MIES (Switzerland) - Rytas Vilnius, Joventut Badalona, Galatasaray MCT Technic, Unicaja, Dreamland Gran Canaria: these were the teams already qualified for the Round of 16 before Wednesday's action.
Among the powerhouses that will skip the Play-Ins stage in the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, there's one more queenly name, painted in black-and-yellow.
AEK BC 99-88 Patrioti Levice
Except for the 2024-25 Semi-Finals against Unicaja, SUNEL Arena has been nothing but a winning factor for AEK BC in the BCL. The track record doesn't lie, after all.
Before hosting Patrioti Levice, they had won 11 of their previous 12 games played at home in the competition.
Make it 12 out of 13 after Wednesday, with the Queen celebrating the first significant step on their way back to competing at the BCL Final Four in May: they are now in the Round of 16 after the 99-88 win over the Slovakians.
Despite Levice leading for only 1:48 minutes, it wasn't an easy win at all for Dragan Sakota's team, which felt the pressure of the opponents throughout the whole game. They had to work overtime to stay perfect at 5-0.
AEK prevailed with winning plays provided by their leaders, such as Frank Bartley IV (22 points and 7 assists), who had the layup to tie at 82-82 with 27 seconds on the clock in the fourth, as well as back-to-back clutch buckets in OT.
Chris Silva (19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks), RaiQuan Gray (16 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block), and Adonis Arms (10 points) also concluded the encounter by scoring in double-digits for the Queen.
Following this result, Levice remain in contention for a spot in the Play-Ins, but the Slovakian champions need to bounce back against VEF Riga.
Rickey McGill had his usual valuable performance with a losing effort of 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.
At the same time, Michal Madzin's team saw a surprising hero stepping up despite the defeat. Akol Mawein, who had combined for 8 points in two games thus far, had 22 points and 8 rebounds in the loss.
"As I know that Riga won their home game, it looks like it's going to be decided in the last round for everybody. We are heading for a home game and we have it it our hands, so we have to be positive, we have to be ready, and just fight. It will be an amazing experience and an amazing game with our home crowd - it's already sold out, so maybe something to dream for. If we win this, everybody has to say that we deserved to go in the Play-Ins and we deserved to be in this competition," Madzin said.
VEF Riga 76-62 NHSZ-Szolnoki Olajbanyasz
Heading into their fifth game in Group F, Riga had yet to win a game in Season X.
If that wasn't enough, they were on a nine-game losing streak, their second longest in the BCL. Without a win over NHSZ-Szolnoki Olajbanyasz, their run would have come to an end.
Instead, the Latvian team's fighting spirit spread out, leading to a crucial 76-62 win at home.
Except for a brief lead by the Hungarians, VEF were always in control of the game, mainly thanks to their dominance on the glass, where they outrebounded the opponents 51-35.
Arnaldo Toro was huge in that regard, finishing with 9 points and 18 rebounds collected - with 126 rebounds, he is now the player with most boards after 10 BCL games, overtaking the previous mark of 111 set by Keith Clanton.
Martins Gulbis' team also won thanks to the scoring effort provided by non-starters like Illya Sydorov and Kristaps Kilps, who combined for 36 points. Who did start was the 18-year-old Adrians Andzevs (8 points and 4 assists).
"The thing is that we need to win right now. We can't give it time. (Basketball) Champions League is that kind of level where you can immediately adjust, immediately go in and play," coach Gulbis said, and continued:
"I have the biggest respect for each guy who came in and stepped up. That was a team effort and team character. Ok, this was not the best and most beautiful basketball but we don't care. In Champions League you need to grab the wins."
Olajbanyasz's losing streak away from home in the BCL continues, as they have now lost ten road games in a row.
Both Auston Barnes (17 points over 6-of-9 FG) and Brady Skeens (17 points and 11 rebounds) tried to give their contribution, but it was always going to be an uphill battle without Adam Somogyi in the lineup.
After this game, Riga have also turned the head-to-head advantage in their favor, as Olajbanyasz won the reverse fixture by just one point (77-76).
In the remaining game of the BCL Regular Season, Riga need to beat Levice to remain in contention for a spot in the Play-Ins; they will play on December 16 at 18:00 CET, simultaneously with Olajbanyasz hosting AEK.