MIES (Switzerland) - What's sweeter than competing until the final possession in the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL? Well, competing until the end and getting crucial victories.
Four teams managed to do so on Wednesday in Season X, booking tickets to extend their runs to the next stages, still with one game yet to be played in the BCL Regular Season. Stay with us to figure out what happened.
Joventut Badalona 97-95 Hapoel Netanel Holon
On Tuesday, Gran Canaria became the first team since 2018-19 to win their first five games since entering the BCL. On Wednesday, Joventut Badalona became the first team to do it... since Tuedsay.
In an incredible up-and-down finish to the game, Cameron Hunt hit the game-tying three-pointer to send the game to overtime.
If felt like Joventut would cruise to a win as they led by six points in the final 15 seconds of the added time, but Lior Carreira cut the gap with a triple, and knocked another one down after Jordan McRae had stolen the ball straight off the ensuing inbound.
With the scores tied at 95-all, coach Daniel Miret went to his lefty shooter once again. Hunt got the ball after the timeout, went for his usual midrange pull up, knocked it down as time expired to set the final score at 97-95.
Just like that, at 5-0 in their first BCL campaign, Joventut advanced to the Round of 16 as group winners.
Hunt was Joventut's absolute savior on Wednesday, as he finished the night with a team-high 20 points while also shooting 6-of-10 from two, 2-of-3 from downtown, and 2-of-2 at the charity stripe.
Cameron also registered 4 assists in the win.
Experienced ballers shone as well in Badalona, as both Ricky Rubio (15 points and 6 assists, 9-of-10 FT) and Ante Tomic (12 points and 10 rebounds) had solid performances for Joventut.
Simon Birgander had clutch buckets towards the end of overtime to finish with 11 points over 4-of-6 from the field on the scoresheet.
The trio composed of Derrick Walton Jr (24 points over 8-of-13 FG), Jordan McRae (18 points), and Xavier Munford (15 points) led Holon, but they had to settle for another close call defeat.
This was Holon's 10th overtime game in the BCL - only SIG Strasbourg have been in more such fixtures across league history (12). Holon have now lost six of those 10 games, more than any other team.
Cholet Basket 109-77 Bursaspor Basketbol
Joventut weren't the only team in Group C with the qualification at stake on Wednesday, as Cholet Basket could have had their future certain in the Play-Ins by beating Bursaspor Basketbol.
With a defeat, the green-and-white Turkish side would have been eliminated from contention, leaving the road free to the next round for both the French side and Holon - despite their loss to Badalona.
That's exactly what happened, as Bursaspor couldn't find a way to come out victorious to prolong their losing streak to five straight games. On the other hand, Cholet had a scoring party and won 109-77.
Fabrice Lefrancois' team scored 64 of their final 109 points against Bursaspor in the first half, and concluded with seven players in double-digits, converting 42.3 percent of their three-point shots (11-of-26).
Gerald Ayayi (16 points) extended his 10+ point streak to six games for the first time in his BCL career; moreover, converting 4-of-4 from the free throw line, he has still scored 100 percent of his attempts at the line (32-of-32).
Coming off the bench, both Daylen Kountz (17 points and 5 assists) and Nathan De Sousa (15 points and 5 assists) found ways to score for them and for their teammates.
This was also the opportunity to shine for the 2009-born future French talent Aaron Towo-Nansi, who finished with 11 points (3-of-3 FG) and 4 assists in Cholet's victory.
Bursaspor were never in contention on Wednesday, committing 22 turnovers and allowing 33 points off them. Moreover, they were also outscored in points from the paint (56-36).
V.J. King was one of the few positive notes for the eliminated Turkish side, as he finished with a losing effort of 20 points over 8-of-9 from the field while also grabbing 7 rebounds.
Igokea m:tel 56-85 Fitness First Würzburg Baskets
Following Pallacanestro Trieste's road victory against Galatasaray MCT Technic on Tuesday, every Fitness First Würzburg Baskets fan couldn't wait for the team's matchup away from home with Igokea m:tel.
In case of a victory by Sasa Filipovski's team, both the German side and the Italians would have made their way to the Play-Ins out of Group E, where Galatasaray already booked a Round of 16 spot.
Despite fearing an early elimination in the BCL Regular Season, Igokea weren't competitive since the beginning, as Würzburg quickly created the gap to come out victorious 85-56 in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
David Muenkat had 12 of his final 16 points in the first quarter, finishing with 7 rebounds as well. Davion Mintz contributed with a 13-point winning effort to the German team's achievement.
However, as it has usually happened since the beginning of the season, Marcus Carr was once again Würzburg's absolute leader, concluding with a double-double of 19 points and 10 assists, grabbing 4 rebounds too.
"When the game is important, then it’s important that the players are focused. [...] And today we had our best game of the season. That is important for me," Sasa Filipovski commented.
Javon Bess had a 15-point losing effort for Igokea, shooting 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
I'm proud of the team. We showed character. I'm so happy that we used the chance to play our best basketball yet.
KK Spartak Office Shoes 99-69 SL Benfica
The reverse fixture between KK Spartak Office Shoes and SL Benfica saw the Serbians prevail 90-74 in Gameday 2, with that being their biggest final margin in any of their previous four games played in Group H.
It kind of sounded like a premonition, as KK Spartak not only confirmed the victory against the Portuguese side, but also improved the gap to 30 points, winning 99-69 to officially enter the Play-Ins.
Shevon Thompson is one double-double in points and rebounds away from D.J. Kennedy (9), who holds the record for most of them in league history, but still had 21 points and 6 rebounds in the win.
Moving from the paint to the three-point line, that's where Stefan Momirov's comfort zone is: he concluded with 19 points out of 5-of-6 from downtown, and spoke highly about the game's importance in the press conference.
It was so important to get this win and we made it. I also want to congratulate Benfica for a great fight; they fought until the end and that is really respectful.
This result, combined with Le Mans Sarthe Basket beating Dreamland Gran Canaria on Tuesday, would have eliminated Benfica from contention. However, Gran Canaria came out on top, and they're still alive.
Four players finished by scoring in double-digits for Benfica, with Geno Crandall (18 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds) leading the team coached by Norberto Alves.