LAKTASI (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - Day 3 saw last year's finalists dominate on their way to booking spots in the Semi-Finals.
Both Oostende and Rytas completed demolition jobs on their opponents that will give them both confidence that they are headed back to the Final.
Hometown heroes Igokea also showed that they are not to be underestimated this year, especially with that crowd behind them.
And this year's underdogs are certainly Telekom Baskets Bonn, who have flown under the radar on their way to the Semi-Finals.
Here are the Day 2 results:
Coretec Basketball Academy vs. KK Borac BL: 81-51 (rewatch the game here)
Rytas Vilnius vs. Galatasaray MCT Technic: 96-57 (rewatch the game here)
Igokea m:tel vs. Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg: 88-82 (rewatch the game here)
Tofas Bursa vs. Telekom Baskets Bonn: 75-70 (rewatch the game here)
#1 Boy, that escalated quickly
After not reaching the Semi-Finals in 2023 and not competing in 2024, Coretec Basketball Academy (Oostende) have now advanced to the Semi-Finals for the second season on the bounce.
The final score will show a 30-point win for Oostende over Borac, but for most of the first quarter, Borac Banja Luka held the lead and looked like they might continue their surprise package story in YBCL Season 4.
A Tim Waerniers three-pointer and a late floater from Xander Roels gave Oostende a 25-19 lead to end the first quarter, but even at the mid-point of the second quarter, when a Julian Dewinter bucket at the rim, and a pair of free throws from Waerniers put Oostende up 37-21, Borac BL still weren't ready to let the game get away from them.
Sergej Gvozdenac, Luka Skecic, and Danilo Smiljanic quickly fired off a 7-0 run to get the game back in single digits.
It wasn't until the third quarter that the pressure from Oostende's suffocating defense and steady efficiency of their offense eventually wore their opponents down.
Waerniers was again very impressive. His game is low on mistakes, and it was easy to see why he has already made game-day squads for the senior BCL team.
He ended the game with 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. He was well-supported by Julain Dewinter with 11 points and 9 rebounds.
Robbe Keppens was solid with 10 points and 6 rebounds in 18 minutes, and almost everyone on the roster chipped in for head coach Maarten Caron's team.
Oostende move on to meet the winner of Group B, Igokea m:tel, whilst Borac Banja Luka will have a chance to finish fifth, a date with the second-place team in Group B, BC Sabah will decide their fate on that one.
#2 Nothing stops this train
Rytas Vilnius rolled through another station and straight into the Semi-finals again.
Two games with an average of 100 points scored and an average winning margin of over 40 points. Two games with different players as top scorers and eleven of the twelve players getting on the scoresheet.
Rytas aren't just dominating games; they are dominating almost every match-up on the floor.
There's not much more to say about this one. It's a game that Gala would sooner forget, and also one that Rytas will want to move on from quickly to focus on tougher challenges in the Semi-Final.
Rytas coach Gintaras Kadziulis will likely be most satisfied with the 40 points he got from his bench as the game afforded him the opportunity to test a few players with expanded roles.
His captain, Kornelijus Snitka, and point guard Gabrielius Buivydas took the responsibility to keep the scoreboard ticking over in this game.
Both finished with 15 points each. Snitka added 5 rebounds and 4 assists, whilst Buivydas dished out 5 assists. The two are the only remnants of last season's back-to-back champions.
They will now be telling their teammates what to expect in the Semi-Finals against Telekom Baskets Bonn.
#3 Igokea are the crowd pleasers
Porche BBA Ludwigsburg came into this matchup with Igokea m:tel knowing they needed to execute Mission Impossible and beat the host club by 21 if they wanted to reach the Semi-Final for the second straight season.
When Jonathan Knodel threw down a dunk with 5:40 on the clock in the second quarter and put the Germans up 28-18, the impossible started to look possible.
By the time the half was out, however, Igokea had completely flipped the game on it's head.
First Mico Milanovic hit a three-pointer with 32 seconds on the clock to put Igokea up 39-37. Then, Robert Grizelj stole the inbound pass from Ludwigsburg immediately after that shot, layed it up and gave Igokea a 41-37 lead at the half.
At that point, the Semi-Finals were already out of reach.
Armin Pivac battled to keep the dream alive for Ludwigsburg, with six hardworking points in the third quarter. Dutchman Yanu Slingerland also impressed with 7 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, but it was just never going to happen for Ludwigsburg.
Milovanovic, Grizelj, and Djordje Djukanovic were the main protagonists for Igokea, supported by Luka Galic.
Milovanovic was the standout with 19 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds. Djukanovic had 17 points and 6 rebounds, likely propelling himself into the MVP conversations.
Grizelj also dropped 17 points on 66.7 percent shooting, with 5 assists and 4 rebounds to go with it.
The hosts entertained the best crowd of the year so far, and it was smiles all around in Laktasi after the final buzzer.
#4 Bonn nuit for the Baskets
Telekom Baskets Bonn, like Igokea, went into their final group-phase game knowing they could lose and still reach the Semi-Finals.
Tofas Bursa, like Ludwigsburg in the game before, knew that they not only needed a win, but they also needed a comfortable win. In Tofas' case, a 9-point win would have been enough.
Tofas certainly got closer than Ludwigsburg to continuing their run of consistent Semi-Finals, as they picked up a 75-70 win, but it just wasn't quite enough.
Riza Pasaoglu probably had the best individual performance of the tournament so far, with 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists, on 53-63-88 shooting splits.
When he hit one of his five three-pointers to put Tofas up 45-28 with 1:03 to go in the first half, it looked like Tofas were well on track to get the job done.
But point guard Tom Viehofer was once again excellent for Telekom Baskets Bonn, with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Maximilian Von Saldern supported him well with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Tyrese Steinig also caught the eye with his athleticism and ability to turn defense into offense in the blink of an eye. He ended with 12 points on 67 percent shooting.
Bonn become the second German club in a row to reach the Semi-Finals after Ludwigsburg last year, and their prize for doing so is a date with the back-to-back champions Rytas Vilnius.
They will undoubtedly be the underdogs, but based on the way this Bonn team plays, that might just suit them.