The Braunschweig Lions have missed out on their first appearance in the Basketball Champions League. In the first qualifying round, they were defeated by Turkish first division team Bursaspor Basketbol.
The game got off to a terrible start for the Lions. The Turks pulled ahead by seven points (21:14) in the first quarter. After closing the gap in the second quarter, Braunschweig finally lost touch before halftime.
With a minute and a half to go, the Lower Saxony team even had a chance at a comeback. New signing and top scorer Joshua Obiesie (20 points) brought Braunschweig back to within five points at the end of an 11:3 run with just under 90 seconds left to play. However, the last word went to former Oldenburg player Artur Konontsuk, who scored the final point 17 seconds before the end of the game (81:74). . The Estonian finished the game with 17 points, while teammate Bryan Crawford contributed 19 points (6/8).
This means that Braunschweig will once again be chasing baskets in the FIBA Europe Cup next season. Last season, they finished the group stage in second place, which was not enough to advance.
