MIES (Switzerland) - It has been snowing all over the place in Europe these days. But something else fell from the sky once 2026 began: hard-fought clashes involving Patrioti Levice and Fitness First Würzburg Baskets, Pallacanestro Trieste and NHSZ-Szolnoki Olajbanyasz.
These teams are putting on a show in their Play-In series in the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL. Game 3 will be needed to decide who will progress to the Round of 16.
Patrioti Levice 56-74 Fitness First Würzburg Baskets
Levice started their first-ever Play-Ins with a shocking outcome, defeating Würzburg 92-89 away from home to lead 1-0 and potentially close it out on Thursday night.
However, experience truly matters in the BCL, and came out when needed for the Germans, who prevailed 74-56 on the road in Game 2 to tie and force Game 3, once again at their place.
Davion Mintz (10 points and 8 rebounds), who had 30 points in his team's defeat on Tuesday, this time left the spotlight to his backcourt partner, Marcus Carr, who wasn't available in Game 1.
The Canadian guard stepped up with 20 points and 6 assists to get the job done. Moreover, Charles Thompson dominated once again at the rim, grabbing 16 rebounds in the road victory, 10 of them offensive.
It wasn't the best of nights for Levice's leader, Rickey McGill, who had 12 points on a rough 3-of-12 shooting night from the field. Andre Wesson Jr had 11 points and 9 rebounds in the loss.
Game 3, scheduled on January 14 at 18:30 CET, will be crucial to figure out who will join Joventut Badalona, Unicaja, and Elan Chalon in Group K of the Round of 16.
"We were in a tough situation because we lost the home advantage, and we needed to win here. A do-or-die situation. It's important that we came out with energy."
Pallacanestro Trieste 80-89 NHSZ-Szolnoki Olajbanyasz
Würzburg weren't the only team that lost Game 1 of the Play-Ins at home. Szolnoki weren't able to capitalize immediately on the opportunity as well, losing to Trieste and having to travel to Italy in a do-or-die situation.
But in the end, guess what? They forced Game 3 with an 89-80 victory away from home. They did it in dominant fashion, leading by 21 points (39-18) midway through the second quarter, and trailed for 22 seconds.
Except for two-point and free-throw shooting percentages, the guests were way superior to the Italians. They outrebounded Trieste 42-29, outscoring them 42-28 in points scored in the paint.
Le'Tre Darthard was Olajbanyasz's absolute star, finishing with 33 points over 10-of-18 from the field. Brady Skeens (17 points and 12 rebounds) and Adam Somogyi (12 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds) added double-doubles.
Despite struggling from beyond the arc (2-of-7), Jahmi'us Ramsey was once again Trieste's top scorer with an 18-point losing effort.
Following this result, Game 3 will now be crucial to discover which team will reach La Laguna Tenerife, Dreamland Gran Canaria, and ERA Nymburk in Group L of the Round of 16.