By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Nine games on Tuesday and seven more on Wednesday set the field for the fourth Gameday of the 2019-20 Basketball Champions League Regular Season.
Last week UNET Holon and Polski Cukier Torun broke some scoring records, James Feldeine was crowned MVP, while Tony Wroten and R.J. Hunter shared their take on the young season with Eurohoops.
Hold on for even more excitement in Round 4 of the group stage. Here is the preview of Gameday 3.
Group A
Standings
1. Turk Telekom 6 (3-0)
2. SIG Strasbourg 5 (2-1)
3. BAXI Manresa 5 (2-1)
4. Dinamo Sassari 5 (2-1)
5. UNET Holon 4 (1-2)
6. Filou Oostende 4 (1-2)
7. Polski Cukier Torun 4 (1-2)
8. Lietkabelis 3 (0-3)
With captain Pere Tomas out injured, BAXI Manresa added 38-year-old Sergi Vidal ahead of the big home game versus Turk Telekom. Fresh off an overtime ACB win to improve to 2-5, the Spanish team wants to stop the Turkish team’s undefeated Group A run. Apart their 3-0 BCL start, the visitors will carry a 2-4 Super Ligi W-L record into the Pavello Nou Congost.
Malachi Richardson is 6/10 beyond the arc so far, UNET Holon really needs him to produce some more threes in France against SIG Strasbourg. At 1-2 in the group to go along with its 2-3 Super League tally, the Israelis will test themselves versus Vincent Collet’s squad that is 2-1 in BCL and 2-5 in Jeep Elite Pro A.
Polski Cukier Torun’s Chris Wright leads the Champions League with 31 assists and three double-doubles ahead of the crucial home affair against Dinamo Sassari. Both teams are 5-1 in their respective domestic leagues, but the Polish club is coming off its first defeat of the 2019-20 PLK season.
Amar Sylla has already blocked seven shots, hopes for more with Filou Oostende hosting Lietkabelis and gunning for 2-2 W-L tally. Apart BCL, the Belgian team is 4-1 in the EuroMillions Basketball League, while the 0-3 Group A side is 4-2 in the LKL.
Gameday 4 schedule:
Tuesday
Polski Cukier Torun – Dinamo Sassari
Filou Oostende – Lietkabelis
Wednesday
BAXI Manresa – Turk Telekom
SIG Strasbourg – UNET Holon
Group B
Standings
1. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 6 (3-0)
2. San Pablo Burgos 5 (2-1)
3. AEK 5 (2-1)
4. RASTA Vechta 5 (2-1)
5. Telenet Giants Antwerp 4 (1-2)
6. Teksut Bandirma 4 (1-2)
7. Anwil Wloclawek 4 (1-2)
8. EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez 3 (0-3)
Don’t get Goran Huskic to the free-throw line, as he started the BCL season with 9/9. EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez players will have the Serbian center and his teammates to face while visiting San Pablo Burgos. The French side is 0-3 in the group, 2-5 in Jeep Elite Pro A. The six-game losing streak in all competitions goes up against its upcoming rivals’ three-game losing streak in the ACB.
Howard Sant-Roos carries 106 minutes of Basketball Champions League action into AEK’s road challenge against Teksut Bandirma, Keith Langford has been on the court for 99 minutes. Certainly an important game for both sides that are currently 2-4 in Greece’s Basket League and 4-2 in Turkey’s Super Ligi, respectively.
Next challenge for RASTA Vechta and the top scorer of the 2019-20 season so far Trevis Simpson is the Telenet Giants Antwerp at the Lotto Arena. The German side is carrying three straight easyCredit BBL wins into the contest versus the 3-0 EuroMillions Basketball League team.
The other Group B match has Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem hosting Anwil Wloclawek. Up 4-1 in Israel’s Super League, Oded Kattash’s squad hopes for a 4-0 Champions League start. Anwil is 1-2 in the group, 4-2 in the PLK following a couple of consecutive domestic league losses.
Gameday 4 schedule:
Tuesday
San Pablo Burgos – EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez
Wednesday
Teksut Bandirma – AEK
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem – Anwil Wloclawek
Telenet Giants Antwerp – RASTA Vechta
Group C
Standings
1. ERA Nymburk 6 (3-0)
2. Iberostar Tenerife 6 (3-0)
3. Nizhny Novgorod 5 (2-1)
4. Peristeri winmasters 5 (2-1)
5. VEF Riga 4 (1-2)
6. Brose Bamberg 4 (1-2)
7. Gaziantep 3 (0-3)
8. Mornar Bar 3 (0-3)
Iberostar Tenerife has a lot of things going in the Champions League and holds a 4-3 ACB W-L tally. Up next is the road game against the second Group C unbeaten team ERA Nymburk that is also 7-0 in the Czech Republic’s NBL. Last team standing match scheduled at Prague’s Kralovka Arena.
Drew Crawford is on top of the list of players with the most minutes played so far in the Champions League season, but Gaziantep is down 0-3. The next chance for victory will present itself in Latvia versus VEF Riga. The Turkish club is 2-4 in the Super Ligi, while its upcoming opponent is 6-0 in the Latvia-Estonian League.
Currently 1-2 in the group and 5-1 in easyCredit BBL, Brose Bamberg is set to face Mornar Bar at home. The Montenegrin side is still in search of its first BCL victory, but got to 3-2 in the ABA League last weekend.
Rounding up the Gameday 4 schedule is Peristeri winmasters up against visiting Nizhny Novgorod. The winning side will improve to 3-1 in BCL to go along with either a 5-1 Basket League record or a 3-1 VTB United League W-L tally.
Gameday 4 schedule:
Tuesday
VEF Riga – Gaziantep
Peristeri winmasters – Nizhny Novgorod
Brose Bamberg – Mornar Bar
ERA Nymburk – Iberostar Tenerife
Group D
Standings
1. JDA Dijon 6 (3-0)
2. Neptunas Klaipeda 5 (2-1)
3. Telekom Baskets Bonn 5 (2-1)
4. Casademont Zaragoza 5 (2-1)
5. Besiktas Sompo Sigorta 4 (1-2)
6. Falco Szombathely 4 (1-2)
7. Happy Casa Brindisi 4 (1-2)
8. PAOK 3 (0-3)
James Michael McAdoo has already registered a couple of double-doubles in the young BCL season, but Besiktas Sompo Sigorta is only 1-2 in Group D. No easy challenge ahead with the away match against Happy Casa Brindisi that also sits at 1-2. The Turkish team is 2-4 in Super Ligi, while their Italian rivals are 5-1 in LBA Serie A.
JDA Dijon is the only undefeated team of the group making it to 3-0 with an overall 65.3% from the field and is 6-1 in Jeep Elite Pro A. Up next is PAOK that deemed a head coaching change necessary after its 0-3 start in FIBA’s premier club competition and afterwards improved to 2-4 in Greece’s Basket League.
With a 3-1 in view for both sides, Neptunas Klaipeda is set to host Casademont Zaragoza. The home side additionally carries a 4-4 LKL W-L tally, while Porfirio Fisac’s side is 6-1 in ACB trailing only Real Madrid in the Spanish League’s standings.
The fourth match is between Falco Szombathely and Telekom Baskets Bonn at the Savaria Arena. Up 5-0 in Hungary’s NB I/A, the hosts are hoping to improve to 2-2 in the Champions League. The German team already has two wins in the group, but is down to 1-3 in easyCredit BBL after three straight defeats.
Gameday 4 schedule:
Tuesday
Falco Szombathely – Telekom Baskets Bonn
JDA Dijon – PAOK
Wednesday
Neptunas Klaipeda – Casademont Zaragoza
Happy Casa Brindisi – Besiktas Sompo Sigorta
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League