By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
With three lasting originals making it to the Quarterfinals of the Basketball Champions League, they naturally carry significant team experience into the penultimate stage of the season. Five more entries, including an intriguing rookie, all aspiring to reach the Final Four.
Action resumes this week with a “bang”. Game 1 of the respective best-of-three series to either confirm the homecourt advantage or immediately turn the tables.
Eurohoops presents the Quarterfinals ventures of AEK, BAXI Manresa, Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem, Lenovo Tenerife, SIG Strasbourg, UCAM Murcia and Unicaja over the six previous editions of the Champions League. The remaining contender, Telekom Baskets Bonn is the lone newcomer to the everlasting fight of the top eight teams.
List of teams’ Quarterfinals record
| Team | Quarterfinals Berth | W-L (-T) |
| Lenovo Tenerife | 6th | 4-3-1 |
| AEK | 4th | 3-1-1 |
| SIG Strasbourg | 4th | 1-3-1 |
| Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem | 3rd | 1-2 |
| BAXI Manresa | 2nd | 2-0 |
| UCAM Murcia | 2nd | 2-0 |
| Unicaja | 2nd | 0-2 |
| Telekom Baskets Bonn | 1st | 0-0 |
Lasting originals
AEK, Strasbourg, and Tenerife have been around in every single campaign of the BCL. The Canary Islands outfit won it all in the first and last seasons. The team based in Athens was the second winner in 2018. The French side is seeking similar success.
Under the guidance of Txus Vidorreta on all five occasions, the defending champions previously moved from the Quarterfinals to the Semifinals three times and were knocked out twice, both in single-elimination Final Eight format, which is not the case this time around.
The Queen, tied for second in the list of teams with the most Quarterfinals berths, returns to this stage after a three-year absence. Between the championship run in 2018 and runner-up status in 2020, Brose Bamberg and Tyrese Rice forced AEK to a Quarterfinals exit in 2019.
The SIGmen made the Quarterfinals for a third season in a row, previously logged their debut in 2018. Brandon Jefferson and Ish Wainright paved the way, the only win in team history was secured in overtime to eliminate Tenerife and eventually end up fourth in the 2021 Final Eight.
Unscathed
ACB participants shape half of the Playoffs field. Drawn to battle it out for the two spots in the Final Four, Manresa and Murcia come in with an undefeated edge.
The Catalonia club introduced itself to this stage last season, comfortably swept Unicaja behind Chima Moneke, and ended up losing to Tenerife in the Final Four championship game. That is the only previous matchup between the two sides heading into the best-of-three Quarterfinals.
Murcia instead swept Pinar Karsiyaka in 2018 before being edged out by AEK in the Final Four Semifinals and eventually ranked third in Athens. Five years forward and the chance to return to the Final Four of FIBA’s top-tier European club continental competition.
Hapless
From winning streaks to elimination trends stretching from Hapoel Jerusalem to Unicaja.
The Israeli side reaching the 2023 Quarterfinals went to the wrong end of this stage in both 2019 and 2020. Recapping, defeating Tenerife by a margin of two points at home was not enough to survive the bottom half of the two-leg series and being blown out by San Pablo Burgos in the next season’s Final Eight marked the second misstep.
The Malaga outfit made it to the Quarterfinals for the second time in as many BCL campaigns. It can’t get much worse than falling way short against Manresa last year.
New entry
Completing the list, Bonn entered the Playoffs with an 11-game winning streak launched back on Gameday 2 of the Regular Season. The initial Champions League spell was highlighted by reaching the Round of 16 in 2020, on the heels of two consecutive regular-season exits. But the Quarterfinals are at a new level.