A crucial game at SUNEL Arena, with AEK hosting Antwerp as part of Matchday 2 of Group 3 of the BCL (7:00 p.m.), with the sole goal of securing a victory that would leave them alone at the top with a 2-0 record.
The Queen had to work hard in their season opener against Salon Vilpas, but secured a 95-93 victory and got off to a strong start in the tournament. Now, they have one more home game they must win in order to take the lead in the group, which secures a direct spot in the “Round of 16.” As a reminder, the second- and third-place teams will compete in the play-ins to qualify for the Round of 16, while the last-place team is eliminated from the tournament.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Football meets data: The forecast for AEK’s points and standings
Enosis is in good spirits after returning to winning ways in the league with an 84-79 home victory over Mykonos and is looking to build on these positive results. Dragan Sakota has to manage the absences of Toma Ertel and Kison Fizel and will wait until the last minute to see if Frank Bartley will be available, though the odds are not in his favor since he didn’t train normally on Tuesday either.
“We’re continuing our campaign in the BCL. We know that, thanks to our excellent record every year—especially at home—everyone considers us the favorites. And we accept that we’re the favorites, but that doesn’t mean we can’t publicly point out the challenges that every game presents. We have to approach this with caution. Antwerp has a team with capable players at every position, and they’ve averaged 110 points over their last four games!
Their guards stand out; they’re instructed to shoot and play fast-paced basketball. Let’s hope we read the game correctly. “We have some issues we need to manage, but we’ll do what we have to do,” Sakota said in his remarks about today’s matchup.
On the other side, Antwerp also kicked off its BCL campaign with a win, defeating Falco Sobatelli 99-93 at home. In its domestic league—specifically the BNXT League—it has a perfect 3-0 record, but a difficult task awaits it in Athens against AEK, entering today’s game as the underdog.
*photo source: AEK Basketball Club
