Salon Vilpas Secures First BCL Regular Season Berth After Dramatic Victory

From the start, Vilpas managed to maintain control, contrasting with their earlier matches against Patrioti Levice and Bakken Bears Aarhus. Despite this control, Oradea made a push to tie the game at 96-96 with just five seconds left. Walker then was fouled by Bodie Hume, converting both free throws with 0.8 seconds to go, putting Vilpas ahead.

As Oradea attempted a comeback, Sebastian Lindberg successfully deflected their in-bound pass, sealing the victory for Vilpas. Walker’s impressive stats included 42 points, alongside 6 rebounds and 3 assists, solidifying his status as a standout player. Having scored 62 points in the previous rounds, he broke the record for the most points in a single game in BCL QRT history.

Single-game scoring records for BCL QRT include:

- Leland Walker, Salon Vilpas vs. CSM CSU Raiffeisen Oradea, 20/09/2026, 42 points

- Ivan Almeida, SL Benfica vs. Brose Bamberg, 25/09/2022, 39 points

- Jordan Sears, VEF Riga vs. LANDAU Lions, 14/09/2026, 38 points

Statistically, Vilpas led for 39:08 minutes, in stark contrast to Oradea’s 14 seconds, and excelled in rebounding with a count of 43 to 35, despite committing 17 turnovers.

Oradea will not return to the BCL Regular Season 10 years after their initial participation, although five of their players—Kris Richard (23), Quincy Guerrier (17), David Nichols (15), Josh Jefferson (14), and Malik Osborne (10)—scored in double digits.

Vilpas became the second Finnish team to reach the BCL Regular Season, following Kataja's qualification in 2016-17, all while eliminating a team coached by Mikko Riipinen, a Swedish-Finnish coach.

Moving forward, Vilpas will face AEK BC, Falco KC Szombathely, and Windrose Giants Antwerp in Group C of the Regular Season.