ANTALYA (Turkiye) - It was a long road, but Aliaga Petkimspor run the distance to perfection. Three wins in three games were enough for a standing ovation from their fans on Saturday, as they claimed the last Regular Season spot in Group B.
Aliaga needed something special to overcome what was a 13-point deficit early in the second quarter. They got it with stellar defense in that period, allowing PAOK to score just 8 points, and then went off offensively in the final stanza, scoring 29 points in the period to defeat the famed Greek side 79-69.
Over the first two games in Turkiye, Petkimspor had their one-two punch in Breein Tyree and Bryson Williams. The Final win saw them use all of their depth, with five men in double digits.
Williams had a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double, DeWayne Russell finished with 16 and 8 assists, Jordan Wright had 13 off the bench, Tyree scored 12 while dishing out 7 assists, while Peyton Aldridge picked up an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Shavar Reynolds had 16 points in a losing effort for PAOK mateco. Season 9 is now only the second BCL season without the black-and-white team from Thessaloniki.
Meanwhile, Aliaga Petkimspor join the Regular Season for the first time, becoming the 13th different Turkish club to play this competition. The previous 12 were Pinar Karsiyaka, Besiktas, Galatasaray, Bandirma, Darussafaka, Tofas, Gaziantep, Turk Telekom, Usak Sportif, Bahcesehir, Bursaspor and Manisa.
Petkimspor join 2024-25 Regular Season Group B, where the defending champions Unicaja await, along with Filou Oostende and King Szczecin.