MIES (Switzerland) - Tuesday night left unforgettable plays and memories in the Basketball Champions League Play-Ins, with outstanding shots and thrilling endings.
Two more teams made their way into the BCL Round of 16 on Wednesday, with action-packed pivotal matchups being decided only in the fourth quarter. Wonder what happened? Keep scrolling.
Aliaga Petkimspor 93-85 Hapoel Netanel Holon
Everything the Play-In series between Aliaga Petkimspor and Hapoel Netanel Holon told us in the first two games was that basketball is a game of details. Even the smaller ones make the difference.
There was no real dominator in this matchup before Wednesday night, as the Turkish side won Game 1 by just one point (82-81), while the Israeli team bounced back in Game 2 winning by three (65-62).
Game 3 was more or less a different story, as Petkimspor prevailed by 8 points (93-85), heading to the Round of 16 in their debut season in the BCL. Holon suffered their first defeat in Game 3 of a Play-In series, after previous two do-or-die wins.
Petkimspor went up by nine entering the fourth, but the 2022 Final Four participant answered as proven lately, making it a two-point game again. Burak Goren's team almost wasted another 11-point lead following Holon's late 8-0 run, but they ultimately survived.
It was a magnificent shooting night for the winners, who finished on 18-of-29 from two, 13-of-27 from deep, and 18-of-19 at the charity stripe. Breein Tyree (15 points and 6 assists), Damyean Dotson (14 points and 5 assists), and Jaime Echenique (16 points on 5-of-6 from the court, 6-of-6 at the line) took care of business.
Wesley Van Beck (16 points on 5-of-6 from the field) was clutch off the bench.
"First I need to give a lot credit to Hapoel Holon, they came out and fought like the final game we knew it was gonna be. For us it was a game of runs and down the stretch we made enough plays to get the win," he commented.
"I'm super happy for our players, our coaches, everyone at our club, this is a big accomplishment for us and we are super excited to be headed into the Round of 16 in the (Basketball) Champions League," Van Beck also said in the post-game press conference.
Making it this far for the first time in the club's history after starting from the Qualifiers, Petkimspor will now face La Laguna Tenerife, BAXI Manresa, and Pallacanestro Reggiana in Group K.
Nanterre 92 76-71 Filou Oostende
Every Nanterre 92 fan was doubtful on the eve of the 2024-25 season, both domestically and in the BCL. After all, it's the first chapter of the post Pascal Donnadieu era, previously head coach for 37 years.
However, Philippe Da Silva has been doing a pretty good job in his first head coaching campaign on the green bench. Losing their first two games in the Regular Season, they are now officially in the Round of 16, having beaten Filou Oostende 76-71 in Palais des Sports Maurice Thorez.
Nanterre have now made history, becoming only the fourth team in BCL history capable of winning a Play-In series after losing Game 1 at home. Previously, only Hapoel Holon vs. Besiktas in 2021-22, Bahcesehir vs. Oostende in 2022-23 and Cholet vs. Sassari in 2023-24 were able to achieve that.
Entering this do-or-die clash against the Belgians on his best scoring run in the competition, having scored 15 points or more in each of his previous four BCL games, Desi Rodriguez was helpful again.
In Game 3, he finished once again in double-digits with 13 points, while adding 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. He was everywhere on Wednesday night for the home team. Ahmad Caver added 14 points.
However, the highest scorer was Roko Prkacin, as the 22-year-old Croat dunked his way to 18 points and 7 rebounds, continuing his effective season in the BCL by setting his season-high when it mattered most; he was also one of the reasons why his team outscored Oostende in points in the paint (54-26). They also doubled their opponents in steals (16-8).
Davion Mintz (19 points), Timmy Allen (17 points), and Chase Audige (13 points) helped Dario Gjergja's team reduce the gap from down 15 points (57-42) in the third quarter all the way to a 66-66 tie. That wasn't enough, as Oostende will now keep their energy and focus for the BNXT League campaign.
Before the final week of this season's BCL Play-Ins, nothing was certain in Group L of the Round of 16. In a matter of two days, both Falco-Vulcano Szombathely and Nanterre joined ERA Nymburk and UCAM Murcia.