Basketball Champions League – Day 13 Preview

By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net Seven teams are officially in the Basketball Champions League Round of 16. Gameday 13 is scheduled to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday in 16 venues all around Europe, and will generate more playoffs berths. Round 12 featured exciting action including Casademont Zaragoza punching in its ticket for the next round. Additionally, Besiktas Sompo Sigorta stayed on course and Marcelo Huertas tied the all-time assists record. Hold on with Gameday 13 coming up. Below the preview of the next set of BCL games, group by group. Group A 1. Y-Turk Telekom 21 (9-3) 2. y-Dinamo Sassari 21 (9-3) 3. BAXI Manresa 19 (7-5) 4. Filou Oostende 18 (6-6) 5. UNET Holon 18 (6-6) 6. Lietkabelis 17 (5-7) 7. x-SIG Strasbourg (4-8) 8. x-Polski Cukier Torun 14 (2-10) Y-secured home-court advantage for Round of 16 y-advanced to the playoffs x-eliminated from the playoffs A couple more playoffs tickets available in Group A. The direct clash between Filou Oostende and BAXI Manresa at the Versluys Dome to a large extent will determine one holder. One point up at 7-5, Pedro Martinez’s team has the first-round win by a margin of 27 points on its side. The Spanish team is also 8-11 in ACB. Dario Gjergja’s club leads the EuroMillions Basketball League with its 10-3 W-L tally. UNET Holon at 6-6 has a tough home challenge against Dinamo Sassari. At 9-3, Gianmarco Pozzecco’s side has already qualified, but needs the win at Israel to secure home-court advantage for the Round of 16 after falling to 15-4 in LBA Serie A. This weekend also saw Stefanos Dedas’ team jump to 9-7 in the Super League. Lietkabelis at 5-7 is still in play with eliminated SIG Strasbourg coming to visit. Nenad Canak’s squad improved to 13-7 in Lithuania’s LKL on Saturday. The French club dropped to 8-12 in Jeep Elite Pro A. Turk Telekom’s quest for top seeding will continue with last-placed Polski Cukier Torun in Turkey. Burak Goren’s side holds an 8-9 Super Ligi record. Upcoming opponents are 12-4 in PLK. Gameday 13 schedule: Tuesday Filou Oostende – BAXI Manresa Dinamo Sassari – UNET Holon Wednesday Lietkabelis – SIG Strasbourg Turk Telekom – Polski Cukier Torun Group B 1. Y-Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 21 (9-3) 2. San Pablo Burgos 19 (7-5) 3. AEK 19 (7-5) 4. Teksut Bandirma 18 (6-6) 5. RASTA Vechta 18 (6-6) 6. Anwil Wloclawek 17 (5-7) 7. x-Telenet Giants Antwerp 16 (4-8) 8. EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez 16 (4-8) Y-secured home-court advantage for Round of 16 x-eliminated from the playoffs RASTA Vechta versus AEK is the big Group B game. The German outlet is 6-5 including a win over the Queen in Athens. Ilias Papatheodorou’s team is 7-5. Domestically, the hosts of the Round 13 matchup recently improved to 10-6 in easyCredit BBL. Three-game BCL losing streak for AEK, but up 13-4 in Greece’s Basket League. Anwil Wloclawek and Teksut Bandirma have a hot date as well with one point separating them ahead of their collision at the Hala Mistrzow. Igor Milicic’s club is currently 14-4 in the Polish League. Third straight defeat dropped Hakan Demir’s side to 9-8 in Super Ligi over the weekend. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem can clinch first place with a win over San Pablo Burgos that carries a 7-5 record. On Sunday, Oded Kattash’s team fell to 13-3 in the Israeli League. A day earlier, the team coached by Joan Penarroya dropped to 10-9 in ACB. With an outside chance for the Round of 16, EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez hosts Telenet Giants Antwerp. Both teams are 4-8, but only the hosts can an advance with all results falling their way. Laurent Vila’s side is 8-12 in France and Christophe Beghin’s 9-4 in Belgium. Gameday 13 schedule: Tuesday Anwil Wloclawek – Teksut Bandirma EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez – Telenet Giants Antwerp Wednesday Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem – San Pablo Burgos RASTA Vechta - AEK Group C 1. Y-Iberostar Tenerife 22 (10-2) 2. Y-ERA Nymburk 22 (10-2) 3. Nizhny Novgorod 19 (7-5) 4. Peristeri winmasters 19 (7-5) 5. Brose Bamberg 18 (6-6) 6. x-Mornar Bar 16 (4-8) 7. x-Gaziantep 15 (3-9) 8. x-VEF Riga 13 (1-11) Y-secured home-court advantage for Round of 16 x-eliminated from the playoffs One of the two remaining Group C playoffs spots can be taken by Peristeri winmasters with a home victory opposite to Brose Bamberg. A win from the visiting side will postpone Round of 16 arrangements to next week. Nikos Papanikolopoulos’s squad is 7-5 in BCL and 11-6 in Basket League. Roel Moors’ carries a 6-6 Champions League tally alongside its 9-7 run in the easyCredit BBL. Potential clinching opportunity for Nizhny Novgorod with out of contention Gaziantep making the trip to Russia. The hosts are currently 7-5, also hold a 5-9 VTB United League record. The 3-9 BCL side recently jumped to 7-10 in the Turkish League. Iberostar Tenerife will make its charge for 11-2 against VEF Riga that sits at 1-11. Aside gunning for a home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, Txus Vidorreta’s club is 13-6 in Spain. Janis Gailitis’ is 18-1 in the Latvia-Estonian League. ERA Nymburk is 10-2 as well and set to play in Montenegro against eliminated Mornar Bar. The Czech Republic outlet remains undefeated in the NBL after 22 outings. Mihailo Pavicevic’s team is 10-7 in the ABA League. Gameday 13 schedule: Tuesday Peristeri winmasters – Brose Bamberg Mornar Bar – ERA Nymburk Iberostar Tenerife – VEF Riga Wednesday Nizhny Novgorod - Gaziantep Group D 1. y-Casademont Zaragoza 20 (8-4) 2. y-JDA Dijon 20 (8-4) 3. Telekom Baskets Bonn 19 (7-5) 4. Besiktas Sompo Sigorta 18 (6-6) 5. Happy Casa Brindisi 17 (5-7) 6. Neptunas 17 (5-7) 7. Falco Szombathely 17 (5-7) 8. x-PAOK 16 (4-8) y-advanced to the playoffs x-eliminated from the playoffs Falco Szombathely and Happy Casa Brindisi meet at Hungary tied at 17 points in wide-open Group D. The losing side will likely be out, but the prevailing team will retain hopes for a playoffs berth going into Gameday 14. The team coached by Gasper Okorn is 16-1 in NB I/A, while its next foes are 12-7 in LBA Serie A. Besiktas Sompo Sigorta at 6-6 will take on Neptunas Klaipeda that sits at 5-7 prior to the match in Istanbul. Major Round of 16 implications here as well. At the national league level, the Turkish club holds an 8-9 BSL W-L tally and the Lithuanian team a 10-9 LKL record. At 7-5, Telekom Baskets Bonn can clinch with a home win over JDA Dijon that hopes to improve its odds for home-court advantage by jumping to 9-4. Thomas Pach’s side is down 3-13 in Germany. The French outlet is 17-3 in Jeep Elite Pro A. Currently first on a tiebreaker advantage, Casademont Zaragoza is aiming to move to 9-4 with eliminated PAOK at the Pabellon Principe Felipe. Porfirio Fisac’s team is also 14-5 in the ACB. The Greek club is 5-11 in Basket League. Gameday 13 schedule: Tuesday Besiktas Sompo Sigorta – Neptunas Klaipeda Falco Szombathely – Happy Casa Brindisi Telekom Baskets Bonn – JDA Dijon Wednesday Casademont Zaragoza - PAOK Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League