By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Three domestic rivalries expand into a single group of the Round of 16 in the Basketball Champions League. Do not look away when Cholet and SIG Strasbourg, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg and Telekom Baskets Bonn, and AEK Betsson and Promitheas meet each other over the next few weeks. The path to the Quarterfinals is clear and includes overcoming a domestic opponent for the six teams.
Eurohoops presents the history of domestic collisions in the BCL. They range across all eight editions since the inaugural 2016-17 season, following the Regular Season due to draw restrictions.
Teams from Spain and Turkiye are the most common pairings. Direct meetings of ACB teams cover half of the 20 domestic collisions in league history. Turkiye follows on the list with four matchups stemming from the BSL.
Nevertheless, France, Germany, and Greece took over this season. France is back for a second year in a row, but German and Greek sides facing each other dates before the Round of 16 went from a series to a group play. Strasbourg, Ludwigsburg, and AEK link previous and future matchups.
Italy and Israel are the two remaining countries having featured teams against each other.
SIG goes from Dijon to Cholet
For a second consecutive season, two French clubs meet specifically in Group I of the Round of 16. Lasting original Strasbourg faced JDA Dijon last season. This time around it is Cholet.
The team based at the border with Germany prevailing in both games against La Jeanne led to reaching the Quarterfinals as the second seed. Coached by Luca Banchi, the next step was defeating Telekom Baskets Bonn in Game 1 of the Quarterfinals. However, the German side bounced back with two wins in a row to win the series and was eventually crowned champion.
On the ongoing continental campaign, Strasbourg meets Betclic Elite opponent Cholet alongside Unicaja and Tofas in a battle for a berth in the Quarterfinals.
The Ludwigsburg connection
Back in the 2017-18 campaign, Ludwigsburg advanced to the Final Four for the first time in team history. The second run to the championship-crowning stage was in 2022.
Meeting and eliminating two German clubs in a home-and-away series was the interesting part about punching in the first ticket to the Final Four. From splitting wins with EWE Baskets Oldenburg and medi Bayreuth, a better point differential sent Ludwigsburg to Athens. It ranked fourth in the Final Four after losing to AS Monaco in the Semifinals and UCAM Murcia in the third-place contest.
Hungry for more success opposite an easyCredit BBL opponent, defending champion Bonn is the next challenge. Group J additionally features Dijon and Galatasaray Ekmas.
And AEK’s events
A lasting original and former champion, AEK will take on Promitheas during the six-game double-legged round-robin schedule of Group L. The team located in Patras becomes the second domestic rival for the Queen in the Champions League.
Looking to defend the BCL championship with Banchi in charge, the Athens outfit eliminated PAOK on aggregate in a home-and-away series of the Round of 16 of the 2018-19 season. Brose Bamberg featuring Tyrese Rice and Nikos Zisis, among others, stopped the AEK in the Quarterfinals.
Besides Promitheas, potentially reaching the Quarterfinals requires success against Murcia and Hapoel Holon as well. Only two teams fit in the next round.