MIES (Switzerland) - La Laguna Tenerife had already won the group, and on Tuesday night they tied their club record for consecutive wins in the Basketball Champions League.
With Tenerife's win, Pallacanestro Reggiana's job was a bit easier, and they made it through to the Quarter-Finals with a win over Aliaga Petkimspor.
Pallacanestro Reggiana 77-70 Aliaga Petkimspor
They knew they had everything in their hands, but that pressure could be too much for teams sometimes.
Not for the one coached by Dimitris Priftis. Pallacanestro Reggiana's playcaller figured out a way how to keep his men calm and collected for 40 minutes, as they were pushed to the limit by Aliaga Petkimspor.
Reggiana led from start to finish, but even when they opened up an 11-point lead by holding Petkimspor scoreless in the first five minutes of the third quarter, they could not break away from the Turkish side.
It took back-to-back triples by Jaylen Barford and Cassius Winston midway through the final stanza to seal the deal for the Italians, putting the game beyond Petkimspor's reach.
Barford scored 15 points, Winston finished with 14 and 5 assists, while Jamar Smith did most of the damage early in the game with 12 points in 18 minutes of work.
Kwan Cheatham Jr was also in double figures with 10, and Kenneth Faried finished the game with 6 points and 8 rebounds, reminding you to click play on his BCL Diary.
"I'm happy that we won. We've been working really hard all season, we had a goal in mind that we kept to the tea, and to ourselves. I'm just happy that we were able to accomplish it tonight in front of our fans. It was a really good feeling. It was a good feeling for my teammates and the organization," Jamar Smith said.
With this win, they finally ended the Italian drought which went on for six full years in the Basketball Champions League. Since Segafredo Virtus Bologna won the crown in 2019, none of the Italian teams made it to the elite eight.
Now, they could have two teams in, as Reggiana made it through, while Bertram Derthona Basket could also advance from Group I.
Wesley Van Beck and Jaime Echenique signed out with 30 points combined for Aliaga Petkimspor.
La Laguna Tenerife 81-71 BAXI Manresa
The list goes on and on for the two-time BCL champions. They won their 12th straight BCL game, tying their best mark in the history of the competition, as they had also won 12 in a row in 2022.
The BCL record still belongs to Unicaja with an 18 game winning streak, but Tenerife extended the mark for most home wins in a row, as this was their 28th triumph at the Santiago Martin Arena.
Coach Txus Vidorreta also received a standing ovation and a trophy to mark his 100th win in the BCL, presented to him before the game by the CEO of the Basketball Champions League Patrick Comninos.
As for the game itself, Marcelinho Huertas and David Kramer sat this one out, and with Bruno Fitipaldo already sidelined with an injury, the doors were open for the other backcourt guys to shine.
Lluis Costa had a team-high 22 points, while Jaime Fernandez added 15 points to the mix, ten of them before the break. Newcomer Henri Drell finished with 13 points on the day.
Manresa got 16 points from Retin Obasohan, but their run ends in the Round of 16.
Tenerife will be in the seeded part of the draw on Friday, March 28, at 11:30 CET, while Reggiana will wait in the unseeded part of the Quarter-Finals.
The only restriction is that they cannot face each other, meaning Tenerife will face one of the runners-up from Groups I, J or L, while Reggiana face one of the other three group winners.
# | TEAM | W | L | For | AGT | +/- | POINTS |
1 | 6 | 0 | 515 | 450 | 65 | 12 | |
2 | 3 | 3 | 486 | 498 | -12 | 9 | |
3 | 2 | 4 | 492 | 516 | -24 | 8 | |
4 | 1 | 5 | 496 | 525 | -29 | 7 |