1 Oct 2024
    11 May 2025

    Group E: AEK blow out Bonn in battle of former champs; end of road for VEF

    3 min to read
    Review
    AEK soared over Bonn to win the group

    Chasing a 19-point gap, you need a near perfect game. AEK got it, moving straight to the Round of 16.

    MIES (Switzerland) - The first four teams across the Regular Season finish line were the ones in Group E. Two former champions were in the battle for the top spot, while VEF Riga and Maccabi Ramat-Gan tried to avoid elimination.

    At the end of the day, it's AEK Betsson BC advancing to the Round of 16, Telekom Baskets Bonn and Maccabi Ramat-Gan moving to the Play-Ins, while this season is over for VEF Riga.

    Stellar AEK win the group

    AEK entered the final Gameday knowing they needed a 19-point win over Telekom Baskets Bonn to steal the top spot from the 2023 champions. Coach Dragan Sakota's message before the game must have been a strong one, because his players came out on fire.

    The Queen was up by 12 after the first quarter, then eclipsed the magical 19-point mark on a Gaios Skordilis dunk to make it 34-14 early in the second quarter, and Bonn had no idea how to bounce back, hitting just 1-of-18 shots from beyond the arc in the first half alone.

    By then, AEK were up 50-19, easily protecting the 19-point gap, cruising all the way to a 96-65 win in the second half to take them to 4-2. Bonn also finished at 4-2, but AEK own the tiebreaker because of a better points difference in their head-to-head matchups.

    "I was happy to see people in the gym. As I said, I've been doing this job all of my life for people to watch, so it was a pleasure to share this game with the people and I believe they were happy. It was a serious 40 minutes," coach Sakota said after the game.

    Hunter Hale came off the bench to score 18 points for the 2018 BCL champions, while Prentiss Hubb and Ioannis Kouzeloglou led the starters, combining for 35 on the day.

    Bonn got 26 points from Phlandrous Fleming Jr, but nobody else had more than eight points for coach Roel Moors.

    Maccabi finish third at 3-3

    Meanwhile, VEF Riga chased an 8-point win to avoid elimination, as Maccabi Ramat-Gan had defeated them 78-71 back on Gameday 2.

    In a high scoring affair, the Israelis kept hitting the big shots to open up a 19-point lead in the third quarter, and were seemingly in control of their faith.

    However, Dairis Bertans and Issuf Sanon created an incredible comeback for the Latvian champions, tying the game at 93-all in the final minute and trying to force overtime, to get five more minutes to catch that 8-point win.

    But in a game of chess, coach Shmuel Brenner outsmarted the hosts, telling Kendale McCullum to make one of his free throws, then stay away from the VEF players, avoiding any kind of foul on the final possession.

    It finished 94-93, meaning Ramat-Gan climbed to 3-3 and advanced as the third-placed team.

    "For us as a club and as a team, it's a huge huge achievement. First time playing in Europe and qualifying from the group to the Play-Ins. It's history for us and we are really happy," Adam Ariel said.

    Isaiah Miles had a season-high of 10 points coming into this game, then counted to 19 when it mattered most, leading seven men in double digits.

    AEK Betsson BC are now headed to the Round of 16 Group I, where they'll be joined by the first-placed team from Group A, and two Play-In winners (C2 vs D3; G2 vs H3).

    #

    TEAM

    GP

    W

    L

    +/-

    POINTS

    1

    6

    4

    2

    +31

    10

    2

    6

    4

    2

    -11

    10

    3

    6

    3

    3

    -2

    9

    4

    6

    1

    5

    -18

    7

    Telekom Baskets Bonn will have homecourt advantage in the Play-Ins against the third-placed team from Group F (Falco-Vulcano Szombathely or Pallacanestro Reggiana), while Maccabi Ramat-Gan have to win at least one road game in their best-of-three Play-Ins matchup with the second-placed team from Group F.

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