MIES (Switzerland) - It's a historic night: for the first time in their respective teams' histories, both Bertram Derthona Basket and Manisa Basket have reached the Basketball Champions League Round of 16.
But Tuesday night wasn't only about sweeping celebrations, as Hapoel Netanel Holon and Nanterre 92 forced Game 3s and stayed alive. How? Stay with us to figure it out.
NINERS Chemnitz 84-87 Manisa Basket
History for Manisa, history for Saben Lee: in the Turkish team's first-ever Basketball Champions League appearance, they not only advanced through the Regular Season, but also reached the Round of 16, while their top scorer set a new mark, too.
Lee had 28 points, his fourth game with 25 or more points scored in the BCL this season, which takes his points total to 168 points, at least 23 more points than any other player after his first six games in the history of this competition. The previous record holder was TJ Shorts II, with 145 points across his first six games with Bonn in 2022.
You have to feel for NINERS Chemnitz - they lost by a single point after that thrilling comeback in Game 1, and got eliminated after another one-possession defeat, losing 87-84 at home in Game 2.
There was no final possession drama, as Chris Chiozza grabbed the crucial offensive rebound, forcing the hosts to go the full length of the floor with just two seconds left and no timeouts.
Aside from Lee doing his bit, Hugo Besson (18 points over 4-of-10 from deep) and Fabian White Jr. (16 points and 10 rebounds) confirmed the eve's expectations and helped Kazys Maksvytis's team get to the following stage of the competition.
"I want to congratulate our guys. To fight and execute the game plan despite the injuries and unavailable players. Players like Saben, Like Fabian, like Hugo took responsibility. We are very happy to reach the R16 and hope to go deeper," Manisa's playcaller said.
It's gonna be a stacked Group J in the Round of 16, as Manisa Basket join last season's winners Unicaja, alongside Rytas Vilnius and potentially another Turkish team in Galatasaray. Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball, dragged by the French gem Nolan Traore, will try to spoil that plan.
Peristeri Domino's 65-73 Bertram Derthona Basket
Visiting Torino in Game 5 of the Italian second division Finals in 2020-21, on June 29, 2021, there was only one guy still in today's Bertram Derthona Basket: Luca Severini. That night, he celebrated like never before.
On January 14, 2025, Luca Severini spent 12:49 minutes on the court of the Andreas Papandreou Indoor Peristeri. This Tuesday night, he celebrated like never before, alongside 11 different teammates.
That's how historic this Play-In series victory by Walter De Raffaele's team actually is. Especially considering last season's ghosts, as they wasted a home-court advantage and suffered a 2-0 sweep by Galatasaray a year ago.
Heading to Greece on a 1-0 advantage after the 69-59 win in Italy, they sealed the deal in advance, reaching the Round of 16 for the first time in the club's history.
Christian Vital was crucial in the decisive win over Peristeri Domino's as Derthona's leading scorer with 17 points. The way he closed things up against last season's BCL Final Four participant speaks for itself.
"First of all, I want to congratulate Peristeri because they fought a lot in both games. For us, it's a historic moment because we have reached the Round of 16 for the first time as a club," De Raffaele said.
On that stage, they will meet AEK Betsson BC, FIT/One Würzburg Baskets, and the winner of Karsiyaka against Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola matchup; Game 2 of that series is scheduled on Wednesday night at 18:30 CET.
"As a team and and as a coaching staff we have written a page of history for this club so it's very important for us and we are really proud of that. I think the key was that we played better 1vs1 at the end of the game and this allowed us to really find some easy shots on offense that won the game in the last five minutes," coach added.
Hapoel Netanel Holon 65-62 Aliaga Petkimspor
It was a matter of details for Aliaga Petkimspor to prevail 82-81 in Game 1 of the Play-Ins against Holon. Guess what? Game 2 was all about details, too.
If Bryson Williams's three-point attempt entered, we would have probably gone through an overtime, where anything could've happened. But the Israeli side first produced a late comeback and then secured the 65-62 win.
In the end, Dakarai Tucker gained energy from his early dunk in transition to fuel the purple-and-yellow side with 20 points and 7 rebounds.
"First of all, I'm happy that here [in Hungary] it is like home. During the game the players said that they liked this place, they liked the court, and they liked the basket. Hopefully, it gave us good luck even though we were down by 10," Guy Goodes said in the post-game presser.
"In the fourth quarter, I think the key was defense. We stopped them on 11 points and scored 24 points and in the end, our defense controlled the game. I'm happy for the win, we came back and we are looking forward to the third game," Holon's head coach also followed.
Another huge scoring night by Breein Tyree, who closed with a 23-point losing effort on seven threes made, wasn't enough for Aliaga Petkimspor.
May we remind you that this series' winner would end up playing in the Round of 16 with two BCL Final Four 2022 participants in La Laguna Tenerife and BAXI Manresa. One of Telekom Baskets Bonn and Pallacanestro Reggiana would join the Group K party too.
Filou Oostende 67-76 Nanterre 92
Filou Oostende spoiled an early celebration in Nanterre last week? Well, the French side had to take their revenge in Game 2, and they did so.
They did so by pulling off a completely dominant display, leading for 38:06 minutes in Belgium - never going down in the score - and forcing Game 3 of this Play-In series with the final 76-67 score.
Desi Rodriguez couldn't believe their season was ending this early, and finished with a team-high 16-point night.
It was a tough night in terms of turnovers for the hosts, they had 25 of them, allowing Nanterre to build a +13 edge in points from turnovers.
Game 3 is now scheduled on January 22 at 20:00 CET. Whoever comes out victorious would join ERA Nymburk, UCAM Murcia, and the winner of Falco-Vulcano Szombathely vs Maccabi Ramat-Gan in Group L.