By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The playoff teams will be looking to strengthen their Final 8 bids this week through eight Basketball Champions League Round of 16 contests originally part of three separate Gamedays. The schedule stretches from Tuesday to Thursday.
In Group I, Pinar Karsiyaka aims for its fourth BCL victory in as many games versus Hapoel Unet-Credit Holon as the team coached by Stefanos Dedas visits Izmir. Both teams are currently 2-1. Happy Casa Brindisi, also 2-1, will also be in Turkey taking on Tofas Bursa which desperately needs to get off the mark.
Group K features the lone Thursday matchup as Nizhny Novgorod hosts AEK in a pushed-back Gameday 1 affair. The Russian outlet will face Turk Telekom at home and the Greek club will be in France versus SIG Strasbourg on Tuesday aiming to jump to 3-0 before their meeting.
Lenovo Tenerife on a seven-game home winning streak in FIBA’s premier club competition welcomes Igokea. The other Group J match brings defending champion, Hereda San Pablo Burgos hoping for a 3-0 start and colliding with VEF Riga in Latvia.
In Group L, Brose Bamberg and Casademont Zaragoza’s meeting was originally part of round-concluding Gameday 6 but was moved in the fourth week of playoff action last week.
Group I
Tuesday
Pinar Karsiyaka – Hapoel Unet-Credit Holon
Wednesday
Tofas Bursa – Happy Casa Brindisi
1. Pinar Karsiyaka 5 (2-1)
2. Happy Casa Brindisi 5 (2-1)
3. Hapoel Unet-Credit Holon 5 (2-1)
4. Tofas Bursa 3 (0-3)
Group J
Tuesday
Lenovo Tenerife – Igokea
Wednesday
VEF Riga – Hereda San Pablo Burgos
1. Lenovo Tenerife 5 (2-1)
2. Hereda San Pablo Burgos 4 (2-0)
3. Igokea 3 (1-1)
4. VEF Riga 3 (0-3)
Group K
Tuesday
Nizhny Novgorod – Turk Telekom
SIG Strasbourg – AEK
Thursday
Nizhny Novgorod – AEK
1. Nizhny Novgorod 4 (2-0)
2. AEK 4 (2-0)
3. Turk Telekom 4 (1-2)
4. SIG Strasbourg 3 (0-3)
Group L
Tuesday
Brose Bamberg – Casademont Zaragoza
1. Casademont Zaragoza 4 (2-0)
2. ERA Nymburk 4 (2-0)
3. Dinamo Sassari 2 (0-2)
4. Brose Bamberg 2 (0-2)
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League