By Stefan Djordjevic / sdjordjevic@eurohoops.net
It has been a highly competitive Basketball Champions League campaign with quite a few surprises and unexpected outcomes.
All the teams that reached the Round of 16 proved that they belonged there, although, for some, the results didn’t go the right way.
Even in the case of VEF Riga which went 0-6 in the playoffs, some of those losses came in the final minutes, and far from it that the Latvian team didn’t pose a challenge to the current and former BCL champs.
With that in mind, and putting respect on each team’s name, Eurohooops picked out four teams – one from each group – that have been especially deserving of mention this year and had a shot at advancing to the final stage but missed the opportunity to do so.
Group I – Happy Casa Brindisi
The Italians put themselves on the map of title-contenders early on, led by D’Angelo Harrison who’s been among the top candidates for the MVP award.
However, as fate would have it, their leader got injured amid the season and Brindisi had to find a way to move forward without Harrison but it wasn’t as easy, despite adding Josh Bostic who proved to be a great signing.
Overall, the results have remained good in both BCL and the Italian League, but the team just couldn’t get over the hump in crucial moments of crucial games. Something, Harrison brought to the table regularly.
Group J – Igokea
Two words – Dragan Bajic. The head coach of Igokea recently got a position at the helm of North Macedonia and it was all the result of his run with the Bosnian team this season.
He led Igokea to the ABA League Final Four with a 19-6 record and made a great run in BCL, exceeding all expectations. His squad split the games (3 wins, 3 losses) in the Round of 16, and was very close to stealing a Final Eight from Burgos or Tenerife.
Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that Bajic managed to lead Igokea so far, considering he has become somewhat of a legend in the region when it comes to the Bosnian team and unexpected results, especially remembering 2012-2013 when his team finished first in ABA.