Basketball Champions League – Day 10 Preview

By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net Four groups of eight teams each are set for Basketball Champions League Regular Season Gameday 10. The first 2020 action in FIBA’s premier club competition will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday in 16 different venues stretched across Europe. Plenty of fresh faces attribute a new look to the field. Teams looked to strengthen their playoff bid through the break. Ultimately only four sides from each group will advance to the Round of 16 with seeds determining the teams with the home-court advantage in March. Below the preview of Basketball Champions League Regular Season Gameday 10. Group A 1. Dinamo Sassari 16 (7-2) 2. BAXI Manresa 15 (6-3) 3. Turk Telekom 15 (6-3) 4. SIG Strasbourg 13 (4-5) 5. Filou Oostende 13 (4-5) 6. Lietkabelis 13 (4-5) 7. UNET Holon 12 (3-6) 8. Polski Cukier Torun 11 (2-7) Zeljko Sakic leads BCL forwards with 178 points to date. His Lietkabelis at 4-5 will further its Group A run with an away game versus Turk Telekom. Burak Goren’s side is 6-3 overall and 3-1 at home, also carries a 7-8 Super Ligi W-L tally. The hosts improved to 11-6 in Lithuania’s LKL after beating Zalgiris Kaunas. Top rebounder of the competition so far, Shevon Thompson hopes to add more boards and help Filou Oostende past Dinamo Sassari. At 4-5, his side will face the leading Italian club that sits at 7-2. Domestically, the team coached by Dario Gjergja is 8-3 in the EuroMillions Basketball League and Gianmarco Pozzecco’s club 13-3 in LBA Serie A. No team has scored more points than Polski Cukier Torun, but Sebastian Machowski’s club is in a tough position at 2-7. UNET Holon comes to visit at 3-6. Two straight PLK defeats dropped Torun to 12-3 in the Polish league, while recently appointed head coach Stefanos Dedas has guided his team to 7-6 in the Super League. At 6-3, BAXI Manresa will welcome SIG Strasbourg at the Pavello Nou Congost. Pedro Martinez’s side won its last four ACB games jumping to 7-9 in the process. Vincent Collet’s team is 4-5, while three straight losses in Jeep Elite Pro A dropped his squad to 8-9. Gameday 10 schedule: Tuesday Filou Oostende – Dinamo Sassari Wednesday Turk Telekom – Lietkabelis UNET Holon – Polski Cukier Torun BAXI Manresa – SIG Strasbourg Group B 1. AEK Athens 16 (7-2) 2. Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 15 (6-3) 3. Anwil Wloclawek 14 (5-4) 4. San Pablo Burgos 14 (5-4) 5. RASTA Vechta 14 (5-4) 6. Teksut Bandirma 13 (4-5) 7. Telenet Giants Antwerp 11 (2-7) 8. EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez 11 (2-7) Group B leader AEK will take on Telenet Giants Antwerp at the Lotto Arena. Totally different situations arise with the Greek club 7-2 and its next rival 2-7, but the “W” remains the target for both sides. Coming off the victory over Panathinaikos OPAP, Ilias Papatheodorou’s club jumped to 10-4 in the Basket League. Christophe Beghin’s team shares first place of EuroMillions Basketball League with its 8-3 W-L tally. Averaging 22.6 points per match, Justin Dentmon understands that EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez has no more space for error ahead of the home match opposite to Anwil Wloclawek. Down 2-7, the French team really needs the “W”. EBPLO is also 7-10 in Jeep Elite Pro A, while upcoming foes are 5-4 in the group and 11-4 in PLK. RASTA Vechta and Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem will collide in Germany. At 5-4 and 6-3, respectively, both teams aim for the playoffs. A win here will likely do wonders for any team. Pedro Calles’ side is 8-6 in easyCredit BBL, while Oded Kattash’s squad is 12-1 in Israel’s Super League. Another interesting matchup comes with San Pablo Burgos hosting Teksut Bandirma. The hosts carry a 5-4 W-L tally against the 4-5 of the visitors. Joan Penarroya’s team is 8-8 in the ACB as well. Hakan Demir has led his team to 9-6 in Super Ligi. Gameday 10 schedule: Tuesday RASTA Vechta – Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem San Pablo Burgos – Teksut Bandirma EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez – Anwil Wloclawek Wednesday Telenet Giants Antwerp - AEK Group C 1. Iberostar Tenerife 17 (8-1) 2. ERA Nymburk 16 (7-2) 3. Nizhny Novgorod 15 (6-3) 4. Peristeri winmasters 15 (6-3) 5. Brose Bamberg 13 (4-5) 6. Mornar Bar 11 (2-7) 7. Gaziantep 11 (2-7) 8. VEF Riga 10 (1-8) Iberostar Tenerife can clinch a playoffs berth with a win in Greece over Peristeri winmasters, but the hosts are on a three-game winning streak and looking to take another step towards the postseason. A 6-3 Group C record placed against an 8-1. Nikos Papanikolopoulos’ side carries a 9-5 Basket League W-L tally. Txus Vidorreta’s team is 10-6 in ACB. Another three-game winning streak comes from Nizhny Novgorod that will visit Montenegro and Mornar Bar. The hosts are 2-7 and on the brink of elimination with the Russian club up 6-3. A 7-7 record describes ABA League performances for the team coached by Mihailo Pavicevic. Zoran Lukic’s club is 5-6 in the VTB United League. Brose Bamberg will host Gaziantep. On the wrong end of the table with a 4-5 record against a 2-7 tally, both teams are on survival mode. In domestic leagues, Roel Moors’ has his side at 8-6 in easyCredit BBL, while the team coached by Nenad Markovic is 5-10 in Super Ligi. ERA Nymburk will take on VEF Riga in other action. The Czech Republic champions are inching closer to the postseason at 7-2, but their next foes are all but eliminated at 1-8. Common ground is found with both teams still undefeated after 19 NBL games and 16 Latvia-Estonian League affairs. Gameday 10 schedule: Tuesday ERA Nymburk – VEF Riga Mornar Bar – Nizhny Novgorod Wednesday Peristeri winmasters – Iberostar Tenerife Brose Bamberg - Gaziantep Group D 1. Telekom Baskets Bonn 15 (6-3) 2. JDA Dijon 15 (6-3) 3. Casademont Zaragoza 14 (5-4) 4. Falco Szombathely 14 (5-4) 5. Happy Casa Brindisi 13 (4-5) 6. Neptunas Klaipeda 13 (4-5) 7. Besiktas Sompo Sigorta 12 (3-6) 8. PAOK 12 (3-6) Big match at the Savaria Arena with Falco Szombathely sporting a spotless record at home and a three-game winning streak ahead of the visit of Casademont Zaragoza, Both teams sit at 5-4 in tight Group D. Domestically the Hungarian outlet is 13-1 in NB I/A, while Porfirio Fisac’s side is 12-4 in ACB. Besiktas Sompo Sigorta at 3-6 needs to get things going with Telekom Baskets Bonn ready to compete at the BJK Akatlar Arena. A two-game winning streak improved the hosts to 7-8 in Super Ligi, while easyCredit BBL struggles continue for the German club that has only won two out of its 13 games. Already 4-0 at home, Happy Casa Brindisi is set to host JDA Dijon. The Italian outlet is currently 4-5 two points behind the visitors that sit at 6-3. As for LBA Serie A, Francesco Vitucci’s side is 9-7. Laurent Legnam’s team is on a roll in Jeep Elite Pro A, up 14-3 overall. Finally, Neptunas Klaipeda and PAOK will collide in Lithuania. The hosts are 4-5 in the group and the visitors 3-6. The team coached by Tomas Rinkevicius is 10-7 in LKL as well. Kostas Charalampidis’s club is 4-10 in Greece’s Basket League. Gameday 10 schedule: Tuesday Besiktas Sompo Sigorta – Telekom Baskets Bonn Neptunas Klaipeda - PAOK Wednesday Falco Szombathely – Casademont Zaragoza Happy Casa Brindisi – JDA Dijon Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League