By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Wrapping up the Regular Season of the Basketball Champions League Regular Season, the remaining direct tickets to the Round of 16 were delivered this week. Second opportunities to advance through the Play-Ins were also decided on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The most exciting finish belonged to Group F as all four teams ended up tied with 3-3 records. Defending BCL champion Telekom Baskets Bonn with the best overall point differential ranked first. Hapoel Holon and Rio Breogan settled for a spot in the Play-Ins. On the wrong end of the four-way tie was Bursaspor Info Yatirim despite the narrow win versus the Israeli side.
In Group D, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg did not allow AEK Betsson to complete a perfect run in the double-legged round-robin schedule and clinched the second seed. Sneaking in the Play-Ins, Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari followed in third place after blowing out King Wilki Morskie Szczecin.
UCAM Murcia won the race in Group H with a confident display against Tofas, keeping Bertram Derthona Tortona in the second seed. In Group G, PAOK mateco lost to Galatasaray Ekmas but retained the tiebreaker advantage to rank second and secure homecourt advantage in the Play-Ins.
The remaining four groups were completed on Tuesday, including Lenovo Tenerife winning Group C. Cholet falling to the Canary Islands outfit finished second. Darussafaka Lassa edged out VEF Riga to sit in the third seed and advance to the Play-Ins.
SIG Strasbourg topped Group E with a home win versus EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Filou Oostende rallying past Pinar Karsiyaka earned a last-minute ticket to the Play-Ins with the losing side retaining the tiebreaker advantage to rank second.
In Group B, Rytas landed in the second seed, leaving Promitheas in the third. Group A was decided but saw Peristeri bwin and Falco Vulcano Szombathely banking in narrow home wins.
Basketball Champions League Regular Season Final Standings
Group A
Falco Vulcano Szombathely – Le Mans 75-73
Peristeri bwin – Unicaja 76-73
1. Unicaja 10 (4-2)
2. Le Mans 9 (3-3)
3. Peristeri bwin 9 (3-3)
4. Falco Vulcano Szombathely 8 (2-4)
Group B
Rytas – JDA Dijon 79-77
Opava – Promitheas 97-100 OT (91-91)
1. JDA Dijon 11 (5-1)
2. Rytas 10 (4-2)
3. Promitheas 9 (3-3)
4. Opava 6 (0-6)
Group C
Darussafaka Lassa – VEF Riga 87-81
Cholet – Lenovo Tenerife 85-91
1. Lenovo Tenerife 10 (4-2)
2. Cholet 9 (3-3)
3. Darussafaka Lassa 9 (3-3)
4. VEF Riga 8 (2-4)
Group D
MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg – AEK Betsson 83-79
Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari – King Wilki Morskie Szczecin 97-81
1. AEK Betsson 11 (5-1)
2. MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg 9 (3-3)
3. Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari 8 (2-4)
4. King Wilki Morskie Szczecin 8 (2-4)
Group E
Filou Oostende – Pinar Karsiyaka 78-76
SIG Strasbourg – EWE Baskets Oldenburg 85-77
1. SIG Strasbourg 10 (4-2)
2. Pinar Karsiyaka 9 (3-3)
3. Filou Oostende 9 (3-3)
4. EWE Baskets Oldenburg 8 (2-4)
Group F
Rio Breogan – Telekom Baskets Bonn 97-92 OT (80-80)
Hapoel Holon – Bursaspor Info Yatirim 74-75
1. Telekom Baskets Bonn 9 (3-3)
2. Hapoel Holon 9 (3-3)
3. Rio Breogan 9 (3-3)
4. Bursaspor Info Yatirim 9 (3-3)
Group G
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem – Benfica 97-68
PAOK mateco – Galatasaray Ekmas 79-85
1. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 11 (5-1)
2. PAOK mateco 9 (3-3)
3. Galatasaray Ekmas 9 (3-3)
4. Benfica 7 (1-5)
Group H
Tofas – UCAM Murcia 75-90
Igokea m:tel – Bertram Derthona Tortona 74-77
1. UCAM Murcia 11 (5-1)
2. Bertram Derthona Tortona 11 (5-1)
3. Tofas 8 (2-4)
4. Igokea m:tel 6 (0-6)
-Top seed from each group advanced to the Round of 16
-Second and third seeds moved to the Play-Ins
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League