MIES (Switzerland) - The Basketball Champions League Season X, powered by Ameresco SUNEL saw its first Gameday finish in spectacular fashion.
Unicaja and Tenerife took care of business, but it was Elan Chalon, Spartak Office Shoes and Karditsa Iaponiki getting the clutch highlights.
Unicaja 97-66 Mersin Sports Club
First things first, the back-to-back BCL champions opened the season like it's business as usual.
Unicaja enjoyed a home-party 31-point win (97-66) over Mersin Sports Club, with the usual collective effort from Ibon Navarro's team. It was a no-contest, with Unicaja scoring 31 points off Mersin's 22 turnovers.
Six players finished in double-digits for the two-time FIBA Intercontinental Cup champs, including the newcomers Xavier Castaneda (17 points over 5-of-6 from deep) and Chris Duarte (12 points, 4 rebounds).
The team's leader, Kendrick Perry, joined the conversation with 14 points over 6-of-8 from the field. Overall, Unicaja shot 18-of-34 from beyond the arc, 52.9 percent from the perimeter.
Anthony Cowan had 17 points and 4 rebounds in the Turkish team's tough defeat.
ALBA BERLIN 76-81 Elan Chalon
The first game in BCL history for ALBA BERLIN didn't end in a good fashion, as Elan Chalon spoiled the party.
Consider them the Road Warriors of 2025-26 so far, as they upset Monaco in the French League on Sunday, and followed it up with a dramatic win in Germany on Wednesday.
A 25-15 run in the third period saw them erase the first half gap and take control of the game.
"We were the nail in the first half, in the second half we went back to being the hammer."
With the game on the line, coach Delord knew whose number to call. Jeremiah Hill answered, knocking down the crucial shot to win the game 81-76, shocking the home crowd.
Hill (15 points) and forward Lionel Gaudoux continued their fine form from the BCL Qualification Round Tournament in Bulgaria, as the latter had the first double-double of the Regular Season at 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Despite the loss, newcomer Boogie Ellis shone with 27 points and 7 rebounds in only 24:51 minutes of playing time.
At the end of a balanced clash, where the teams combined for 41 turnovers, Chalon emerged victorious mainly thanks to their superiority in the paint, where they outscored ALBA 40-28.
Filou Oostende 93-95 Karditsa Iaponiki
Another country, another thriller. The first Wednesday of action in Season X featured an action-packed finish in Belgium, where Filou Oostende went close to victory.
Despite Karditsa Iaponiki leading in full control before halftime, Oostende came back into the picture, eventually tying the game at 83-83 with a stepback three-pointer by Silas Melson to force overtime.
However, Brandon Jefferson (23 points over 5-of-10 from three-pointer, 5 assists, 4 rebounds) took over in overtime, scoring a clutch three with 44 seconds to go.
Demajeo Wiggins contributed with a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds to the road 95-93 victory.
Noam Yaacov introduced himself to Oostende fans with 27 points and 8 assists in the defeat. Aaron Estrada also added 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.
KK Spartak Office Shoes 74-73 Le Mans Sarthe Basket
When Olivier Hanlan knocked in the three-pointer with 21 seconds to go to make it 72-70, it looked like KK Spartak Office Shoes had the first win of their history in the BCL.
Then, Trevor Hudgins thought he ruined the party with a deep pull-up ten seconds later.
However, following 15 lead changes, the Serbian team still emerged victorious, once again thanks to their number seven.
Hanlan (15 points, 5 assists) was the clutch hero for Spartak, converting both free throws later on, sealing the win against his former club, as Hudgins missed the potential game-winning shot at the buzzer.
Keondre Kennedy also had 15 points for the Serbian side, coming up with an important shot towards the end.
On Le Mans Sarthe Basket, Hudgins flirted with a double-double at 13 points and 8 assists, while Johnny Berhanemeskel finished with 17 points and 7 rebounds off the bench.
Trapani Shark 78-84 La Laguna Tenerife
Looking at the game's lead tracker, it seemed like La Laguna Tenerife had the game in their hands on the road in Sicily for the opening Wednesday of Season X.
Txus Vidorreta's team led by even 11 points in the third quarter, but Jordan Ford made it a three-point game with two minutes to go. However, Trapani Shark didn't find a way to come out victorious, as Tenerife won 84-78.
In a tough shooting night (1-of-7 from three) for Marcelinho Huertas, Bruno Fitipaldo (12 points and 6 assists) and Jaime Fernandez (11 points and 5 assists) stepped up in the black-and-gold backcourt.
The two teams had completely different performances from the charity stripe: Trapani finished with a rough 5-of-13 at the free throw line, while the Canary Islanders had almost a perfect night at the line (96.0%)
Jordan Ford and Timmy Allen combined for 30 points in Trapani's first European game.