MIES (Switzerland) - Two different paths to make their presence among the best eight teams of this season's Basketball Champions League, but probably the most balanced of all matchups.
Here's what you need to know about the upcoming best-of-three series between ERA Nymburk and Galatasaray.
How did they get here?
As said in the beginning of this preview, the two teams have been protagonists of completely different adventures to reach the 2024-25 BCL Quarter-Finals.
Nymburk's season started way back in late September, jumping into the BCL Qualifying Rounds in Antalya where they clinched a spot into the Regular Season by beating Kosovar representatives BC Trepca, and then getting over Estonians BC Kalev/Cramo. From then on, a dominant run began.
Drawn into Group D with Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola, Galatasaray, and RASTA Vechta, they lost only to the Greeks at the end, finishing with a 5-1 record. Getting back to the Round of 16, optimism continued.
This time, they had to go up against Falco-Vulcano Szombathely, UCAM Murcia, and Nanterre 92 in Group L.
Clinching home-court advantage in the Quarter-Finals wasn't to be taken for granted, but another 5-1 run gifted the Czech champs a long-awaited shot.
But what about Galatasaray? Despite being already qualified into the 2024-25 Regular Season, they played one more game then Nymburk (15-14). How did that happen?
Well, the answer relies in another best-of-three-game series, this time in the Play-Ins against Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball, surviving only thanks to James Palmer Jr's heroic run in Game 3.
Their overall record in the competition this season is 10-5, counting Regular Season defeats to Nymburk, one defeat in the Play-Ins to the French side, and two more setbacks to Rytas Vilnius and Unicaja in the Round of 16. The two Turkish derbies against Manisa Basket Divissa were both successful.
Eventually, the unexpected 86-84 win over the reigning champs, interrupting their 18-game and 15-month unbeaten streak in the BCL, was crucial for Gala's first-ever qualification to the Quarter-Finals.
Were they here before?
Since making their move to the Basketball Champions League in the 2020-21 season, Galatasaray have never managed to go as far as this season into the competition.
After an inaugural elimination in the Regular Season, they would have reached the Round of 16 in three straight campaigns, from 2021-22 to 2023-24.
In each of these seasons, they never won more than two games, losing the opportunity to extend their runs aiming to travel to Bilbao, Malaga, or Belgrade.
The Czech champs, instead, have a past history when it comes to participating in the BCL Quarter-Finals, even though on both occasions they happened to occur in the context of the Final Eight, first organized in 2020 in Athens, and then in 2021 in Nizhny Novgorod.
Nymburk didn't advance in consecutive years. Losing to home-crowd favorite AEK, the following campaign they went out against another Turkish team, Pinar Karsiyaka. Vojtech Hruban was present in both games.
Key matchup
While Nymburk's season has been characterized by nothing but collective efforts, significant help was given by Christian Bishop, who has averaged a team-high 15.2 in efficiency with 12.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game, shooting 60.9 percent in two-pointers.
One of his worst performances of the season happened to be against Galatasaray, contributing with only 4 points in the 80-70 home win; in the reverse fixture, instead, he shone with 15 points and 9 rebounds.
Even though Francesco Tabellini doesn't want him away from the basket, playing on the perimeter, it's likely that we will see him cover James Palmer Jr on certain occasions.
The 28-year-old forward has been on a mission, also posting the only 20+10+5 performance for a Galatasaray player in the competition.
Despite not getting any wins in both games played against Nymburk in the Regular Season, he averaged 17.0 points (11-of-23 from the field, including 50.0% in three-pointers), 4.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists between the two matchups.
Expect him to get double-teamed more than once. If that happens, however, there will probably be some shooting space for the Galatasaray newcomer Rob Gray, leading scorer in Italy with 21.1 points per game.
Other interesting matchups? Well, it's a combo-guard showdown between Stephen Brown (12.9 points and 5.4 assists per game) and Will Cummings (15.3 points and 3.8 assists per game).
Don't miss the inside battles between Nighael Ceaser and Ebuka Izundu either.
Stats Don't Lie
If there's something both Nymburk and Galatasary like to do, it's running the floor, especially in transition. The representatives from Czechia and Türkiye are respectively 1st (76.81) and 4th (75.38) in pace.
It first starts from being aggressive in fighting for rebounds, which both teams grab excellently. Nymburk averages a competition-high 44.2 rebounds per game, while Galatasaray are third in such aspect by grabbing an average of 40.3 boards.
The Turks have grabbed 414 defensive rebounds since the start of the season - no other team has captured more than 400 on their end, as Falco follow at 388.
Previous meetings
It's definitely not the first time Nymburk cross paths with Galatasaray, and there's no need to dig into dusty archives to find out about previous matchups between the two.
Only in the 2024-25 Basketball Champions League Regular Season, Francesco Tabellini's team and Yakup Sekizkok's side have faced each other twice in Group D - on the 8th of October in Istanbul, where Nymburk won 87-75, and on the 3rd of December in Prague, where the hosts prevailed 80-70.
However, there are more meetings from the past, featuring iconic players on the court like Dee Bost, DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, Colbey Ross, Jerrick Harding, and more.
Facing up in Group E of the 2021-22 BCL Regular Season, the results were completely reversed, with a 2-0 sweep by Galatasaray both away and on Turkish soil.
Extending the focus beyond the Basketball Champions League, there are two more meetings between the two teams in the 2010-11 edition of the EuroCup, where Nymburk and Galatasaray met in the Last 16. Once again, it was a seasonal red-and-yellow domination, with back-to-back wins.
Can Galatasaray keep up with the current 4-2 record, or will Nymburk continue being the Turkish team's nightmare in 2024-25?