By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
A deja vu sensation with AEK completing a comeback in the fourth quarter to secure a Basketball Champions League win on Wednesday. After Lukas Lekavicius beat the buzzer, closing the distance from Karditsa Iaponiki to six points at the end of the third quarter, carrying the momentum over to the last ten minutes recovered the lead and went on to build a safe double-digit distance. From there to 1-0 in Group J of the Round of 16 in Season X, powered by Ameresco SUNEL.
The Queen prevailed from a losing position at the end of the third period for the 22nd time in BCL team history, adding to a dominating display on the respective all-time list, with fellow lasting original, La Laguna Tenerife, following with 13 such wins.
The Karditsa head coach, and former AEK combo guard at the end of the 20th century, Nikos Papanikolopoulos, shared his perspective from the losing end of the latest rally in a postgame press conference.
“I believe that with the gap we had, with the buzzer at the end of the third quarter, cost us the psychological advantage of the game,” said the 46-year-old play-caller. “They put the crowd inside the court. And it’s not easy to balance and cover the distance.”
At the top of Group J, featuring the two Greek clubs alongside ALBA Berlin and Tofas Bursa, AEK gained an early edge in a race to clinch a berth in the Quarterfinals. The top two seeds will advance to the next round, with the first-placed team earning homecourt advantage in a following best-of-three series for a ticket to the Final Four 2026 in Badalona.
“This was an important game to start with a win,” head coach Dragan Sakota referred to a new six-game double-legged round robin schedule in the Round of 16, similar to the preceding Regular Season.
“We really tried this week to convince them not to relax. And I was talking also with the media, not only with them, trying to explain, because I have seen situations like this a thousand times in my life. And I believe they tried to be serious, but did not realize how the opponent can be different, especially when they did not have any kind of pressure,” he described the player’s effort on the court, four days after beating the same team in Round 15 of Greece’s Stoiximan GBL Regular Season.
Home effect
Home games marking a huge advantage go hand in hand throughout the storied club’s history. In this case, it shaped the 13th win over the last 14 BCL outings in SUNEL Arena, and fifth in a row. As a championship contender looking into a possible top seed in the Round of 16, a successful run would be extremely important in the ongoing bid to reach the league’s season-ending tournament for the fifth time, including the 2017-18 championship run culminating in OAKA under the guidance of Sakota.
Against Karditsa, Lekavicius recorded a game-high 28 points, after scoring a total of 43 in his first five Champions League appearances. Frank Bartley IV and Dimitris Flionis chipped in 17 and 15 points, respectively, with RaiQuan Gray adding 13 to reach double-digits for a fifth straight BCL home fixture.
Rushing to a 12-0 lead to start the Gameday 1 contest was well shy of being enough to secure victory. The visitors bounced back, leading for just over 15 minutes amid 12 lead changes, before AEK rallied in the fourth quarter.
Nunnally and Feazell
Since wrapping up the Regular Season with five wins in six games and topping Group F, James Nunnally and KeyShawn Feazell were added to the roster, providing additional options for 73-year-old Sakota and confirming aspirations for a second BCL title. However, the newcomers only logged a combined total of 15 minutes in the Round of 16 opener.
“I hope it will be better in the next few days, so we can ramp it up a bit,” said the experienced tactician, noting limited team practices for both players since their recent arrivals.
Resuming the continental campaign in Gameday 2 of the Round of 16, AEK will be at home versus ALBA Berlin next Wednesday. On the road for the next two fixtures, Tofas follows on February 3 and Karditsa on February 10. An international break then creates a separation from the last two games of the stage.