By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The year 2024 has arrived, and it’s time to kick off the new year in the Basketball Champions League. Eight tickets for the Round of 16 are secured by the Regular Season Group winners, and there are eight more up for grabs in the upcoming Play-Ins.
In the coming weeks, 16 teams that finished second and third in the previous phase will battle in best-of-three series to join Unicaja Malaga, SIG Strasbourg, JDA Dijon, defending champions Telekom Baskets Bonn, Lenovo Tenerife, Hapoel Jerusalem, AEK Bettson Athens, and UCAM Murcia, with the better-placed teams from the Regular Season holding the home-court advantage.
The honor to take the court first in 2024 goes to PAOK mateco and Tofas Bursa (02/01), with the Greek side playing the first and potential third game at home, after finishing second in the group with Hapoel Jerusalem and Galatasaray. Despite adding players like Cassius Winston and Caleb Homesley, Tofas fell behind Murcia and Tortona and will now have a chance to show its true power.
On the first day of the first week, one more game will take place as Ludwigsburg faces Darussafaka. The German side proved its strength by handing AEK its first defeat in the last Regular Season round, while the Istanbul team had some ups and downs but added a couple of players like Brendan Adams to improve its chances of making it to the Round of 16.
Wednesday will be packed with action as the remaining 12 teams take the court in the first Play-Ins matches. The clash between Pinar Karsiyaka and Rio Breogan promises a lot of exciting action, especially after the Spanish side added former NBA and AEK player Ben McLemore to its ranks. Rytas and Peristeri bwin will start their matchup in Vilnius, with Marcus Foster taking center stage, returning to the Lithuanian side.
Cholet proved its quality by finishing second to BCL greats Tenerife in the first stage but will have to fight for the Round of 16 with Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari, which booked its place in the Play-Ins at the last moment. Hapoel Holon lost the last two matches of the Regular Season but still finished second in the craziest group of the first stage, with all the teams having a 3-3 score, while its upcoming rival, Oostende, proved its worth by defeating Strasbourg and Pinar Karsiyaka to stay alive in the competition beyond the groups.
Le Mans will meet Promitheas after finishing second only to Unicaja in the Regular Season, with the clash between Matt Lewis and the second top scorer of the competition, Anthony Cowan, under the spotlight. Last but not least, led by the new head coach Walter De Raffaele and Colbey Ross in the backcourt, Tortona will host Galatasaray, which kept getting better after adding David McCormack and Klemen Prepelic, showing clear ambition to fight for the next stage.
BCL Play-Ins (best-of-three):
Le Mans Sarthe – Promitheas (03/01)
Rytas – Peristeri (03/01)
Cholet – Dinamo Sassari (03/01)
Ludwigsburg – Darussafaka (02/01)
Pinar Karsiyaka – Rio Breogan (03/01)
Hapoel Holon – Filou Oostende (03/01)
PAOK mateco – Tofas Bursa (02/01)
Basket Derthona – Galatasaray (03/01)
BCL Round of 16
Group I
Unicaja
SIG Strasbourg
Winner C2 vs D3
Winner G2 vs H3
Group J
JDA Dijon
Telekom Bonn
Winner D2 vs C3
Winner H2 vs G3
Group K
Lenovo Tenerife
Hapoel Jerusalem
Winner B2 vs A3
Winner E2 vs F3
Group L
AEK Athens
UCAM Murcia
Winner A2 vs B3
Winner F2 vs E3
– The top two teams from each group will advance to BCL Quarterfinals
Photo: fiba.basketball