MIES (Switzerland) - One team already qualified for the Round of 16 and three more battling it out for the remaining two spots valid to play in the Play-Ins: that was the situation in Group A before Wednesday.
The last gameday in the Regular Season of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, had us biting our nails until the remaining seconds of action both in Greece and Poland. Who came out on top?
Promitheas Patras Vikos Cola 111-95 Rytas Vilnius
Rytas Vilnius had already booked their Sweet 16 ticket before travelling to Greece for the last game of the BCL Regular Season against Promitheas Patras Vikos Cola. But they were eager for more.
The Lithuanians started the game in excellent fashion, going up by 18 points (40-22) with less than two minutes into the second stanza. At the same time, Promitheas needed to win - yes or yes.
That's why the hosts' fighting spirit started to emerge, reducing the gap to only one possession (52-54) before halftime. They didn't stop in the second half and went all the way to a 111-95 crucial victory at home.
It was indeed a comeback for the ages for the Greek side, which made the best out of a brilliant night from beyond the arc: Promitheas shot 10-of-21 from deep, converting 47.6 percent of their long-range attempts.
The Greek team's absolute leader on Wednesday night was Rob Gray, who finished with a fantastic effort of 30 points over 7-of-10 from two and 4-of-6 from the perimeter.
Four more players finished in double-digits for Promitheas, including Claudell Harris Jr. (17 points and 7 assists) and Antonios Karagiannidis (11 points and 10 rebounds) off the bench.
Thanks to this result, Promitheas managed to qualify in third position in Group A, earning their way to the Play-Ins stage, where they will face Elan Chalon, which ended the Regular Season as 2nd in Group B.
Ignas Sargiunas (24 points) and Arturas Gudaitis (17 points and 15 rebounds) weren't enough for the Lithuanians, who will now play in Group I of the Round of 16 alongside Galatasaray MCT Technic and Play-In winners.
Being down, it was either do or die, and we had to win this game to have a chance to advance.
Legia Warszawa 83-88 MLP Academics Heidelberg
If you thought Promitheas' comeback was one for the ages, MLP Academics Heidelberg surely didn't disappoint on Wednesday night, coming back from -23 against Legia Warszawa to force double OT.
With the Greeks winning, both teams had only one available result to stay alive, and the Germans did the unthinkable in the second half.
A 27-8 run in the third quarter and a stunning end of regulation thanks to Osun Osunniyi's decisive layup brought the game to overtime, when things got a twist once again.
Heidelberg looked comfortable to come home victorious, but Andrzej Pluta banked in from deep to prolong it to another overtime.
In the second OT, the game was decided once again late, but Heidelberg finally won 88-83.
Following this victory, the German team have now qualified for the Play-Ins with a 3-3 record, tying with Promitheas in Group A. They gained home-court advantage and will face ERA Nymburk, 3rd in Group B.
Michael Weathers had two clutch possessions in the second overtime, ending with 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists to emerge as Heidelberg's absolute hero in Poland.
Osun Osunniyi added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Legia led for 39:18 minutes in the game, but somehow it wasn't enough for the home side to escape from Torwar Arena with the victory, being eliminated from contention earlier than they expected.
The Polish side are yet to win a game in front of their fans in the BCL, as they have now suffered six straight defeats when playing on their home court. They will try to finish the season on a good note in the domestic league.
Jayvon Graves led Legia in scoring with 17 points but finished with a rough 0-of-7 performance from the perimeter. Four more players concluded the game by scoring in double-digits.