By Nikos Varlas / varlas@eurohoops.net
It’s time again! The 3rd gameday of Top16 is ready to start! Four games on Thursday and four more on Friday! Get ready for the giants’ fight between Navarro and Spanoulis, the battle of survival between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Fenerbahce/ Ulker and also the returns of Plaza to Madrid and of Panko to Athens.
Eurohoops game of the week: Barcelona vs Olympiacos
It’s the most glamorous game of the week. The opponents are considered among the favorites to travel to London. Those team have faced each other in two Euroleague finals back in 1997 and in 2010 and have shared the trophies. They had also met last season in Istanbul’s semifinal, Olympiacos got the win and now Barca has the chance for a small revenge and its second Top16 win. Both teams share a 1-1 record and you can understand why this is an easy choice for the game of the week. There is a great balance between those two, even in the numbers. They both score 78.3 ppg and they have almost the same assists, rebounds and turnovers. It could not get much better than this.
HONORABLE MENTION: Siena vs Khimki
Two of the three unbeaten teams of group F are playing against each other. One of them will have a 3-0 record and the other will be defeated for the first time in Top16. Tuscany is in for a treat and this game will be in the microscope all around Europe. Luca Banchi’s Siena is evolving into the team with the best offense in Euroleague, but Khimki for the first time seems to be so balanced between the front line and the back court and produces efficient “smart” basketball. You have to see this game and also for one more reason. Bobby Brown will face a point guard of different breed, Zoran Planinic. It’s euro vs NBA style!
The unknown war: Real Madrid vs Zalgiris
Two traditional Euroleague powerhouses are meeting in Madrid, having faced each other 10 times in the modern history of the competition and there is a balanced 5-5 record between them. Also, Rimantas Kaukenas and Darjus Lavrinovic signed with Real back in 2009, but left quietly.. Mirza Begic and Martynas Pocius are former Zalgiris‘ players who now belongs to Madrid. But the most important detail is something else. Joan Plaza was scrutinized by Madrid’s press after his 2009-10 season on the bench of Real. So far he is having a great season in Lithuania and maybe he has something to prove to his old team. Real will try to play an uptempo game as always, Lithuanians are quite adept to this style and Plaza would love to return to Kaunas as a winner!
Do or… zero: Maccabi T.A. vs Fenerbahce/ Ulker
Both teams started Top16 with a 0-2 record and one of them will be stuck to zero after three gamedays. It’s hard to believe at this point that both of those teams will make it to the play offs, but the winner will be in a better position… The problem is not just the two defeats they already have, but the sloppy basketball they produce that can’t lead to success. In “Nokia Arena” both opponents will be nervous. The home court advantage is traditionally the biggest weapon of Maccabi, but if Fener somehow could control the rhythm, then the pressure upon the hosts can be unbearable. It’s not do or die yet, since Top16 has a long day to go, but do or… zero definitely.
Do you trade? Panathinaikos vs Malaga
Not many days have passed since the first Euroleague “trade”, which was exclusively reported first by Eurohoops, and Andy Panko returns to Athens in order to face Panathinaikos, while James Gist hosts his old team and specially his former coach Jasmin Repesa. It’s a traditional euro-derby with the Greens having a 7-1 record at home against Unicaja. Dimitris Diamantidis is expected to play in this game, the battle of the front lines will be crucial and also the three point accuracy of Jason Kapono and Mike Bramos.
The momentum: Caja Laboral vs Besiktas
Caja Laboral survived the three last gamedays of Euroleague’s regular season and now the tables are turned! The team from Vitoria has a 13 wins streak, 5 of them in Euroleague and coach Zan Tabak is the new king of “Fernando Buesa Arena”. Caja is a lot stronger at home, has the best momentum in Euroleague at this point and the 3-0 record is more than probable. Coach Kunter‘ Besiktas is always ready to fight, but there is a difference in quality in this game, specially in the offense.
Lucky number 7: CSKA Moscow vs Brose Baskets
Besides Caja, powerhouse CSKA Moscow is also riding the wave with 7 straight Euroleague wins. The Russians are hosting Brose Baskets, which they have already won two times in regular season and six times in the total history of their encounters. Ettore Messina will not have available Sonny Weems and also Voronchevic and Erceg. Brose Baskets has gained the respect of the competition but a win in Moscow seems to be out of its league.
The return: Anadolu Efes – Alba Berlin
Efes had a spectacular start of the season, then got into a slump but now it seems that the Turks are returning to form. They have won two big games in a row with a big, fat point difference against Panathinaikos in Euroleague and against Fenerbahce/ Ulker in TBL. The tradition favors Efes which has 7 wins in 8 games against Alba, which has two home defeats in Top16 by Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow. There is a clear favorite in this game and it’s Anadolu Efes.