AEK, Holon, and Sassari qualify for Basketball Champions League Play-Offs
Hapoel Unet-Credit Holon will make their maiden trip to the Basketball Champions League Play-Offs after claiming first place in Group A thanks to a statement win at Cholet and AEK, who were victorious at Tsmoki-Minsk, took second place behind the Israeli team.
Meanwhile, in Group A, Dinamo Sassari defeated Galatasaray in Istanbul to erase the effect of the Bakken Bears’ famous victory over Iberostar Tenerife. It will accompany the Spanish team into the Play-Offs.
Cholet 71-89 Hapoel Unet-Credit Holon — Group C
Hapoel Unet-Credit Holon, who had missed out on the BCL Play-Offs two seasons in a row, delivered a masterful defensive performance on Wednesday to beat Cholet 89-71 on the road and book a trip to the Play-Offs as Group C winners.
The way things played out in the other game in the group, with AEK beating Tsmoki-Minsk, it would have been enough for Holon to avoid losing to Cholet by 10 points or more.
Nonetheless, the Israeli team used a mini-run late in the second quarter to make absolutely clear that they were in no mood to speculate.
Tsmoki-Minsk 90-95 AEK — Group C
AEK have progressed to the BCL Play-Offs for the fifth time in as many seasons and will do as the second-placed team in Group C, after holding off Tsmoki-Minsk 95-90 on the road behind Keith Langford’s season-high 32 points.
The Greek team finished tied with Hapoel Unet-Credit Holon at 4-2, but the Israeli team topped the group courtesy of their head-to-head advantage, while Minsk finished at 2-4, tied with Cholet in the standings.
Galatasaray 81-92 Dinamo Sassari — Group A
Dinamo Sassari made the Play-Offs for the second year in a row after prevailing 92-81 over Galatasaray on the road to edge out Bakken Bears for second place in Group A.
Spissu paced Sassari with 23 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and Bendzius finished with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. Daryl Macon finished with 23 points for Galatasaray in defeat.
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Bakken Bears 96-78 Iberostar Tenerife — Group A
Bakken Bears registered a historic Danish basketball 96-78 victory over former BCL champions Iberostar Tenerife. Still, there were no celebrations in Aarhus as it didn’t prove enough to earn them a spot in the Play-Offs spot.
Dinamo Sassari’s win over Galatasaray in Istanbul meant that Bakken, who finished at 3-3 in the Group A standings, took third place behind the Italian team.