MIES (Switzerland) - Before the start of Season X of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, we already knew Dreamland Gran Canaria and Joventut Badalona would make noise.
After four games, both teams continue to be unbeaten, as they prevailed over their respective opponents on Wednesday as well. One could even celebrate a Sweet 16 spot earlier than expected.
Dreamland Gran Canaria 77-62 KK Spartak Office Shoes
Tuesday was Galatasaray MCT Technic's turn, while on Wednesday, everything aligned in order to have Gran Canaria make their way to the BCL Round of 16 as well, in their debut season in the competition.
Following SL Benfica's win over Le Mans Sarthe Basket, they needed a victory against KK Spartak Office Shoes to clinch the 1st place in Group H, officially entering the Sweet 16.
Enjoying a nice evening in front of their fans, they got the job done thanks to the 77-62 win over the Serbians.
Nicolas Brussino made his presence felt with an all-around night of 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Mike Tobey continues being a winning factor for the Spanish side, finishing with 19 points over 5-of-5 from two-point range and 3-of-6 in three-pointers.
"We knew we were coming into this game to play for potentially first position in our group against a very good, very solid team. I think mentally we were ready. We started the game well, especially offensively because the first five minutes on defense, we were a little bit shaky, but from that point on we got solid defensively and we played a solid game. In the end I think our victory was deserved, so I congratulate our team and we move forward," coach Jaka Lakovic said.
Despite the loss, KK Spartak still remain in 2nd position in Group H at a 2-2 record and will fight for home-court advantage in the Play-Ins. Shevon Thompson had a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
Bursaspor Basketbol 68-79 Joventut Badalona
Joventut know how to win basketball games. They know how to do it on offense, as in each of their first three outcomes in the BCL, they recorded 15-point margins.
If that wasn't enough, they surely know how to do it on defense: for the fourth straight game, they have allowed less than 75 points to their opponents. Bursaspor Basketbol was one of them, and they lost 79-68 at home.
From the end of the first quarter, it was a no-contest, with the Catalans keeping control of the encounter until the final buzzer. Therefore, they are now 4-0 in Group C, ready to put their names into the Round of 16.
Improving game by game, this was definitely Ricky Rubio's best performance since returning to Badalona in the BCL: the Spanish magician finished with 24 points (4-of-5 from three, 8-of-8 at the line) and 5 assists.
Ludde Hakanson (13 points) and Yannick Kraag (10 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals) also scored in double-digits.
The young 2005-born Turkish gem Berk Akin had a 10-point losing effort and a jersey swap with Rubio at the end, while Brandon Childress went close to a triple-double with 14 points, 11 assists, and 7 rebounds.
However, Bursaspor remain winless at the bottom of Group C with a 0-4 record.
SL Benfica 93-90 Le Mans Sarthe Basket
We said it when talking about the umpteenth winning outcome by Rytas Vilnius in the BCL when playing at home, and we will repeat ourselves: sometimes having the crowd behind you makes the whole difference.
For Benfica, which have won only 3 of their last 19 games, and have done it each and every time at home, there isn't an exception. Le Mans now know it, as they come back to France with the 93-90 defeat.
While this will surely be a satisfaction for the Portuguese side, it isn't enough for them to grab the head-to-head advantage with Le Mans, as the French team won the reverse fixture 89-69. Both teams are tied at 1-3 in Group H.
The duo composed of Aaron Broussard (12 points and 8 assists) and Aleksander Dziewa (18 points and 5 rebounds) stepped up for Benfica, which went even up by 14 points (60-46) in the third quarter before suffering Le Mans' late comeback and recovered once again to come out victorious in the clutch.
The team's leader, Geno Crandall, didn't score more than 16 points as he did in his previous two games, but still had a solid performance of 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Without surprises, Trevor Hudgins was once again prominent on Le Mans' scoresheet, finishing with a losing effort of 30 points over 10-of-19 from the field. Johnny Berhanemeskel scored 17 points off the bench.