By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague adopted the best-of-five format for playoff series in 2009. Out of the 64 series since, 15 of them have gone the distance. To be exact, 13 have been decided already and two more will be decided this week.
The latest Game 5 schedule consists of top-seeded FC Barcelona facing eighth-placed FC Bayern Munich on Tuesday and second-ranked Olympiacos versus seventh-seeded AS Monaco on Wednesday.
Forget the complicated math. In this case, every single winning side played Game 5 at home. This week we will find out if that record is ripe to be broken. For now, let’s recall the Top 5 Game 5s in competition history on our trip down memory lane.
WHO: (G1) Real Madrid – (H2) Power Electronics Valencia
WHERE: Madrid Caja Magica
WHEN: 7 April 2011
WHY: 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 3-2
Coming off breaks on both ends – Valencia prevailing 81-75 in Game 2 at Madrid and Los Blancos recovering the home-court advantage with a 75-66 victory in Game 3, Game 5 was must-see. A couple of Spanish clubs ready to battle it out for a spot in the Final Four. Valencia built a double-digit lead and was in control through the first half, but Real stormed back after the break. The hosts went up 43-42 early in the second half and 60-51 early in the fourth quarter. After Valencia rallied to 62-58, Real scored the last 6 points to seal the win.
FINAL SCORE: 66-58
TOP SCORERS: Carlos Suarez 12, Clay Tucker 12 – Dusko Savanovic 19