MIES (Switzerland) - We are back like we never left, and what a way to get back to action in the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL.
Tuesday had five eventful clashes all over Europe, with one more team locking their spot in the Round of 16 and another side getting their revenge on the road.
Elan Chalon 91-100 ALBA BERLIN
The first game between Elan Chalon and ALBA BERLIN in Season X already cemented itself as an instant classic, with the French side shocking the German powerhouse on the road.
After going perfect in their first four games of the season, Chalon needed another win over ALBA to secure their spot in the Round of 16.
However, Pedro Calles' team didn't forget about the opening game of the season in Berlin's Uber Arena, and served the frozen revenge with a three-point party, winning 100-91 in France.
Getting the head-to-head advantage after losing by five points in the reverse fixture, ALBA enjoyed their magnificent night beyond the arc, shooting 17-of-35 (48.6%) from the perimeter.
It was a balanced encounter between two of the most well-oiled teams in the whole competition, with 10 lead changes. Following Chalon's latest lead at 85-83 with three minutes to go, ALBA had a 13-0 run to seal the deal.
Malte Delow led the team in scoring with 18 points over 4-of-6 from deep, while also registering 9 rebounds and 4 assists. He finished with 31 in efficiency rating.
This was also a wonderful night for one of the candidates for Best Young Player of the Season, Jack Kayil: the 2006-born playmaker had 17 points and 9 assists in the win.
Scoring 35 points over the weekend for Chalon, Jeremiah Hill had a 26-point losing effort against ALBA.
With ALBA getting the head-to-head advantage, they now know they would win the group if they defeat Sabah next week.
Chalon need to defeat Nymburk and hope for an ALBA slip up to regain the top spot.
Filou Oostende 73-89 Unicaja
Unicaja knew they had to win on the road against Filou Oostende in order to lock in their participation in the Round of 16. Following Mersin Sports Club's win over Karditsa Iaponiki, they advanced regardless of their result.
But there's a reason why they managed to go all the way in back-to-back seasons: they just want to win, always.
And that's what they did in Belgium on Tuesday night, celebrating the 1st place in Group B with the 89-73 successful road outcome against the eliminated side coached by Georgios Dedas.
For the third straight game, Aleksander Balcerowski (13 points over 9-of-10 at the charity stripe) has scored more than 12 points after never scoring in double digits in any of his previous 15 games in the competition.
This was also the first game of action for two familiar BCL faces on Ibon Navarro's team.
After averaging 14.8 points per game with Oostende in 2024-25, Chase Audige had 7 points in Unicaja's win, while Augustine Rubit returned to the League with 5 points.
Oostende will try to grab a victory in their last clash in Season X, possibly avoiding their first ever winless campaign in the BCL.
Pierre-Antoine Gillet displayed a leadership performance with 22 points over 6-of-10 from beyond the arc in the Belgian team's defeat to the back-to-back champions.
Karditsa Iaponiki 72-80 Mersin Sports Club
Among the verdicts this Tuesday of action in the BCL gave us, there's also the certainty of both Karditsa and Mersin advancing to the Play-Ins.
Following the two sides' latest clash, which saw Mersin prevail 80-72 away from home, the Turkish team will have home-court advantage by locking the 2nd place in Group G, while Karditsa will play on the road as 3rd.
Mersin won the reverse fixture at home (81-73) as well on October 29, and will now host Oostende to conclude their Regular Season in great fashion; Karditsa will travel to Malaga before the Play-Ins begin in January.
Gabe Olaseni had a monster night at the glass with a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds while also shooting 7-of-9 from the field.
Jack White has been playing at a high level on both club and national team levels recently.
He suited up for Australia on the road to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 and got the job done with Mersin on Tuesday by finishing with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds.
"Obviously happy to come away with the win today. [...] This was a big bounce-back game for us and a big opportunity as a group. Really proud of the guys and how they stuck it out, especially how we started the game," he commented.
"Credit to Karditsa for competing for the entire game. We knew it was going to be a tough game, and for them to push us the entire 40 minutes, it was a satisfying win in that regard."
Damien Jefferson had yet again another good performance for the Greek side, finishing with 20 points and 8 rebounds in Karditsa's loss on Tuesday.
Sabah BC 105-87 ERA Nymburk
Heading to their fifth game in Season X, Sabah BC had yet to win a game in the BCL.
Hosting ERA Nymburk at home, they needed momentum on their side to avoid an early elimination in Group B, hoping to stay in contention for a spot in the Play-Ins.
Delivering their best performance since joining the BCL, they survived thanks to their 105-87 victory.
Five players ended in double-digits for Sabah in Tuesday's victory, including Keith Jordan (23 points and 5 rebounds) and Justin Tillman (18 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists).
After TJ Shorts II, nobody had scored more than 20 points in each of his five appearances in the BCL. Then, Sir' Jabari Rice appeared and did so while coming off the bench in every game.
On Tuesday, he led the team in scoring with a 24-point losing effort, but he wasn't enough to avoid the Czech side's fourth loss in a row. They had never had such a losing streak in the BCL before.
The Azeri side dominated at the glass, outrebounding the opponents 45-23 while also scoring 44 points in the paint.
Losing by 28 points in the reverse fixture against Nymburk, Sabah couldn't twist the head-to-head advantage in their favor. However, they still have one more shot to keep believing.
Bnei Penlink Herzliya 82-81 Tofas Bursa
If Sabah needed to win in Group B to stay alive in Season X of the BCL, Bnei Penlink Herzliya not only had to bring home a victory, but they had to be successful by a margin of at least five points against Tofas Bursa.
In a 40-minute clash that saw nine lead changes, the Israeli side had their highest advantage at four points.
Eventually, after leading by 14 points (65-51) in the third stanza, the Turkish team suffered a comeback, but Bnei Herzliya could only win 82-81.
At the end of the game, coach was aware and informed us of the situation. [...] Now we are going for the second round.
Just like Jack White, this is definitely not a bad end of 2025 for Yigitcan Saybir.
Not only did he average 12.5 points per game for Türkiye in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers, but he also had a hell of a game for Tofas Bursa on Tuesday.
The Turkish forward flirted with a double-double at 28 points and 8 rebounds.
He was followed by his countryman Furkan Korkmaz, who finished with 14 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds. Korkmaz intentionally missed the last free throw to avoid overtime, as even a one-point defeat sent Tofas through to Play-Ins.
Despite coming out on top, also thanks to another leading-scorer night by Elijah Stewart (19 points), Bnei Herzliya's run in the 2025-26 BCL Regular Season has come to an end.