By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Starting back in September with four Qualifying groups, the 2021-22 Basketball Champions League season additionally featured a packed Regular Season, a newly-introduced Play-In round, and the Round of 16. Eight teams are left and are set to begin battling for a spot in the Final Four to be held May 6-8 in Bilbao. The Game 1 schedule stretches from Tuesday to Wednesday.
Check out our separate in-depth previews for all four Quarterfinal matchups.
U-BT Cluj Napoca vs. MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg
Baxi Manresa vs. Unicaja
Hapoel U-NET Holon vs. SIG Strasbourg
Lenovo Tenerife vs. Tofas Bursa
Romania champion U-BT Cluj Napoca made it through the Qualifiers, ranked first in Regular Season Group B to skip the Play-Ins, and topped Round of 16 Group K to earn home-court advantage. The best-of-three series opponent coming in from Germany, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg will be looking for a second Final Four berth in team history.
A couple of ACB outfits, Baxi Manresa and Unicaja make out another Quarterfinals pairing. The Catalonian side, carrying the home-court advantage in the series, has prevailed in ten of its 13 BCL games at Pavello Nou Congost.
Fellow Spanish team and Champions League lasting original Lenovo Tenerife, in its fifth BCL Quarterfinal appearance, will take on Turkish club Tofas Bursa. In addition, the collision of Israel’s Hapoel U-NET Holon and France’s SIG Strasbourg.
The 17th episode of Basketball Champions League Trash Talk featuring hosts Josh Bett and Igor Curkovic, analyst Diccon Lloyd-Smeath, and guest Spanish journalist Gerard Sole walked through the pairings of the Quarterfinals.
Basketball Champions League Quarterfinals Game 1 schedule:
Tuesday
U-BT Cluj Napoca – MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (18:00 CET)
Baxi Manresa – Unicaja (20:30 CET)
Wednesday
Hapoel U-NET Holon – SIG Strasbourg (18:00 CET)
Lenovo Tenerife – Tofas Bursa (20:30 CET)
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League