Bahcesehir turn it around for Finals return, Bilbao victory not enough to advance

MUNICH (Germany) – Bahcesehir College overturned a first leg deficit to reach another FIBA Europe Finals with NINERS Chemnitz also advancing, despite a home defeat on Wednesday.

Surne Bilbao Basket bowed out of their season on a high with a win in Germany, while Itelyum Varese pushed Bahcesehir close in a thrilling final quarter in Istanbul.

Bahcesehir secure second Finals in three seasons

Bahcesehir College have the opportunity to reclaim the title they previously won in 2022 as they came away with an 81-73 win over Itelyum Varese in Istanbul.

Continuing his stellar performance throughout the season, Jerry Boutsiele played a pivotal role in leading the hosts to the Finals with an impressive 25 points and 11 rebounds. Axel Bouteille also made a significant contribution, hitting four triples as he added 20 points.

After leading for the majority of the first half and quickly overturning the one-point deficit from the first leg, Bahcesehir was good value for its advantage heading into the third quarter.

Varese, who took 19 three-pointers, compared to just nine two-point attempts in the opening two quarters, went down the same road again in the early stages of the third to limited success, and as a result, the hosts quickly established a double-digit lead.

Despite the Italian side's best efforts, including narrowing the gap to 79-73 with 20.5 seconds left, the depth and skillset of their Turkish counterparts were too much to overcome.

Sean McDermott paced Varese with 20 points, including going 6-for-8 from three-point land, as they ended up going 16-for-36 from deep.

NINERS advance to Finals, despite defeat

NINERS Chemnitz will compete in their first Finals, despite an 82-73 loss on the night to Surne Bilbao Basket, with their dominant first leg success hands them the overall aggregate victory.

Melwin Pantzar led the way for Bilbao with 15 points with Wesley Van Beck and Kaza Kajami-Keane both leading NINERS with 12 each with the latter getting 4 steals.

Facing almost impossible odds following a 25-point loss in the first leg, Bilbao needed to string a big run together in order to threaten the German side, but despite a positive first half, they could only muster a four-point lead at its best.

NINERS established control in the early stages of the third as they refused to give Bilbao an inch, but eventually as the fourth quarter wore on, Bilbao found their higher gear to accelerate away, but it was too little, too late.

Highs

Efficiency: 34 – Jerry Boutsiele (Bahcesehir College)
Points: 25 – Jerry Boutsiele (Bahcesehir College)
Rebounds: 11 - Jerry Boutsiele (Bahcesehir College)
Assists: 7 – Tony Taylor (Bahcesehir College)
Steals: 4 - Kaza Kajami-Keane (NINERS Chemnitz)
Blocks: 4 - Denzel Andersson (Surne Bilbao Basket)

Wednesday, April 3
Bahcesehir College 81-73 Itelyum Varese (161-154 on aggregate)
NINERS Chemnitz 72-83 Surne Bilbao Basket (171-155 on aggregate)

FIBA