By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
During the first day of the Basketball Champions League Week 2 Play-Ins series, Galatasaray Ekmas and Promitheas Patras secured places in the Round of 16. Only Peristeri bwin joined them from the Wednesday matches.
With survival mode activated, Darussafaka Lassa, Rio Breogan, and Cholet Basket joined PAOK mateco and Filou Oostende as the teams that faced elimination and prevailed. That being said, Week 3 of the Play-Ins will feature five winner-takes-all matches, with everything on the line for ten teams.
After defeating Derthona Basket for the second time, Galatasaray joined JDA Dijon and Telekom Baskets Bonn in Group J, which will be completed by MHP Ludwigsburg or Darussafaka. Promitheas eliminated Le Mans Sarthe Basket and advanced to Group L with AEK Bettson and UCAM Murcia, waiting for Hapoel Holon or Oostende, while after surviving Rytas Vilinius’ late push in Game 2, Peristeri will face Lenovo Tenerife and Hapoel Jerusalem in Group K, with Pinar Karsiyaka or Breogan joining them.
Only Unicaja and SIG Strasbourg are still waiting for their opponents in Group I. Winners of Cholet – Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari and PAOK – Tofas Bursa clashes will fill the remaining spots.
The ones that survived
Even though PAOK lost heavily in front of their fans in Thessaloniki to Tofas, the Greek side found the strength to respond and won in OT to return the Play-In series home. Hapoel Holon couldn’t defeat Oostende away, so the Israeli side will have to use its home-court advantage in the final match of the Play-In series.
Darussafaka couldn’t pair up to Ludwigsburg in Germany, but in Istanbul, it was a completely different story as Yakup Sekizkok’s team was in control for most of the rematch.
Probably the most interesting and exciting game was played in Sassari, with the home team trying to materialize the road win against Cholet. It all went to the final minutes, but thanks to T.J. Campbell and Craig Randall II’s heroics, the French side managed to stave off elimination and return the series to their fans.
In Lugo, Ben McLemore was in charge of Rio Breogan’s survival. Recently signed US guard scored 24 points for Veljko Mrsic’s team which stopped Pinar Karsiyaka, and pushed the series to Game 3 in Izmir.
Three do-or-die games will be played on January 16th, with Ludwigsburg hosting Darussafaka, Hapoel Holon welcoming Oostende, and PAOK playing at home against Tofas. All Round of 16 participants will be known on January 17th when Cholet will host Sassari in France, and Pinar Karsiyaka will face Rio Breogan at Karsiyaka Arena.
Basketball Champions League Play-Ins
| Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3* | |
| Le Mans – Promitheas | 68-78 | 78-91 | / |
| Rytas – Peristeri bwin | 92-110 | 80-83 | / |
| Cholet – Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari | 72-93 | 95-91 | 17/1 |
| MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg – Darussafaka Lassa | 82-63 | 72-83 | 16/1 |
| Pinar Karsiyaka – Rio Breogan | 89-85 | 73-80 | 17/1 |
| Hapoel Holon – Filou Oostende | 80-70 | 61-71 | 16/1 |
| PAOK mateco – Tofas | 65-95 | 88-87 | 16/1 |
| Bertram Derthona Tortona – Galatasaray Ekmas | 70-71 | 89-95 | / |
*if necessary
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
Galatasaray Ekmas
Group K
Lenovo Tenerife
Hapoel Jerusalem
Peristeri
Winner E2 vs F3
Group L
AEK Athens
UCAM Murcia
Promitheas
Winner F2 vs E3
– The top two teams from each group will advance to the BCL Quarterfinals
Photo: fiba.basketball