By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The Basketball Champions League has used us to unbelievable endings to games, but the first week of the 2024-25 BCL Play-Ins will never be forgotten when talking about must-watch finishes.
Over this two-day span, only one game finished with a blowout, as Galatasaray won Game 1 of their series against Saint-Quentin with a 21-point margin. From then on, it was a wild sequence of events.
The most unbelievable of them all happened in Manisa, where Saben Lee, Hugo Besson, and Fabian White contributed to the 14-0 run in the last 2:10 minutes to beat Chemnitz. Yes, it’s not a lie.
Later in the evening on Wednesday, Pallacanestro Reggiana had a similar outcome, producing a huge 38-19 fourth quarter to beat Bonn on the road thanks to Jaylen Barford’s historic 7/7 from deep.
The other Italian team involved, Derthona, came back to win Game 1 as well, beating Peristeri at home; Aliaga Petkimspor also beat Hapoel Holon at “home”, this time in Azerbaijan.
Falco-Vulcano Szombathely won their first-ever Play-In game, beating Maccabi Ramat-Gan; Karsiyaka couldn’t conclude the perfect week for Turkish teams, while Oostende was successful in Nanterre.
Basketball Champions League Play-Ins Week 1 Results
| G1 | G2 | G3 (*) | ||
| A | Nanterre 92 – Filou Oostende | 78-88 | 14/1 (20:00 CET) | 22/1 (20:00 CET) |
| B | Aliaga Petkimspor – Hapoel Netanel Holon | 82-81 | 14/1 (18:00 CET) | 22/1 (18:00 CET) |
| C | Karsiyaka – Promitheas Vikos Cola | 77-81 | 15/1 (18:30 CET) | 22/1 (18:30 CET) |
| D | Galatasaray – Saint-Quentin | 84-63 | 15/1 (20:00 CET) | 21/1 (18:00 CET) |
| E | Telekom Baskets Bonn – UnaHotels Reggio Emilia | 91-94 | 15/1 (20:00 CET) | 21/1 (20:00 CET) |
| F | Falco Vulcano Szombathely – Maccabi Ramat Gan | 88-81 | 15/1 (19:30 CET) | 21/1 (18:00 CET) |
| G | Bertram Derthona Tortona – Peristeri Domino’s | 69-59 | 14/1 (18:30 CET) | 22/1 (20:30 CET) |
| H | Manisa – Niners Chemnitz | 87-86 | 14/1 (20:00 CET) | 21/1 (18:00 CET) |
– *if necessary
– Eight teams advanced directly to the Round of 16 as the top seeds of their respective groups in the Regular Season.
Basketball Champions League Round of 16
Group I
FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets
AEK Betsson
Winner C
Winner G
Group J
Unicaja
Rytas
Winner D
Winner H
Group K
La Laguna Tenerife
BAXI Manresa
Winner B
Winner E
Group L
ERA Nymburk
UCAM Murcia
Winner A
Winner F
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League
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