MIES (Switzerland) - Some nights in the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, can really make fans jump off their seats in arenas and on couches around Europe, watching live and from home.
Thanks to on-court spectacles, Wednesday was one of those nights, adding some more memorable events, from Berlin to Vilnius, to Season 11's archive. Let's find out more with our usual four takeaways of the night.
Game of the season in Berlin?
Peristeri Betsson on Tuesday, ALBA BERLIN on Wednesday: after three games played in Season 11 of the BCL Group Stage, these are the two teams unbeaten at 3-0 in the competition.
Curiously enough, both the Greeks and the German capital's powerhouse had to win against Spanish teams to keep a perfect record, respectively UCAM Murcia and Surne Bilbao.
The back-to-back FIBA Europe Cup champions were up by 13 points (61-48) with seven minutes to play in the third quarter, but Pedro Calles' team showed resiliency, coming back and winning 103-100 at home.
The best of birthday presents for ALBA's beloved fan Anneliese, who just turned 102 years old!
It was a 40-minute battle in Berlin Arena, with 13 lead changes and ALBA being able to pick it up with a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter. Darrun Hilliard tied it at 95-95 with a contested three-pointer with 1:30 to go, but the winners fought back and sealed the deal with Justin Bean's dagger with 11 seconds to play.
This matchup was just the fifth in BCL history in which both teams scored 100+ points without the need for overtime: it's also the first since December 2021, when Cluj-Napoca beat Darussafaka 103-101.
Five players ended by scoring in double digits for the hosts, including Jordan Ford (21 points and 6 assists) and Brandon Angel (24 points and 4 rebounds), who had a perfect shooting night from the field over 10 attempts.
Despite the loss, Jaume Ponsarnau's side have scored more than 90 points in each of their three games this season, after scoring that much only once in their previous 18 BCL fixtures.
Moreover, the Basque team prevailed over the opponents in rebounds grabbed (44-35) and assists shared (24-19). But it wasn't enough, despite Darrun Hilliard's 21 points (6-of-11 from beyond the arc) and 9 assists, as well as Bastien Vautier's double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds.
After celebrating in front of 8371 fans, ALBA are now leading Group G on an unbeaten 3-0 run, with Bilbao (2-1), Igokea m:tel (1-2), and SK Slavia Praha ERA NBK (0-3) completing the picture.
12 straight for Rytas in Vilnius
Entering Wednesday's action, Trabzonspor were another team that could have joined Peristeri and ALBA as sides unbeaten at 3-0 thus far in Season 11. But Vilnius Arena has ultimately become an impassable fortress.
Rytas Vilnius had to bounce back after a 28-point road defeat (93-65) to Nanterre 92, and they found success with their best weapon: playing at home, backed by their own fans.
The reigning champions celebrated the 97-81 triumph to stop the Turkish team's positive record, extending the club's domestic winning record at 12 games, the 17th win of their last 18 matchups at home.
Rytas have scored more than 90 points in seven of their last eight home clashes.
If that wasn't enough, Rytas have now obtained five wins in their last six home games against teams from Türkiye.
It was a win built on paint superiority, with Rytas outscoring Trabzonspor 48-42 in such regard. At the same time, Nedas Pacevicius' team got back their brilliancy from beyond the arc: they were the worst three-point team in the BCL after two games (20.0%), while they shot 11-of-21 (52.4%) from deep on Wednesday.
Lithuanians from different generations were useful to grab the win: Arturas Gudaitis had 21 points and 5 rebounds, while Ignas Urbonas, back-to-back MVP in the Youth BCL, had 6 points and 4 rebounds as a starter.
"I think it was one of our best games of the season regarding following the game plan, attacking the targets. On defense, we were also solid, and that was the key to the victory," Gudaitis shared.
The showdown between American guards saw Cassius Winston (18 points on 6-of-6 at the charity stripe and 7 assists) get the victory against the duo composed of Troy Caupain (18 points on 7-of-11 from the field) and Marcus Keene (14 points and 6 assists).
At this point, Group A is perfectly split into two halves: Rytas and Trabzonspor lead at 2-1, while Sabah and Nanterre follow at 1-2.
Omic perfectly crafted Spartak's win
Following Tuesday's victory by Sabah against Nanterre, one could have predicted a three-team tie at 1-2 in Group A. However, as we have already seen, Rytas bounced back, interrupting Trabzonspor's run.
Another three-team tie, however, is now reality in Group F, with Hapoel Maoz Daniel Holon, Cholet Basket, and Spartak Office Shoes all at 2-1 after three games played to start the 2026-27 BCL Regular Season.
That's because the Serbians broke their three-game losing streak away from home, bouncing back with a tough 69-65 road victory against Cholet, whose positive run was interrupted.
Don't take appointments for November 10 at 20:00 CET, when the two teams will play in the reverse fixture.
Coming off the bench, Alen Omic had a perfect shooting night, both from the field (7-of-7) and at the charity stripe (1-of-1), ultimately ending with 15 points and 7 rebounds. With him on the floor, Spartak was a +14 team.
"We need to keep going like this and stay focused, listen to our coach, and follow our roles. It’s a big game and a big win, but Cholet will come to our home in 10 days, and we need to show up again. We need to stay strong enough to take one more win because only victories count," he said.
Cholet entered Season 11 as the second team in the league with different players scoring in double digits (7), and the 17-year-old Aaron Towo-Nansi joined the list with a 12-point losing effort.
He now has a total of 47 points, the most by any player aged under 18 years old after his first 10 games in the competition, surpassing Alperen Sengun's 40 points in that span.
Sanogo's scoring streak continued in Vechta
We don't know yet whether Hapoel Holon will manage to keep up with Cholet and Spartak down the line in Group F. What we know is that the Israeli side have managed to turn things around in the competition, as these three teams are now tied at 2-1.
After a seven-game losing streak between 2025-26 and Season 11's opening round, the purple-and-yellow guests got their second consecutive victory, beating RASTA Vechta 88-81 on the road on Wednesday.
These recent successes are also related to Adama Sanogo's positive form: he has now scored 15+ points in his last eight BCL appearances, scoring 17 over Vechta.
Lester Medford led Holon with 23 points and 7 assists.
"I knew how it is to play here, and I tried to prepare my players for the atmosphere. They did a good job. We played a good game. We controlled it, but it was tough," Hapoel Holon's head coach, Predrag Krunic, commented.
On the other side, Vechta's losing streak domestically continued, having lost all four home games they have played in the BCL between the 2024-25 campaign and the current one.
Tommy Kuhse had 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in the German team's defeat, while both Justin Edler-Davis and Justice Sueing had 13-point losing efforts.