MIES (Switzerland) - The Basketball Champions League Season X, powered by Ameresco SUNEL tipped off on Tuesday, introducing loads of new teams from all over the continent.
One stood out: Dreamland Gran Canaria.
The Islanders were up by 41 at the half at SL Benfica, putting the all-time largest win to test. However, the game finished 98-61, leaving the record in the hands of their closest neighbors. It was La Laguna Tenerife who had the highest BCL win of all time, defeating Opava 97-38 (+59) in 2019.
Here are all the other marks they nearly broke:
Dreamland Gran Canaria won by a 37-point margin, the second-biggest victory ever by any team in their BCL debut (AEK +43 in October 2016 vs. Szolnoki Olaj).
Dreamland Gran Canaria scored 98 points in their BCL debut, the third most by any team in their first game ever in the competition (Manisa Basket, 103 vs. UCAM Murcia in October 2024; Anwil Wloclawek, 99 vs. Ventspils in October 2018).
Dreamland Gran Canaria scored 65 points in the first half, while only one team has scored more in the first 20 minutes of a BCL game (Neptunas Klaipeda, 66pts in January 2018 vs. Capo d'Orlando).
Ziga Samar (Gran Canaria) had 10 assists off the bench in his BCL debut, becoming only the fifth player in the league history to accomplish that.
Elsewhere, AEK BC held VEF Riga to 53 points in Latvia. The only time VEF scored less was in 2021, when Hereda San Pablo Burgos allowed them just 45 points. Reminder: Burgos went on to win the title that year.
Fabian White Jr had 26 points in his first game for Galatasaray MCT Technic, extending his streak of 15+ points scored to his last nine BCL games. DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell and Zoltan Perl are the record holders with 10 such games.
Lastly, Martin Kriz has been a legend in Czechia for some time, and with ERA Nymburk defeating BC Sabah, he claimed his 61st BCL win. He is now the eighth man with more than 60 BCL wins to his name.