By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The 2021-22 EuroLeague regular season was concluded Wednesday (13/4) with Maccabi Tel Aviv‘s win over Fenerbahce Beko. The result determined the final spots of Maccabi and Anadolu Efes in the standings and set them against Real Madrid and Olimpia Milano respectively.
In the other two already decided matchups, top-placed Barcelona will play vs. Bayern Munich while playoffs returnee Olympiacos Piraeus will face AS Monaco that managed to make the postseason in its first-ever participation in EuroLeague.
Maccabi’s victory put them at the fifth pot and sent them to the hands of fourth-seeded Real Madrid. The Blancos, who are nowhere near the form they were in the first leg of the regular season, will have homecourt advantage and will try to get back to the Final Four after getting eliminated by Efes last season.
For Maccabi, this playoff appearance marks the team’s return to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015, when the Israeli side was swept by Fenerbahce. Their previous appearance in the Final Four took place in 2014 and was combined with winning the EuroLeague championship.
The battle between Milano and Efes is arguably the most open-ended of all quarterfinal clashes. The Italian side claimed homecourt advantage for a second straight season and it remains to be seen if they can also make back-to-back trips to the Final Four amid injury and COVID-19 problems.
Efes went 0 – 2 against Milano in the regular season but the playoffs are a completely different story.
Playoff Matchups and Schedule (all hours are GMT):
GAME 1
19 APRIL 2022 21:00 19:00 FC BARCELONA – FC BAYERN MUNICH
20 APRIL 2022 21:00 19:00 REAL MADRID – MACCABI PLAYTIKA TEL AVIV
19APRIL 2022 19:00 17:00 AX ARMANI EXCHANGE MILAN – ANADOLU EFES ISTANBUL
20 APRIL 2022 21:00 18:00 OLYMPIACOS PIRAEUS – AS MONACO
GAME 2
21 APRIL 2022 20:00 18:00 FC BARCELONA – FC BAYERN MUNICH
22 APRIL 2022 20:45 18:45 REAL MADRID – MACCABI PLAYTIKA TEL AVIV
21 APRIL 2022 20:30 18:30 AX ARMANI EXCHANGE MILAN – ANADOLU EFES ISTANBUL
22 APRIL 2022 19:00 16:00 OLYMPIACOS PIRAEUS – AS MONACO
GAME 3
27 APRIL 2022 20:30 18:30 FC BAYERN MUNICH – FC BARCELONA
26 APRIL 2022 21:05 18:05 MACCABI PLAYTIKA TEL AVIV – REAL MADRID
26 APRIL 2022 20:30 17:30 ANADOLU EFES ISTANBUL – AX ARMANI EXCHANGE MILAN
27 APRIL 2022 21:00 19:00 AS MONACO – OLYMPIACOS PIRAEUS
GAME 4 (if needed)
29 APRIL 2022 20:45 18:45 FC BAYERN MUNICH – FC BARCELONA
28 APRIL 2022 21:05 18:05 MACCABI PLAYTIKA TEL AVIV – REAL MADRID
28 APRIL 2022 20:30 17:30 ANADOLU EFES ISTANBUL – AX ARMANI EXCHANGE MILAN
29 APRIL 2022 21:00 19:00 AS MONACO – OLYMPIACOS PIRAEUS
GAME 5 (if needed)
TBD FC BARCELONA – FC BAYERN MUNICH
TBD REAL MADRID – MACCABI PLAYTIKA TEL AVIV
TBD AX ARMANI EXCHANGE MILAN – ANADOLU EFES ISTANBUL
TBD OLYMPIACOS PIRAEUS – AS MONACO