MIES (Switzerland) - Two balanced matchups that ended with rocking crowds celebrating intense victories, and the plastic display of what being ageless really means.
That's what happened in the first gameday of action in the BCL Round of 16. But let's dig more into each of Tuesday's games in Germany and Spain.
FIT/One Würzburg Baskets 80-79 Bertram Derthona Basket
Sometimes "historic" is a bit of an inflated term in sports, but which other adjective could have described Tuesday's victory for either FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets or Bertram Derthona Basket?
After all, this was the debut in the Basketball Champions League Round of 16 for both clubs. What made it even better was that, until the very last possessions of the encounter, the outcome was unclear.
With the hosts down by five points with 25 seconds left, Jhivvan Jackson was fouled on a three-pointer, cut the gap to a single possession, and after a pair of free throws by Christian Vital, Mike Lewis II's stepback triple made it a one-point game.
That's when Jackson decided it was time to win the game. He stole the ball from Vital, then drew a foul and knocked down both free throws for the win at 80-79.
The Puertorican-Panamese ball-handler scored 30 points on his overseas debut back in 2022 with Menorca, and apparently he likes to make good first impressions: against the Italians, he had 34 points over 7-of-11 from deep and 9-of-9 at the line. Channeling his inner moonwalk.
On the losing side, Christian Vital had another huge scoring night at 23 points with an almost perfect free-throw performance (13-of-14).
Davide Denegri, who's a Tortona native, lived a memorable European night for the black-and-white side by finishing with an International career-high of 18 points.
"My team really tried to fight in every possession and every situation. We led the game in the last three minutes with a really great attitude. I think Wurzburg believed they could win the game, scoring tough three-point shots but honestly, we gave them two great presents with two fouls," De Raffaele first said.
"It's very difficult to understand, but sometimes that happens. Basketball sometimes is only details and details make the difference," Derthona's head coach followed.
BAXI Manresa 96-87 Aliaga Petkimspor
Basketball's a matter of timing, isn't it? You can have a great offensive stretch, but if that happens at the beginning of the game and you can't follow up, it doesn't mean anything.
That's what Aliaga Petkimspor experienced in front of a never-stop-chanting crowd in Pavello Nou Congost. It was loud in the stands and intense on the court.
Despite the Turkish team entering the Round of 16 with seven made threes in the first quarter, BAXI Manresa fed off their fans' energy, ultimately winning 96-87, thanks to a strong 12-3 run to close out the game after Breein Tyree had tied it at 84-all with two minutes left.
It's no breaking news that Diego Ocampo's team likes their fans' support: this was the sixth win in their last seven Round of 16 games played at home.
The Catalans saw scoring contributions from everyone and shared the ball fluently as usual with 24 assists.
However, Derrick Alston Jr. was enlightened by the spotlight, finishing with 17 points in his team's victory with two highlight-worth plays: a poster dunk in the third quarter and a clutch three in the fourth.
Damyean Dotson and Tyree had 20 apiece for Petkimspor.
La Laguna Tenerife 91-69 Pallacanestro Reggiana
The first two matchups scheduled on Tuesday night had to be decided only in the final, with fans from Wurzburg, Tortona, Manresa, and Izmir biting their nails.
In Tenerife, instead, everything was smooth for the hosts, who beat Pallacanaestro Reggiana 91-69, getting their 26th straight home win in the BCL.
At least in the second half, where the two-time champions escaped with a 49-35 run between third and fourth quarter, dragged by two main protagonists.
You should know the first one, as he's still making brilliant plays at 41 years of age. Marcelinho Huertas doesn't know that age means something in professional sports, and had 27 points and 7 assists in just 23 minutes of work.
David Kramer recently had a crazy 43-point night for Germany in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers, and we all know he can catch fire in just a matter of possessions.
That happened against the Italians too, as the sharpshooter finished with 22 points over 6-of-7 from deep.
Reggiana's 2-0 sweep against Bonn looked like a distant memory on Tuesday night, as Dimitris Priftis's team was hopeless as time passed by. Cassius Winston's run of 20+ points and 5+ assists stops at five games, as he was held to 5 points and 5 assists. The last time he was in single digits in scoring was also against Tenerife, with Tofas in April 2024.
Honorable mention: Bruno Fitipaldo, scoring 7 points with 4 assists in his 100th appearance in the Basketball Champions League. The only two other players with at least 100 games are his teammate Tim Abromaitis (106) and Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola's captain Linos Chrysikopoulos (100).