By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
It’s crunch time in Euroleague’s regular season with just two weeks left. Ten teams have already secured their place in Top16, six will follow them and only in Group D the situation is already decided.
In Group A, Nanterre and Partizan are fighting for the fourth place. In Group B, only Real Madrid is safe and this is a more than crucial week. In Group C, Olympiacos and Galatasaray are in and Siena is trying to stage a come back and steal the spot of either Bayern or Unicaja Malaga which face each other in Spain. Seven games will be played on Thursday and 5 more game will be played on Friday.
Game of the week: Unicaja Malaga – FC Bayern
This time the clash of powerhouses in Group A is not deciding much. On the contrary, this is probably the biggest regular season game for the Spaniards and the Germans. Both have a 3-5 record, the winner will get the advantage for the Top16 qualification and the loser will have to fight until the last regular season game in order to continue the season in Euroleague. Unicaja not only has to win, but will try to cut the gap of its -14 points defeat (82-68) in Munich. Bayern after 4 straight defeats will try to react with a road win.
Still, the hosts have their backs against the wall, with Siena having also the same record (3-5) and waiting for them in Florence next week. On the contrary Bayern will host already qualified Galatasaray. It’s a crucial game and a defeat may have a heavy price for both teams.
No one can predict the outcome. Both teams play uptempo basketball, they like 10 seconds offenses, so it will be a key to control the rhythm and having shooting efficiency. Malaga still has to prove that can endure the pressure and Bayern has to be more focused in defense, after losing 105-103 to Olympiacos at home last week.
Honorable mention: Actually two of them…
We should have picked one game, but allow us to change a little big our habits. We have to pick two games from the same group, as both duels between Zalgiris Kaunas vs Anadolu Efes and EA7 Milano vs Brose Baskets are equally important. The Italians and the Turks have a 4-4 record and with a win they can seal their qualification.
Brose Baskets and Zalgiris Kaunas are at 3-5 and will try to get the advantage before facing each other next week at Bamberg. The four teams are fighting for three Top16 spots.
The Germans champions after their road win in Istanbul against Efes are finally clicking, but nothing is yet decided and Zalgiris has a +10 points advantage from their first round win in Kaunas. We have to consider EA7 Milano and Efes – even on the road – the two favorites, but Zalgiris and Brose Baskets are also here to stay and will not give up anything.
Under Theo’s watch: CSKA Moscow – Barcelona
One more big game in the full of contenders Group A, in which Fenerbahce/ Ulker can lock the top spot of the standings by beating Partizan. It’s an unimportant detail, since the 1st and the 3rd team of the Group will end up in the same Top16 Group. CSKA Moscow (5-3) hosts Barcelona (6-2) with the Catalans coming from one more mediocre game and a defeat by Unicaja in Liga Endesa.
CSKA’s woes were once again evident in the home defeat by Fenerbahce, so both teams have something to prove. In order to avoid third place, coach Messina’s team will have to win by 10 (after losing in Spain 79-70) and have the tie breaker advantage. Next week, Barcelona hosts Budivelnyk and CSKA Moscow travels to Belgrade in order to face Partizan.
In case of a defeat or a win with less than 9 points, CSKA will end up in the same Top16 group with Fener and also defending champions Olympiacos. So the motive is big for both opponents and there is no favorite, since both teams had many ups and downs so far in the season. The game will be held in the presence of Theodoros Papaloukas who will be honored by CSKA Moscow for his contribution to the club.
Cinderella story: Budivelnik – Nanterre
In theory Budivelnyk still has a chance, but with a 1-7 record Top16 qualification seems only a dream. On the contrary French champions Nanterre (3-5) are going to Ukraine in order to complete their run and be officially crowned as this season’s Cinderella. It will be a great success for French basketball just months after the gold medal in Eurobasket 2013.
Nanterre is a solid and tough team, but Budivelnyk has no pressure at this point and that makes them dangerous at home. The French even without winning can end up in Top16, if Partizan loses both its two regular season games left. However, Nanterre has proven until now that it can get the job done, they did it on the road against Barcelona and they can do it one more time.