MIES (Switzerland) - It's April, flowers are at the peak of blossoming, and tickets to progress to the Basketball Champions League Final Four are on the line.
Two Spanish powerhouses against two Italian underdogs, the clash between Czech and Turkish lions, and one Greek side welcoming the French style.
Find out more about Game 1s of this season's Quarter-Finals.
ERA Nymburk vs. Galatasaray - April 9 at 18:30 CET
This will be the third game between ERA Nymburk and Galatasaray in the BCL this season, with the Czechs winning the two previous games by double-digit margins; overall, this will be their fifth encounter in league history, after Galatasaray’s two victories in 2021-22.
Nymburk have won 10 of their 12 games in the BCL this season, but their two defeats have happened at home; Galatasaray have won just one of their last four road games in the BCL, allowing 85 or more points in each of those four fixtures.
Nymburk have made the most two-pointers per game in the BCL this season (23.8), but Galatasaray have the best defensive two-point percentage, allowing their opponents to score only 48.1 percent of their two-point shots.
If Vojtech Hruban sees any playing time in this game, he will become the fourth player to reach 100 appearances in the BCL history; he faced Galatasaray twice in the competition, averaging 17 points per game against them, but is still winless against Gala.
James Palmer Jr - the MVP of the Round of 16 - has scored more than 12 points in each of his last five games played with Galatasaray in the BCL, but is yet to have a longer such scoring sequence in the league; he scored 15 and 19 points in his two previous meetings with Nymburk.
Both teams are entering such a crucial part of the season off domestic league victories. Francesco Tabellini's team took down 103-89 a former BCL participant in Opava; in Türkiye, Will Cummings (25 points and 7 assists) inspired Galatasaray's 88-81 road win over Yalova Belediye.
AEK Betsson BC vs. Nanterre 92 - April 9 at 18:30 CET
AEK Betsson BC are undefeated at home in the BCL in 2024-25, having won their six such games - however, only once before have they had a longer such streak, winning seven straight home fixtures in 2016-17.
Nanterre have won five of their seven road games in the BCL this season, with their 71.4 winning percentage on the road being the highest ever for this French side in a BCL campaign (37.5% in 2017-18 and 55.6% in 2018-19); this will be their third BCL trip to Greece, where they are yet to win a game (L2).
Nanterre have made the most steals per game in the BCL this season (9.9) and have scored 18.7 points per game after turnovers, the third highest average in the league in 2024-25 (BAXI Manresa 19.8 & Unicaja 18.8).
Grant Golden (AEK) is averaging 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in his last four games played in the BCL, after averaging 7.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in his first eight appearances in the competition; Golden has made 69.2 percent of his FG in his last four BCL games.
Desi Rodriguez has scored more than 20 points in three of his last four BCL games, after scoring more than 20 only once in his previous 20 games played in the competition; he is averaging more points on the road (16.8ppg) than at home (14.3ppg) in league history.
AEK are on a seven-game winning streak in Greece, as their most recent domestic loss happened in late January to Olympiacos, and they lastly beat PAOK 89-76 with Hunter Hale (23 points and 7 assists) shining; during the LNB weekend, Nanterre were called up to the big road challenge in Monaco and they weren't successful, losing 89-74 despite Desi Rodriguez's 25 points and 4 steals.
Unicaja vs. Pallacanestro Reggiana - April 9 at 20:00 CET
Unicaja have won their last 13 games at home in the BCL, with their last defeat in Malaga dating back to the Third-Place Game at the 2023 Final Four; Unicaja have scored more than 90 points in each of their last five games at home in the BCL, but no team has ever had a longer such scoring run.
Pallacanestro Reggiana lost their most recent road game in the BCL, but are yet to lose back-to-back road fixtures in the league this season; this will be their third trip to Spain this season, after losing at La Laguna Tenerife and Manresa home courts, allowing more than 90 points on both occasions.
Unicaja have the highest Offensive Rating in the BCL this season, scoring 126.6 points per 100 possessions, while also boasting 21.1 assists per 100 possessions, the highest assist ratio in 2024-25.
Tyson Carter has scored 15 or more points in four of his last five games at home with Unicaja in the BCL, with Carter coming off the bench in all those four fixtures; since the start of the 2023-24 season, only two players have scored more points off the bench than Tyson Carter in the BCL (239; Zoltan Perl, 389 & Mindaugas Kuzminskas, 248).
Kenneth Faried has grabbed 7+ rebounds in eight of his nine games played in the BCL, with the only exception happening in his most recent trip to Spain (6reb at Manresa); he is averaging 8.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game against Spanish teams in the competition.
Reggiana celebrated at home a wonderful 87-78 win over Italian powerhouse Milano, while in Spain Unicaja recovered from a three-game losing streak in the ACB by beating Básquet Coruña 114-105 also thanks to Alberto Diaz's 13-assist majestic night.
La Laguna Tenerife vs. Bertram Derthona Basket - April 9 at 21:45 CET
Tenerife are on a 12-game winning sequence in the BCL, and winning this game will see them reach their longest victorious run in league history (also W12 in January-October 2022); they have won their last 28 games at home and have won all their seven quarter-final games at home in league history.
Bertram Derthona Basket have won their last four games in the BCL, and one victory at Tenerife will see them match their longest winning run in the competition; however, their three defeats this season have all happened on the road.
Tenerife have scored 11.7 shots from behind the arc per game, more than any other team in the BCL in 2024-25; they have the highest dependence on three-point shots in the BCL this season, with 41.3 percent of their total points being scored from behind the three-point line.
Tenerife’s Lluis Costa has scored 16+ points in each of his last two BCL games, after scoring that many points only once in his previous 10 appearances (16 vs. Kolossos); in fact, Costa has scored 16 or more points in each of the three occasions in which he has played 20+ minutes in the competition.
Ismael Kamagate has blocked 29 shots in the BCL this season - only five players have blocked 30+ shots in a single BCL campaign; he has had five different games with three or more blocks this season, while only three players have had more such games in a single season.
Can anybody stop Tenerife? It looks impossible, as they just celebrated a 10-game winning streak between ACB and BCL, lastly crushing Granada 95-87 with 19 points apiece by Giorgi Shermadini and Jaime Fernandez; Derthona, instead, had to surrender at home to the LBA season's revelation Trapani Sharks, which are now standing on top of the standings.