Round 3 will wrap up with a battle between a couple of red-hot teams
Impressive Gran Canaria, Bahcesehir ready for their big Wednesday clash
Group A will be down to just two teams with perfect records once all is said and done on Wednesday night as Dreamland Gran Canaria (2-0) and Bahcesehir College Istanbul (2-0) – two of its undefeated teams – go head to head in Las Palmas in a mouth-watering Round 3 clash.
The two squads have emerged as title contenders through the first two weeks of the campaign. For Gran Canaria, the 2023 EuroCup champion which also started last season with a 10-0 record, that status is nothing new. Meanwhile, Bahcesehir has entered unchartered territory.
The club from Istanbul is only in its second EuroCup season, having made its competition debut in the 2020-21 campaign. In that post-COVID-19 season, playing games in front of empty crowds across the continent, Bahcesehir won just two of its 10 games.
But the club that seemed to be an also-run just four seasons ago returned to the competition this season with a brand-new image and big goals. Over this past summer, the ambitious organization put together a team that is capable of competing for the EuroCup trophy.
Bahcesehir truly has it all. At the two guard spots, CJ Massinburg and Jaleen Smith – the latter being a veteran of three Turkish Airlines EuroLeague seasons – run the offense and set the tone on defense. Axel Bouteille, a 2022-23 All-EuroCup forward, is the team's first option on offense, while do-it-all veteran forward Mateusz Ponitka is the type of glue guy every coach would love to have.
Under the rims, Buducnost boasts a trio of big men who are capable of wreaking havoc in Tyler Cavanaugh, Marko Simonovic and Tai Odiase, with each player averaging double digits in scoring so far and combining for 36.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game heading into Round 3.
The man making things tick from the sidelines is head coach Dejan Radonjic, who returned to the EuroCup after nine seasons and more than 200 games in the EuroLeague with Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, FC Bayern Munich and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens.
Radonjic's fingerprints on this team are already visible, with Bahcesehir holding its opponents under 70 points in each of the first two games.
However, Gran Canaria – with its experience and winning mentality – is a different beast, especially on its home floor. The Spanish team is averaging 86.5 points (fifth best after two rounds) and shooting a competition-best 42.3% from downtown coming into this game.
Gran Canaria re-invented its backcourt this summer with the additions of Caleb Homesley (14.5 ppg.), Joe Thomasson (7.0 ppg.) and Carlos Alocen (10.0 ppg.), while it also brought in key big bodies in Mike Tobey (12.0 ppg. 4.5 rpg.) and George Conditt (6.0 ppg., 5.5 rpg.).
However, it is still the likes of mainstays Andrew Albicy, Nicolas Brussino and John Shurna who carry key roles on this team, guided by head coach Jaka Lakovic, who has a 33-10 record on Gran Canaria's bench since taking over in the summer of 2022.
And for the third straight season, Gran Canaria is considered a contender in what looks to be one of the strongest and most competitive EuroCup fields ever. But Bahcesehir has also inserted itself in that conversation.
Both teams have impressed in the early going of this season, each in its own way, and now face each other in this big showdown. Which side will still be unbeaten after Round 3? Tune in to EuroLeague TV from 21:00 CEST to find out.