BCL Fantasy tips: Don't put everything on starters

MIES (Switzerland) - The eighth Basketball Champions League season brought along a new challenge, in our official Fantasy game. Every Monday, we bring you some tips on where to aim so that you can reach the highest possible number of points on the week.

Whether you're fighting for honors in a private league, or in the public weekly and monthly challenges, or in the Regular Season, by now you already know what you have on your team. But we have some insight for you to help boost your chances in this specific week.

One hot month for Promitheas

Promitheas Patras made their return to the Basketball Champions League this season, and immediately made it known that they won't settle just for a spot in the Regular Season. They won two of their first three games, holding on to a place which would take them to home court advantage in the Play-Ins if the group stage finished today.

The best thing about their run is the fact that their leader is not one of the starters. When picking your teams in other Fantasy games, having a starter means more minutes and more chances to get efficiency points, but with Promitheas, your best bet is a guy coming off the bench.

Anthony Cowan is the only bench player to score 15+ points in each of his first three games, including a 22-point outing against JDA Bourgogne Dijon last time out.

Captain Cowan to the rescue

Cowan is a 26-year-old guard in only his third season in Europe but his second in a row at Promitheas, where coach Ilias Papatheodorou made him the captain for the 2023-24 campaign.

Bigger responsibility brought the best out of Anthony, who had a November to remember. He scored 22 with 6 rebounds and 5 assists against Lavrio in the Greek league, then followed it up with a 20-point game against Olympiacos, 13 points and 5 assists against Apollon Patras and finally a 21-point, 4-rebound, 4-assist performance against his former club Aris.

Add another 22-point game in there in the BCL, and it's clear to see that Cowan's November has been exceptional. All while coming off the bench, changing the rhythm of the game whenever his name is called.

He scored 19 points against Rytas Vilnius in their first matchup, and don't be surprised if he goes above that mark on Wednesday. He'll have some extra motivation this week: If Promitheas defeat Rytas, coach Papatheodorou will grab his 40th BCL win in just 67 games.

Only Txus Vidorreta got to 40 wins faster in League history, in 52 games with Lenovo Tenerife. Getting 20+ in the 40th win would be a fitting "thank you" to coach Ilias for making him the Promitheas captain this season.