MIES (Switzerland) - Tuesday featured clashes between unbeaten and winless teams in Group E in the Regular Season of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL.
It came out that both encounters had the home teams celebrating well-grounded victories, respectively in Türkiye and Bosnia and Herzegovina - quite an entertaining way to enter Gameday 3 in Season X.
Galatasaray MCT Technic 89-83 Fitness First Würzburg Baskets
Repetita iuvant, Latins said. Repeating does well, and it perfectly applies to Galatasaray, which have always started the last few seasons with hype and potential standing by their name.
After the first three games in Group E, they are the only unbeaten team at 3-0, and their stacked potential is turning, step by step, into a concrete contender status, aiming to point all the way to the BCL Final Four.
In fact, this is their first 3-0 start to a BCL season, and they have now won the last nine games at home in this competition.
The Turkish powerhouse managed to stay unbeaten with a solid 89-83 victory at home against Fitness First Würzburg Baskets, which had previously surprised their competitors with a 2-0 start to the season.
What hasn't changed since the 2024-25 is the constant presence and effort of Galatasaray's ultimate leaders.
Both James Palmer Jr (24 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds), who closed the first half with a clutch buzzer beater, and Will Cummings (18 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists) stepped up for the red-and-yellow Lions.
Palmer was the difference maker, Galatasaray were a +16 team with him on the floor, major impact in a six-point game.
"I think if we play our game and take care of business like we should, we should come out definitely at the top of the group," Palmer said.
"Tonight was definitely tough. Tough on us as a team. We just had a game two days ago. So to come out with this victory today was definitely important. I'm proud of the team and how we took care of business tonight."
He then praised Wurzburg, too.
"They're definitely a tough team. They play strong and tough. And made some runs, especially in the second quarter. But I think we withstood that and came out with the win. So it was definitely much needed."
Jerome Robinson, who was close to knocking out Galatasaray of contention in last season's Play-Ins with Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball, had 10 of his final 12 points in the first five minutes of the game.
Despite the loss, Würzburg showed great effort and character against one of the best suited teams in the whole competition.
They had a tough shooting night from the field (28-of-73, 38.4%), but a Marcus Carr buzzer-beater from halfcourt could potentially be huge, as they have to chase a six-point deficit, instead of nine, in the reverse fixture. It could be big in the battle for the direct ticket to the Round of 16.
Carr was by far the best player on the losing end, as he finished with 20 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Igokea m:tel 91-76 Pallacanestro Trieste
Before the start of Tuesday's clash in Bosnia and Herzegovina, both Igokea m:tel and Pallacanestro Trieste were on a 0-2 losing streak. One of the two would find the first win in Group E.
It took the hosts a marvelous three-point performance to display early dominance against the Italians.
Following a four-point play by Igokea's hero Breein Tyree, ending with a winning effort of 27 points (6-of-8 3FG) and 6 assists, they ended the first quarter up 27-12 already. They never lost control and eventually won 91-76.
Overall, the whole Bosnian side shot pretty well from behind the arc. After collecting a total of 13 three-pointers in their first two Season X games, Igokea shot 14-of-27 (51.9%) from deep on Tuesday.
JeQuan Lewis added 13 points and 6 assists in the win, while Dragan Milosavljevic had 11 points and 7 rebounds.
"I'm really proud. I think a lot of people started a little bit early to make conclusions about this team. I believe in this team, and I don't wanna hear those stories because we need time like any other team."
Trieste tried to come back into the game with an 11-0 run in the third quarter, but couldn't count on Juan-Toscano Anderson since 4:25 minutes left in the same stanza, as he committed his fifth foul.
Mady Sissoko proved to belong to the Mount Rushmore of centers in Season X, flirting with a double-double (17 points and 9 rebounds) while shooting 7-of-7 from the field in his team's defeat.
"I think it's the beginning of the game for us: we just need to figure out a way to start better off. We need to look in the mirror, and everybody has to figure out what their role is on this team and come together. I do think we will get there, but we have a lot of work to do," Sissoko said.
Jahmi'us Ramsey had a 15-point losing effort.
# | TEAM | W | L | PTS | PTS AGT | +/- |
1 | 3 | 0 | 274 | 255 | +19 | |
2 | 2 | 1 | 231 | 220 | +11 | |
3 | 1 | 2 | 241 | 240 | +1 | |
4 | 0 | 3 | 229 | 260 | -31 |