MIES (Switzerland) - Teams fight from the beginning of the season not only to try reaching the Round of 16 of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, with a direct ticket from the Group Phase.
Earning the home-court advantage in the Play-Ins might be huge as well, because playing at home offers a different dynamic. And while it's definitely not sufficient to celebrate wins in Game 1, it might help.
Three home teams won the first game of their best-of-three series. Here's what happened on Tuesday night.
Elan Chalon 93-78 Promitheas Patras Vikos Cola
Elan Chalon started the 2025-26 BCL Regular Season with a shocking victory on the road against ALBA BERLIN, showing everybody why they were a team to watch during the campaign.
Game 1 of their Play-In series against Promitheas Patras Vikos Cola was another proof of their uniqueness. They completely dominated the encounter, winning 93-78 to lead 1-0 in the series.
Nate Darling had a marvelous shooting night, propelling the French side with 23 points over 5-of-8 from deep.
Zac Cuthbertson (17 points and 6 rebounds), Jeremiah Hill (15 points and 5 assists), and Lionel Gaudoux (13 points and 8 rebounds) joined the party, as Chalon dished out 26 assists, a joint-high for them in BCL, as they also had 26 assists vs. Gaziantep in 2018.
On the losing side, Rob Gray finished with a team-high 21-point performance. Kendale McCullum added 12 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds.
The series will now move to Greece, where Game 2 will be played in Patras on January 8 at 19:30 CET.
With back-to-back victories against the Greek side, Chalon could put their name into the Round of 16 stage, joining Group K with Joventut Badalona, Unicaja, and one of Fitness First Wurzburg Baskets and Patrioti Levice.
Tofas Bursa 89-75 Cholet Basket
Before Season X, Tofas Bursa lost their home game in the Play-Ins for two consecutive campaigns, against AEK BC in 2022-23 and PAOK in 2023-24. Their unlucky tradition is now gone.
Starting off strong and shaping their success on a 16-0 run between third and fourth quarter, the Turkish team finally celebrated in front of their fans, winning 89-75 against Cholet Basket to lead 1-0 in the series.
This was the first time that Tofas held their opponents below 80 points scored in the BCL this season.
The Turkish team were absolutely superior on the glass, outscoring Cholet 52-22 in points scored in the paint. Tolga Gecim and Marek Blazevic combined for 27 points, leading the hosts' frontcourt.
Moreover, Furkan Korkmaz led his team in scoring with a 17-point effort, including a clutch 3+1 play. Debuting for Tofas, Jordan Floyd had 7 points over a perfect 3-of-3 night from the field, coming off the bench.
Nathan De Sousa finished with a 16-point losing effort for the French team.
Cholet will come back playing in front of their fans, hosting Tofas for Game 2 of their Play-In series on January 8 at 20:00 CET.
With another victory, Tofas would qualify for the Round of 16, reaching Group J alongside ALBA BERLIN, AEK BC, and the winners of the series between Spartak Office Shoes and Karditsa Iaponiki.
Hapoel Netanel Holon 38-5 Trapani Shark
The following statement has been released regarding this game: