By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The three-point threat of Sasu Salin will continue bothering Lenovo Tenerife’s opponents in the Basketball Champions League for at least one more season.
Salin, 32, inked a contract extension lasting through the next season and including an option for an additional season, the lasting original of the BCL announced Friday. Elgin Cook, Aaron Doornekamp, Joan Sastre, and Giorgi Shermadini are confirmed as returning players as well. Only Dusan Ristic has been added to the team coached by Txus Vidorreta.
Switching to Unicaja, the team based in Malaga re-signed Augusto Lima for the next season. Missing most of the 2022-23 season with a left knee injury, the Brazilian forward/center continues recovery heading to the 2023-24 season. Yankuba Sima re-signed earlier in the offseason, while head coach Ibon Navarro plus Kendrick Perry, Nihad Djedovic, Melvin Ejim, David Kravish, Tyler Kalinoski, Dario Brizuela, and Dylan Osetkowski signed contract extensions during the 2022-23 season.
Defending BCL champions Telekom Baskets Bonn welcomed yet another newcomer in the form of Sam Griesel, a rookie coming out of Nebraska and packing junior international experience with Germany. Brian Fobbs, Harald Frey, Noah Kirkwood, Flo Koch, Till Pape, and Benedikt Turudic were previously placed on the 2023-24 squad for new head coach Roel Moors.
Moussa Diagne moves from Tenerife to Murcia
Coming in with 13 Champions League appearances as a member of Tenerife, Moussa Diagne inked a 1+2 contract to join UCAM Murcia. Other newcomers to Universitarios are Simon Birgander and Dylan Ennis. David Jelinek, Thad McFadden, Nemanja Radovic, Jordan Sakho, and head coach Sito Alonso have all signed contract extensions.
Elsewhere, 24-year-old Deion Hammond surfaced as the third summer signing for MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg. Under head coach Josh King, his new teammates include Jayvon Graves, Jonathan Bahre, Yorman Polas Bartolo, and Desure Buie alongside Jacob and Johannes Patrick.
Hoping to survive the Qualifiers and reach the BCL Regular Season, Happy Casa Brindisi secured the services of 28-year-old Tommaso Laquintana for the next three years. Also, Cholet reunited with Gerry Blakes and Kalev/Cramo re-signed Kaspar Kitsing.
Turkish moves in the Basketball Champions League
After renewing Errick McCollum and Vitto Brown, Pinar Karsiyaka officially announced the contract extension of Jaylon Brown until the end of the 2023-24 season. In his latest Basketball Champions League experience with the green-and-red team, he had 9.5 points per game.
Another player stayed in Turkey to play both in the domestic league and in the European competition but moved from Darussafaka to Galatasaray. It’s the case of the half-British and half-Ghanaian 26-year-old power forward Akwasi Yeboah, who had 5.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in the BCL with the black-and-green side.
Moreover, the newcomer Bursaspor, which spent the last few seasons in the EuroCup ending the 2021-22 season as the runner-up, replaced Dusan Alimpijevic, who just became Besiktas’ head coach, with Jure Zdovc, who last coached Zalgiris Kaunas. The Slovenian head coach comes back to the Basketball Champions League after being on AEK’s bench in the 2016-17 season, the inaugural one.
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League