PGE Start Lublin ended its BCL campaign after the first qualifying match. As expected, UCAM Murcia emerged victorious over the Polish runners-up.

UCAM Murcia finished last season in 9th place, which qualified them for the Champions Basketball League qualifiers. This is no surprise, as the Spanish ACB is by far the best league in Europe. Four of its representatives play in the EuroLeague, and another four directly in the Champions Basketball League. But UCAM Murcia's strength shouldn't be considered solely in the context of last season. A year earlier, the team sensationally finished runner-up to the Spanish Championship, eliminating teams like Valencia Basket and Unicaja Malaga in the playoffs. They comfortably lost to Real Madrid in the final, but the silver medal at the Spanish Championship was still the biggest basketball sensation on the Iberian Peninsula in recent years.

Comparing the talent levels of the two teams' players, or their budgets, is pointless. Despite these deficits, Wojciech Kamiński's team struggled to hold their own against the clear favorites. The score was relatively even for two quarters, although the Spaniards were often slightly ahead. Twierdza Lublin fell in the third quarter, when Murcia stepped up the pace and also had strong offensive rebounds. However, the key to victory was good organization and team basketball. Start's play clearly lacked this. At times, it was painful to watch the Lublin team struggle in individual moves and take shots from difficult positions. This isn't the same team that delighted in sharing the ball in previous games. By the fourth quarter, Murcia had already controlled the score and showed Wojciech Kamiński that he still has a lot of work ahead of him to develop the right patterns in both defense and offense.

The highlight of Saturday's matchup was Tevin Mack, who scored a whopping 26 points. He was ably supported by Bryan Griffin, who completed a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Toni Nakić stood out for his opponents, scoring 14 points.

It's worth noting that after Saturday's defeat, PGE Start was relegated to the FIBA ​​Europe Cup. There, the Lublin team was drawn into Group A, where their opponents will be Spain's UCAM Murcia and Bulgaria's Rilski Sportist. The third opponent will be the better of the pairing Kangoeroes Basket Mechelen (Belgium) and KK Bosna BH Telecom (Bosnia and Herzegovina). It's also worth noting that Start's opponents may still change, depending on the results of the Champions League qualifying round.

UCAM Murcia – Polish Sugar Start Lublin 100:84 (27:17, 21:25, 28:21, 24:21)

Murcia: Cacok 17, Nakic 14 (4x3), De Julius 7 (1x3), Ennis 7, Raieste 5 and Cate 15, Forrest 13 (1x3), Falk 11 (2x3), Radebaugh 8 (1x3), Sant-Roos 3.

Start: Mack 26 (5x3), Hawkins 13 (1x3), Griffin 13 (1x3), Krasuski 3 (1x3), Ford 0 and Tennyson 14 (2x3), Wright 13, Szymański 2, B. Pelczar 0, Put 0.

Judges: Krejic (Slovenia), Marques (Portugal) and Velikov (Bulgaria). Attendance: 300.

Other results: Falco Szmobathey – FC Porto 79:83 * Fribourg Olympic – Elan Chalon 80:107 * Karhu Basket Kauhajoki – BC Juventus Utena 89:103.

Semi-finals: Porto – Elan * Juventus – Murcia. Both matches will take place on September 22.