By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After the eight games that were played on Wednesday (21/9) in the Basketball Champions League Qualification Rounds Day 1, the Semifinals didn’t disappoint as well, including a crazy ending and a huge triumph among others
Rob Gray is back after a tough EuroLeague season with Monaco: the 2020/2021 EuroCup Finals MVP put up 24 points in Tofas Bursa’s 68-57 win against CSO Voluntari. Suleiman Braimoh helped with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.
On Sunday, two well-built teams will face each other in Skopje to earn a spot in the 2022/2023 BCL season. Tofas Bursa’s opponents, in fact, will be Niners Chemnitz, which didn’t have problems against Fribourg Olympic.
The Swiss champions lost 70-93 after another great performance by Marko Filipovity: 17 points, 6 assists, and 5/7 from the perimeter.
Tofas Bursa – CSO Voluntari 68-57
Fribourg Olympic – Niners Chemnitz 70-93
Final
Tofas Bursa vs Niners Chemnitz (25/9, 20:00 CET)
Group B (Malaga, Spain)
After beating Egis Kormend in the Quarter Finals, Patrioti Levice keeps on believing in a Basketball Champions League Regular Season spot.
The 2021/2022 Slovak League champions didn’t have problems against Karhu Kauhajoki, as they beat the Finnish team 57-81. Deshawn Freeman was by far the MVP of the game: 18 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists for the American forward.
However, they’ll need a miracle in the final against Unicaja Malaga, which destroyed Heroes Den Bosch 114-58 with a great performance by Kendrick Perry: after a great run in EuroBasket 2022, Montenegro’s point guard closed with 22 points and 7 assists his BCL debut. The hosts are the heavy favorites.
Semifinals results:
Karhu Kauhajoki – Patrioti Levice 57-81
Unicaja Malaga – Heroes Den Bosch 114-58
Final
Unicaja Malaga vs Patrioti Levice (25/9, 12:30 CET)
Group C (Lisbon, Portugal)
Crazy game with a thrilling ending between Brose Bamberg and Budivelnyk. The Ukrainians managed to keep a solid lead until the fourth quarter when the German team came back and forced overtime.
Justin Wright-Foreman stole the show with 33 points and the decisive buzzer-beater, giving his team the 97-94 win.
Oren Amiel’s team will face the hosts of Group C to earn a spot in next year’s BCL regular season. SL Benfica struggled but managed to beat 65-73 a very tough opponent like Keravnos Nicosia: a great contribution came from Ivan Almeida, who had 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Semifinals results:
Brose Bamberg – Budivelnyk 97-94
Keravnos – SL Benfica 65-73
Final
Brose Bamberg vs SL Benfica (25/9, 18:00 CET)
Group D (Belgrade, Serbia)
Complete domination from the first quarter (22-7) by Bakken Bears against Swans Gmunden: with four players in double digits, the reigning Danish champions won 83-65 plus a great performance by Deng Adel in his European debut with 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
They will now face the hosts of Group D, who managed to overcome Opava without many problems. FMP Meridian won 76-92 thanks to a great display by Trent Frazier, who had a double-double of 16 points and 12 assists despite shooting 6/14 from the field.
Semifinals results:
Bakken Bears – Swans Gmunden 83-65
Opava – FMP Meridian 76-92
Final
Bakken Bears vs FMP Meridian (25/9, 19:00 CET)
The four teams advancing will complete Group A, E, G, and H of the Regular Season. Regular season action follows in the first week of October.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL