By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Four teams from each Euroleague regular season group will continue their season in Top16 and only in one case the situation is already sorted out. In Group D Maccabi Tel Aviv, Lokomotiv Kuban, Laboral Kutxa and Panathinaikos have already locked the top four spots and the only question remaining is the final standings.
In Group A there is only one open spot left as Fenerbahce/ Ulker, Barcelona and CSKA Moscow are qualified. Nanterre (3-5) can do the same next week by winning the road game against Budivelnyk, which has only one win in eight games, combined with a defeat of Partizan in Istanbul. If Nanterre can’t reach its fourth win, then Partizan (2-6) can “steal” the last spot by getting a win in its last two games of the season, on the road against Fener (which is also the last match up of Nanterre in regular season) and at home against CSKA Moscow as the Serbs have the tie breaker advantage.
In Group B, Real Madrid (8-0) is the only team which is secured. Anadolu Efes (4-4), EA7 Milano (4-4), Zalgiris Kaunas (3-5), Brose Baskets (3-5) and in theory even Strasbourg (2-6) are still in th game. The next week will be more than important with Milano hosting Brose Baskets and Zalgiris facing Anadolu Efes at Kaunas. Also Brose Baskets hosts Zalgiris in the last gameday of regular season so at this point anything goes. Strasbourg next week will travel to Madrid and then hosts Milano. Of course next week’s results will be decisive, but at this point in a possible tie which will include Anadolu Efes, Brose Baskets has the advantage, having won both games against the Turks.
Finally in Group D, two tickets are still open. Olympiacos (8-0) and Galatasaray (5-3) have advanced, while Unicaja (3-5), Bayern Munich (3-5), Siena (3-5) and Zielona Gora (2-6) will fight till the end. The Polish champs have the most difficult task as they face Galatasaray on the road and then host Olympiacos, while having the tie breaker advantage only in a two way tie with Siena. The Italians travel to Greece next week and then they are hosting Unicaja. That’s the team they are hunting, as they have won in Spain by a point in the first round and they don’t have the advantage in any other tie.
Still, Unicaja can decide its own fate, hosting Bayern Munich next week and then traveling to Siena. Two wins will get them through to Top16, but if they must win only one game from the two left, they can afford to lose by Bayern and they have to beat Siena. Finally Bayern has to commit suicide in order to be in danger. The Germans are facing Unicaja on the road and then they are hosting Galatasaray. Even with two defeats, Bayern can advance as they already have the tie breaker advantage over Siena and Zielona Gora. However in order to be sure they have to either beat Unicaja, or lose with 13 points or less in Spain, as they have won by 14 in the first round, and then beat at home Galatasaray.