MIES (Switzerland) - Has one week passed already? Can't complain, honestly. It means that the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL is back on Tuesday.
Once again, eight games will be featured from 18:00 CET on, and you can't miss this marathon. We came to help with 48 facts, stats, scores, and domestic results from the weekend.
VEF Riga vs. Patrioti Levice - Group F, October 14 at 18:00 CET
VEF Riga have lost their last three home games in the BCL after winning the previous three. They scored only 53 points last week against AEK BC, their second-lowest total at home in the competition (45 vs. San Pablo Burgos in March 2021).
Patrioti Levice lost 54-84 against NHSZ-Szolnoki Olajbanyasz last week, one of only five teams to have lost their first BCL game by a margin of 30+ points.
Riga (19) and Levice (20) were two of the three teams that scored the fewest field goals last week in the BCL (also Benfica, 19). They also had two of the three lowest accuracies from three-point range (Riga, 18.2% Levice, 21.2% - also Sabah BC, 20%).
Zahir Porter had 16 points and 5 rebounds last week against AEK, but no player has had 15+ points and 5+ rebounds in each of his first two games with Riga in the BCL.
All nine of Levice's players who took part in the game last week against NHSZ-Szolnoki were debutants in the BCL, the first time it happened for a team in the competition since the start of the 2020-21 season.
Riga don't stop in the Estonian-Latvian League, as they beat TalTech 98-72 with Arnaldo Toro Barea's 14 points and 17 rebounds, while Zahir Porter dropped 21 points; Levice didn't play during the weekend as their encounter with BKM Lucenec got postponed.
ERA Nymburk vs. Elan Chalon - Group B, October 14 at 18:30 CET
ERA Nymburk won 93-65 against Sabah last week, their biggest win in the opening round of a BCL season; they will attempt to win their first two games in consecutive seasons for the first time, after starting the 2024-25 season with five straight wins.
Elan Chalon have won their last two BCL games and will attempt to win three in a row for only the second time (W3 in December 2017); they scored 80+ points in each of their last two games, as often as in their first 13 games in the competition.
Nymburk attempted the most field goals (87) and the most two-pointers (54) during Gameday 1 of this BCL season and were also the only team to keep a 100% accuracy from the free-throw line (15-of-15).
Marcus Santos Silva (Nymburk) had 10 points and 11 rebounds last week against Sabah, his first double-double in the BCL; in fact, he has scored exactly 10 points in each of his last two BCL games after never scoring more than four points in any of his first eight appearances in the competition.
Lionel Gaudoux had 12 points and 11 rebounds last week against ALBA BERLIN, the second double-double for a Chalon player in the BCL (Darrin Dorsey, 12pts 11ast vs. PAOK in October 2017); he was also the fourth French player to have a double-double in his BCL debut.
Both teams had positive results over the weekend: Nymburk beat JIP Pardubice with Sir'Jabari Rice's 21 points and 8 rebounds, while Chalon took down Saint-Quentin 84-82 as Jeremiah Hill propelled the red-and-white side with 20 points and 7 assists.
Hapoel Netanel Holon vs. Joventut Badalona - Group C, October 14 at 18:30 CET
Hapoel Netanel Holon have won each of their last three games played as the home team against a team from Spain in the BCL; however, those three games ended with margins of five points or fewer, and Holon were trailing at halftime in two of them.
Joventut Badalona won 91-73 last week against Cholet Basket and were never in a losing position during the 40 minutes of the game; before this year, seven of the 10 Spanish sides that took part in the BCL won their first two games in the competition.
Joventut were one of the four teams to make fewer than 10 turnovers last week in the BCL (9) and had the best assists per turnover ratio in Gameday 1 of this season (2.56).
Holon's Derrick Walton Jr had 20 points and 11 assists in his BCL debut last week against Bursaspor, becoming only the second player with 20+ points and 10+ assists in his first BCL appearance, after Khalif Wyatt in October 2018, also with Holon (21pts & 11ast vs. Fribourg Olympic). Joe Ragland is the only player to have made 10+ assists in multiple BCL games with Holon (8).
Cameron Hunt (Joventut) has scored 10+ points in 11 of his last 12 starts in the BCL, including in each of the most recent six; he scored 23 points in his last away game (at Petkimspor with BAXI Manresa), his best total in his 23 BCL appearances.
Ante Tomic continued his hot streak with 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists as Joventut beat Zaragoza 89-86; Holon didn't play during the weekend in the Israeli Basketball Super League.
Fitness First Würzburg Baskets vs. Igokea m:tel - Group C, October 14 at 18:30 CET
Fitness First Würzburg Baskets won 78-63 last week against Pallacanestro Trieste, their second-biggest win in the competition, after their 18-point success against Igokea m:tel on Gameday 2 of the 2024-25 season (98-80). It was also Igokea’s heaviest defeat in the BCL last season.
Igokea have only won one of their last eight away games in the BCL (83-78 at Nanterre in December 2024) and six of their seven defeats in that run ended with margins of 10+ points. However, they have scored 80+ points in each of their last four road games in the BCL, more than in their previous 13 (3).
No team made fewer steals than Würzburg last week in the BCL (3). However, they had their best total of steals in the BCL against Igokea, in December 2024, when they made 13 steals against them.
Davion Mintz (Würzburg) scored 24 points last week against Trieste, his best total in a BCL game; in fact, he has scored 20+ points in two of his last three games after never reaching that mark in any of his first 11 appearances.
Breein Tyree had 23 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds coming from the bench last week against Galatasaray, the first player to have a 20/5/5 in a BCL game with Igokea. No player has scored 20+ points in consecutive games with Igokea in the competition.
In the BCL derby between German teams, Würzburg had five players in double-digits to take down ALBA 96-92; Igokea, instead, didn't play during the weekend.
Bursaspor Basketbol vs. Cholet Basket - Group G, October 14 at 18:30 CET
Six of Bursaspor Basketbol’s seven games in the BCL ended with a double-digit margin; this will be their first time hosting a team from France, and the Turkish sides have won each of their last five home games against French teams in the competition.
Cholet have lost their last three games in the BCL, all by margins of at least 12 points, but they have never lost four games in a row in the competition; they have lost six of their seven road games played in the BCL Regular Season but the sole win in that span came in Türkiye, 91-80 at Darussafaka's home court in November 2023.
Cholet Basket saw 68.5 percent of their points being scored from two-point range last week, the highest such ratio among all teams on Gameday 1 of this BCL season; only four teams scored fewer two-pointers than Bursaspor Basketbol last week (15).
Javin DeLaurier (Bursaspor) has scored 10+ points in only three of his seven home games in the BCL; however, two of those games were against French sides (16 vs. Strasbourg & 15 vs. Dijon with Holon in 2022-23).
Aaron Towo-Nansi (Cholet) scored seven points last week against Joventut at 16 years and 217 days, only the second player to score 5+ points in a BCL game while being younger than 17 (Lefteris Mantzoukas, 7pts with Promitheas against Virtus Bologna in February 2019). He was the 9th youngest player to feature in a BCL game.
Bursaspor and Cholet played on the road in Türkiye and France over the weekend: the first against Trabzonspor, winning 85-79, also thanks to Artur Konontsuk's 25 points, and the latter against Dijon, losing to former BCL participants.
Karditsa Iaponiki vs. Unicaja - Group E, October 14 at 19:00 CET
Karditsa Iaponiki won after overtime last week against Filou Oostende (95-93); before this year, four of the seven Greek teams that took part in the competition won their first two games in the competition, the most recent one being Peristeri in 2019-20.
Unicaja have won their last seven games in the BCL Regular Season and five of the most recent six by margins of at least 23 points; however, their last defeat at that stage was in Greece, 73-76 in Peristeri in December 2023.
Unicaja averaged 1.34 points per possession last week against Mersin, the most among any team in the first Gameday; however, Karditsa had the 3rd best average (1.26; also Joventut 1.28).
Brandon Jefferson was Karditsa’s top scorer last week against Oostende with 23 points. However, he is yet to score 20+ points in consecutive games in the BCL (18 appearances); he has averaged 18.0 points and 5.5 assists in his two BCL games against Spanish sides.
Kendrick Perry, who played his 60th BCL game last week, has scored 10+ points in each of his last five games in the competition, but he has never had a longer sequence in the BCL; he has made multiple three-pointers in each of his last four BCL games, making 47.4 percent from behind the arc in that span (9-of-19).
Karditsa didn't play during the weekend in the Greek League, while Unicaja prevailed on the road against BCL participants Gran Canaria: Olek Balcerowski had 16 points against his former team.
Trapani Shark vs. Tofas Bursa - Group D, October 14 at 20:30 CET
Last week, Trapani Shark lost their first BCL game, 84-78 against La Laguna Tenerife; before this year, only two of the 11 Italian teams that took part in the competition lost their first two games, Capo d'Orlando in 2017-18 and Fortitudo Bologna in 2020-21.
Tofas Bursa won 90-86 last week against Bnei Penlink Herzliya, but they have never won their first two games of a BCL season; they have lost their last five road games in the competition, but have never lost more road games in a row.
Trapani made more two-pointers than any other team last week in the BCL (26) and had the best accuracy from two-point range (66.7%); however, Tofas Bursa had the best field goal accuracy overall last week (55.4%).
Timmy Allen (Trapani) has scored 10+ points in each of his 10 BCL appearances. He missed all five of his free throws attempted last week against La Laguna Tenerife, after having an accuracy from the line of 80% in the competition before (44-of-55) – that was the most free throws missed for a player who failed to score a single one in a BCL game since Dustin Hogue in April 2022 (0-of-7 vs. MHP RIESEN).
Tofas' French player Hugo Besson has scored 261 points in the BCL, the best total for a European player after 15 games played in the BCL. He has scored 15+ points in each of his last four games in the competition.
Trapani had an outstanding night on Sunday to beat Reyer Venice 109-102 in overtime, with John Petrucelli, Timmy Allen, and Jordan Ford combining for 71 points; Marek Blazevic had 21 points and 5 rebounds to lead Tofas to the 85-73 victory against Turk Telekom.
La Laguna Tenerife vs. Bnei Penlink Herzliya - Group D, October 14 at 21:00 CET
Tenerife have won their last 29 home games in the BCL, the longest such streak in the competition's history, scoring 80+ points in 11 of the last 12; that run includes a 20-point win against Bnei Penlink Herzliya in November 2022 (83-63).
Bnei Herzliya have lost their last two games in the BCL but are yet to lose three in a row in the competition, and they have allowed exactly 90 points in each of their last three games; however, those last two defeats ended with margins of fewer than 5 points.
Tenerife grabbed fewer offensive rebounds (3) and fewer rebounds in total (23) than any other team during Gameday 1 of this BCL season. It was, in fact, their second-lowest tally of rebounds grabbed in a BCL game (21 vs. Tofas in April 2022).
Giorgi Shermadini (Tenerife) has scored more than 15 points and grabbed at least 7 rebounds in each of his last two BCL games against Bnei Herzliya. He is the only player to have featured in all 29 games of Tenerife's current record home winning streak in the competition.
Chinanu Onuaku (Bnei Herzliya) has averaged 17.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in his four BCL appearances. However, he is yet to win a game in the competition. He also made at least one block in each of his four games.
No appointments for Bnei Herzliya during the weekend, while Tenerife had a dominant 32-point win (96-64) on the road against Andorra as Jaime Fernandez recorded 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.