By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Basketball is all about stories, isn’t it? Well, this week a pretty unique one came from the Sinan Erdem Spor Salonu in Istanbul, where JDA Bourgogne Dijon wrote the history of the Basketball Champions League.
The French team from Burgundy must have celebrated with tasty glasses of wine, tying with AEK – in December 2022, against Pinar Karsiyaka – for recording the biggest comeback in the competition’s history, eight years in the making.
JDA Dijon was losing 80-55 late in the third but still managed to overcome the 25-point deficit and escape with a huge victory over Galatasaray. “Only in basketball you can see this kind of situation, it’s a win for history. This thing doesn’t happen every day”, JDA Dijon’s head coach Laurent Legname said.
🚨 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗡𝗢𝗪 🚨
📺 @jdadijonbasket tie the #BasketballCL record for the biggest comeback, losing by 25 and winning the game on the road in Istanbul! 😵 pic.twitter.com/hwS3XTRXzy
— Basketball Champions League (@BasketballCL) January 30, 2024
That wasn’t the only thrilling win on Tuesday, as UCAM Murcia almost scared itself in the fourth quarter against Promitheas, with the backcourt duo composed of Hunter Hale and Anthony Cowan who started building a potential comeback.
Elsewhere, Bonn won the German derby over MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, and Hapoel Holon ruined Ilias Zouros’ first game as AEK’s head coach, preparing everybody for Wednesday’s action, which started with wins from Unicaja and Tofas Bursa over the two French sides – respectively Cholet and Strasbourg – in Group I.
Where the difference between unbeaten and winless teams can be clearly seen regards Group K, as Hapoel Jerusalem and Lenovo Tenerife both had yet again another victory respectively over Pinar Karsiyaka and Peristeri, being tied at four points so far in this year’s Round of 16.
Basketball Champions League Round of 16 Week 2
Group I
Unicaja 4 (2-0)
Tofas Bursa 3 (1-1)
Cholet Basket 3 (1-1)
SIG Strasbourg 2 (0-2)
Tofas Bursa – SIG Strasbourg 93-71
Cholet Basket – Unicaja 74-86
Group J
Telekom Bonn 4 (2-0)
MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg 3 (1-1)
JDA Dijon 3 (1-1)
Galatasaray Ekmas 2 (0-2)
Galatasaray Ekmas – JDA Dijon 93-96
Telekom Bonn – MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg 80-75
Group K
Lenovo Tenerife 4 (2-0)
Hapoel Jerusalem 4 (2-0)
Peristeri 2 (0-2)
Pinar Karsiyaka 2 (0-2)
Hapoel Jerusalem – Pinar Karsiyaka 83-74
Lenovo Tenerife – Peristeri 89-68
Group L
UCAM Murcia 4 (2-0)
Hapoel Holon 3 (1-1)
Promitheas 3 (1-1)
AEK Athens 2 (0-2)
Hapoel Holon – AEK Athens 79-68
UCAM Murcia – Promitheas 90-81
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League