MIES (Switzerland) - For the first time ever, Pallacanestro Reggiana are through to the sweet 16 phase of the Basketball Champions League, while Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola kept their 100 percent streak alive - third season, third appearance among the top 16.
Meanwhile, a youngster kept Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball's season alive, and Maccabi Ramat-Gan booked another duel with the Hungarian champs.
Pallacanestro Reggiana 73-70 Telekom Baskets Bonn
What's worse than a cold dish of pasta, in the home of pasta? A cold revenge. That's what Pallacanestro Reggiana delivered to Telekom Baskets Bonn in front of their fans in Palasport Giulio Bigi.
The Italian team's heaviest defeat in the BCL occurred during the only previous time they hosted Bonn, losing 66-90 in 2022. On Wednesday night, they won 73-70 to sweep the 2022-23 BCL champions.
It was a hard-fought and intense battle in Italy to decide this Play-In series' fate, which came down to the ultimate detailed moments, such as Kwan Cheatham's dagger that gave the home side the lead with 1:34 to go.
Cassius Winston dominated the scene with a huge double-double of 23 points and 10 assists.
Kenneth Faried had another boost around the rim with 14 points and 7 rebounds, backed by Mouhamed Faye's four dunks for a total of 8 points.
For Bonn, now eliminated from contention, Phlandrous Fleming Jr's 17 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds weren't enough.
With this victory, Pallacanestro Reggiana finally reaches the same group with the two-time BCL champions La Laguna Tenerife, and a former Finalist in BAXI Manresa in Group K of the Round of 16.
The winner of Game 3 between Aliaga Petkimspor and Hapoel Netanel Holon would also join the party.
Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola 84-68 Karsiyaka
The streak is over with the best of timings. After losing their previous five home games in the BCL, Promitheas Patras BC Vikos Cola finally won in Greece. And what a win it was.
Beating Karsiyaka 84-68 in Game 2, Ilias Papatheodorou's team officially booked a ticket to the Round of 16. This was also their fourth consecutive win in the Play-Ins, sweeping Le Mans Sarthe Basket in 2023-24 too.
Following this victory, three's the perfect number for Promitheas: in their third season playing in the BCL, they've reached their third Round of 16, with the best result being the Quarter-Finals last season.
Kenny Williams, who aims to reach the BCL Final Four again after playing in Belgrade with Peristeri, led his team with 19 points over 4-of-8 from deep. He just enjoys playing Karsiyaka, two of his three 20+ point games in the BCL came against this opponent, now he nearly added the third one.
Williams was followed by Jordon Varnado at 15 points, who displayed a defensive masterclass too with 4 blocks and 3 steals.
Promitheas got the job done by escaping late. Starting the fourth up by only one point (61-60), they were already up by 12 points (75-63) halfway through the final period. They outplayed the Turkish opponents in assists (24-12) and points from the bench (27-5).
"It means a lot for a team like Promitheas to reach the Round of 16 for the second season in a row in the BCL because the level of the BCL is really high every season. We are really proud for the team, for the players and the organization," Ilias Papatheodorou said in the post-game press conference.
Ending his BCL season as Karsiyaka's go-to guy, Daron Russell closed his account with 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. He scored 15+ points in each of his last five BCL games, his best run in the competition.
For the second straight season, Promitheas will meet AEK Betsson BC in the Round of 16, this time in Group I with FIT/One Wurzburg Baskets and Bertram Derthona Basket.
Maccabi Ramat-Gan 76-69 Falco-Vulcano Szombathely
Nothing is written yet in the Play-In series between Maccabi Ramat-Gan and Falco-Vulcano Szombathely, as the Israeli side made sure the Hungarians couldn't celebrate a historic sweep on the road.
Securing the 76-69 win in Game 2, they set the do-or-die clock for January 21, when Game 3 will be played, with the Hungarian champs as hosts.
Amin Stevens continues his double-digits streak in the BCL, scoring 13+ points in each of his eight appearances this season. To force Game 3, he had a 25-point night shooting 11-of-16 from the field.
Collecting 59 points in his first seven BCL appearances, Kendale McCullum has now scored 69 in his last four games in the competition. On Wednesday night, he contributed to Maccabi's win with 12 points despite not scoring from beyond the arc (0-of-4). He did have 5 rebounds and 5 assists, though.
Even in modern basketball, three-point shooting doesn't always translate to victories. Maccabi shot 5-of-19 (26.32%) from deep, while Falco had an excellent 11-of-25 (44%) shooting night. On the other end, Maccabi dominated in points from the paint (42-20).
Despite the loss, there was a double-double performance for Falco. Matt Tiby seized it with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while both Zoltan Perl (10 points and 9 assists) and Marvin Clark (19 points and 8 rebounds) went close to it.
The winner of this matchup would face whoever comes out victorious in Nanterre 92 vs Filou Oostende, while also meeting ERA Nymburk and UCAM Murcia in the Round of 16.
Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball 90-79 Galatasaray
With the season on the line, who you gonna call? That's right, the teenage sensation Nolan Traore.
The 18-year-old French phenom had 17 points and 6 assists in just 24 minutes of work, setting up his teammates or getting the job done himself, being as aggressive as we've ever seen him in the BCL when it mattered most for SQBB.
They were a +14 team with him on the floor, and when you add Giovan Oniangue's 17, Noah Kirkwood's 15 and Jerome Robinson's 11 points to the mix, you get the best Saint-Quentin BCL game of the season.
"It was a do-or-die game and the fact of the matter is that if we didn't bring the energy, we're not playing [Basketball] Champions League anymore. And the fact that we are all competitors and we all want to win, we all want this club to go forward in the Champions League, the only option was to bring intensity and effort and we did that today," Kirkwood said.
James Palmer Jr continued his hot streak with 29 points for Galatasaray, Will Cummings scored 20, but the Turkish juggernauts have to travel back to Istanbul now, and take care of business at home in Game 3 if they want to see the Round of 16.
Unicaja, Rytas Vilnius and Manisa Basket are the teams waiting for the winner of this matchup in the next group phase.