MIES (Switzerland) - The roster changes, but the habit remains. Manisa Basket keep on winning close games, and as of Tuesday they have a 3-0 record in Group H, in what is their maiden Basketball Champions League campaign.
Manisa Basket 79-77 Peristeri Domino's
First they lost Javon Freeman-Liberty. Then they lost Saben Lee. One thing they have not lost? A BCL game.
Manisa Basket have specialized in clutch finishes, and Tuesday was no different. With Peristeri looking like they could steal a big win on the road, Martynas Echodas detonated a massive dunk for the lead, and Hugo Besson followed suit with 30 seconds on the clock, after Peristeri replied.
Down by 1, Peristeri had one chance to win the game almost at the buzzer, but George Papas could not get a contested shot to drop and Yunus Sonsirma set the final score from the line.
Echodas had 19 points and 8 rebounds, Besson finished with 17, while another former NBA player joined the club last week. Troy Brown Jr finished with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in his first BCL game. Chris Coffey had 14 for Peristeri in a losing effort.
The Turkish newcomers are now one win above UCAM Murcia and two clear of FMP SoccerBet. Last season's Final Four team Peristeri are off to a 0-3 start.
UCAM Murcia 86-50 FMP SoccerBet
The fact that Murcia had lost their first home game to Manisa, made them that much more serious in their approach to the matchup with FMP SoccerBet.
The hosts wasted no time, getting the first double-digit lead after just six minutes, climbing to +17 after the first, +19 at the halftime break, and +34 after the third quarter. Their largest lead was 38 points, midway through the final stanza, and the 36-point final margin makes this their largest win ever in the BCL.
All 12 players got some action for Murcia, Troy Caupain being the most effective with 13 points in just under 13 minutes. Simon Birgander grabbed 10 rebounds in just 13 minutes, the least playing time for any player with 10 or more rebounds in a single BCL game.
These two will face off once again in two weeks' time, in Belgrade.
King Szczecin 73-84 Filou Oostende
Coach Dario Gjergja became only the second coach with 100 games in the Basketball Champions League, and his players made sure this milestone was a memorable one, picking up a big road win over King Szczecin in Poland.
"The most important thing about the 100 games [milestone] is that they are all at the same club. This means that people in my organisation believe in me, that they stayed behind me, and I give them big credit and I thank them for this chance to promote our team in Europe," the Croatian coach said.
He took over the helm back in December 2011, when most of his current players were just kids.
On Tuesday, Davion Mintz, Timmy Allen and Servaas Buysschaert all came off the bench and combined for 45 points, while club legend Pierre-Antoine Gillet had 13 with 5 rebounds as a starter.
King Szczecin got 20 points from Kassim Nicholson, but they are down at 0-3 with more trouble on the horizon, as they have to face Oostende in Belgium next time around.
Hapoel Netanel Holon 92-82 Igokea m:tel
Another team got off the mark on Tuesday as Hapoel Netanel Holon held off the Bosnia and Herzegovina champions, breaking away with a 25-13 third quarter and never allowing Igokea to fight back.
Marcus Bingham Jr continued his fine form with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals and an efficiency rating of 26. Holon were a +17 team with him on the floor, that's how dominant the 24-year-old center was on the day.
Elijah Mitrou-Long reached double digits again, 13 points on 3-of-5 three-pointers with a series of his usual crossovers to push Holon to 1-2.
Igokea are also at that mark, meaning they cannot afford to lose to Holon at home in Laktasi on November 6. Dragan Milosavljevic had 16 of his team-high 18 points in the first half.
ERA Nymburk 93-74 RASTA Vechta
The hottest team right now? Probably ERA Nymburk, who are already up to 11-0 in all competitions this season.
The perennial Czech champs enjoyed the ovations from their fans in this one, as they took the lead late in the first quarter and never looked back, storming to a 22-point lead at one point in the second quarter.
Stephen Brown led the way with 25 points, done in 23 minutes, Jaromir Bohacik had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals, while Christian Bishop finished with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals.
This is only the second time in BCL history that Nymburk started the season with a 3-0 record. The previous time it happened, they made it to the Final Eight, back in 2020.
Tyger Campbell was once again Vechta's best player with 22 points to his name, but the Germans are now down at 0-3.