very sure," Pedro Calles said.
Two players scored more than 10 points for Tofas: Jordan Floyd (14 points), who joined the team once the season had already started, and Hugo Besson, who had a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
As said previously, both AEK and ALBA are now officially qualified for the Quarter-Finals from Group J. Therefore, Karditsa and Tofas can't advance anymore and they are out of contention until the end of the Round of 16.
ERA Nymburk 55-69 La Laguna Tenerife
They're an elite team at home, but their success doesn't stop around Europe: despite entering the floor without the injured Marcelinho Huertas, La Laguna Tenerife got their ninth win in their last 12 Round of 16 games away from Spain.
Txus Vidorreta's team led almost completely (38:42 minutes) on Wednesday night to beat ERA Nymburk 69-55 away from home. However, unlike AEK and ALBA, they couldn't advance already to the Quarter-Finals.
Without the Brazilian point god, Tenerife cemented their win on a great night from their backcourt duo composed of Bruno Fitipaldo (18 points and 4 assists) and Wesley Van Beck (21 points over 5-of-9 from deep).
"We knew coming in that Nymburk were a team that is really physical and wanted to play fast in transition. That was a focus point and I thought we did a good job in both halves of finding them and closing out to shooters," the 30-year-old guard, who had a special 2024-25 season with Aliaga Petkimspor, said.
"The key, especially in the second half, was getting the defensive rebound. I thought we did a good job of that, we did a good job of taking care of the ball, sharing the ball and just playing our style of basketball," he concluded.
Still in contention for a spot in the BCL Quarter-Finals, Nymburk ended up on the losing side despite an all-around night by their star, Sir' Jabari Rice, who finished at 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Before entering the February break, Group L action will conclude on Wednesday night, as Dreamland Gran Canaria will try to take their revenge on Pallacanestro Trieste at 20:00 CET in Italy.
Hapoel Netanel Holon 98-106 Rytas Vilnius
The final verdict of Tuesday's night of action in the BCL Round of 16 came from Bulgaria, where Rytas Vilnius won 106-98 against Hapoel Netanel Holon to eliminate the Israeli side from contention.
The Lithuanians, instead, couldn't advance this week but made a huge step to keep fighting for a spot in the Quarter-Finals once the competition will resume in March after the national team break.
Speaking of national teams, Ignas Sargiunas demonstrated to everybody how clutch of a player he is when playing against Great Britain with Lithuania during the window in November.
Against Holon, the Lithuanian sniper had another stellar night, ending with a 27-point effort over 9-of-16 from the field, 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Jordan Walker and Jerrick Harding combined for 50 points too.
"In my opinion we played a better game with Galatasaray MCT Technic but we lost. Now we didn’t play the best game, but we won. But at this stage of the season, I think it’s about the final result," Giedrius Zibenas said.
Adama Sanogo went close to a dominant double-double with 25 points and 8 rebounds, scoring 23 of his season-high night just in the first two quarters.
The other two teams in Group I, Le Mans Sarthe Basket and Galatasaray, will square off on Wednesday night at 20:00 CET. With a win, the French side would progress to the Quarter-Finals.