By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Seven teams are officially in the Basketball Champions League Round of 16. Gameday 13 is scheduled to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday in 16 venues all around Europe, and will generate more playoffs berths.
Round 12 featured exciting action including Casademont Zaragoza punching in its ticket for the next round. Additionally, Besiktas Sompo Sigorta stayed on course and Marcelo Huertas tied the all-time assists record.
Hold on with Gameday 13 coming up. Below the preview of the next set of BCL games, group by group.
Group A
1. Y-Turk Telekom 21 (9-3)
2. y-Dinamo Sassari 21 (9-3)
3. BAXI Manresa 19 (7-5)
4. Filou Oostende 18 (6-6)
5. UNET Holon 18 (6-6)
6. Lietkabelis 17 (5-7)
7. x-SIG Strasbourg (4-8)
8. x-Polski Cukier Torun 14 (2-10)
Y-secured home-court advantage for Round of 16
y-advanced to the playoffs
x-eliminated from the playoffs
A couple more playoffs tickets available in Group A. The direct clash between Filou Oostende and BAXI Manresa at the Versluys Dome to a large extent will determine one holder. One point up at 7-5, Pedro Martinez’s team has the first-round win by a margin of 27 points on its side. The Spanish team is also 8-11 in ACB. Dario Gjergja’s club leads the EuroMillions Basketball League with its 10-3 W-L tally.
UNET Holon at 6-6 has a tough home challenge against Dinamo Sassari. At 9-3, Gianmarco Pozzecco’s side has already qualified, but needs the win at Israel to secure home-court advantage for the Round of 16 after falling to 15-4 in LBA Serie A. This weekend also saw Stefanos Dedas’ team jump to 9-7 in the Super League.
Lietkabelis at 5-7 is still in play with eliminated SIG Strasbourg coming to visit. Nenad Canak’s squad improved to 13-7 in Lithuania’s LKL on Saturday. The French club dropped to 8-12 in Jeep Elite Pro A.
Turk Telekom’s quest for top seeding will continue with last-placed Polski Cukier Torun in Turkey. Burak Goren’s side holds an 8-9 Super Ligi record. Upcoming opponents are 12-4 in PLK.
Gameday 13 schedule:
Tuesday
Filou Oostende – BAXI Manresa
Dinamo Sassari – UNET Holon
Wednesday
Lietkabelis – SIG Strasbourg
Turk Telekom – Polski Cukier Torun
Group B
1. Y-Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem 21 (9-3)
2. San Pablo Burgos 19 (7-5)
3. AEK 19 (7-5)
4. Teksut Bandirma 18 (6-6)
5. RASTA Vechta 18 (6-6)
6. Anwil Wloclawek 17 (5-7)
7. x-Telenet Giants Antwerp 16 (4-8)
8. EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez 16 (4-8)
Y-secured home-court advantage for Round of 16
x-eliminated from the playoffs
RASTA Vechta versus AEK is the big Group B game. The German outlet is 6-5 including a win over the Queen in Athens. Ilias Papatheodorou’s team is 7-5. Domestically, the hosts of the Round 13 matchup recently improved to 10-6 in easyCredit BBL. Three-game BCL losing streak for AEK, but up 13-4 in Greece’s Basket League.
Anwil Wloclawek and Teksut Bandirma have a hot date as well with one point separating them ahead of their collision at the Hala Mistrzow. Igor Milicic’s club is currently 14-4 in the Polish League. Third straight defeat dropped Hakan Demir’s side to 9-8 in Super Ligi over the weekend.
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem can clinch first place with a win over San Pablo Burgos that carries a 7-5 record. On Sunday, Oded Kattash’s team fell to 13-3 in the Israeli League. A day earlier, the team coached by Joan Penarroya dropped to 10-9 in ACB.
With an outside chance for the Round of 16, EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez hosts Telenet Giants Antwerp. Both teams are 4-8, but only the hosts can an advance with all results falling their way. Laurent Vila’s side is 8-12 in France and Christophe Beghin’s 9-4 in Belgium.
Gameday 13 schedule:
Tuesday
Anwil Wloclawek – Teksut Bandirma
EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez – Telenet Giants Antwerp
Wednesday
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem – San Pablo Burgos
RASTA Vechta – AEK