First to Round of 16: AEK set scoring record to secure first spot in Group D
MIES (Switzerland) - The 2018 champs continued their unbeaten start to the season, getting their fifth win in five games by setting their new scoring record for a single Basketball Champions League game.
MIES (Switzerland) - The 2018 BCL champions continued their unbeaten start to the season on Tuesday, getting their fifth win in as many games.
AEK BETSSON BC set the club's new scoring record in a single Basketball Champions League game in the process,, defeating Banco di Sardegna Sassari 110-79 to secure first place in their group.
𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝟏𝟔! 👑 @aekbcgr secure first spot in Group D to advance to #BasketballCL Round of 16 with a game to play. 😎 pic.twitter.com/xLDC9AuxmC
— Basketball Champions League (@BasketballCL) December 5, 2023
The Queen's record now stands at 5-0 in Group D, meaning they will win the group ahead of MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg, King Szczecin and Sassari regardless of results in the remaining games.
AEK will now move to Round of 16 Group D, where they await the Group H winner (Bertram Derthona Tortona or UCAM Murcia), and two other Play-In series winners.
Group D
8/12 games played
| GAMES | STREAK | GAME POINTS | POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | P | W | L | % | Last 5 | For | Agt | +/- | FA | AA | |
| 1 | AEK BETSSON BC | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100 | 449 | 378 | 71 | 89.8 | 75.6 | 10 | |
| 2 | MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg | 4 | 2 | 2 | 50.0 | 337 | 331 | 6 | 84.2 | 82.8 | 6 | |
| 3 | Banco di Sardegna Sassari | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20.0 | 412 | 462 | -50 | 82.4 | 92.4 | 6 | |
| 4 | King Szczecin | 4 | 1 | 3 | 25.0 | 312 | 339 | -27 | 78 | 84.8 | 5 | |
Coach Joan Plaza saw a brilliant all-round effort from his team on Tuesday, with five players in double figures, and 11 of the 12 guys getting on the scoresheet.
Mindaugas Kuzminskas led the way with 21 points - his new BCL career-high - in just 21 minutes of work, and the team shot 12-of-22 from the three-point range.
AEK's 110 points against Sassari were their new BCL-high in a single game, beating the previous mark, set back in 2017-18.
That scoring record had also come against an Italian team, as AEK prevailed 103-102 over Umana Reyer Venezia in an overtime victory, and the Greek fans will hope the similarities don't end there, since AEK lifted the BCL trophy that season.
The black-and-yellows of Athens have played in the Basketball Champions League in each of its eight seasons. Aside from winning the title in Season 2, they reached the Final in 2020 and the Quarter-Finals in 2019 and 2023.
Meanwhile, even with a hefty defeat, Banco di Sardegna Sassari are still not eliminated from contention. The Italians will search for one of the Play-In tickets in this group.
