MIES (Switzerland) - The Round of 16 of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, can be cruel and merciless. You wake up dreaming of getting to the Quarter-Finals, and at night, it's all shattered.
That's what occurs when you go up against an offensive machine like Galatasaray MCT Technic, which had a fantastic ending to their game in Le Mans. Stay with us to figure out what happened on Wednesday night.
Le Mans Sarthe Basket 81-94 Galatasaray MCT Technic
Never underestimate the heart of a Lion, especially if he's hunting. We know that's not how the saying goes, but that's what Galatasaray did in France on Wednesday night: hunting.
At the end of a battle characterized by as many as 22 lead changes (!) and 12 ties, the Turkish powerhouse emerged victorious against one of the surprises of the season, Le Mans Sarthe Basket, escaping with a 94-81 road win.
Thanks to this result, Gianmarco Pozzecco's team not only avoided the French side's qualification for the Quarter-Finals, but claimed the top pot in Group I at 3-1, getting the head-to-head advantage over Le Mans.
It was an offensive masterpiece by the red-and-yellow side from Istanbul, which had a 14-0 late run to go from down 81-80 to the final result in just 4:34 minutes.
Bugrahan Tuncer had a vintage night for last season's BCL Final Four participants, finishing with a 22-point effort, shooting 8-of-11 from the field. Errick McCollum followed with 19 points, five of them coming in that 14-0 run, 10 in the fourth quarter.
Le Mans, which entered Wednesday's clash on a perfect 6-0 run, would have reached the Quarter-Finals with a win, and they must regain composure ahead of their last two Round of 16 appointments after the break.
David DiLeo (18 points on 5-of-7 from deep) and Johnny Berhanemeskel (15 points) confirmed themselves as two of the deadliest shooters in the whole BCL, but they weren't sufficient to lead Le Mans to a historic win.
Group I action occurred on Tuesday as well, with Rytas Vilnius taking down Hapoel Netanel Holon 106-98 on the road and eliminating the Israeli side from contention.
Fitness First Wurzburg Baskets 80-71 Unicaja
Heading to this game, it was now or never for Fitness First Wurzburg Baskets. Against the back-to-back champions of the competition, they desperately needed a victory to stay alive.
Despite facing off against one of the best, well-coached teams in Europe, such as Unicaja, the Germans didn't surrender, escaping with an 80-71 home victory thanks to a great comeback after a slow start.
Wurzburg didn't have the best of nights shooting-wise, ending with 20-of-60 from the field, including 9-of-31 (29.0%) from two-point range. However, that was enough to get their ticket to stay in contention in the Round of 16.
That's quite a way to break their seven-game losing streak in this stage of the competition, and also their seven-game losing streak in all competitions before this game.
Unicaja, on the other hand, had only their third loss in their last 36 games played in the BCL.
Their three-headed monster backcourt stepped up, with Marcus Carr (16 points and 8 assists), Brae Ivey (15 points over 9-of-9 FT), and Davion Mintz (14 points) taking the spotlight. Charles Thompson added 10 points and 9 boards.
"It was a really resilient win. We were on a little bit of a down stretch. A couple of games we lost, a couple of close ones we gave up, but we never lost hope. I’m just proud of the way we fought the entire game," Thompson said.
"I don’t know if we’re aware, but Unicaja are a fantastic team, fantastic coach, coming to Wurzburg and playing (Basketball) Champions League so, this is a really big gift to us. So, I’m really happy how we played. We fought, we played as a team, and I think we deserved this win," coach Saso Filipovski said.
On the losing end, the reigning BCL champs vastly struggled from beyond the arc (7-of-31, 22.6%). Tyson Perez had an 11-point losing effort.
Group K action was featured on Tuesday night as well, with Elan Chalon preventing their Spanish opponents' qualification by beating Asisa Joventut 85-77 in front of their beloved fans.
Pallacanestro Trieste 70-94 Dreamland Gran Canaria
The track record of both Pallacanestro Trieste and Dreamland Gran Canaria before this matchup was pretty self-explanatory: the Italians were 1-5 in home games, while the Spaniards were 4-0 on the road in the BCL.
The tradition continued after a 40-minute domination by Jaka Lakovic's team, which left the hosts harmless and led for 37:29 minutes on Wednesday night. Gran Canaria's 94-70 win was a strong statement.
Trieste were the only team capable of beating Gran Canaria thus far in their first season in the BCL, and the powerhouse from the Canary Islands visited Italy, eager to get their revenge.
Despite not being qualified yet for the Quarter-Finals, this 24-point victory allows Gran Canaria to feel safe heading to their last two matchups in the Round of 16 of Season X. They shot 15-of-37 (40.5%) from beyond the arc.
Three road players were particularly inspired on Wednesday: Pierre Pelos (17 points over 6-of-6 FG and 6 rebounds), Nicolas Brussino (15 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists), and Eric Vila (15 points over 5-of-6 from three).
Entering the Round of 16 with a huge win against Gran Canaria, Trieste have now suffered three losses in a row - two at home. Juan Toscano-Anderson and Markel Brown each put up 16 points, but they weren't enough.
Another team from the Canary Islands grabbed the road victory this week in Group L, as La Laguna Tenerife beat ERA Nymburk 69-55 away from home.