MIES (Switzerland) - The first Tuesday of action in Season 11 of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, started with four bangers, with three home teams getting their inaugural victory.
Excitement and drama didn't stop with Cibona's win over Galatasaray, among the other thrillers to start the day. Three more teams won convincingly at home, while another one had an impressive road success. Find out who.
Perfect night for SIG and N'Doye
Bonzie Colson, DeAndre Lansdowne, Leopold Cavaliere, Louis Labeyrie... These are just four of the long list of iconic players who have worn SIG Strasbourg's jersey in the BCL, contributing to some pretty iconic moments in the club's history.
Another one was written on Tuesday night, as Strasbourg returned to the competition after three years. And how did they return? Well, with a 38-point triumph (100-62) over Legia Warszawa.
Yes, you read that right.
Since we were talking about iconic nights, Abdoulaye N'Doye has lived one of them. Actually, the perfect night: 15 points on a 100-percent shooting night from the field and the line, 10 assists, and 5 steals.
First one in BCL history to reach those numbers in less than 25 minutes of work!
"We knew it was important to jump out strongly, especially as it was the first BCL game in a long time for the club. We wanted to represent and make both the club and the city proud," Ben Gregg stated after the win.
He might not have been perfect as the whole team's performance, but Jaylen Hands (15 points) proved he's charging up. After shining in Greece, fans in France will be more than happy to have him on their side.
It was indeed the perfect night for Strasbourg, which completely prevailed over the opponents in all statistics. They've out-assisted them 24-11 and also forced Legia to commit 21 turnovers.
As for the Polish side, which entered the competition for the third time in the club's history, there are plenty of things to work on to stay competitive in Group B. Heiko Rannula has the right knowledge to find solutions.
Paint it red
The last time PalaBigi's crowd could be entertained with a BCL game, Pallacanestro Reggiana gave their all against Unicaja in the 2024-25 Quarter-Finals, before the Spaniards could win their second BCL trophy.
One year and a half in the making, Dimitris Priftis' team came back to basics: aggressive defense, paint domination, and the usual experienced packages provided by their roster.
The result? An 82-65 win against BK KVIS Pardubice.
We were talking about experienced certainties, and Jaylen Barford answered with a 23-point winning outcome.
Another certainty? Reggiana dominated the paint 46-20 in points, also thanks to Jaime Echenique and Derek Ogbeide, who combined for 23 points.
In their first-ever game in the competition, Pardubice tried to match the intensity under the rim, and slightly lost the rebounding battle 46-42.
Joe Bryant had a 13-point losing effort, but he has the talent to provide more for his team in the upcoming continental games.
Basque flames on the court
Before returning to the BCL stage following back-to-back continental golden successes in the FIBA Europe Cup, Surne Bilbao presented their jersey for Season 11's European fixtures.
It features flames in an homage to the Basque band Shinova, which composed the club's anthem "Sua Gara", which can be translated as "We are fire."
Well, there couldn't have been a better way to put it, considering their flaming 92-79 debut victory against Igokea m:tel.
Jaume Ponsarnau's team demonstrated they will be one of the deepest teams in the whole competition, having 11 of the 11 players who went on the court scoring at least one field goal.
Most importantly, they did so without having Darrun Hilliard and Tryggvi Hlinason. Bastien Vautier stole the show for Bilbao with 19 points and 8 rebounds.
For Igokea, Lazar Stefanovic had an all-around night with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.
New faces, same old Badalona
Last but definitely not least, the concluding matchup of the first Tuesday of action in Season 11 of the BCL Group Stage, with a now familiar face in the competition: Asisa Joventut, which had their first victory.
In a fatiguing matchup against Bnei Penlink Herzliya, the green-and-black Catalan side prevailed 86-75 but managed to get control of the game only from the end of the second quarter.
As already seen in the Spanish Supercup, the first trophy won by Joventut in 18 years, Dani Miret's team can count on some new faces this season. Emir Sulejmanovic is one of them, and he had a fantastic showing.
The former Tenerife and Unicaja forward had 20 points and 7 rebounds in 17:33 minutes of action, while only two other players have recorded 20+ points and 5+ rebounds in fewer minutes on the floor, with the latest being Amar'e Stoudemire in October 2018 (24 points and 7 rebounds in 13:16 minutes).
D.J. Brewton III had the same amount of points (20) to lead Bnei Herzliya in scoring.