By Cesare Milanti/ info@eurohoops.net
In any basketball year, the third week of February has always been fascinating. National cups all over Europe make domestic and abroad fans tune in, looking for exciting action and unexpected outcomes. 2023 didn’t disappoint, but it marked another step forward for the Basketball Champions League.
If we take a look at what all the 16 EuroLeague sides have taken home during the past few days, five teams won the respective National Cup: Olympiacos in Greece, ASVEL in France, Bayern Munich in Germany, Crvena Zvezda in Serbia, and Zalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania.
However, there are two countries in which the main favorites, which are obviously EuroLeague teams as well, saw their journey being cut short mainly against Basketball Champions League participants. In Israel, Hapoel Jerusalem had the upper hand over Maccabi Tel Aviv, while Unicaja Malaga wrote history in Spain by becoming the first team ever to knock out both Barcelona and Real Madrid in the same Copa del Rey. But what’s behind these successes?
Underestimate BCL isn’t cool anymore
Starting from Hapoel, the red-and-black side has been doing great in this year’s Basketball Champions League, and beating Maccabi Tel Aviv is only the latest of the good accomplishments that Aleksandar Dzikic’s team had.
They are currently 2-1 in Group I of the BCL Round of 16 and their sole defeat came against JDA Bourgogne Dijon, which managed to arrive all the way until the semifinals, losing against EuroCup side JL Bourg-en-Bresse.
In Greece, two Basketball Champions League teams Peristeri and AEK reached the semifinal, where Vassilis Spanoulis’ team advanced. Beating Olympiacos in a do-or-die game looked impossible to accomplish, but they were still there.
And as for Spain… well, whoever lifted the Copa del Rey in Badalona would have come from the BCL. Lenovo Tenerife played consistently and beat high-level competitive sides like Gran Canaria and Joventut, while Unicaja Malaga won its second-ever Spanish Cup by doing the unthinkable.
🏆 CAMPEONES, congratulations @UnicajaCB! 💚💜 https://t.co/ZvXWAdr2ju
— Basketball Champions League (@BasketballCL) February 19, 2023
Ibon Navarro’s team, which counted a lot on the contribution of Dario Brizuela and Tyson Carter, among others, consecutively beat FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and eventually overcame the reigning BCL champions, which recently won the Intercontinental Cup, on Sunday night.
This may surely be an exception to the usual “Basketball Champions League isn’t attractive enough” rule, but everything is now on the table to change the debate and spread better words about what’s likely to permanently become the second-best European competition at the moment.
Also, no matter the competition, this shows how the level of the several BCL teams’ coaching staff, players, and management has been reaching the highest peaks. However, the format should also be talked into consideration: Final Eight brings drama, and drama brings excitement and fun.
The format helps a lot
Obviously, extending the argument on a larger scale, it would be rare to see Basketball Champions League teams having the better of EuroLeague sides in best-of-three, best-of-five, or best-of-seven series like it’s happening in the respective national domestic leagues.
But that’s the best part of the Final Eight format because this is a rare but concrete occasion to see surprises coming out. Germani Brescia’s case proves it, as Amedeo Della Valle and his teammates managed to win their first-ever Italian Cup by beating both Milano (in the quarterfinals) and Virtus Bologna (in the final) while currently occupying the 12th place in the standings.
To sum it up, the past few days should make you fully understand a simple but impactful thought, which will surely be spread more as time passes: the Basketball Champions League is better than what most people out there think. Unicaja and Hapoel Jerusalem, but also JDA Dijon, Lenovo Tenerife, and many other participants, have proved it by writing their names in National Cups history. Forever.