By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
The rematches in Basketball Champions League Round of 16 were played out and six teams managed to seal a quarterfinal ticket with a 2-0 sweep in their best-of-three series.
ERA Nymburk and Turk Telekom put on the most convincing wins, getting past Teksut Bandirma and Besiktas Sompo Sigorta respectively while AEK and Casademont Zaragoza pulled off narrow road wins over Telekom Baskets Bonn and Leitkabelis to seal the deal.
Two more teams got the job done as San Pablo Burgos prevailed over Dinamo Sassari and Hapoel Jerusalem held off Peristeri winmasters.
On the other hand, Filou Oostende and Nizhny Novgorod managed to answer back to their rivals and force Game 3 against Iberostar Tenerife and JDA Dijon.
With these results so far, two of the quarterfinal matchups have been set while two more are to be decided. The bracket is as follows:
Zaragoza – Tenerife/Oostende
Nymburk – AEK
Turk Telekom – Dijon/Nizhny
Hapoel – Burgos
Zaragoza made it to the quarterfinals in its debut season and they could face Oostende that has also made it for the first time to the playoffs, although it’s not their first season in the competition. Otherwise, a Spanish clash against Tenerife.
Nymburk and AEK are up for a rematch as they already faced each other in the playoffs. The Greek team was the one to prevail in the Round of 16 back in the 2017-18 season and by just one point in a thrilling finish.
Turk Telekom and Burgos are also the squads that have played for the first time in BCL. Turk Telekom could face Dijon, a clash that would feature the tallest (Moustapha Fall) and the smallest (David Holston) player this season in BCL on opposite ends.
Burgos, on the other hand, is set to play against Hapoel and that one could be a real treat for the eyes as the teams are among the top in the offensive efficiency and both are well-known for their three-point shooting. James Feldeine vs. Vitor Benite in a shootout? They’ve already shown a glimpse of it in the regular season by splitting their two games in Group B.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League