Basketball Champions League

Eight Opening Round games set for Wednesday

Trabzonspor, Salon Vilpas and ALBA BERLIN are among the teams in focus on October 7.

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The Basketball Champions League’s Season 11 Group Stage Opening Round continues on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, with eight games, according to a preview published by the competition on October 6.

Among the matchups listed are Trabzonspor against Nanterre 92 in Group A, AEK BC versus Salon Vilpas in Group C, and SK Slavia Praha ERA NBK against ALBA BERLIN in Group G.

Trabzonspor make their BCL debut

Trabzonspor are set to become the 15th Turkish club to compete in the Basketball Champions League. The competition’s preview says 10 of the previous 14 Turkish teams won their first BCL game.

Nanterre 92 return for their fourth BCL season. The French club has won its opening game in only one of its previous three campaigns, beating Nymburk 81–72 in 2017–18. Nanterre’s 39.8 percent career three-point accuracy is the best in league history among teams with at least 30 games, the preview reports.

Both teams came into the fixture after domestic defeats. Trabzonspor lost 90–81 away to Besiktas, while Nanterre fell 93–83 at Roanne. Troy Caupain and Isaiah Canaan each scored 14 points for Trabzonspor; Xavier Castaneda had 17 for Nanterre.

Salon Vilpas face AEK BC

The game against Salon Vilpas will be AEK BC’s 58th different opponent in the competition, matching Tenerife’s record, according to the BCL. AEK are also set to remain the only club to have played in every season since the tournament began.

Vilpas will be the second Finnish team to compete in the BCL, after Kataja in 2016–17. They are seeking a first opening-game win for a Finnish club. Vilpas qualified after Leland Walker scored 42 points in their final qualifying game against CSM CSU Raiffeisen Oradea.

AEK’s Frank Bartley has scored at least 16 points in each of his last seven BCL home games, the preview says. In their most recent domestic games, AEK beat Maroussi 91–70, with 18 points from Nelly Joseph, while Vilpas defeated Tampereen Pyrinto 97–79 on the road. Walker recorded 27 points and nine assists.

ALBA Berlin meet Slavia Praha

ALBA BERLIN and SK Slavia Praha ERA NBK are set to meet for the third time in the BCL. Berlin won both games in their 2025–26 season series, scoring an average of 91 points across the two wins, each by more than 12 points.

Slavia have won their first home game of a BCL season in five of their last six campaigns, according to the competition preview.

Newsroom

The Basketball Champions League published the matchup notes and statistics on October 6, 2026, ahead of the October 7 games.

Byline

GIS Nobile

Training and mental coaching

Editorial transparency · How this story was created

This article was prepared by the automated Ranko newsroom using tournament data recorded on Ranko Universe at the time of generation. Subsequent updates or corrections may not yet appear here.

This report summarises the results and standings available when it was prepared.

AI-generated editorial illustration. Not a photograph or an official game screenshot.