By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Exceptional times call for exceptional measures, the saying goes, and this is certainly true for the innovative solution the Basketball Champions League devised for its 2020-21 Qualification Rounds in the face of the challenges the global pandemic poses to European sport.
The 16 teams that are seeking one of the four remaining spots in the 2020-21 Regular Season have been split into four groups and each group will be decided in direct knockout games in a Final 4 format.
In an effort to further enhance health and safety measures, there are only two venues in this atypical Qualification Round, each of which is hosting two Final 4 tournaments.
Nicosia, in Cyprus, plays host to groups A and B, while Botevgrad, in Bulgaria, provides the stage for groups C and D.
These are the contestants in the semi-final battles in each of the four groups:
GROUP A
(The Semi-Finals take place Wednesday, September 23 and the two winners will face off in the Final on Friday, September 25. All games in Nicosia, Cyprus)
SF1: Bakken Bears (DEN) vs. Hapoel Tel Aviv (ISR)
Both clubs have prior experience of qualifiers in the BCL, but only Bakken Bears have actually tasted the success of advancing to the Regular Season.
The perennial Danish champions eliminated Estonia’s Tartu in the 2016-27 second Qualification Round and earned a spot in Group A of that inaugural BCL season, albeit they finished bottom of the standings on a 1-13 record.
Hapoel tried their luck in 2018-19 but lost to Spirou Charleroi in the first Qualification Round.
Last season, Bakken eliminated Tsmoki Minsk in the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA Europe Cup and were due to face Bahcesehir in the Semi-Finals, but of course the competition was suspended due to the pandemic. Hapoel didn’t take part in any European competition in 2019-20.
Keep an eye out for one of Bakken’s new additions, veteran guard Justin Dentmon, who led the BCL in scoring during the 2019-20 Regular Season, averaging 20.9 points per game as an EB Pau-Lacq-Orthez player.
SF2: Anwil Wloclawek (POL) vs. Belfius Mons-Hainaut (BEL)
Anwil Wloclawek are the theoretical favorite in this group as the only team here to have participated in back-to-back editions of the BCL, starting in 2018-19.
Last year, the Polish club stayed in the race for a spot in the Play-Offs until late in the Regular Season but ultimately missed out, finishing on a 5-9 record in their group.
It’s worth noting that while Anwil’s roster has undergone an overhaul and several top contributors from last year are no longer on the team, they have recruited two players who helped ERA Numburk reach the Quarter-Finals, in Ivan Almeida and Deishuan Booker.
All of this of course means close to nothing for Mons-Hainaut, especially since they are led by former Swedish national team and current Bosnia and Herzegovina head coach Vedran Bosnic, a specialist in pulling off surprises with nominal underdogs.
The Belgian team had taken part in the FIBA Europe Cup every year since 2015 but last season they didn’t participate in a European competition.
GROUP B
(The Semi-Finals take place Tuesday, September 22 and the two winners will face off in the Final on Thursday, September 24. All games in Nicosia, Cyprus)
SF1: Keravnos (CYP) vs. Iraklis (GRE)
Keravnos are the hosts of the group but since there will be no fans in the stands due to the health measures to combat the pandemic, the Cypriot team’s advantage is really limited to the fact they are more familiar with the court and surroundings than the rest of the teams.
Last season, Keravnos fell to Lietkabelis in Qualification Round 2 in what was probably the most unpredictable tie, as both teams won on the road. The Cypriot team transferred to the FIBA Europe Cup, where they finished in third place in their group.
Iraklis are a unique case in that they have not taken part in European competitions for 15 years as the cub struggled with financial problems, but they are anything but newcomers.
In fact, Iraklis is one of the two oldest clubs in Greece (together with Panathinaikos) and was a regular in European competitions up until the early 2000s, reaching the Saporta Cup Semi-Finals on two occasions.
The Thessaloniki club’s leading scorer last season, Canadian international Olivier Hanlan, has played in the BCL with two different clubs, Le Mans and Telekom Baskets Bonn.
SF2: Donar Groningen (NED) vs. Dnipro (UKR)
‘If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again’ the saying goes and nobody can accuse Donar Groningen of not putting it to practice, as they have taken part in the BCL qualifiers every single year, but have so far failed to reach the Regular Season each time.
The Dutch club hope of course to change that this time around, as they have trusted the reins to head coach Ivan Rudez and his brother, former Croatian international Damjan Rudez is adding a wealth of high-level experience to the roster.
Dnipro on the other hand are taking part in the BCL Qualifiers for the first time, but last year they passed the corresponding stage of the FIBA Europe Cup with flying colors to qualify for the Regular Season of that competition, where they finished 2-4 in their group.
The Ukrainian club must have seen Groningen’s injection of experience with Rudez and decided to double the bet, as they have acquired Viacheslav Kravtsov to pair up with Kyrylo Fesenko at center, in a reunion of vastly experienced Ukrainian big men.