By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
From the Qualifiers in September to the Regular Season and connected Play-Ins, and the most recent Round of 16, the Basketball Champions League moves on to the Quarterfinals. Best-of-three series will decide the Final Four participants with the Game 1 schedule stretching from Tuesday to Wednesday.
Among the Round of 16 group winners, defending champion Lenovo Tenerife carries the attached homecourt advantage versus BAXI Manresa. Winning the last 12 Champions League games in Santiago Martin can translate into a premature sign of success for Txus Vidorreta’s side. Defeating the ACB rival in the championship game of last season’s Final Four held in Bilbao marked the first-ever BCL meeting of Tenerife and Manresa.
Coming in with an 11-game winning streak covering the majority of the 2022-23 season and namely dominating the Basketball Champions League, Telekom Baskets Bonn will play host to SIG Strasbourg in Game 1 of the respective best-of-three series. Only Tenerife with 12 straight wins and AS Monaco with 14 wins in a row have enjoyed lengthier streaks over the seven-year history of the league.
At Pais Arena, Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem and AEK will collide with each other for the fifth time in the Champions League. Aside from the home-court advantage, the Israeli club additionally has a five-game winning streak since the home loss to JDA Dijon in Gameday 1 of the Round of 16.
Similar to Tenerife and Manresa, Unicaja and UCAM Murcia shape yet another battle of ACB teams in BCL’s next stage. Both are back in the Quarterfinals for a second time with the Malaga outfit stopped last season and Murcia advancing to the Final Four in 2018.
More preview is available via Limoges CSP head coach Massimo Cancellieri discussing the four pairings in an interview with Eurohoops.
An unexpected reunion of lasting originals adds to the building excitement with crucial matchups right around the corner.
Considering the track record of the eight remaining contenders can also prove useful in picking favorites to advance.
Basketball Champions League Quarterfinals best-of-three series Game 1
Tuesday
Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem – AEK (20:00 CET)
Unicaja – UCAM Murcia (20:30 CET)
Wednesday
Telekom Baskets Bonn – SIG Strasbourg (20:00 CET)
Lenovo Tenerife – BAXI Manresa (20:30 CET)
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League