MIES (Switzerland) - TheNinth 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 Manisa Basket Divissa (-6)
BCL record: 6-5 Domestic league record: 6-13
Not a lot to say when you're 0-3, -53 and you have to find your identity without Saben Lee (again). At least the Turkish League record is improving, they are out of the danger zone.
#15 Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola (-1)
BCL record: 4-7 Domestic league record: 9-11
It's only week 4 of the Round of 16, and Promitheas are already in do-or-die territory. They have to beat Derthona in Greece this week, otherwise they'll drop to 0-4 with games against AEK and Wurzburg left, and that doesn't sound good.
#14 Aliaga Petkimspor (-1)
BCL record: 6-6 Domestic league record: 8-12
Good news? Two of their remaining three games are at home. Bad news? They need to win all three to have a chance of reaching the Quarter-Finals, because Tenerife, Reggiana and Manresa have been much better so far.
#13 Falco-Vulcano Szombathely (+3)
BCL record: 5-7 Domestic league record: 20-0
First of all, look at that domestic record. Secondly, that double overtime defeat to UCAM Murcia could be crucial when it comes to Quarter-Finals tickets.
They could've been at 1-2, tied with Murcia, just a win behind group leaders. Instead, they are now down at 0-3, two games behind everybody else in the group.
At least they jumped up three spots in the Power Rankings.
#12 Bertram Derthona Basket (-3)
BCL record: 8-3 Domestic league record: 12-9
First win of the Round of 16 is there, but Derthona need to bring their brooms to Greece, because they need a sweep over Promitheas to stay in the hunt for Quarter-Finals.
In other news, take a bow, Mr Christian Vital, that's elite company right there:
#11 BAXI Manresa (-5)
BCL record: 6-3 Domestic league record: 13-9
Manresa down at 1-2. Need to figure out when was the last time Manresa had a record below .500 in the BCL...
They can bounce back with a win in Türkiye this week, as they face Aliaga Petkimspor on the road. If they don't bounce back, though, then... Well, let's not talk about it yet, okay? Okay.
#10 FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets (-2)
BCL record: 6-3 Domestic league record: 11-10
Nothing is lost just yet, but that home defeat to AEK pushed them down a couple of places in the Power Rankings. Two things we'll keep an eye on this week as they travel to Greece to meet the Queen once more, and that's (1) can they hand AEK the first defeat in the Round of 16, and (2) can they win by 6+ to get the tiebreaker?
Two yes answers and they'll be in pole position to win the group. A yes and a no, still a good position. A no and a no, yeah, well, let's not talk about it yet, okay? Okay.
#9 UCAM Murcia (-2)
BCL record: 7-2 Domestic league record: 10-12
Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Is the glass half full or half empty?
Is Nanterre's win over Nymburk good, because it opens up the pathway for UCAM to win the group now? Or is Nanterre's win over Nymburk bad, because it could lead to Murcia's elimination?
Optimist, you say? Okay then, no reason to worry about, scroll on!
#8 ERA Nymburk (-3)
BCL record: 7-2 Domestic league record: 20-2
Their records in the BCL and Czechia are still rock solid, but they lose three spots because - get this - they lost back-to-back games for the first time in exactly one year.
Olomoucko and Nanterre defeated them in two straight games (by a total of five points, btw) to start March 2025. Previous time they lost two in a row was in March 2024, when Varese and Usti nad Labem handed Nymburk a pair of defeats.
Crazy dominant team, and yes, crazy motivated now that Nanterre took them by surprise in Czechia.
#7 Nanterre 92 (+6)
BCL record: 7-5 Domestic league record: 8-13
Two words for you: Desi Rodriguez.
Okay, more words for you: With 25 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 steals in their game against Nymburk, Desi became the first player ever to get 25-5-5-5 in a BCL game.
If Nanterre reach the Quarter-Finals, don't be surprised to see Rodriguez's name high in the MVP Race.
#6 Pallacanestro Reggiana (+6)
BCL record: 7-4 Domestic league record: 13-8
We haven't had a strong Italian run in the BCL since Segafredo Virtus Bologna won the trophy in 2019. Just saying.
#5 Galatasaray (+10)
BCL record: 8-4 Domestic league record: 12-8
You know what beating Unicaja gets you in the Power Rankings? You know what ending an 18-game, 15-month long winning run by the defending champs gets you in the Power Rankings?
That's right. An improvement of 10 spots. They went from #15 to #5 since we last published the Power Rankings.
Anyway, here's a strong recommendation for you: Click the link, go check out the breakdown of their win over Unicaja.
#4 Rytas Vilnius (-1)
BCL record: 7-2 Domestic league record: 16-4
Get this, even with Galatasaray's impressive win, they are still only the third best team from that group in the Power Rankings. That's how tough the Round of 16 is this year.
Rytas dropped a spot as they went 1-1 since the last edition of the Power Rankings, and on Wednesday, they'll have to have their focus at 100 percent, because Galatasaray's win over Unicaja made Rytas' game at Manisa a must-win.
So forget about losing the Lithuanian derby to Zalgiris over the weekend. Short memory is key for success in modern sports.
#3 Unicaja (-2)
BCL record: 8-1 Domestic league record: 17-5
Basketball is cruel. You lose one game in 15 months and we bump you down two spots over here.
#2 AEK Betsson BC (+2)
BCL record: 7-2 Domestic league record: 12-8
Hold up! The Queen's reign of Group I is no accident, coach Dragan Sakota figured everything out and not only are AEK 3-0 in their Round of 16 pool, but look at their domestic league record.
"What, 12-8, that's not impressive, why are you saying this!?"
Because they had a horrible start to the season in the Greek League, and they finally put together a solid run which saw them win seven of their last eight games in all competitions.
Their offense has been crazy good in those wins, scoring 97, 86, 93, 91, 80, 77 and 96 points, respectively.
#1 La Laguna Tenerife (+1)
BCL record: 9-0 Domestic league record: 17-5
While all the talks have been about:
Unicaja setting the record for most wins in a row
Galatasaray being so good, they ended that streak
ERA Nymburk turning themselves into a dark horse
AEK looking like their 2018 version again
Rytas Vilnius becoming the toughest home team in the BCL
Reggiana putting Italy back on the map
Tenerife have causally been up to incredible stuff all season long. We're talking beating Barcelona (again) with Marcelinho Huertas in the MVP role (again), getting 19 points and 15 assists on the road this weekend.
Meanwhile, they are 9-0 in the BCL this season. They are 27-0 in their last 27 BCL games at home.
Coach Txus Vidorreta is one game away from becoming the first coach to register 100 BCL wins.
Milestone after milestone, doing it all in a low-key manner which makes you forget how incredible this team has been all these years. Season 9 included, as they are the new leader of the Power Rankings!
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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.