By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After fourteen grueling Regular Season Gamedays, sixteen teams prevailed securing a place in the Round of 16 stage of the Basketball Champions League. From 5 until 13 of March, the qualified clubs will try to advance to the quarterfinals and from there insert themselves into the Final Four.
BCL isn’t only about club glory. Every team is also representing its country with Lithuania, Israel, Greece, Spain, Russia, Italy, Belgium, France, Turkey and Germany proudly holding up a spot in the Round of 16 stage. Three of the above, Israel, Russia and Belgium, are represented in the final 16 clubs for the first time.
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem
The Israelis will face Neptunas next month and Promitheas or Iberostar Tenerife will fall in their way if they march into the quarterfinals. Hapoel advancing to the next stage came to no surprise. Oded Kattash‘s team was and remains among the favorites of the tournament.
Maccabi Rishon LeZion and UNET Holon were close, but didn’t eventually progress through to Round of 16 stage during the first BCL campaigns. Actually Maccabi RM advanced after the group stage, but failed to go on beyond the playoffs qualifiers round in 2017.
Nizhny Novgorod
The Russians needed their seventh win in the dramatic Week 14 action to punch their ticket. Nizhny Novgorod achieved what Avtodor Saratov and Enisey Krasnoyarsk failed to during the Basketball Champions League first two seasons, advance to the Round of 16 stage.
Avtodor finished fourth in group stage action in 2016-17, but didn’t make it through the playoffs qualifiers to the Round of 16 stage. Enisey only put up three wins last year, but Zoran Lukic’s side made it in 2018-19. Up next is Umana Reyer Venezia.