By Stefan Djordjevic/ sdjordjevic@eurohoops.net
Tomorrow, March 2, is the set tip-off date for the Round of 16 stage in the Basketball Champions League and this year’s postseason might be the most interesting so far.
It will surely feature something for every fan out there and Eurohoops has picked out five storylines to watch out for as the teams fight for a spot in the Final Eight.
Group format bringing more excitement and competitiveness
This year has been unique for every competition in sports and the Basketball Champions League has been no exception. FIBA’s elite league adjusted though with some changes and it adjusted well.
Doubling up the number of groups (8 x 4) and playing every other week gave the teams much-needed spacing in the schedule to prepare, balance out the obligation but also postpone games and overcome any coronavirus-related challenges.
However, outside of the technical advantages, it also brought out more from the teams which now had to take every game seriously in order to secure the two available tickets from each group. Every game mattered and a lot of teams had to fight for their spots until the very last game.
BCL decided to keep the same format for the playoffs as well, four groups of four teams in this case, and that has made the upcoming Round of 16 arguably much more interesting than the previous knockout phases.
Not to mention that COVID hasn’t been ‘dealt’ with yet across the globe and the teams will still need some help. One opening game of the BCL playoffs has already been postponed – AEK vs Nizhny Novgorod.
Domestic clashes
One of the things that make the new format interesting is the domestic clashes as Group I features Tofas and Pinar Karsiyaka while Group J features Hereda San Pablo Burgos and Iberostar Tenerife.
When it comes to the Turkish teams, both squads ended up the regular season with the same record of 4-2 but that while it was enough for Tofas to snatch the top spot, Karsiyaka had to settle with second place behind Brose Bamberg which went undefeated.
Tofas has been having an impressive run across all competitions since Tomislav Zubcic arrived and DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell as well as Tarik Phillip stepped up.
However, the first-timers in BCL will have to face an impressive Karsiyka team with Semih Erden for the captain as he leads players such as Raymar Morgan and Amath M’Baye down the road.
On the other side, the Spaniards will be able to enjoy a clash of champions. Tenerife won the first (2016-17) season of the competition and was the runner-up in 2018-19 while San Pablo Burgos boasts as the reigning champions who won the title in the debut BCL year.
Burgos aiming for another page in the history books
Burgos made history in their debut season as they went all the way to the top and won the Final Eight Tournament. Now, the challenge is of course to repeat it and make the history book once again, becoming the first back-to-back champions in the competition.
Outside of Tenerife, the teams standing in their way will be Igokea and VEF Riga which may not seem like some huge challengers at the first look but far from it that these teams can be underestimated.
Igokea succeeded in getting past the Israeli title-contender Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem for the spot in the playoffs as well as CSP Limoges while VEF Riga pulled through in front of Rytas Vilnius and Peristeri which were favored to win the group by many.
Brose Bamberg chasing perfection
And if Burgos manages to go deeper, even bigger challenges await. One of those could be Brose Bamberg. The only team that went undefeated with a 6-0 record in the regular season.
The German squad found its way unscathed through Group F against Pinar Karsiyaka, RETAbet Bilbao, and Fortitudo Bologna.
This time around, the well-balanced team will face the likes of ERA Nymburk, Casademont Zaragoza, and Dinamo Sassari. Every single one a title-contender.
It would be a huge success getting out of this ‘Group of Death’ but if Johan Roijakkers somehow managed to coach his squad through the duels undefeated once again, there would be no team more favored to win the whole thing than Brose Bamberg.