By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Following the grueling Regular Season, the Basketball Champions League will enter its playoffs stage. Sixteen clubs are geared up and ready after placing themselves in the top four spots of the four Regular Season groups, four of them even went through the Qualifiers. Math is now much simpler, with a couple of two-game series ahead of the Final Four. Here’s the breakdown of the first Gameday of the Round of 16 stage:
Nizhny Novgorod – Umana Reyer Venezia
Venezia is coming off a big win against Virtus Bologna on the road and is second in the LBA Serie A. The 2017 Italian Champions achieved ten victories in the Regular Season and comfortably finished second in Group B.
On the other side, Nizhny Novgorod went through three qualifying rounds before going down the wire in Group A for its playoffs berth. It ultimately managed to grab third place. The Russian team is seventh in the VTB United League with a 9-8 W-L record.
Walter De Raffaele’s side is considered the favorite, but will start this two-game series on the road and is aware of Nizhny Novgorod’s many upset wins during the 2018-19 campaign. Eventually, the winner will face UCAM Murcia or Telenet Giants Antwerp in the quarterfinals.
PAOK – AEK
The only domestic matchup of the Round of 16 features PAOK against the BCL title holder and FIBA Intercontinental Champion, AEK. Early in the 2018-19 campaign, the Queen got a home win versus Ilias Papatheodorou’s side in the Greek Basket League, but later lost twice in Thessaloniki, first in Greek Cup game and recently in the second Basket League Regular Season contest between the two teams.
The two-game series will start at the PAOK Sports Arena and Luca Banchi hopes for a better result this time around. Besides, his team has won six straight games in all competitions since its January 26th loss to PAOK on the road. The hot streak led AEK to the top spot of Group C in the Champions League Regular Season, before the draw sent their Greek rivals in their path once again.
Le Mans – Segafredo Virtus Bologna
Virtus Bologna isn’t only the favorite against Le Mans, but among the candidates to go all the way in the BCL 2018-19 season. The storied Italian team is back in a European club competition for the first time since 2009 and is on a mission for glory.
Newly-acquired Mario Chalmers is expected to be the main attraction of this two-game series, which will start in France. The 32-year-old American point guard’s addition to Virtus’ roster unquestionably shows that the Italians mean business in the Champions League.
Stefano Sacripanti’s side is just seventh in the LBA Serie A with a 10-10 W-L record, but finished the BCL Regular Season with ten wins and in Group D’s first place. The French Champions went through as Group A’s fourth team in the final round of action and are tenth in the Jeep Elite LNB Pro A.
Neptunas Klaipeda – Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem
Neptunas is coming off its third 2018-19 win against Zalgiris Kaunas, but Hapoel Jerusalem is on an eight-game winning streak, which includes its Israel Cup triumph. Oded Kattash is certainly unstoppable at late and hopes to carry its winning ways through the two-game series versus the Lithuanians.
Besides its fifth Israeli Cup, Hapoel finished second in Group C of the Regular Season. Its 15-5 Super League W-L record is only half a win behind Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv and one win short of UNET Holon.
Kazys Maksvytis’s club went through third-seeded in Group D during the final round of the Regular Season. Domestically the team is second in the LKL a couple of wins behind Zalgiris.
Promitheas Patras – Iberostar Tenerife
The first Basketball Champions League winner, Tenerife, will face Promitheas in this season’s Round of 16 stage. The Greek team isn’t considered the favorite in this two-game series, but has made a habit of punishing teams that underestimate its ability to run them off the court.
Makis Giatras’s side finished the Regular Season with an 8-6 record, which was only enough for Group D’s fourth spot. Promitheas is tied with PAOK in fourth place of the Greek Basket League with an 11-6 W-L tally and has a challenge of facing the seventh-placed ACB team ahead.
Group A wasn’t a problem for Txus Vidorreta’s team that finished on top with twelve victories in the fourteen matches. The Spaniards won all of their seven games on the road and hope for one more “W” in Patras in the first half of the series.