Bertram's adventure in the BCL Top 16 begins: the hunt for the quarterfinals begins in Würzburg. Squarcina's words
Bertram Derthona's European journey begins for the third time this season. After the first group stage and the winning series of Play-In, the time has come for the historic debut in the Round of 16 of the Basketball Champions League. Tomorrow at 18:30 in Germany there is the first commitment in Group I of the second phase of the black and white team, opposed to the home team of FIT/One Würzburg at the Tectake Arena of the Bavarian city located halfway between Frankfurt and Nuremberg. For Walter De Raffaele's team it is the first of two consecutive away games that the calendar of this four-team group, also composed of the Greeks AEK Betsson Athens and Promitheas Patrasso Vikos Cola, offers: at the end of the six rounds of round-trip matches, the first two classified will punch the pass for the playoff series of the quarterfinals.
STATE OF FORM Bertram arrives in Bavaria after the mocking home defeat against Reggio Emilia that interrupted the streak of four victories between the championship and the cup. Things are worse for the Germans coached by the Slovenian Sasa Filipovski (for him a half season at Virtus Roma in 2011), who on Sunday at the home of Towers Hamburg suffered their third consecutive defeat in the Bundesliga (68-66) that made them relegate to the current seventh place in the standings with 9 wins and 7 losses, same record as Chemnitz, an opponent faced and beaten twice out of two by Derthona in the inaugural round of the Champions League. The German club, known to the world for having launched Dirk Nowitzki, who was also born in Würzburg, has played the last four games without the American small forward Zac Seljaas, the leader of the team who has never taken the field due to injury in 2025 and the seasonal top scorer of the Bavarians in the BCL with 20.5 points on average. However, Würzburg will still be able to count on a top scorer, Jhivvan Jackson, a Puerto Rican-Panamanian playmaker who leads the entire Bundesliga with 19.2 points per game, to which he adds 17.0 in the European Cup.
CHAMPIONS BALANCE SHEET Tortona has an almost immaculate seasonal record in BCL, seven wins in eight games, a list that includes the recent 2-0 in the Play-In with Peristeri. Würzburg was not forced to make an extra effort, having qualified directly to the Top 16 after winning its group with a 4-2 record ahead of Nanterre, Hapoel Holon and Igokea Aleksandrovac.
WHERE TO SEE IT ON TV The race will be broadcast live on DAZN.
STATEMENTS “Würzburg is a team that has had some problems lately, the main one being the injury to Zac Seljaas, their best scorer but also their symbolic man, both for his charismatic character characteristics but also in terms of his game.”, analyses the assistant coach Iacopo Squarcina. “This injury is going to change their balance and make them a front-wheel drive team with the ability of their little ones, Jhivvan Jackson, Mike Lewis, Bazou Kone and one of the latest arrivals, Tyrese Williams, to create above all for themselves. We will have to be very good at trying to stop their gusts, to be aggressive on their outsides, without leaving the area unguarded so as not to leave the opponents too many second opportunities in attack. Coach Filipovski's game is very controlled, a game that wants to be managed a lot from the bench, but at the same time, having Americans with ballistic skills inside, it becomes a mix of control and flair, with Jackson and Lewis each shooting 7 times per game from three points. Watching the games – continues talking about the opposing environment – and knowing Würzburg as a club that historically has a great past and already a great presence and name at a European level, if only because it is linked to Nowitzki, his is a present support, always on the pitch, so it will have an impact. It will be essential, as it was in the last away match of the championship in Brescia, to be able to play our game without being influenced by external factors such as the opposing fans. We face two consecutive away matches to start the group and getting an immediate victory would give us a good push for the continuation. The greatest hope is to be part of the Champions League elite even more, to try tooth and nail to get through the round”.
