MIES (Switzerland) - What happened on Wednesday night in the Round of 16 of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL?
We will try to sum it up in a few words: multiple champs taken down by a historic newcomer, two black-and-gold rulers still victorious in front of their people.
Enough with the teaser: stay with us to find out more about an eventful three-game party in Greece and Spain.
AEK BC 88-80 ALBA Berlin
You may lead for 35:02 minutes, conduct a fantastic performance away from home, and even go all the way up to an 11-point lead (65-54) towards the end of the third quarter, but after all, find yourself in a losing position.
That's the brutality of the BCL Round of 16, where teams are built as powerhouses, and the support of a full arena could bring the hosts to victory. That's exactly what happened to AEK BC, which beat ALBA BERLIN 88-80.
The Queen prevailed over the German side, interrupting their six-game winning streak in the competition, despite leading for only 2:48 minutes in the encounter. That's AEK's sixth consecutive home win in the BCL.
Dragan Sakota's team fought with everything they had to stay close to the opponents from Germany, getting their hands on the game with a 14-4 run between the final two quarters.
One specific play summarized the black-and-gold team's victory. With 1:42 minutes to play, first RaiQuan Gray and then Frank Bartley gave their all to steal the ball off Martin Hermannsson's hands.
While that didn't result in a bucket, it boosted AEK's energy heading into the last few possessions. There, Vasilis Charalampopoulos put up 10 of the Queen's final 12 points, including a clutch three at the buzzer.
Once again, Frank Bartley has proven his all-around capacities to lead AEK in Season X, aiming at yet another Final Four appearance; this time not in Athens, but in Badalona.
The former PAOK superstar had a season-high 26 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds in the win, emphasizing the importance of the crowd in beating a serious contender like ALBA in SUNEL Arena.
"Our crowd was amazing tonight; they gave us a lot of energy for all four quarters. [...] Coach got into us at half-time. We worked on some things. [...] Guys really bought in and found a way to get stops. Credit to our guys, we found a way to make shots, made plays down the stretch, and gave us the win," he said.
The soul of this AEK team, RaiQuan Gray, also contributed to the Greek side's home victory with 16 points over 7-of-12 from the field, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds in the making.
Weeks pass by, but the 2006-born Jack Kayil continues to be a contender for the Best Young Player of the Season: in Athens, he had a team-high 20 points. Moses Wood followed with 17 points and 5 rebounds.
In the other game of the week being played in Group J, Tofas Bursa prevailed 93-79 on the road against Karditsa Iaponiki, bouncing back from their previous home loss against ALBA.
Next week, Tofas will host AEK on February 3 at 18:00 CET, while ALBA will return to Berlin to play in front of their fans on February 4 against Karditsa, with the game scheduled at 20:00 CET.
Joventut Badalona 71-66 Unicaja
Not AEK, not La Laguna Tenerife, not Unicaja. Not even Virtus Bologna, which still set the bar very high at seven consecutive games in their first-ever season in the BCL. Joventut Badalona did something unprecedented.
Going up against the back-to-back champions, the Catalans made a huge statement on the road to the Final Four, which will be hosted... yes, in Badalona.
The black-and-green powerhouse not only beat Unicaja 71-66 at home, but also became the first team in the competition's history to win their first eight games in the BCL.
In a battle that featured 10 lead changes and saw two of the best teams in both ACB and BCL go after each other, Joventut were better in running the floor, outscoring the opponents 17-2 in fast-break points.
Both Ricky Rubio (14 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Ante Tomic (13 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists) stepped up as Joventut's leaders, but another player was the one deciding the outcome of the game.
Cameron Hunt had 7 of his final 11 points in the final 3:30 minutes of the game, pulling up from deep, and then beating Unicaja's defense in traffic to push Joventut to the final result.
"Very happy for the victory and to enjoy this step with our fans. This competition is very special. This victory deserves a lot of credit for us, especially since it was not our best day from the three-point line," Dani Miret stated.
"I mean, we put a lot of effort, we put a lot of extra heart in a lot of situations. So, today, not as usual, the coach is also happy with the victory," Joventut's head coach continued.
Chris Duarte had a perfect night from beyond the arc (3-of-3) and at the charity stripe (3-of-3), but only finished with a 12-point losing effort. Kendrick Perry had 11 points and 5 assists, but 6 turnovers too.
Joventut are now standing on top of Group K on a 2-0 record in the Round of 16, immediately followed by both Unicaja and Elan Chalon at 1-1. On Tuesday, the French team took down Fitness First Wurzburg Baskets, still winless at 0-2.
The following matchups in this group will involve Wurzburg hosting Joventut (February 3 at 19:00 CET) and Unicaja returning to Malaga to face Elan Chalon (February 3 at 20:30 CET).
La Laguna Tenerife 84-82 Pallacanestro Trieste
Heading to Season X, Tenerife knew they could count on a home court strong and stable as a fortress. But they didn't consider that they could go up against fearless Italian teams, down the line.
Earlier in the Group Phase, Trapani Shark had a magnificent road victory to interrupt the black-and-yellow powerhouse's 31-game winning streak when playing in front of their fans.
Hosting Pallacanestro Trieste in the BCL Round of 16, their 19-game winning streak at home in this phase was in real danger. However, thanks to a 24-12 period in the fourth, they eventually secured the 84-82 win.
Trieste displayed beautiful basketball between the second and third stanzas, going up by 16 points (65-49) with three minutes to play before the fourth. Then, Tenerife woke up and returned to their usual standards.
Bruno Fitipaldo (17 points over 5-of-6 from three and 4 assists) and Aaron Doornekamp combined for five daggers from deep in the fourth, keeping their team up front late in the game.
Trieste reduced the gap to a single point (83-82) following a three-pointer by Jarrod Uthoff with 47 seconds to go, but Markel Brown missed the game-winning shot in traffic, contested by Tenerife's defense.
The American forward put up 15 points over 3-of-7 from deep, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists for Trieste; after this offensive performance, he has now scored 10+ points in each of his last five road games in the competition.
Juan Toscano-Anderson had a 14-point effort, which also included a thunderous windmill dunk in the fourth quarter. Jarrod Uthoff (13), Jeff Brooks (11), and Michele Ruzzier (10) joined by scoring in double-digits.
Group L's weekly action opened on Tuesday with Dreamland Gran Canaria taking down ERA Nymburk away from home.
On February 4, Trieste will play their first-ever Round of 16 home game against the Czech side at 20:00 CET, while Gran Canaria will host Tenerife at 21:00 CET in the derby of the Canary Islands.