MIES (Switzerland) - How many things can happen on a random Tuesday night in Season X of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL?
For example, a rollercoaster game ending with a wild overtime, or a 23-5 dominant run by an unbeaten team. Even a first-ever victory in the competition. Find out more to connect the pieces and complete the puzzle.
Fitness First Würzburg Baskets 74-99 Galatasaray MCT Technic
Galatasaray MCT Technic have always lacked consistency away from home when starting the BCL Regular Season. In Season X, however, things seem way different.
For the first time in the club's history, the Lions have won their first two road games of the season. They did so by getting the comfortable 99-74 road win over Fitness First Würzburg Baskets.
With a sweep over the Germans, and being three wins clear in front of Igokea m:tel and Pallacanestro Trieste, Galatasaray have already secured their spot in the Round of 16.
The Germans approached the game with a hot start, getting up 10-0 very quickly. From then on, the 2024-25 BCL runners-up entered a 23-5 run to close the first quarter, and escaped all the way to 4-0 in Group E.
Scoring in double-figures for the seventh consecutive BCL game, James Palmer Jr inspired once again Galatasaray's offensive power, ending with a masterful statline of 18 points (4-of-4 3FG), 8 rebounds, and 8 assists.
The American forward was one of five players finishing in double-digits for the Turkish side, joining Will Cummings (19 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds), Christian Bishop (15 points and 4 rebounds), Bugrahan Tuncer (14 points), and Jerome Robinson Jr (10 points).
Overall, it was a three-point party for the red-and-yellow powerhouse, which finished the game shooting 15-of-25 (60.0%) from beyond the arc against the German side, which are now standing at 2-2.
"It was an important game for us in the first place in the group stage. We played very high percentage from the three-point line and all players produced on offense and defense. We got contributions from everyone," Yakup Sekizkok said.
This was Galatasaray's fifth straight road game with 90+ points scored, the longest such sequence by any team in League history.
Scoring 37 points in the latest BBL encounter, Marcus Carr had a losing effort of 17 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds. David Muenkat joined him with 19 points and 8 rebounds off the bench.
Hapoel Netanel Holon 92-94 Cholet Basket
If you asked Cholet Basket to face a team of their choice, surely they would not have picked Hapoel Netanel Holon. They had lost three times when facing them: their most defeats against a single opponent in the competition.
However, the negative trend shifted on Tuesday for the French side, which first went up by even 15 points (67-52), and then survived Holon's comeback to win 94-92 after one overtime in Hungary.
The Israeli side, inspired by Jordan McRae's 12 of 37 final points, came back from -11 (78-67) with 7:00 minutes to go to tie at 84-84, forcing overtime.
There, a clutch three by T.J. Campbell and a driving layup by Daylen Kountz (13 points and 4 assists) sealed the deal for the French side. Gerald Ayayi's 19-point effort was also a huge reason why Cholet brought it home.
Holon already won 103-92 on the road in France, so they didn't lose the head-to-head advantage against Cholet in the race for the Play-Ins. Following this result, however, the two teams are tied at 2-2 in Group C.
"It was a tough win for us, but a really good win because Holon only lost to Badalona this season. They won all their games in the Israeli league, and they beat us at home," Cholet's head coach Fabrice Lefrançois said.
Pallacanestro Trieste 115-90 Igokea m:tel
Are Pallacanestro Trieste finally back on track? The answer seemed quite obvious by looking at their last two victories in the LBA, and a sign of concrete consistency came on Tuesday night.
They not only beat Igokea m:tel 115-90 in front of their fans, but also turned the head-to-head advantage in their favor after losing 91-76 on the road in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It's a huge first-ever win in the club's history in the BCL, finally moving to the winning column to start fighting for the Play-Ins in Group E.
Named MVP of the latest Round in the LBA, Jahmi'us Ramsey confirmed his status as one of the most gifted offensive players in the whole BCL, contributing with 26 points over 10-of-14 from the field.
Markel Brown (14 points), Colbey Ross (13 points and 6 assists), and Mady Sissoko (12 points and 11 rebounds) also had solid performances for Israel Gonzalez's team in the victory against Igokea.
Overall, eight players finished in double-digits for the Italians, including Juan-Toscano Anderson (12 points). It was only the second time in BCL history that a team has had eight men with 10+ points, following Holon's quest vs. AEK in March 2024.
The 115 points they had is now a new record by any Italian team in a single BCL game.
"I am very happy for the team, for the club, for the city because I think it's very important to have this win. And also in the way that we got this win, playing unbelievable basketball, playing very good, laying together. I am super happy with the win and how we got this win."
Extending his streak to 15 games scoring in double-digits in the BCL, Breein Tyree had a 16-point losing effort. Moreover, he has scored at least one three-pointer in 27 straight league fixtures, joining Brandon Brown for the second longest run - Dusan Sakota leads all-time at 35 consecutive games.
JeQuan Lewis (15 points and 8 assists) and Dragan Milosavljevic (17 points and 6 rebounds) weren't sufficient as well.