By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
Time flies! How did 30 rounds pass so quickly? Only four more remain before the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs! Heading into the final stretch, Eurohoops presents the sixth and final edition of the Power Rankings.
Status, dynamics, form, and importance of results are the criteria for the classification of the 18 teams, eight of which will continue in the postseason with the ultimate goal of winning the prestigious trophy.
Olympiacos Piraeus, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and AS Monaco have already secured qualification and are on the verge of getting the home-court advantage for the quarterfinals series, while FC Bayern Munich, Panathinaikos Athens, ALBA Berlin, and LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne have all been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
#18 LDLC ASVEL VILLEURBANNE
Previous ranking: 16 (-2)
Record: 8-22
Home: 4-12
Away: 4-10
Offense-Defense: 74.7-80.7
ASVEL at this point has little to hope for. With nine consecutive defeats, it is patiently waiting for the end of the year. It’s just hard to have ASVEL in any other position in the ranking than the last one where it also was two Power Rankings editions ago.
Remaining schedule: @ Olympiacos 29/3 | vs. Red Star 31/3 | @ Baskonia 6/4 | @ ALBA Berlin 13/4
#17 FC BAYERN MUNICH
Previous ranking: 13 (-4)
Record: 11-19
Home: 8-7
Away: 3-12
Offense-Defense: 76.7-80.2
Two defeats by large margins (-28 by Olympiacos and -25 by EA7 Emporio Armani Milan) and another one in the German derby (75-76 by ALBA Berlin) pushed Bayern out of playoff contention. Prestige and the chance to cause an upset that may be a factor in the playoff races are all Bayern has left to play for this season.
Remaining schedule: @ Panathinaikos 28/3 | vs. Monaco 31/3 | @ Real Madrid 6/4 | vs. Zalgiris Kaunas 4/14
#16 ALBA BERLIN
Previous ranking: 18 (+2)
Record: 9-21
Home: 5-11
Away: 4-10
Offense-Defense: 80.1-84.9
Its first winning streak since January has allowed ALBA Berlin to finally break away from the bottom of the standings. Both results had special significance: Its first-ever EuroLeague win over Bayern (75-76) and beating the back-to-back champion, Anadolu Efes (95-93).
Remaining schedule: @ Baskonia 28/3 | @ Barcelona 30/3 | @ Panathinaikos 7/4 | vs. ASVEL 13/4
#15 PANATHINAIKOS ATHENS
Previous ranking: 15 (-)
Record: 10-20
Home: 7-8
Away: 3-12
Offense-Defense: 79.1-82.8
Without a goal from very early on, Panathinaikos sees the remaining games as an opportunity to improve in view of the playoffs in the Greek League. It seems unlikely that the Greens will play much of a role in others’ playoff races since they play on the road against both Olympiacos and Partizan and playing away from OAKA has not been its thing in recent years.
Remaining schedule: vs. Bayern Munich 28/3 | @ Olympiacos 31/3 | vs. ALBA Berlin 7/4 | @ Partizan 4/14
#14 VIRTUS SEGAFREDO BOLOGNA
Previous ranking: 12 (-2)
Record: 13-17
At home: 8-8
Away: 5-9
Offense-Defense: 78.3-81.8
Defeats, consecutive or not, have accumulated to a dangerously big number for Virtus Bologna, and its return to the Euroleague will not translate to a return to the playoffs. In any case, despite a strong roster, Virtus is one of the five teams that have not had a place in the top eight all season; Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, FC Bayern Munich, Panathinaikos Athens and ALBA Berlin are the others.
Remaining schedule: @ Maccabi Tel Aviv 3/28 | @ Anatolou Efes 30/3 | @ Valencia 6/4 | vs. Armani Milan 13/4