Basketball Champions League – Day 11 Preview

By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net Sixteen games stretched around Europe will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Basketball Champions League Regular Season Gameday 11 is coming our way promising more excitement with the playoffs inching closer. No team has officially qualified for the playoffs, but situations change presumably immediately. Various sides have all but advanced and results going their way will land them in the Round of 16 in the course of the next couple of days. The preview of Gameday 11 follows. Group A 1. BAXI Manresa 17 (7-3) 2. Turk Telekom 17 (7-3) 3. Dinamo Sassari 17 (7-3) 4. Filou Oostende 15 (5-5) 5. Lietkabelis 14 (4-6) 6. UNET Holon 14 (4-6) 7. SIG Strasbourg 14 (4-6) 8. Polski Cukier Torun 12 (2-8) Crucial match at the Ankara Arena, with Turk Telekom hosting BAXI Manresa. Both teams sit on top of Group A alongside Dinamo Sassari, all riding a 7-3 W-L tally. During the weekend, the team coached by Burak Goren fell to 7-9 in Turkey’s Super Ligi, while Pedro Martinez’s side extended its ACB winning streak jumping to 8-9 in the process. Lietkabelis and Filou Oostende will collide at the Cido Arena with the home side at 4-6 and the visitors at 5-5. Dario Gjergja’s team win by a margin of 14 points in Belgium might come in play. Nenad Canak’s side recently improved to 12-6 in LKL. A 9-3 tally makes out Oostende EuroMillions Basketball League performance so far. Co-leading Dinamo Sassari will take on Polski Cukier Torun at the PalaSerradimigni. The visitors sitting at 2-8 have no more room for error, even in Italy. As for their national leagues, Gianmarco Pozzecco’s club is second in LBA Serie A with a 14-3 record, while Sebastian Machowski’s team is 12-4 in PLK. Rounding up the schedule are UNET Holon and SIG Strasbourg. Both teams are coming off drastic changes and carry a 4-6 W-L record. Domestically, Stefanos Dedas’ club is 7-7 in Israel’s Super League and Vincent Collet’s side is 8-10 in Jeep Elite Pro A. Gameday 11 schedule: Tuesday UNET Holon – SIG Strasbourg Lietkabelis – Filou Oostende Wednesday Turk Telekom – BAXI Manresa Dinamo Sassari – Polski Cukier Torun Group B 1. AEK 17 (7-3) 2. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 17 (7-3) 3. San Pablo Burgos 16 (6-4) 4. RASTA Vechta 15 (5-5) 5. Anwil Wloclawek 15 (5-5) 6. Teksut Bandirma 14 (4-6) 7. Telenet Giants Antwerp 13 (3-7) 8. EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez 13 (3-7) With confidence stemming from the 4-1 tally at the Hala Mistrzow, Anwil Wloclawek looks to jump to 6-5 in Group B. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem at 7-3 is coming to visit and aiming for the top spot. Ahead of the big game, Igor Milicic’ team improved to 12-4 in PLK. Oded Kattash’s side made a step in the opposite direction by falling to 12-2 in Super League. In Greece, AEK will face Teskut Bandirma. The Queen is 7-3 overall and 4-1 at home, still needs victories for first place. The Turkish club at 4-6 will settle for any playoffs spot. Since previous Champions League action, Ilias Papatheodorou’s team improved to 11-4 in Basket League, while Hakan Demir’s club dropped to 9-7 in BSL. Despite being only 2-3 at the Rasta Dome Vechta during the current Champions League campaign, RASTA Vechta is 5-5 overall with Telenet Giants Antwerp coming to visit sporting a 3-7 W-L tally. As for easyCredit BBL, Pedro Calles’ club is 8-6. Christophe Beghin has guided his players to a 9-3 EuroMillions Basketball League record. More wins are necessary for EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez with upcoming foe San Pablo Burgos set to travel to France with winning intentions for its own purposes. Laurent Vila’s squad is 3-7 in BCL and 8-10 in France. Joan Penarroya’s team is standing at 6-4 in the group and 9-8 in Spain. Gameday 11 schedule: Tuesday AEK – Teksut Bandirma RASTA Vechta – Telenet Giants Antwerp EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez – San Pablo Burgos Wednesday Anwil Wloclawek – Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem Group C 1. Iberostar Tenerife 19 (9-1) 2. ERA Nymburk 18 (8-2) 3. Nizhny Novgorod 16 (6-4) 4. Peristeri winmasters 16 (6-4) 5. Brose Bamberg 15 (5-5) 6. Mornar Bar 13 (3-7) 7. Gaziantep 12 (2-8) 8. VEF Riga 11 (1-9) The only active three-game winning streak is carried by ERA Nymburk that is up for its toughest challenge of the 2019-20 season, the road game versus Group C leader Iberostar Tenerife. Both sides will likely compete in the postseason, but are still after the home-court advantage. The hosts sit a 9-1 in BCL and 11-6 in ACB, while the visitors are 8-2 in Champions League and 20-0 in NBL. Further down the tables, tied at third place with a 6-4 record are Nizhny Novgorod and Peristeri winmasters. Only room for one at 7-4 with the two teams colliding in Russia. The weekend saw Zoran Lukic’s side fall to 5-7 in the VTB United League, while the team coached by Nikos Papanikolopoulos improved to 10-5 in the Basket League. Coming off three straight home wins, Mornar Bar will host Brose Bamberg at the Sports Hall Topolica. Might be too late for the Montenegrin outlet at 3-7, but Roel Moors’ team is closer to the playoffs zone at 5-5. Mihailo Pavicevic’s side is also 8-7 in the ABA League. The German club is 8-6 in easyCredit BBL. Already out of contention, Gaziantep and VEF Riga will face each other at the Sahinbey Karatas Spor Salonu. Combined for three wins so far has them eliminated from the Round of 16. Nenad Markovic’s side is 6-10 in the Turkish League. Janis Gailitis’ team is coming its first loss of the year in the Latvia-Estonian league. Gameday 11 schedule: Tuesday Mornar Bar – Brose Bamberg Iberostar Tenerife – ERA Nymburk Wednesday Nizhny Novgorod – Peristeri winmasters Gaziantep – VEF Riga Group D 1. JDA Dijon 17 (7-3) 2. Telekom Baskets Bonn 16 (6-4) 3. Casademont Zaragoza 16 (6-4) 4. Falco Szombathely 15 (5-5) 5. Neptunas Klaipeda 14 (4-6) 6. PAOK 14 (4-6) 7. Happy Casa Brindisi 14 (4-6) 8. Besiktas Sompo Sigorta 14 (4-6) All Group D teams still have shot for the playoffs, but JDA Dijon is ahead of the rest the pack at 7-3. Next game is on the road against PAOK that sits at 4-6. Laurent Legnam’s squad is going strong in France as well holding a 15-3 W-L tally. Kostas Charalampidis’ side recently fell to 4-11 in the Greek League. Casademont Zaragoza at 6-4 will host Neptunas Klaipeda that was held on the wrong side of its previous four tilts away from Lithuania and is 4-6 overall. A home defeat to Iberostar Tenerife dropped Porfirio Fisac’s side to 12-5 in ACB. Lietkabelis was the team driving Tomas Rinkevicius’ team to 10-8 in LKL. Two teams at 4-6, Besiktas Sompo Sigorta and Happy Casa Brindisi form the match set to take place in Istanbul. An overtime loss at home dropped the Turkish team to 7-9 in Super Ligi, but an overtime win on the road brought Franceso Vitucci’s side to 10-7 in LBA Serie A. Telekom Baskets Bonn and Falco Szombathely will meet in Germany with the hosts at 6-4 and the visitors at 5-5. Down 2-12 in the easyCredit BBL, Thomas Pach’s squad will make a large step towards the playoffs with a potential “W”. Gasper Okorn’s team carries a 14-1 NB I/A record. Gameday 11 schedule: Tuesday Besikas Sompo Sigorta – Happy Casa Brindisi Wednesday PAOK – JDA Dijon Telekom Baskets Bonn – Falco Szombathely Casademont Zaragoza – Neptunas Klaipeda Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League