MIES (Switzerland) - Another eventful night of action awaited us on Wednesday in the Basketball Champions League Regular Season, powered by Ameresco SUNEL. But we probably weren't ready to witness so many turnarounds.
The day started with a surprise in Greece, continued with an historic victory in Bulgaria, and finished with thrilling endings both in Spain and Italy. Let's dive into the four games scheduled in Season 11.
Giants on fire
Considering the 2025-26 campaign and the inaugural matchup of Season 11 against Salon Vilpas, AEK BC have never lost at home with Frank Bartley on the court, with a 9-0 record.
Following 52 consecutive games played with the Queen between the BCL and the Greek League, however, the MVP of Season X had to miss the action, forced to the sideline due to injury.
Guess what? No Bartley and no party for the Queen, as a shocking 103-76 upset win was delivered by Windrose Giants Antwerp, winning their first two games in a BCL season for the first time in the club's history.
The Belgian side, coached by the returning Roel Moors, managed to end their losing tradition away from home: in 2019-20, when they last participated in the competition, Antwerp lost all of their seven road matchups.
They crafted their win on a fantastic 28-12 third-quarter run, ending with a 45.5 percent from the three-point line over 33 attempts.
They are on a roll: 6-0 across all competitions, three straight games with 100+ pts, averaging 104 points per game this season! Hottest team in all of Europe right now? Could be...
On the other side, the 27-point defeat was the heaviest one at home in the Greek side's BCL history.
We've been able to play really well, and it was a really special game. It’s always tougher on the road, so I think it was a special moment for the whole team.
Four players were particularly impressive for the guests:
Enoch Cheeks (17 points and 13 rebounds), starter
Joel Murray (13 points and 8 assists), starter
Nijel Pack (20 points on 5-of-6 from deep), off the bench
Noel Coleman (16 points and 5 assists), off the bench.
Landers Nolley II tried his best for Dragan Sakota's team, ending with a losing effort of 23 points and 5 rebounds, shooting 9-of-16 from the field. He had 17 of his 23 points in the first half.
# | TEAM | W | L | PTS FOR | PTS AGT | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 0 | 202 | 169 | +33 | |
2 | 1 | 1 | 178 | 171 | +7 | |
3 | 1 | 1 | 171 | 196 | -25 | |
4 | 0 | 2 | 165 | 180 | -15 |
BCL is azuis e brancos
Talking about significant road victories, an historic result was achieved in Bulgaria, where FC Porto became the second team ever from Portugal able to grab a win in the competition.
The blue-and-white team - or azuis e brancos in Portuguese - wrote a historic chapter in the club's history, winning 86-74 against Bnei Penlink Herzliya.
It's not only a pivotal victory for Porto's history, but it can also turn into a huge win on the road to the Play-Ins. While Bnei Herzliya stay at the bottom of Group H at 0-2, Porto are now at 1-1.
I'm really grateful for this win and for the history we’ve made for the club. It’s our first win, but I hope it’s not our last.
"I’m really grateful for the work that my players did; they played a really smart game. We tried to find solutions so we could get more advantages," Porto's head coach, Fernando Sa, also commented.
After never reaching double digits in any of his first seven Regular Season games in the BCL, James Woodard has now collected back-to-back double-figure performances for Porto; on Wednesday, he had 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Despite the loss, D.J. Brewton III became the second-ever player to deliver 20+ points in consecutive games for Bnei Herzliya after Maurice Kemp. Off the bench, he had a losing effort of 24 points and 6 rebounds.
Ricky's b-day win
When Ricky Rubio woke up this morning in Badalona, he probably wished he could end his birthday with a victory at home in the BCL Regular Season, as Asisa Joventut were hosting Telekom Baskets Bonn.
His wish was eventually fulfilled, but he couldn't imagine it in such a thrilling finish.
After their fantastic Catalan derby victory against Barcelona during the weekend in the ACB, Dani Miret's team eventually prevailed in the BCL too. They won 76-74, definitely a tough matchup.
This was their joint-lowest victory in the competition (97-95 vs. Hapoel Holon in November 2025), and at the same time the first outcome in 17 BCL games in which they were losing at halftime.
The black-and-green Catalan team progressed to a 2-0 record in Group H, led by Emir Sulejmanovic (17 points over 3-of-4 from deep) and Nicolas Laprovittola (16 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds).
The birthday idol had an all-around brilliant night with 5 points, 8 assists, and 5 steals. Ricky Rubio now has a total of 17 steals in the BCL in 2026 - only Frank Bartley has had more in the current calendar year (19).
Bonn led for 22 minutes on the road in the Palau Municipal d'Esports de Badalona, outrebounding the opponents 42-36 and stealing the ball 12 times. Jeff Garrett had a 17-point losing effort.
In a bizarre twist in final possession, Bonn found an offensive rebound after a missed free throw and quicky found Marcus Foster wide open on a three-pointer for the win.
It did not drop, time expired - Bonn drop to 1-1.
Juventus' defense in Italy
The first 11 times that BC Juventus Utena played on the road in the BCL, they became used to negative results. In February 2018, they were able to break their road losing streak, winning against UCAM Murcia.
Six years and a half later, they had another road victory, winning 76-75 against Pallacanestro Reggiana despite entering the 4th quarter in a losing position; they lost the previous 15 such games in BCL history.
The Italians had a 13-point lead (62-49) midway through the third, but wasted it and failed to knock down two game-winning shots by Jaylen Barford and Riccardo Visconti moments after Chase Hunter's decisive layup.
Despite leading for only 10:35 minutes, Juventus picked up the victory with an excellent defensive effort: they allowed just 5 points in the fourth quarter.
Only San Pablo Burgos in March 2021 have allowed fewer points in the final quarter of a BCL road game (4pts vs. VEF Riga).
"Reggiana was a really tough opponent; they were the favorites for this game. We fought for the win all 40 minutes; we didn’t give up. The physicality we kept for the whole game allowed us to win," Laurynas Beliauskas, who had 15 points and 8 rebounds off the bench, commented.
For the red-and-white hosts, Jaylen Barford led once again in scoring with 15 points but couldn't push Dimitris Priftis' team to their second win in Group E, where Unicaja (2-0) beat BK KVIS Pardubice (0-2) on Tuesday.