By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Easy as it sounds, right? Fighting for the home-court advantage from the early stages of the Round of 16 seemed to be necessary looking at what the Basketball Champions League Quarter-Finals are starting to show: four series, four wins in Game 1 by the teams with home-court advantage.
Starting things off this Wednesday in Murcia, Sito Alonso’s team was just too much for MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg. Entering a good gameday for Spanish teams, UCAM dominated 98-72 thanks to Rodions Kurucs’ perfect shooting night (8/8 FG) and other four players in double-digits.
Moving on to Germany, Telekom Baskets Bonn had to wait some minutes to impress its home crowd as the game got delayed. Once the ball was tipped, however, the show was on as the reigning BCL champs took down Peristeri in a surprisingly poor shooting night for Joe Ragland.
Experience also matters, and Marcelinho Huertas is the living proof of it. One month and a half before turning 41 years old, he delivered a 30-point showdown (with 8 assists) to drag Lenovo Tenerife at home against Tofas Bursa, despite Cassius Winston’s 22-point losing effort.
Closing the day where last year’s Final Four was held, Unicaja slowed things down in the second half but still managed to get the upper hand over Promitheas in Malaga. As most of the Basketball Champions League fans could expect, it was a perfect Game-1 day for the Spanish teams: three wins out of three.
2023-24 Basketball Champions League Quarter-Finals
Game 1
UCAM Murcia – MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg 98-72
Telekom Baskets Bonn – Peristeri bwin 89-78
Lenovo Tenerife – Tofas Bursa 83-77
Unicaja Malaga – Promitheas Patras 67-54
Game 2
Promitheas Patras – Unicaja Malaga (0-1, 09/04 at 18:30 CET)
MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg – UCAM Murcia (0-1, 09/04 at 20:00 CET)
Tofas Bursa – Lenovo Tenerife (0-1, 10/04 at 18:00 CET)
Peristeri bwin – Telekom Baskets Bonn (0-1, 10/04 at 18:30 CET)
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League