MIES (Switzerland) - One basketball game can have infinite stories to tell; imagine five. Wednesday's action in the Round of 16 of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, was one to watch.
Four teams finished the night on top despite staying on the losing end for the vast majority of their encounter, while one side broke their losing streak with a dominant game at the glass. Stay with us to find out more.
Galatasaray MCT Technic 86-81 Hapoel Netanel Holon
With Gianmarco Pozzecco on board, things didn't start as planned for Galatasaray MCT Technic entering the BCL Round of 16, with the 90-83 home loss to Le Mans Sarthe Basket. However, they rapidly bounced back.
Following Wednesday's victory over Hapoel Netanel Holon in Bulgaria, which followed the success on the road against Rytas Vilnius, the Turkish giants have now won their last five games played outside of Türkiye.
Propelling the team to an 86-81 win, Errick McCollum made BCL history in Samokov. He led the team in scoring with 18 points, but he only needed 10 to reach 600 points scored in the competition.
By doing this, he became the second-fastest player to reach that total in the competition, after Kevin Punter (33 games). Moreover, McCollum has never scored fewer than 10 points in any of his 16 home games in the BCL.
James Palmer Jr was once again clutch for Galatasaray, knocking down back-to-back threes to push Gianmarco Pozzecco's team to the winning end. He finished at 14 points.
Despite the final outcome, it wasn't the easiest of nights for the red-and-yellow side, which was trailing 58-48 with four minutes to play in the third quarter. Holon led for 30:20 minutes, but still went home with a loss.
Three players stole the show for the purple-and-yellow team on Wednesday: Xavier Munford (21 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists), Derrick Walton Jr (20 points and 5 assists), and Adama Sanogo (20 points and 12 rebounds).
Le Mans Sarthe Basket 78-72 Rytas Vilnius
Some seasons are just iconic. Ones that you just remember forever. This might be one of those seasons for Le Mans, which have now reached their best run in the BCL, winning six straight games for the first time ever.
They managed to do so by overcoming a 14-point deficit against Rytas, building their comeback on a 25-12 run in the third quarter to seal the deal and win 78-72 in front of their beloved fans. They're now perfect at 3-0 in Group I.
Johnny Berhanemeskel continues to be a crucial factor off the bench for Le Mans; on Wednesday, he led the team in scoring with 20 points, including a clutch two-pointer to beat the shot clock and hand Le Mans the lead for good.
Trevor Hudgins followed his teammate with an all-around night of 12 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds.
The Lithuanians have now lost their four consecutive road games in the BCL Round of 16, as they now find themselves at 1-2 in Group I.
Only Gytis Masiulis (11 points, 5 rebounds) scored in double-digits for Rytas.
Rytas are eager to bounce back next week, when they will face Holon on February 10 at 19:30 CET; on the following day, Le Mans will host Galatasaray at 20:00 CET to try to repeat their early success.
ALBA BERLIN 84-80 Karditsa Iaponiki
Galatasaray and Le Mans weren't the only teams that managed to come out victorious on Wednesday night despite trailing for the majority of the time in their respective matchups.
Add ALBA BERLIN to the list, as the Germans celebrated an 84-80 victory against Karditsa Iaponiki even though the Greeks had control of the encounter for as many as 36:24 minutes in Uber Arena.
Luckily for ALBA, Jack Kayil was clutch in the final minutes of the game, delivering from beyond the arc and at the free-throw line. The candidate for both MVP and Best Young Player of the Season dropped 20 points.
"It was really tough game. We struggled on both sides. We couldn’t control our defensive plan and on offense, it wasn’t our best game I would say. But still at the end we showed really good character (…) and fought back and got the win," Kayil said.
Justin Bean (14 points) and Malte Delow (8 points, 11 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists) were also crucial.
For Karditsa, both Brandon Jefferson (23 points and 7 assists, but with 6 turnovers as well) and Noah Horchler (17 points and 10 rebounds) had great individual nights, but they weren't enough.
Group J action was also featured on Tuesday, as AEK BC took down Tofas Bursa 93-90 away from home.
On February 10, Karditsa will host the second Greek derby of the group, scheduled at 18:30 CET; on the same night, at 20:00 CET, ALBA will host Tofas to keep building at home.
Dreamland Gran Canaria 72-70 La Laguna Tenerife
Another game, another comeback. However, this feels extra special, since it's a derby win: close rivals in the ACB, this was the first time ever that Dreamland Gran Canaria and La Laguna Tenerife faced each other in the BCL.
The two sides from the Canary Islands put on a show. As happened all around Europe on Wednesday night, Txus Vidorreta's team led for more minutes (30:06), but Gran Canaria still celebrated the 72-70 home win.
Down by 15 points (44-29) entering the third quarter, Jaka Lakovic's team had a comeback for the ages, winning the third stanza 25-11 to return into the game and impose their rhythm.
Eventually, they found a way to stay together and go to sleep with the win, also thanks to Isaiah Wong's six straight points in the fourth. Overall, Kassius Robertson led with a 16-point night over 7-of-8 from the field.
Despite the final outcome, Tenerife had five players in double-digits: Giorgi Shermadini (15 points), Wesley Van Beck (13), Thomas Scrubb (11), Jaime Fernandez (10), and Bruno Fitipaldo (10).
This was Tenerife's first loss in the BCL Round of 16 after eight straight wins.
Pallacanestro Trieste 85-91 ERA Nymburk
ERA Nymburk came to face Pallacanestro Trieste with a clear plan: make sure Mady Sissoko's return to BCL action wouldn't ruin their Italian trip. How? Well, dominate the boards.
That's what the Czech powerhouse did against Israel Gonzalez's team, outrebounding the opponents 54-35 while also grabbing 24 offensive boards and scoring 19 second-chance points to escape with the 91-85 road win.
Ondrej Sehnal led the way for Nymburk with 17 points and 5 assists in Italy, immediately followed by non-starters Sir' Jabari Rice (15 points) and Matej Svoboda (15 points and 7 rebounds).
"I feel like we were the underdogs in this game, but sometimes this role really fits us better. We came here with no pressure; we had nothing to lose, but we believed we could succeed here. We made it happen," the latter said.
As said, Sissoko was limited to only 8 points over 2-of-3 from the field and 2 rebounds; Markel Brown was Trieste's highest scorer with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, but he shot 1-of-7 from deep.
Group L action will be back on February 10 as Nymburk will host Tenerife at 18:30 CET; on February 11, Trieste will welcome Gran Canaria at 20:00 CET.