By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]
The surge of home victories in the Quarterfinals of the Basketball Champions League Season X, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, places Unicaja, AEK, Rytas, and La Laguna Tenerife in a commanding position. The Queen’s victory was particularly historic, as they have now won 22 games after facing a double-digit disadvantage, the most of any team in BCL history, while handing Asisa Joventut their first-ever defeat after leading by double-digits.
Eurohoops reviewed the history books to find that since the implementation of the current best-of-three format in 2022, winning the opening game at home has proven to be the most reliable indicator of success, with 75% of all Final Four participants advancing after securing a 1-0 lead in front of their own fans. This home dominance is personified by Unicaja, who have now stretched its unbeaten home run to 21 games, trailing only Tenerife’s record streak of 31 games.
This trend has remained remarkably consistent across the four-year sample, as exactly 75% of the qualifying field in each season between 2022 and 2024 converted a Game 1 home win into a semi-final berth. Even in the most recent 2025 campaign, this probability held firm for the majority of the bracket, with 75% of the advancing teams leveraging their home-court advantage to reach the final stage.
The analysis also highlights that only 12.5% of teams in this span failed to guarantee progression after a 1-0 home start. Just two sides, U-BT Cluj-Napoca in 2022 and ERA Nymburk in 2025, were ultimately eliminated despite their opening wins, falling to MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg and Galatasaray, respectively.
Conversely, only 18.75% of teams since 2022 have successfully reached the Final Four after losing the first game of the series.
Historical trends across individual seasons reflect this dominance:
- 2025: A perfect 100% of teams winning Game 1 advanced to the Final Four. Galata notably stole home-court advantage to sweep Nymburk 2-0. Tenerife and Unicaja both secured 2-0 sweeps over Bertram Derthona Tortona and UnaHotels Reggio Emilia, respectively, with Unicaja eventually being crowned back-to-back champions. AEK Betsson also advanced, overcoming a road loss in Game 2 to beat Nanterre 92 2-1.
- 2024: While 100% of teams won their home Game 1, only 75% advanced. Unicaja swept Promitheas to eventually become champions, UCAM Murcia swept MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, and Lenovo Tenerife beat Tofas 2-1 after a Game 2 road loss. Peristeri bwin provided the lone comeback after losing Game 1 versus Telekom Baskets Bonn on the road.
- 2023: Exactly 75% of Game 1 home winners advanced. Unicaja swept Murcia, while Tenerife and Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem both beat BAXI Manresa and AEK 2-1, respectively, despite dropping Game 2 away. Bonn defied the odds, becoming champion after losing Game 1 at home but winning the next two opposite SIG Strasbourg.
- 2022: Again, 75% of Game 1 home winners reached the semi-finals. Manresa, Hapoel U-NET Holon, and eventual champions Tenerife all secured sweeps. The only outlier was U-BT Cluj-Napoca, who won Game 1 at home before Ludwigsburg claimed the series 2-1.
The competition’s format has evolved significantly since its inception to arrive at this current structure. During the first three seasons, the Playoffs were contested in a traditional home-and-away series based on aggregate scores. This was followed by a shift during the next two campaigns to single-elimination Final Eight tournaments necessitated by global health protocols, before the league eventually adopted the current best-of-three format in 2022 to maximize competitive fairness and home-court value.
With the 2026 series leaders currently holding this historical 75% advantage, the pressure rests on the trailing teams to join the rare 12.5% that have historically overturned a 1-0 deficit to reach the Final Four.
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