BCL Week: Unicaja Sets Three-Pointer Record, Upsets in Turku and Warsaw

Matchday 3 of groups B, C, E and H closed the first round of the group stage with good news for Spanish basketball. Unicaja and Joventut remain undefeated and lead their groups with a one-win advantage over their pursuers, three games away from securing direct passage to the Round of 16. Elsewhere, the week brought two unexpected results and a Group B where only two teams now share the lead.

Unicaja 99-94 Pallacanestro Reggiana

Unicaja had a record-breaking night at Martín Carpena. Reggiana started strong, leading 16-25 in the first quarter, but the Málaga side rallied before halftime (43-43) and broke the game open in the third quarter with eight three-pointers. They finished with 19, the club's best mark in the BCL, with Amine Noua (27 points) and Matt Thomas (20, with six three-pointers) as the standouts and Kendrick Perry orchestrating with 17 points and 9 assists. At 98-80 with three minutes remaining, Txus Vidorreta's team relaxed and Reggiana, led by Jaylen Barford (22), closed the gap with a 0-14 run that only masked the final margin.

FC Porto 64-81 Asisa Joventut

Joventut claimed their first road victory in the competition with a dominant second quarter of 6-26 that decided the game before halftime (23-40). The Penya hit eight three-pointers in the first half and never allowed Porto to get within ten points. Nico Laprovittola led the way with 23 points and six three-pointers, and Alejandro Reyes (12) and Nikola Radičević (11) completed a victory that provides relief for Dani Miret's team after two consecutive losses in the Liga Endesa.

Read also:

• Unicaja and Joventut complete Spanish sweep in the BCL
• Joventut beats Bonn and leads their group (76-74)
• Unicaja wins in Pardubice and remains undefeated in the BCL (63-79)

Juventus Utena 98-95 KVIS Pardubice (Overtime)

The other game in Unicaja's group required overtime in Lithuania. Juventus Utena struggled more than expected against the last-place team, with an unstoppable Robert Bonham scoring 30 points for Pardubice. Tevian Jones (24) and Emmanuel Nzekwesi (20) kept the Lithuanians afloat, improving to 2-1 and consolidating second place in Group E, behind Unicaja.

Telekom Baskets Bonn 101-89 Bnei Herzliya

Bonn bounced back from their loss in Badalona with a hard-fought victory. The game was tied at halftime (48-48) after a second quarter with twelve lead changes, and Herzliya, with Dusty Hannahs (20 points) as their reference point, took the lead for the last time midway through the third quarter. A 10-5 run and eight points from Joel Aminu in that stretch gave the Germans the advantage (75-71), and they sealed it with a 26-18 fourth quarter. Aminu finished with 23 points. Bonn improves to 2-1, one win behind Joventut in Group H.

Salon Vilpas 77-69 Windrose Giants Antwerp

The week's biggest upset came in Turku. Salon Vilpas, which had not won, ended Antwerp's undefeated run despite losing Leland Walker, their best player, to injury. A 22-10 third quarter gave them control, with Karl Chavis (23 points), Jarred Godfrey (21) and DJ Jeffries (13 points and 11 rebounds) leading the way. Vincent Kesteloot, with 15, was the leading scorer for an Antwerp team that had arrived in Finland averaging 101 points.

Falco Szombathely 66-72 AEK

AEK took advantage of Antwerp's stumble to tie them atop Group C. The Greek team, which arrived without a win in their last three games, prevailed in Hungary with Frank Bartley as leading scorer (15 points). At Szombathely, Zoltán Perl scored 18 and Juwan Gray added 13 points and 8 rebounds.

SIG Strasbourg 95-70 Cibona

In the most balanced group, Strasbourg broke the tie with a second-half performance of 50-30. Neftali Difuidi (23 points) and Jaylen Hands (22 points and 8 assists) led the French side, while Lovro Mazalin (19) was the best for Cibona.

Legia Warsaw 79-72 Galatasaray

Legia joined the lead in Group B with their victory at Torwar against Galatasaray. Zach Freemantle scored 23 points and Arguster Daniels nearly posted a triple-double (17 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds). Chimezie Metu (24 points and 9 rebounds) could not prevent the Turks' second loss.