MIES (Switzerland) - The Basketball Champions League Season X, powered by Ameresco SUNEL is in its Round of 16 group phase.
The 16 teams are spread through four groups, but there is one place where they are all in it together.
The Ameresco Power Rankings mix them all together to figure out which teams are in the best form at the moment.
That is why the domestic results are also taken into account when ranking these 16 teams - you'll feel better about a team that's on a five-game winning run in all competitions, than about a team that's potentially at 6-1 in the BCL, but 6-11 in their national championship.
#16 Hapoel Netanel Holon (-2)
BCL record: 4-6 Domestic league record: 9-7 Streak in all competitions: L4
Four straight defeats, six in their last seven games in all competitions, and an abysmal -51 across their three defeats in the Round of 16 here.
What that means: Just winning the remaining three games will not be enough, they need to win those games by 50 or so, otherwise their journey could end here.
#15 Fitness First Wurzburg Baskets (-2)
BCL record: 6-6 Domestic league record: 11-8 Streak in all competitions: L7
Seven straight defeats. The last two by single possessions. And they've got Unicaja coming to town this week...
Some good news though: Marcus Carr is back in fine rhythm again, back-to-back games with 19 points last week, he also had 9 assists against Joventut, too, so if they somehow turn their season around, he'll be driving around in the MVP Race, too.
#14 Karditsa Iaponiki (+2)
BCL record: 4-7 Domestic league record: 4-13 Streak in all competitions: L9
Bet you're wondering how a team on a nine-game losing streak climbed two spots in the Power Rankings. Don't worry, we're wondering how to explain it, too.
Anyway, it's because they played better recently, and they actually owned leads going into fourth quarters against both ALBA BERLIN and AEK BC. Sadly for them, we don't calculate third quarter results in our standings, but at least we can move them up a spot or two here.
#13 Tofas Bursa (-1)
BCL record: 6-6 Domestic league record: 8-11 Streak in all competitions: L3
Simple math here: They cannot afford to lose another game if they want to make it back to the Quarter-Finals.
Because if they lose to ALBA BERLIN, and AEK beat Karditsa, it's all over, the caps lock gang advances, while Karditsa and Tofas would be eliminated.
Hugo Besson is playing his best basketball of the season, four straight games in double digit, 20+ twice during that run, against Karditsa and Mersin.
#12 Rytas Vilnius (-2)
BCL record: 5-4 Domestic league record: 10-7 Streak in all competitions: W1
Good news: They finally ended that four-game losing streak with a comfy 101-84 win over Jonava in the LKL.
Bad news: Le Mans and Galatasaray are on hotter streaks right now, meaning Rytas are basically in do-or-die mode already in the Round of 16. A road win over Holon is a must this week.
#11 Pallacanestro Trieste (-3)
BCL record: 5-7 Domestic league record: 9-8 Streak in all competitions: L2
Ah yes, Trieste's weekend was their season, for real.
Because they were up by 14 on the road at Derthona, they had a 32-point second quarter, and just when you were thinking, "these guys are fo' real," they went colder than those luge tracks at the 2026 Winter Olympics, allowing 39 (yes, thirty-nine) points in the third quarter alone, pushing you back to those "we'll never figure this team out f' real" thoughts that you had two weeks ago.
Or last week. Or at any single given point of this season.
The best part about it, f' r'l, is that they could easily complete the sweep over Dreamland Gran Canaria this week.
And they could also be swept aside by ERA Nymburk, fr fr.
#10 Elan Chalon (-1)
BCL record: 8-3 Domestic league record: 9-10 Streak in all competitions: L3
We're entering the crucial part of the season for the entire body work of what they wanted to do. Now it's time for them to bear the weight of defeats and losing streak, and they'll need a strong backbone to do it, otherwise the legs under their plans will start giving in.
It's all connected with that "streak in all competitions" part up here. L3-L4-L5 vertebrae are key for weight-bearing, movement and nerves going from the lower back to the legs.
If Joventut kick them at L4, it's gonna hurt all their elan moving forward.
#9 ERA Nymburk (+6)
BCL record: 4-7 Domestic league record: 23-1 Streak in all competitions: W3
Well, well, well, what do we have here!?
Out of nowhere, ERA Nymburk stole a road game in the Round of 16, and are now back in contention, especially because Gran Canaria defeated Tenerife, so technically, Nymburk are just one win away from the top spot of the group.
Imagine if they managed to outlast Gran Canaria in that matchup in Czechia, too... Could've been group leaders, even with a negative BCL record this season!
#8 La Laguna Tenerife (-5)
BCL record: 6-3 Domestic league record: 11-8 Streak in all competitions: L2
Marcelinho Huertas is hurt, and there's nothing you can say to make it feel better right now.
(Come back, Marce. The world needs a superhero!)
#7 Dreamland Gran Canaria (+4)
BCL record: 8-1 Domestic league record: 6-12 Streak in all competitions: L1
Two wins by a total of five points in the Round of 16, just enough to sneak back into the Top 10 here!
No matter what happens the rest of the way, they'll always have the bragging rights of defeating their arch rivals Tenerife in the first ever European Derby of the Canary Islands.
That domestic record is a scary sight, though. Just two wins above the red zone in Spain, we can't have you higher than this because of it.
#6 Galatasaray MCT Technic (+1)
BCL record: 7-2 Domestic league record: 11-8 Streak in all competitions: L1
Speaking of arch rivals, Galatasaray were this close to taking down Fenerbahce on the road, but lost the matchup 79-77, ending what was a four-game winning run.
This week, they are on a double mission. First, they have to win the game against Le Mans on the road. Then, they have to chase an eight-point win, to claim the tiebreaker because it could be what separates the two at the end of Round of 16.
Keep an eye on James Palmer Jr, he's been impressive ever since coach Gianmarco Pozzecco praised him upon arrival in Istanbul. Actually, he's been impressive for the past two seasons there, but yeah, like, REALLY impressive lately.
#5 ALBA BERLIN (+1)
BCL record: 7-2 Domestic league record: 14-5 Streak in all competitions: W3
Three in a row, seven of their last eight. A dangerous team, and one with plenty of team spirit, as they somehow crawled back and defeated Karditsa after trailing for basically 39 minutes and 59 seconds* last week.
Jack Kayil would be a lock for the Most Improved Player award, only "would" because we don't actually have that kind of an award.
Instead, he's up in the hunt for the MVP of the Season award, because he's been the best player of (one of) the best team(s) in the Round of 16, with back-to-back games of 20 points. Double-O-seven on a mission here.
*Could be an exaggeration, up to you to decide.
#4 Le Mans Sarthe Basket (+1)
BCL record: 7-4 Domestic league record: 11-8 Streak in all competitions: W2
SEASON X IS AN ENDURANCE RACE, SO OF COURSE LE MANS ARE UNSTOPPABLE!
SIX WINS IN A ROW IN THE BCL, YEP, SIX OF THEIR SEVEN SEASON WINS CAME IN THE LAST SIX WEEKS, AND YEP, THEY ONCE WERE A 1-4 TEAM, ONLY TO GO CRAZY AND EARN A CAPS LOCK SECTION IN VOLUME VII OF THE AMERESCO POWER RANKINGS!
THE BEST PART IS THAT THEY COULD ACTUALLY BE IN THE QUARTER-FINALS AS OF WEDNESDAY, IF THEY BEAT GALATASARAY, AND HOLON TAKE DOWN RYTAS!
FROM 1-4 TO A CHANCE TO BOOK THE TICKET TO THE QUARTER-FINALS WITH TWO GAMES IN HAND... ENDURANCE RACE, NOT A SPRINT.
#3 Unicaja (+1)
BCL record: 8-1 Domestic league record: 13-6 Streak in all competitions: W3
Yeah, they are back. Three straight wins in all competitions, seven wins in last eight games.
This road game against Wurzburg could be tricky, because their fans are already thinking about the doubleheader with Real Madrid, first at home in the Liga Endesa, then the Quarter-Finals of the Copa del Rey - the trophy they're defending - in Valencia, all within four days.
It's okay, though. Ibon Navarro's always got a plan.
#2 AEK BC (0)
BCL record: 8-1 Domestic league record: 12-4 Streak in all competitions: W10
Yep. That says 10 straight wins. It really does.
Instead of praising them for everything they've done recently, here, read all about their one-two punch being in the MVP Race:
#1 Asisa Joventut (0)
BCL record: 90-0 Domestic league record: 11-8 Streak in all competitions: W2
You are so used to Joventut winning and being perfect that you didn't even notice we put their BCL record at 90-0 up here.
One could say that three of those nine BCL wins this season were by single possessions, meaning they aren't exactly super dominant as their 9-0 record could suggest.
But one could also say Cameron Hunt hit not one, not two, but three game-winners in those games, including a pair of perfectly timed buzzer-beaters, meaning "ch" in "clutch" stands for Cameron Hunt.
They defeated Valencia over the weekend, and guess who had a pair of clutch threes - that's right, CH again! The clutchest man in all of Europe right now, don't @ us.
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The power rankings are entirely subjective and are in no way a true and accurate ranking system. All comments are purely those of the author.
The Basketball Champions League takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.