Spanish Teams Eye BCL Conquest: "Everyone Wants to Win It, the Level Is Incredibly High"

Joventut, Surne Bilbao Basket, UCAM Murcia, and Unicaja launch a new adventure in the Basketball Champions League, which enters its eleventh season as a consolidated continental reference and maintains one of its hallmarks: rewarding performance and sporting meritocracy. Following Rytas Vilnius's triumph at the Final Four in Badalona, the four Spanish clubs aim for the top to return to Spain a trophy the country has won in six of its first ten editions: "Everyone wants to win the BCL."

The field of participants will face a minimum of 194 games over 8 months with 32 teams starting the Regular Season. The champion of each of the 8 groups will qualify directly to the Round of 16, while the second and third place teams will play a best-of-three play-in to earn a spot. In this new phase with four groups of four teams, the top two qualify for quarterfinals ahead of the Final Four.

Kaiser Gates (UCAM Murcia): "We Want to Win the BCL, It's Our Objective"

Kaiser Gates faces the new season with a clear objective: compete for everything. "We want to win everything we can. We want to win the entire competition if possible. That's always our objective," says the UCAM Murcia player. "There are many teams with tremendous talent and every year the bar of the competition rises," he adds.

Gates also highlights the growth of the Basketball Champions League and the level of its participants. "I think the BCL does great work promoting its competition and in terms of marketing and social media the exposure is tremendous, highlighting the work of the players and teams. There are great teams participating and I think it's a great competition to be part of."

He also doesn't hide a wish: "It would be great to be able to host the Final Four in Murcia."

Luke Petrasek (Surne Bilbao Basket): "The BCL Has an Incredible Reputation Throughout Europe"

Bilbao Basket takes another step in Europe this season following their success in the FIBA Europe Cup. For Luke Petrasek, that experience can be a good foundation to face a more demanding competition now. "Last year our team had an objective and it was to win the championship. That kept us disciplined throughout the season," he explains. "I'm very happy we were able to achieve it. Now we make the jump to the BCL and I think achieving success again would be incredible for our team. We have many high-level players and we want to keep winning games."

Petrasek, who already knows the competition from a previous stint, is very clear about the dimension the tournament has reached. "The Basketball Champions League has an incredible reputation throughout Europe. Everyone knows that the teams here compete at the highest level."

"Everything surrounding the competition, including the marketing, is first-class. The tournament is very well organized and that's why teams want to be here. Having success in the BCL gives a lot of recognition to the club and the players. The BCL has a very high reputation in Europe, everything surrounding it from the sporting side to marketing is of the highest level and the organization is very well done. That's why all teams want to be here."

The American also acknowledges that the jump from the FIBA Europe Cup will be significant. "The competition will be better, that's no secret. But playing in the ACB you face many Champions League teams and that gives you an idea of the level and intensity."

Eli Ndiaye (Joventut Badalona): "The BCL Is a Competition That Everyone Wants to Win"

Penya begins a new European adventure with maximum ambition and Eli Ndiaye makes it clear: "The Basketball Champions League is a competition that everyone wants to win."

The Joventut player faces this new stage with maximum ambition in all competitions: "For me everything is a challenge. I came to Penya to try to win everything and compete at the highest level. The Supercopa, the BCL, the ACB... everything we can win. I'm ready for all the challenges."

Joventut also arrives at a competition it knows well from the outside, having hosted the last Final Four in Badalona. This season it wants to go from host to protagonist with Ricky Rubio leading the way: "I'm very motivated and hopeful about what we can achieve. There are things I can't control but I can enjoy basketball. And here with Ricky, we all know how great he is, an enormous player who can change games."

Willy Hernangómez (Unicaja Málaga): "Everyone Tells Me Wonderful Things About the BCL"

Unicaja returns to a competition that has marked much of its recent years. Champion in 2024 and 2025 and third place last season, the Málaga side returns among teams with aspirations with a renewed project and a highly motivated Willy Hernangómez eager to discover a new experience: "Everyone tells me wonderful things about the Basketball Champions League."

"The level is very high, you only have to check the list of participating teams with many big names throughout Europe. Unicaja has won two in a row, which is not easy, and last year it came close to a third consecutive BCL," says the center.

The Spanish international arrives in Málaga with the ambition to extend the club's recent success in the competition: "We want to start well, keep growing and improving and, hopefully, win it again for our fans."

"I'm happy, enjoying myself, very motivated and eager to help the team and all my teammates in everything I can," he explains.