By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
With Ludwigsburg making an upset against Murcia last week, all of the teams have won at least one game in Basketball Champions League while only two – Iberostar Tenerife and Virtus Bologna – remain undefeated. How long can they keep it up?
Perhaps Gameday 7 is their limit. The games will be divided between Tuesday (20/11) and Wednesday (21/11) as usual.
Day 7 Preview
Group A
1. UCAM Murcia (5-1)
2. Sidigas Avellino (5-1)
3. Banvit (4-2)
4. Nizhny Novgorod (3-3)
5. Anwil (2-4)
6. Le Mans (2-4)
7. Ventspils (2-4)
8. MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (1-5)
Banvit and Murcia will kickstart the week as the Spaniards try to bounce back after their first loss in BCL. However, a tough game is ahead of them since the Turkish squad lost only three out of 22 home BCL games in total and are yet to lose one this season.
Rest of the games will be played on Wednesday and first to go at it are Nizhny and Ludwigsburg. The German side lost ten straight clashes in all competitions before finally turning the tables. They won last three games and one of them was against, then undefeated, Murcia. Will parting ways with Trevor Mbakwe help them continue the streak in Russia or will it turn out to be a bad move?
A bit later, Anwil and Le Mans will fight to improve their 2-4 records and bounce back from last-week narrow losses.
Avellino will host Ventspils for the last game in Group A this week and both teams arrive off victories in their domestic leagues. The Italians are in a five-game streak while Ventspils lost one out of last five. Their games rarely see a big margin and this one might be decided in the final minutes as well.
Group B
1. Iberostar Tenerife (6-0)
2. Umana Reyer Venezia (4-2)
3. UNET Holon (4-2)
4. PAOK (3-3)
5. Nanterre 92 (3-3)
6. Telekom Baskets Bonn (2-4)
7. Fribourg Olympic (1-5)
8. Opava (1-5)
Group B show will start with Bonn hosting Opava. Bonn’s Charles Jackson will certainly be an important factor as he notches 66% from the field, the best percentage so far this season among players. However, Opava also has an ace up their sleeve in Vaclav Bujnoch who hit seven out of 12 threes so far, best among the ‘big guys’.
Venezia comes off a thriller game against Olimpia Milano in the Italian League which they lost in the final minute and the question is do they have enough strength to bounce back in the BCL clash against Fribourg in Switzerland.
On Wednesday, Nanterre and Holon will play in France. Both teams prevailed in their last BCL games but Nanterre fell against Limoges in the domestic league while Holon barely came out on top against Gilboa Galil after overtime.
The last but not least, Tenerife will host PAOK for the final game of the week. The Spaniards have been merciless so far as they won all six of their games and hold the biggest total margin among all teams (120). They’ve also dominated Valencia in the Spanish League winning by a 24-point margin. PAOK won four times in a row in all competitions but lost their last game – against Ifaistos in Greek League.
Group C
1. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem (5-1)
2. AEK (5-1)
3. Montakit Fuenlabrada (3-3)
4. Brose Bamberg (3-3)
5. Telenet Giants Antwerp (3-3)
6. Lietkabelis (2-4)
7. CEZ Nymburk (2-4)
8. JDA Dijon (1-5)
Nymburk will try to reach Bamberg in the standings as they play in front of the home crowd. They’ve lost only two out of their last ten games led by Vojtech Hruban who scored 15+ points in five BCL appearances. On the other side, Augustine Rubit took over for Bamberg scoring 19 points on average in last four BCL games.
Although Hapoel lost their domestic league game against Eliat, they enter the game against Dijon as a clear favorite. They won four straight before the loss while Dijon hasn’t started the season very well as they won just two out of last ten games.
Antwerp, the team with most made three-pointers per game (11.8) will host the reigning champ AEK. It won’t be easy to beat the guests who come in great shape as they won last five BCL games led by Vince Hunter who averaged 25.7 points in the last three.
Lietkabelis and Fuenlabrada will play the only game from this group on Wednesday as the Lithuanians try to draw the energy from the home crowd and reach Fuenlabrada which lost last three BCL games.
Group D
1. Segafredo Virtus Bologna (6-0)
2. Promitheas Patras (5-1)
3. SIG Strasbourg (4-2)
4. Neptunas Klaipeda (3-3)
5. Besiktas Sompo Japan (2-4)
6. medi Bayreuth (2-4)
7. Petrol Olimpija (1-5)
8. Filou Oostende (1-5)
SIG Strasbourg lost only two of their 19 home games in BCL history and both defeats were by five or fewer points. Oostende will have to play their best game in order to make an upset in France. Their x-factor might be Nemanja Djurisic who scored 19+ points in three BCL games this season.
Next up, Bayreuth and Neptunas’ clash in Germany. After a slow start, Bayreuth got up on their feet and won four straight games in all competitions while the Lithuanians arrive off two losses. Tomas Delininkaitis could make a difference for the guests as he is the only player to bank 20+ points in three matches coming off the bench.
On Wednesday, Besiktas will host Olimpija which will arrive with a new head coach – Aleksandar Nikitovic. Besiktas is in a better shape all-around and will receive a ‘boost’ as Joe Alexander returns to the active roster but the new changes in Olimpija might make things interesting.
Last but not least, two top teams in Group D – Promitheas and Bologna. The Italians won last four games in all competitions and are still undefeated in BCL but it won’t be an easy job in Greece. The hosts bounced back after two losses with three straight wins and will have extra motive to hand Bologna first loss of the season.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League