By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The tenth week of the Basketball Champions League Regular Season distributed all the remaining spots leading to the Round of 16 and the Play-Ins. A couple of Gameday 6 fixtures postponed and rescheduled for next week will determine the second and third seeds in their respective groups.
Play-Ins:
1. Lenovo Tenerife – Pinar Karsiyaka OR Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem
2. Pinar Karsiyaka OR Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem – Prometey
3. JDA Dijon – VEF Riga
4. NutriBullet Treviso – Lavrio Megabolt
5. PAOK mateco OR Igokea m:tel – Filou Oostende
6. SIG Strasbourg – PAOK mateco OR Igokea m:tel
7. Hapoel U-NET Holon – Besiktas Icrypex
8. Hereda San Pablo Burgos – Darussafaka
Round of 16:
Group I: MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, Galatasaray Nef, Winner 3, Winner 7
Group J: Baxi Manresa, Tofas Bursa, Winner 4, Winner 8
Group K: Unicaja, U-BT Cluj Napoca, Winner 2, Winner 5
Group L: Falco Szombathely, Rytas Vilnius, Winner 1, Winner 6
Rytas Vilnius won the battle for first place in Group H forcing Hereda San Pablo Burgos to a rare defeat at home. The Lithuanian outlet advanced directly to the Round of 16, while the back-to-back champions headed to the Play-In along with Besiktas Icrypex as the Turkish club delivered the knockout punch to EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
U-BT Cluj Napoca got the job done in Group G with a crazy comeback against Darussafaka securing the top seed. Hapoel U-NET Holon settled for second place and will compete in the Play-Ins along with the Turkish side after eliminating Happy Casa Brindisi.
From the Romania champions to the Hungary champions, Falco Szombathely edged VEF Riga to top Group D. NutriBullet Treviso was the team chasing until the last round and blew out AEK at home but eventually settled for the second seed.
Pinar Karsiyaka knocking out Arged BM Stal Ostrow Wielkopolski earned the second opportunity to advance, namely a place in the Play-In. They will get the second seed if Baxi Manresa beats Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem next week, otherwise third.
Lavrio Megabolt was the big winner in Group C. The comfortable win at home opposite Unicaja clinched third place and the attached berth to the Play-In. The ACB side will be waiting in the Round of 16.
It went down to the wire between SIG Strasbourg and Filou Oostende in their eighth BCL meeting. The Belgium champions prevailed but the winning margin was not enough as the SIG men earned the second seed.
Group A was set in stone prior to the last round of the Regular Season. Nevertheless, Lenovo Tenerife and Prometey earned wins on the road ahead of their participation in the Play-Ins.
In Group E, both PAOK mateco and Igokea m:tel clinched a berth to the Play-In after Galatasaray Nef eliminated ERA Nymburk. Their battle next week will decide the second and third seeds.
Basketball Champions League Gameday 6 results and standings:
Group A
Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari – Lenovo Tenerife 63-84
MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg – Prometey 60-71
Final standings
1. MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg 10 (4-2)
2. Lenovo Tenerife 10 (4-2)
3. Prometey 9 (3-3)
4. Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari 7 (1-5)
Group B
Arged BM Stal Ostrow Wielkopolski – Pinar Karsiyaka 69-86
Baxi Manresa – Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem (28/12, 20:30 CET)
Standings
1. Baxi Manresa 10 (5-0)
2. Pinar Karsiyaka 9 (3-3)
3. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 7 (2-3)
4. Arged BM Stal Ostrow Wielkopolski 7 (1-5)
Group C
Lavrio Megabolt – Unicaja Malaga 70-58
Nizhny Novgorod – JDA Dijon 93-85
Final standings
1. Unicaja Malaga 10 (4-2)
2. JDA Dijon 9 (3-3)
3. Lavrio Megabolt 9 (3-3)
4. Nizhny Novgorod 8 (2-4)
Group D
Falco Szombathely – VEF Riga 68-59
NutriBullet Treviso – AEK 81-69
Final standings
1. Falco Szombathely 11 (5-1)
2. NutriBullet Treviso 10 (4-2)
3. VEF Riga 8 (2-4)
4. AEK 7 (1-5)
Group E
ERA Nymburk – Galatasaray Nef 86-92
PAOK mateco – Igokea m:tel (29/12, 18:30 CET)
Standings
1. Galatasaray Nef 11 (5-1)
2. ERA Nymburk 8 (2-4)
3. Igokea m:tel 7 (2-3)
4. PAOK mateco 7 (2-3)
Group F
Kalev/Cramo – Tofas Bursa 72-70
SIG Strasbourg – Filou Oostende 91-92
Final standings
1. Tofas Bursa 10 (4-2)
2. SIG Strasbourg 9 (3-3)
3. Filou Oostende 9 (3-3)
4. Kalev/Cramo 8 (2-4)
Group G
Hapoel U-NET Holon – Happy Casa Brindisi 84-80
Darussafaka – U-BT Cluj Napoca 101-103
Final standings
1. U-BT Cluj Napoca 11 (5-1)
2. Hapoel U-NET Holon 10 (4-2)
3. Darussafaka 8 (2-4)
4. Happy Casa Brindisi 7 (1-5)
Group H
Hereda San Pablo Burgos – Rytas Vilnius 77-84
Besiktas Icrypex – EWE Baskets Oldenburg 88-72
Final standings
1. Rytas Vilnius 10 (4-2)
2. Hereda San Pablo Burgos 10 (4-2)
3. Besiktas Icrypex 9 (3-3)
4. EWE Baskets Oldenburg 7 (1-5)
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League