By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Through the Regular Season and the Round of 16 to the Quarterfinals, and in Unicaja’s case the Qualifiers as well, four teams are left to battle it out in the Final Four concluding the 2022-23 edition of the Basketball Champions League.
Launching its second BCL campaign back in the Qualifiers held late September, the team based in Malaga punched in the first ticket to the Final Four last week. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem, Lenovo Tenerife, and Telekom Baskets Bonn completed the lineup prevailing in respective winner-takes-all Game 3 contests at home this week.
In contrast to newcomers filling the rest of the four-team field, the defending champions entered the Semifinals for the fourth time in team history. Leading from start to finish with Bruno Fitipaldo and Marcelinho Huertas in charge of Wednesday’s Game 3 against last season’s runner-up BAXI Manresa, the Canary Islands club advanced to the next stage.
Earlier Wednesday in Pais Arena, the Israeli outfit with additional energy from the passionate crowd commanded one-way traffic at the expense of AEK. With a dominating display to finish the eventful best-of-three series, Hapoel Jerusalem qualified for the Semifinals after missing out on the two previous Quarterfinals appearances.
Reaching the Champions League’s season-ending tournament for the first time, Bonn progressed Tuesday. Tuomas Iisalo’s side outlasting SIG Strasbourg in Game 3 emerged as the latest successful step in a brilliant campaign stretching from the Champions League to Germany’s easyCredit BBL.
Basketball Champions League Game 3
Telekom Baskets Bonn – SIG Strasbourg 83-77 (Bonn wins series 2-1)
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem – AEK 91-51 (Hapoel Jerusalem wins series 2-1)
Lenovo Tenerife – BAXI Manresa 84-72 (Tenerife wins series 2-1)
The Final Four is scheduled to be held on 12-14 May. Jerusalem and Malaga are the main candidates to host it while the semifinal pairings will be decided after a draw on the 25th of April.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League