MIES (Switzerland) - A Turkish derby in the Play-Ins? We were so ready for it. And so should have been Karsiyaka, if Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball managed to beat the experienced green-and-red side.
Instead, with a comeback for the ages in France, Ufuk Sarica's team will host the Greek opponents Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola by locking in second place in Group C and the homecourt advantage in the next stage.
Moreover, La Laguna Tenerife finished the Regular Season perfectly by extending their home-game winning streak to 25 consecutive encounters. Scoring, once again, more than 80 points.
Karsiyaka earn homecourt advantage
Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball not only needed to get over Karsiyaka for second place in Group C, but they must have done it by winning by 11 points or more. They never reached such a gap, but went very close to it.
Going close to the end of the first quarter, they were showing a good effort in leading 26-16, possibly creating the relevant gap to complete their mission.
However, Karsiyaka stepped up with experience and solidness once the hosts started to feel tired. A 19-0 run killed the opponents, and the guests escaped all the way to the final 93-67 win in the Saint-Quentin Arena.
The deadly backcourt duo composed of Daron Russell and Errick McCollum was, as expected, fundamental in Wednesday's action. DeWayne's brother was all over the place, shooting 6-of-8 from two and 5-of-8 from deep to get a 29-point, 8-assist performance; while McCollum joined TJ Shorts as the only other player with five straight games of 20+ points - he had 24, with 5 assists.
While Nolan Traore suffered against such opponents, finishing with 2-of-9 from the field, Dominik Olejniczak gave a solid contribution close to the basket with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Tenerife win 25th straight home game
Not a lot of takeaways from La Laguna Tenerife's absolute control in the Santiago Martin Arena, beating Kolossos H Hotels 92-73 in a game that featured surprising protagonists.
With nothing on the line except for an eventual shocking late glory for the guests or the umpteenth win at home for the two-time Basketball Champions League winners, there was time for new faces to discover.
The 2003-born Bulgarian forward Konstantin Kostadinov, for example, went close to a double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds; on the other side, the 2002-born center Periklis Kouroupakis scored a season-high as well with 13 points over 6-of-7 shooting from two.
Even without their captain Marcelinho Huertas, Tenerife can't stop winning at home. This was their 25th consecutive victory behind their friendly walls, and the 16th when scoring 80+ points in that run.
As previously anticipated, the result of the last matchup of this Basketball Champions League Regular Season between La Laguna Tenerife and Kolossos H Hotels was meaningless: Txus Vidorreta's team would have still advanced to the Sweet 16 with a defeat, while the Greek side didn't have chances of qualifying.
Instead, following this statement victory on the road in Saint-Quentin, Errick McCollum and teammates got the home-court advantage in the Play-Ins, where they will clash with Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola.
Nolan Traore and all Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball will be featured in the next stage against Galatasaray, and need to win at least one game on the road to advance.