By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Among the Cinderella runs adding more excitement to the Basketball Champions League, Prometey stands out resurfacing one of the main attractions of the competition, offering a chance to teams highlighting minor leagues to shine at the European stage.
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem was coming in hot. After starting the BCL Regular Season with three losses in a row and personnel adjustments, the Israeli team, currently leading the Winner League, banked in three straight wins to make it to the Play-Ins. An offensive outburst of historic proportions landed the win in Game 1, but Prometey bounced back to win Game 2 Tuesday and Game 3 Thursday.
“We made adjustments after the first game. Crazy three games. Unbelievable series,” said D’Angelo Harrison after registering a team-high 18 points in Game 3.
Looking back now, the offseason moves from Prometey made intentions pretty clear. Harrison connecting with fellow former St. John’s standouts D. J. Kennedy and Sean Evans created a Red Storm powering through the Champions League. Another big move, signing experienced Croatian center Miro Bilan to get the job done in the paint, in the deciding Play-In Game 3 as well.
Succeeding in the BCL
After reaching Round of 16 of the FIBA Europe Cup and winning SuperLeague a couple of years after being promoted to the top-flight division of Ukraine, the team led by experienced tactician Ronen Ginzburg blew out Qualification Group D host Levski and Opava and clinched a berth to the Regular Season by edging VTB United League outlet Parma.
Back in the inaugural BCL season in 2016-17, Khimik entered directly to the Regular Season but with a 3-11 record finished last in Group B, and was eliminated. Ensuing Ukrainian bids were stopped in the Qualifiers. Prometey not only survived, but earned a 3-3 record and the third seed in Group A of the Regular Season behind MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg and Lenovo Tenerife, and in front of Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari. Sweeping the two-game series opposite the storied Italian club and beating Ludwigsburg in Germany did the trick.
Game 1 versus Hapoel Jerusalem was a disaster. It was not looking good starting the Play-Ins. Enter Ginzburg testing positive for COVID-19 before Game 2 and big man Evans remaining sidelined. But the Ukrainian club rallied to tie the series behind Chris Dowe’s amazing game-winning overtime three-pointer and led from start to finish in its second visit at Pais Arena. The Jerusalem venue is a tough challenge for any team with the crowd becoming a big advantage for Hapoel but the players of the visiting side were determined to complete the demanding task.
“The players showed character to come back from the loss in Game 1. It was tough to come back. We won two games in a row,” pointed out acting head coach Milenko Bogicevic, “With our coach away, this is really really big for our young team. We will keep going representing the country and the club.”
“We definitely believed we can win this series after Game 1. They shot the ball incredibly well in the first game. If we can make them miss and be closer, that’s what coach kept preaching,” added Harrison pointing at Bogicevic in the postgame press conference, “We just needed to get the win in Zaporizhzhia and even it up, and then play today and leave it all out there. The character showed.”
Eleven countries represented in Round of 16
Prometey progressing made Ukraine the eleventh country with at least one representing team in the Round of 16. Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Spain, and Turkey stretch the active map through most of the continent confirming one of the main ideas behind the Basketball Champions League, getting teams from more domestic leagues in the hunt for success at the continental competition level.
Coming off the domestic title, Prometey remaining undefeated through the first 24 games of the 2021-22 edition of SuperLeague is on the path to a back-to-back championship. In BCL, matching up with Belgium champion Filou Oostende, Romania champion U-BT Cluj Napoca, and strong ACB side Unicaja makes out an intriguing challenge. The top two teams of Group K will advance to the Quarterfinals, the last step before the Final Four.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League