By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The Top 16 ride in the 7DAYS EuroCup is getting to be a wild one. While the top teams are performing as expected, there have been quite of few surprises, one coming from Turkey, in Tofas Bursa, and also a huge downfall from MoraBanc Andorra.
Can the favorites go all the way to the finals and next season’s Turkish Airlines EuroLeague? It seems that with the notable exception of Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, which was eliminated in the regular season, the main contenders are on track to do so.
1. Segafredo Virtus Bologna 3-1(-)
They have emerged as the top favorite since the previous edition of the power rankings and nothing happened that could change this perception. Yes, they are tied with Partizan on top of the Group E standings and they have lost in Belgrade, but they are hosting Partizan this week and can get the advantage over them for the first place.
2. Unicaja Malaga 3-1 (-)
They are also currently tied with Tofas with a 3-1 record in Group H, but they are also hosting the Turkish side this week and they have lost just by two points in Bursa. Any way you put it, Unicaja still has the upper hand and, given their experience in the competition, it’s obvious that they can go all the way.
3. Partizan NIS Belgrade 3-1 (+1)
Even if they lose to Virtus, they are on the verge of making it to the playoffs and they have probably the strongest home court of the competition. That makes even the competition finals a visible target for them. Not bad at all for the Serbs, who are proving this season that they are ready again for the top European level.
4. UNICS Kazan 2-2 (+3)
After many roster changes, UNICS is still trying to figure things out and live up to its real potential. However, they have the tie-breaker against Galatasaray in Group G where all teams are tied at 2-2, a home win this week against Rytas by six points, combined by a defeat of Galatasaray to Monaco, will give them the ticket to the playoffs. They should be also considered title contenders.
5. Promitheas Patras 2-2 (+1)
All teams are also tied in Group F and Promitheas also made a ton of changes to the roster, losing Octavius Ellis, their starting big man, to Olympiacos last week. Still even without him, thanks to a monster game by Loukas Mavrokefalidis (28 points, 13 rebounds) they prevailed on the road over Umana Reyes Venice by 18 points. As a result, they have the tie-breaker over arguably their main contender for the top of the group standings. A home win over Germani Brescia Leonessa by seven points, combined with a win by Venice over Oldenburg, can be enough for them to make it to the playoffs.
6. Umana Reyer Venice 2-2 (-3)
Venice lost badly to Promitheas, but they are still masters of their destiny if they perform as they did in the regular season, in which they had an 8-2 record. They are hosting Oldenburg – by whom they were defeated by 11 points (98-87) – and then face Germani Brescia Leonessa on the road. If they get to wins, they are getting the tickets to the playoffs.