MIES (Switzerland) - On the eve of Season 11 of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, we all expected UCAM Murcia to start the campaign strong at home after a one-year absence.
However, Peristeri Betsson ruined the party in Spain, continuing their majestic run in Group D, where Itelyum Varese also picked up a crucial road win in Germany. What else happened on Tuesday night?
Peristeri's unreal backcourt
If it wasn't for Panathinaikos beating them in the Greek League on October 18, Peristeri would be 7-0 to start the 2026-27 campaign between domestic duties and the BCL Regular Season.
3-1 in Greece, and a perfect 3-0 in the BCL, standing on top of Group D after facing all of their opponents thus far, including Murcia.
For the first time in the club's history, they beat the Spaniards 80-72, also winning their first BCL game in Spain after five straight defeats.
If Peristeri are unstoppable as a whole, there must be an unstoppable one-two punch for them. Well, can you tell us a more powerful duo in the competition than Ty Nichols and Jalen Finch at the moment?
Peristeri's #0 (23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals) and #1 (24 points, 8-of-11 from two) combined for 47 in the team's win, putting up 58.8 percent of the winning side's overall points.
Honorable mention: Omar Payne with 4 blocks, meaning he's now the first player in BCL history to have 3+ blocks in each of his first three games in this competition.
It wasn't a positive night result-wise for Dylan Ennis, who still managed to write BCL history by becoming the 9th player in the BCL All-Time scoring list at 945 points, overtaking Joe Ragland (942).
He's now a free-throw away from Bruno Fitipaldo, at 946. Moreover, ending with a 17-point performance against Peristeri, the 34-year-old veteran guard has now put up 14+ points in nine of his last eleven BCL games.
Largest Italian win, ever
Varese's first two appearances in Season 11 had nothing to do with what everybody expected the Italian team to be heading into their return campaign on this stage.
Their blowout loss to Murcia to start 2026-27 and the nail-biting's home defeat to Peristeri showed only bits of what Giannis Kastritis' team could really do. They needed a strong reaction.
That was portrayed perfectly in their 95-61 road triumph over BMA365 Bamberg Baskets: a complete domination that warned everybody about their Play-In ambitions in Group D, and set a new mark for the largest win by any Italian team in the 11-year-long history of this competition.
It's the first time Varese have won on the road in Germany in the BCL, and it took them a stellar night by their pivotal players to achieve it: Hunter Hale (22 points on 6-of-11 3FG) was one of them, putting up 16+ points in three straight games for the red-and-white side.
"From the players to the staff, to the guys cleaning up the gym, everyone really trusts me. I really feel and appreciate that every time I walk into the gym every day. I feel like my confidence is through the roof," he said.
It’s no secret that we knew we needed to win this game, especially after a tough loss against Peristeri. We wanted to come out and impose our will; we wanted to be very aggressive from the start. I think we did a good job of that.
David Duke (13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists) also stole the show and was another difference-maker for the winners. Varese were a +37-point team with him on the floor.
On the other side, this was the third straight loss for the Germans, who won their previous two BCL games at home against Italian opposition. Jordan Jones had a 25-point losing effort for the hosts, who will definitely need to bounce back after a winless start.
Three-way tie on the way in Group A?
It hasn't always been easy for Sabah BC since joining the BCL back in Season X. Before Tuesday, they won only one of their eight games in the league, but that happened at home. Baku brings good luck, apparently.
That's because the representative from Azerbaijan found another success in front of their own fans, managing to win 87-80 against Nanterre 92, which were coming off a triumph over Rytas Vilnius.
This makes things extremely interesting in Group A, where Sabah and Nanterre are now tied at 1-2. Rytas (1-1) will host Trabzonspor (2-0) on Wednesday 28 at 18:30 CET. Is a three-way tie on the way?
We don't know yet. What we know, as of now, is that the hosts managed to limit one of the French team's biggest strengths: offensive rebounds.
Nanterre were leading the league in boards grabbed on the offensive end (22.5) entering Tuesday, but only had 10 in the defeat against Sabah.
Frankie Fidler (18 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists) and Charles Manning Jr. (16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists) had almost identical stat lines, being crucial for the hosts.
"It was literally a do-or-die game for us, because we were 0-2 in one of the toughest groups in the BCL. We played against a great team that finished second in the French championship last season; for that reason, I think it’s one of the biggest victories in the history of the club," Lazar Spasic commented.
It was also the first time the 18-year-old Hugo Yimga-Moukouri has been enlightened by the brightest of lights, ending with 14 points and 6 rebounds.
Xavier Castaneda, now the only player scoring in double digits in each of his three games with Nanterre in the BCL, had a losing effort of 23 points and 8 assists.
The assists leader turning clutch for Igokea m:tel
Similarly to what happened in Group D between Bamberg and Varese, there was another clash between winless sides in Season 11 thus far, scheduled on Tuesday night.
Both Igokea m:tel and SK Slavia Praha ERA NBK previously started their campaigns in the BCL with three straight defeats only once, and one of the two would have broken their losing streak.
While the Czech side prevailed in offensive rebounds (13-8), second-chance points (15-1), and steals (11-6), among other statistical categories, the hosts survived to get the 77-72 win, their first one of the season.
After the first two games of Season 11, Roman Penn led the whole league in assists per game (8.5), but against Slavia Praha he took on scoring responsibilities, coming up clutch with a step-back dagger. He had 19 points and 7 assists in Igokea's win.
Slavia Praha, which have now entered the season with three consecutive defeats for the second time in 10 appearances, had 18 points on 4-of-6 from downtown by Javian McCollum.
Group G action will resume on Wednesday night, as ALBA BERLIN welcome Surne Bilbao to the German capital at 20:00 CET.