Basketball Champions League Week 1 Starting Five — best performances from Round 1

The Basketball Champions League opened its 2026-2027 season with 14 games on October 6 and 7, 2026, and five individual performances stood above the rest. Willy Hernangomez of Unicaja posted the highest PIR of the entire round at 39, while Khalif Battle of Cibona Zagreb dropped 32 points with a 34 PIR. Those two anchor a Round 1 starting five rounded out by Marcus Keene, Gytis Radzevicius and Adama Sanogo, each selected on their statistical line from the round.

Marcus Keene, point guard

At point guard, Marcus Keene ran Trabzonspor's offense to a home win with 24 points, 6 assists and 2 rebounds, shooting 4-of-6 from 3-points and 5-of-9 on 2-point attempts without a single turnover. He finished at a 26 PIR and a plus-17 on the night, a clean, mistake-free line that fueled Trabzonspor's victory.

Khalif Battle, shooting guard

Battle was the highest scorer of the five players selected. The Cibona Zagreb guard shot 6-of-7 from deep and 5-of-8 on 2s while going 4-of-5 from the free-throw line, adding 5 assists, a rebound, a steal and just one turnover on his way to 32 points and a 34 PIR, with a plus-13 mark in Cibona Zagreb's win.

Gytis Radzevicius, small forward

At small forward, Gytis Radzevicius did a bit of everything for Rytas Vilnius, going for 21 points and 12 rebounds with 3 assists and a steal. He hit 2-of-4 from 3-points, 5-of-7 on 2-point attempts and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line while committing 2 turnovers, posting a 31 PIR and a plus-15 in Rytas Vilnius' win.

Adama Sanogo, power forward

Adama Sanogo takes the power forward spot despite finishing on the losing side. The Hapoel Holon forward put up 22 points and 13 rebounds, going 0-of-3 from 3-points, 7-of-11 on 2-pointers and 8-of-10 from the line, adding 2 assists, a steal, a block and a turnover for a 33 PIR, the second-highest of the round. His team still lost, with Cholet coming away as the winner of that game, and Sanogo finished at a minus-23, but the stat line was too strong to leave off the list.

Willy Hernangomez, center

Hernangomez closes it out at center with the round's standout line. The Unicaja big man went 8-of-8 on 2-point attempts, added 7-of-8 free throws, and finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 turnovers. His 39 PIR is the highest of any player across all 14 games of Round 1, and his plus-29 plus-minus came in a Unicaja win.

Five players, five teams, two days of opening games. With the Basketball Champions League's 2026-2027 season now underway, Round 1's statistical leaders set an early bar that the rest of the regular season will have to match.