MIES (Switzerland) - Were you expecting ERA Nymburk to lose all of their confidence to approach the Quarter-Finals? And were you expecting Galatasaray to come out strong right from the beginning?
Or maybe you were expecting AEK Betsson BC to dominate, weren't you?
We got you covered for everyone's doubts, dissecting what happened in the first two Game 1s of such an anticipated stage.
ERA Nymburk 80-106 Galatasaray (0-1)
Nymburk had been (and still are) one of the best stories of the 2024-25 Basketball Champions League, also known as the Ninth Symphony season. Their way of playing basketball is music to everyone's ears.
But it takes way more than some melodic notes to silence and put to sleep a Lion, as Galatasaray decided to roar as loud as never before this season - or only in their historic win over Unicaja, which stopped the reigning champions' 18-game winning streak.
After playing with fire in another best-of-three series earlier this season, when they beat Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball in the Play-Ins, they learned from such a lesson, starting it off strong and winning Game 1 by 26 on the road.
But it's how Yakup Sekizkok's team managed to actually start the series on top that really surprises.
In a season conditioned by inconsistency, they had a perfect third-quarter run (30-15), dragged by the absolute leader Will Cummings putting on a show with 33 points over 10-of-15 from the field and 9-of-9 at the line.
The experienced point guard wasn't the only backcourt player who shone in Czechia for Galatasaray.
Rob Gray left Italy as the league's leading scorer at 21.3 points per game, and on Wednesday, he showcased his abilities in his Galatasaray debut with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.
It's the third time this season that Galatasaray have scored in triple digits following their 103-91 win over RASTA Vechta and their 104-81 win against Manisa Basket Divissa.
Francesco Tabellini tried to shake up his players in several timeouts, but their relentless character looked disappear in Prague on Wednesday night. Nighael Ceaser had a 14-point losing effort off the bench.
Playing the first game of next week at home in Istanbul, as Game 2 is scheduled on April 15 at 18:00 CET, Galatasaray have the opportunity of making history, potentially sweeping Nymburk to reach their first-ever Basketball Champions League Final Four.
AEK Betsson BC 76-69 Nanterre 92 (1-0)
If you ask AEK Betsson BC fans, they surely would tell you: the Basketball Champions League Final Four will be once again played in the Greek capital, at the rocking SUNEL Arena.
In a difficult Game 1 for the Greek black-and-gold side, welcomed to their court by a spectacular two-color tifo coreography in the stands, the support of the crowd made the absolute difference.
The matchup between AEK and Nanterre 92 looked incredibly close with 11 lead changes. Unpredictability was the right word to describe this series' opener, even though the comeback soul of AEK's team emerged once again.
Despite wasting an eight-point lead midway through the third quarter, as Nanterre grabbed the lead entering the fourth, the hosts showed resiliency and emerged victorious with a 76-69 win in Game 1.
Hunter Hale (20 points, 4-of-10 from deep) was the great protagonist of AEK's two souls in Game 1.
First, he scored 16 points before halftime to inspire his fans, and ultimately he reopened the scoring back when it mattered the most, scoring a layup for the 69-65 crucial lead with two minutes on the clock.
Prentiss Hubb (15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals) had a more consistent performance all throughout the game, also sharing the assist for the backboard alley-oop with RaiQuan Gray, which will be shared worldwide.
CJ Bryce was also huge, scoring 13 points including a big three-pointer in the final minute.
"It was a great win for us. That's a really good team that we just played. A great atmosphere, I just wanna thank the fans for coming out and supporting us. We need that for the rest of this season. We just want to get back to work, we got another game Saturday and we'll see this team again soon. Hopefully we'll get the same result," Bryce said.
On Nanterre's side, Roko Prkacin (16 points, 6 rebounds) demonstrated once again his Swiss-Army-Knife talent close to the rim for Philippe Da Silva's team. But the French team was outscored 34-20 in bench points.
Game 2, which will be played in France on April 16 at 20:30, right after the conclusion of the other matchup between Bertram Derthona Basket and La Laguna Tenerife, will decide these two teams' fate.
If Nanterre win, the series move back to Greece for Game 3, with a potential Final Four in Paris still in the air.
If AEK win, the series are done and the 2025 Final Four will be played in their backyard.