Tenerife brings protecting home court to another level

By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net

Winning the Basketball Champions League twice, becoming synonymous with progress through the continental competition over recent years, and much more. Lenovo Tenerife is among the lasting originals, participating in all eight installments of the BCL.

The Santiago Martin has been the building block to emerge as the most successful team. Conquering yet another record with a direct connection to picking up wins in San Cristobal de La Laguna would be a brilliant next step in further establishing dominance.

The team coached by Txus Vidorreta prevailed in the 15 most recent BCL games played in Santiago Martin. Extending the streak through the upcoming visits of VEF Riga and Darussafaka Lassa would match the record of AS Monaco with 17 consecutive home wins between the 2016-17 and 2017-18 editions of FIBA Europe’s top-tier club continental competition.

Protecting the home court is a requirement in every competition. Tenerife, the team with the most games played and wins in the Champions League, lifts the notion to another level.

Lenovo Tenerife’s winning streak at home

The last home loss dates back to the Regular Season of the 2021-22 campaign. Losing, 99-83, to MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, eventually cost the top seed in Group A of the Regular Season. Shaking off a relatively slow start, Tenerife went on to become a two-time champion with 11 wins in a row in any venue from Game 3 of the Play-In series versus Pinar Karsiyaka to the championship game of the Final Four held in Bilbao opposite BAXI Manresa.

The next challenger, VEF Riga has lost all four BCL games against the Canary Islands outfit. Apart from struggling in the specific matchup, a winless run over 12 straight away games accompanies the Latvia champions to Gameday 3 of the 2023-24 Regular Season. The losing streak includes the previous visit to Santiago Martin, in Group J of the Round of 16 of the 2020-21 season.

The last win away from Riga was against Rytas in Vilnius with an 85-81 victory building the bid to advance through Group E of the 2020-21 Regular Season.

Tim Abromaitis is set for record-breaking showing

Besides potentially extending the aforementioned streak on Wednesday, Tim Abromaitis can break the current tie with Petr Benda to become the player with the most appearances in the Champions League.

Abromaitis, 34, is projected to feature for the team coached by Vidorreta versus VEF Riga and thus create a new record with 86 games played in the league. Except for his two-year stint with Unicaja, including one season in the BCL, the remaining outings build on his longtime contribution to Tenerife from 2015 to 2019 and since returning to the club in 2022.

Climbing up the list of players with the most appearances, Maris Gulbis can make his way to a 50th appearance in the BCL Regular Season. The 38-year-old forward will be looking to spoil the evening for Abromaitis and Tenerife by combining the milestone with a win for VEF Riga.

Peristeri bwin’s Joe Ragland is also set for a 50th game played this week. Elsewhere in the territory of Spain, the team coached by Vassilis Spanoulis will face Unicaja on Tuesday.

Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League

Read the latest News