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 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 8-15 in their national championship.
#16 Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola (-1)
BCL record: 4-8 Domestic league record: 10-11
Only one mission left in front of Promitheas ahead of the last two Gamedays: sign off with a win. At 0-4, they are out of contention for the Quarter-Finals, so this is all about playing for pride.
#15 Falco-Vulcano Szombathely (-2)
BCL record: 5-8 Domestic league record: 20-0
They were really good for basically 80 of the 90 minutes they played against UCAM Murcia, but instead of picking up at least one win, they ended up being eliminated with two games to go.
Side not - Zoltan Perl needs just eight more points to set the new record in bench points in a single season. Dusan Sakota had 266 off the bench for AEK in 2017-18, Perl is at 259 right now.
#14 Manisa Basket Divissa (+2)
BCL record: 7-5 Domestic league record: 6-15
Ehm. Did we cross Manisa off the list too soon? Probably, because they blew out Rytas Vilnius like they were playing against Rytas' U18 team.
(This is just a quick aside, since Rytas Vilnius' youth team will defend their Youth BCL title in Manisa in April.)
If they find another win or two, not only would they be in the Quarter-Finals picture, but that would also force us to include Fabian White Jr into the MVP Race. He deserves it, averaging 20.3 points and 6.8 since January 1.
#13 Aliaga Petkimspor (+1)
BCL record: 7-6 Domestic league record: 8-13
You never know what you're going to get with these guys. Their domestic record is just one bit better than Manisa's, which is why we put them just one bit ahead of Manisa over here.
They picked up a major win against BAXI Manresa last week, but reaching the Quarter-Finals remains an uphill battle. Oh well, pack the climbing gear, because La Laguna Tenerife are in town this week...
#12 BAXI Manresa (-1)
BCL record: 6-4 Domestic league record: 13-10
Ehm... Manresa at 1-3? This, after being 5-1 across the first six games of the season!? Round of 16 is cruel.
That defeat to Petkimspor makes things more Complicated than Avril Lavigne's debut single, because now Manresa know they need to chase the -15 deficit against Pallacanestro Reggiana to get the head-to-head in case of a tie with the Italians at the end of Gameday 6.
Told ya. As complicated as Montoya-por-favor's relationship. So Manresa need to be sprinting on Tuesday to get the tiebreaker.
#11 FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets (-1)
BCL record: 6-4 Domestic league record: 11-11
Four defeats in a row in all competitions. Losing just one spot in the Power Rankings is our way of saying we still believe in them.
#10 Bertram Derthona Basket (+2)
BCL record: 9-3 Domestic league record: 13-9
Back-to-back BCL wins and just like that, they are so close to reaching the Quarter-Finals. Even if they lose to AEK this week, it shouldn't be all that traumatic, as they could still advance with a win over Wurzburg at home on Gameday 6.
Anyway, losing to AEK isn't something they are thinking about in Italy. That's because Justin Gorham is one of the hottest forwards in all of Europe right now:
#9 Nanterre 92 (-2)
BCL record: 7-6 Domestic league record: 8-13
See, this is the problem when you don't ace the set point on your serve. Instead of Nanterre completing the sweep over Nymburk, they dropped the game in France, falling to 2-2, and if they lose to UCAM Murcia this week, they could be out.
Even with the road win in Czechia. Because if Nymburk and Murcia both win this week, they go to 4-1, and Nanterre cannot catch them at 2-3.
Should've aced that set point. Ivo Karlovic style. Goran Ivanisevic style. Marin Cilic style. Or Roko Prkacin style, since his dunks look like tennis aces anyway.
#8 Pallacanestro Reggiana (-2)
BCL record: 7-5 Domestic league record: 14-8
Great day to have a great day!
#7 Rytas Vilnius (-3)
BCL record: 7-3 Domestic league record: 16-5
Okay, losing three straight games means losing three straight spots in the Power Rankings. But things are still in their hands, if they complete the sweep over Galatasaray this week.
That's because they would be at 3-2 with a tiebreaker over 2-3 Galatasaray, and if Unicaja help them out with a win over Manisa, then it's all clear - Unicaja and Rytas Vilnius would advance to the Quarter-Finals with a game left to play.
Simple as that. Just go defeat the... Team that's currently fourth in the Power Rankings. In front of their fans in Istanbul.
Easy peasy.
#6 UCAM Murcia (+3)
BCL record: 8-2 Domestic league record: 10-13
This love-hate relationship we're having with UCAM Murcia in the Power Rankings needs to stop. It's like that See Saw song by Aretha Franklin, sometimes you love us, sometimes you hurt us so bad.
Anyway, they are up three spots and could potentially clinch their spot in the Quarter-Finals with a road win in France.
Or they could hurt us bad again if they lose to Nanterre and both are at 3-2 ahead of the final Gameday.
#5 ERA Nymburk (+3)
BCL record: 8-2 Domestic league record: 20-2
In a way, it would be better for Nymburk to reach the Quarter-Finals as the second seed from Group L, so without the homecourt advantage.
That's because of their last seven BCL defeats, five happened in Czechia. Both of their BCL defeats this season - also at home. We've heard of Czech hospitality, but this is too much.
#4 Galatasaray (+1)
BCL record: 8-5 Domestic league record: 12-9
See, this is why the rankings and the Power Rankings aren't the same. Because you could look at Galatasaray's 2-2 record in the Round of 16 and go, "meh, they aren't that good," but over here in the Power Rankings Headquarters, we watch the games.
And we haven't seen anybody test Unicaja the way Galatasaray tested them over the past two games. The Lions were within inches of sweeping the defending champs. That's all.
Anyway, we hope you get coached by Yakup Sekizkok one day, because he talks the talk and walks the walk, and the amount of confidence his players now have is off the charts.
#3 Unicaja (0)
BCL record: 9-1 Domestic league record: 17-6
Imagine being so good that even with two defeats in last four games, you're still at 9-1 and 17-6 in your two major events...
#2 AEK Betsson BC (0)
BCL record: 8-2 Domestic league record: 13-8
Five straight wins, 9-1 in their last ten games, a whole different story compared to their 1-3 start to 2025. Oh, and they were actually the first team to clinch Quarter-Finals, too!
Unsung hero of that run - Dimitris Flionis. While all the attention is on Prentiss Hubb, Hunter Hale, RaiQuan Gray and others, Flionis always comes in and does his thing.
Look at the numbers: AEK were +10 in his 11 minutes against Bonn, +12 in his 14 minutes against VEF Riga, +21 in 14 against Bonn again, +16 in 22 minutes against Promitheas, and most recently +19 in 20 minutes against Wurzburg.
His other numbers? 10 points, 100 percent shooting from the field and the free throw line, 5 rebounds and a stellar 7 steals. Flionis is amazing, people. Take notice.
#1 La Laguna Tenerife (0)
BCL record: 10-0 Domestic league record: 18-5
Since the beginning of 2025, Tenerife are 14-2 in all competitions. Those two defeats? By 10 on the road at Real Madrid, the only team ahead of them in the Spanish Liga Endesa standings, and by seven against Unicaja in the Semi-Finals of the Copa del Rey.
They've accomplished so many things, it's becoming hard to remember them all, but this is the one you should be talking about: Txus Vidorreta won his 100th BCL game last week.
The second-placed coach on that list is Ilias Papatheodorou. How many wins does he have, will he catch Txus any time soon, you asked?
Ilias has got 50 BCL wins. That's how dominant coach Vidorreta has been throughout the years, collecting double the amount of wins of the second-placed coach on the all-time list.
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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.
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