MIES (Switzerland) - The Ninth Symphony season of the Basketball Champions League has reached the sweet 16 phase.
The remaining teams are drawn in four groups of four teams, but in our Power Rankings we mix them all together to figure out which teams are are in the best form at the moment.
That is why the domestic results are also taken into account when ranking these 16 teams - you'll feel better about a team that's on a five-game winning run in all competitions, than about a team that's potentially perfect in the Round of 16, but also at 4-12 in their national championship.
#16 Falco-Vulcano Szombathely (-1)
BCL record: 5-5 Domestic league record: 17-0
Nope. The domestic league record is not a typo. But they did lose a home game in the BCL last week, which is a big no-no, so a NO-NO if you want to reach the Quarter-Finals. Sure, still a long way to go, and with those fans behind them, the Hungarian champions could still charge towards the top two spots in Group L.
#15 Galatasaray (-2)
BCL record: 6-4 Domestic league record: 10-7
BCL record looks good. Domestic league record looks good. Why are they so low then? Because they lost six of their last seven games in all competitions. That's also why they need Will Cummings to come back as soon as possible.
#14 Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola (+13)
BCL record: 4-5 Domestic league record: 8-9
Hey now, you may be thinking that #14 is a bit low, but check the brackets. Promitheas's late Regular Season and Play-Ins push has been so impressive you probably forgot they were in 27th spot in the last Power Rankings. They need to defeat Wurzburg this week, even though it's only Week 2 of the Round of 16, they are already on the ropes.
#13 Nanterre 92 (+6)
BCL record: 5-5 Domestic league record: 6-12
Let's not talk about the domestic record, huh? On Wednesday, they play host to Falco-Vulcano Szombathely, they were solid against UCAM Murcia for most of the game, but that won't matter if they lose to the Hungarians in France.
#12 Pallacanestro Reggiana (0)
BCL record: 5-4 Domestic league record: 11-7
Momo Faye turns 20 on Wednesday, which is why he went for exactly 20 points with 9 rebounds over the weekend, helping Reggiana to their 11th win of the campaign in the Italian League. Flirting with double-doubles at 19 years of age, that's something that puts the big guy in the Best Young Player conversation. In fact, that puts him there WITH AN EXCLAMATION MARK!
Sorry, got a bit carried away. Faye = good. That's all.
#11 Aliaga Petkimspor (+5)
BCL record: 6-4 Domestic league record: 7-10
To quote the GM who was behind That Trade in the NBA this past weekend, "defense wins championships." Well, Aliaga Petkimspor should find their own Anthony Davis or some kind of smaller scale solution, because their defense isn't winning anything - they've allowed 86.8 points per game over their last five encounters in the BCL and the Turkish League.
#10 Manisa Basket (+4)
BCL record: 6-3 Domestic league record: 4-13
Are we going to go all season long naming Manisa as the prime example why we're taking into account the domestic results? They just can't seem to put together a string of Turkish wins, and to be fair, they were a bit unlucky, as they lost a pair of overtime games over the last 30 days. So that domestic record could've been at 6-11, and they could've been... Actually, they still would've been 10th here, because look at Derthona's BCL record.
#9 Bertram Derthona Basket (-6)
BCL record: 7-2 Domestic league record: 10-8
Oh the fine margin of BCL thrillers... Bertram Derthona Basket could've easily been a top five team, but they let slip a five-point lead in the last 30 seconds last week in Germany, meaning they couldn't be in the top eight. But at least they are the best of the 0-1 teams in the Round of 16. That's something, right? Right.
#8 FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets (-1)
BCL record: 5-2 Domestic league record: 9-8
How did Wurzburg respond to losing Zac Seljaas to injury? Yep. By putting all their trust into the 2006-born big guy Hannes Steinbach.
He did not play more than 18 minutes until January, putting up a total of 39 points and 47 rebounds across 15 games in the BCL and the Bundesliga.
Since January 1, he's had four double-doubles and another game of 9 points and 13 rebounds, for a total of 63 points and 61 rebounds in those five games. In other words, Johann Grunloh isn't the only German teenager you should be talking about.
Oh, and we'll just casually mention he's from Wurzburg, Germany. No reason why. Just saying.
#7 UCAM Murcia (+2)
BCL record: 6-1 Domestic league record: 9-10
It would be kinda symbolic, don't you think? Howard Sant-Roos started his BCL path back in 2016-17 with Nymburk, and now he's returning "home" with UCAM Murcia, with a chance to become the all-time leader in steals in the Basketball Champions League.
Currently, he sits at 117 steals, just one behind David Holston, JDA Bourgogne Dijon's legend. See, this is why he's the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in the BCL. Always steals the show.
Oh, and while Murcia improved in the Power Rankings, it's only by two spots because these guys ahead of them are going crazy all over Europe.
#6 BAXI Manresa (+4)
BCL record: 6-1 Domestic league record: 11-8
Make that 6-1 not only in the BCL, but also in all games in 2025. Including a win on the road at FC Barcelona, where they scored 103 points. Derrick Alston Jr had 29 points in that one, taking his 2025 average to 18.9 points while shooting 54.9 percent from the field in those seven games.
Oh, and only one of those games saw him play 30 minutes, all others 27 or less. He's the MVP of the Season front runner, is all we're saying.
#5 ERA Nymburk (0)
BCL record: 6-1 Domestic league record: 22-2
I'm sorry, their record is what!?
The game against UCAM Murcia this week will be the toughest test of the season for the Czech champs, keep an eye on Jaromir Bohacik because he's coming off of his BCL career-high of 25 points against Falco, and he's having the best shooting season of his career, knocking down 2.4 three-pointers per game.
He never had more than 1.6 threes per game in a single season. That's what Francesco Tabellini's playcalling has done for his confidence, green light to shoot any time he catches the ball and sees the rim.
#4 AEK Betsson BC (+4)
BCL record: 5-2 Domestic league record: 9-8
AEK have won their four home games by an average margin of 17.8 points, and Hunter Hale is playing his best basketball of the season right now, getting 19.4 points and 4.2 assists per game across his last five home games in the BCL, while making at least three three-pointers in that run.
But none of those "at least three three-pointers" is as good as the one he made against PAOK a couple of weeks ago in Greece. Hale storm.
#3 Rytas Vilnius (+1)
BCL record: 6-1 Domestic league record: 14-3
OH MY GOD IT'S CAPS LOCK TIME BECAUSE RYTAS VILNIUS ARE ON A SIX-GAME WINNING RUN, THEIR BEST EVER IN THE BCL, AND AFTER GOING FROM -10 TO +20 AGAINST GALATASARAY THEY ARE NOW FULL OF CONFIDENCE HEADING INTO THE BIGGEST MATCHUP OF THE WEEK, UP AGAINST UNICAJA IN MALAGA, SPAIN!
SEE, THAT'S WHY IT'S CAPS LOCK TIME! WE GET TO SEE TWO OF THE HOTTEST TEAMS FACE TO FACE!
Okay, we're done with caps lock.
#2 La Laguna Tenerife (0)
BCL record: 7-0 Domestic league record: 14-5
Perfect in the BCL, one win away from the top of the standings in the Spanish Liga Endesa. Could things be any better for Tenerife? What? Yes!? How!?!?
Because Jaime Fernandez is finally back in full fitness, scoring his first Spanish League points in 315 days, giving coach Txus Vidorreta yet another creative backcourt option, and that's just scary.
Anyway, they are not number one here because of Unicaja, but they probably have the number one dunk of the season:
#1 Unicaja (0)
BCL record: 7-0 Domestic league record: 15-4
Unicaja are on a 17-game winning streak in the BCL, the longest ever. Unicaja won their last 11 home games in the BCL, average margin 19.3 points. Unicaja scored more than 90 points in each of their last five BCL games, and could tie ERA Nymburk's record of six straight, set in 2020-21.
Unicaja dish out 22.1 assists per 100 possessions, more than any other team. Unicaja defeated Baskonia by 21 over the weekend, Unicaja share the top of the Spanish League standings with Real Madrid.
Unicaja are Unicaja. The hottest team in Europe right now, and we're not just talking about the BCL.
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The power rankings are entirely subjective and are in no way a true and accurate ranking system. All comments are purely those of the author.
The Basketball Champions League takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.