MIES (Switzerland) - By only knowing what the concluding encounters on Wednesday for Game 1s of the 2024-25 Basketball Champions were, one could have guessed two similarities.
First, they were about two Spanish teams facing two Italian sides; secondly, they were two BCL champions facing teams making their first-ever appearance at such a stage. Add another one: both Spaniards won.
La Laguna Tenerife 93-89 Bertram Derthona Basket (1-0)
There couldn't have been a worse opponent than La Laguna Tenerife for Bertram Derthona Basket on their first-ever appearance in the Basketball Champions League Quarter-Finals.
After all, the two-time champions entered Game 1 on a 10-game winning streak among all competitions, on a perfect 12-0 streak in the BCL, having won their last 28 games at home in the competition and all of their seven games at home in the club's history in the BCL Quarter-Finals.
All of these circumstances made the scenario even worse for the Italians as Tenerife entered the game on a 13-0 start. Everybody saw the same plot as Unicaja vs. Reggiana coming up.
Instead, that perfect early run actually provided opposite sensations to both teams.
On one end, Tenerife looked relaxed and calm about sealing the deal earlier than expected; on the other, it inspired Derthona's comeback attempt heading to halftime, as they reduced the deficit from -16 to -2.
As time passed by, Tenerife looked like they had lost their long-time brilliance at home in the competition, while Derthona started planting the seed of a miraculous feat, possession by possession.
Ultimately, the Italians opened up a late six-point lead on a Luca Severini three-pointer. Good enough for a road win? Yes, in many places. No, not in Tenerife.
Tim Abromaitis and Marcelinho Huertas inspired another comeback which saw the hosts even come up with the final possession to win the game in the fourth quarter, but they fumbled the ball as time expired and had to work overtime.
They went back-and-forth in OT, once again Abromaitis getting the crucial points and rebounds, and Marcelinho sealing the deal.
Derthona had one chance to send the game to another overtime, but Tommaso Baldasso's three-pointer was short, and the hosts survived.
"We had a chance, but honestly I can't ask more from from my team," Walter De Raffaele said.
"We played with technique, with ideas, with pride, so I think we really showed how we can compete everywhere. It's 1-0 to this amazing team with a legendary coach who I really appreciate a lot, but it's 1-0 and we wait for the second game."
And so it's 13-0 in the BCL this season, eight out of eight victories in all-time home games played in the Quarter-Finals, 29 win at home in a row.
But what an effort by Derthona.
In a night that could have turned into an overall surprise, Marcelinho Huertas made sure nobody could be shocked by his umpteenth unbelievable performance at 41 years of age.
The Brazilian point god went close to a double-double at 26 points and 9 assists, shooting 9-of-12 from the field and 7-of-7 at the line.
Baldasso (16 points, 6 assists) was the best player for Derthona, with Kyle Weems right next to him with 17 points. Weems seemed to tie the game on a three-pointer late in OT, but the review showed his foot was on the line, and Tenerife kept the crucial lead.
Game 2, scheduled on April 16 at 18:30 CET, will tell if Tenerife manage to lock in another Basketball Champions League Final Four, this time either in Athens or Paris, or if Derthona will force Game 3, back to the island.
Unicaja 105-68 Pallacanestro Reggiana (1-0)
Entering the 2024-25 Basketball Champions League Regular Season, everybody was expecting Unicaja to reach the competition's Quarter-Finals, potentially winning them for the third season in a row.
Probably not a lot of people would have seen Pallacanestro Reggiana make it this far, as the Italians were protagonists of a flowing run in the European competition at their second shot after getting eliminated early in 2022-23. It was already a success for the club from Northern Italy.
The heavy difference of talent and ambition was perceived quite frankly in Game 1 of their best-of-three series, as Ibon Navarro's team got the 37-point win (105-68) in front of their fans.
More than ever, this looks like another unbeaten season at home in the Basketball Champions League for Unicaja, which claimed their 14th consecutive victory behind friendly walls. They have also scored more than 90 points in each of their last six games at home in the BCL.
At the end of the encounter, looking at such a result, every worrying thought must be put aside for Ibon Navarro and his coaching staff, but it was one of the tactician's speeches to inspire a late blowout. During the third quarter, he made sure his team wasn't thinking about playing an exhibition game, and they answered.
Opening the fourth quarter, they went on a 15-0 run to display even more supremacy. Overall, Reggiana scored only three points in the remaining ten minutes of the game.
Tyson Carter (20 points, 7-of-9 from the field) has now scored 15 or more points in five of his last six home games with Unicaja in the BCL; unlike the previous four such games, this time he didn't come off the bench.
Melvin Ejim added a season-high 17 points over 6-of-6 at the line in Unicaja's win.
Moving to the losing side, Kwan Cheatham Jr was Reggiana's highest scorer at 19 points, and he reflected on this loss in the aftermath.
"I think from the first minute, the physicality was tough to match. I looked at the box score and saw we had 24 turnovers, and that's not gonna cut it in any league," he opened.
"It was a tough game, but I feel like in the third quarter we made a run. Then we just died out in the fourth quarter. Very tough game, we lost to a good team, but we'll get back to the drawing board and be ready to see them next week."
On April 15 at 20:00 CET, in front of their beloved and loud red-and-white fans in PalaBigi, Reggiana will try to gift themselves another game in the European season, possibly forcing Game 3.
For this crucial game, they will have Kenneth Faried back on board. The 35-year-old team's superstar had to travel to the States to sadly attend his mother's funeral. Stay strong, Manimal!