Real Madrid closed its regular-season campaign with a win at KK Partizan, its sixth in a row in the EuroLeague, and the team seems to have hit top gear entering the postseason.

Rampant Real Madrid has Chus Mateo brimming with confidence 

[Real Madrid](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/real-madrid/mad/) is heading into the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague postseason galvanized by six successive wins which have catapulted the former champs into the play-in picture, with a chance of squeezing directly into the playoffs if one of Friday’s results goes the Spanish giant’s way.

Real needs either traditional rival FC Barcelona or Anadolu Efes Istanbul to lose their respective fixtures in order to sneak into the top six, but even if that doesn’t happen Real will enter the Play-In Showdown with its tail up after a fine run.

Thursday’s [comeback 89-91 win at Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/real-madrid-continues-to-be-partizans-nemesis/) epitomized Real’s die-hard attitude as the 11-time EuroLeague champion put together a 4-15 run in the home straight to erase an 85-76 deficit inside a packed Belgrade Arena.

The result had head coach Chis Mateo purring with delight at the postgame press conference, as the 56-year-old tactician hailed his team’s resilience. Having guided Real to the championship in 2023 after he took over from the iconic Pablo Laso, Mateo is now hoping that *Los Blancos* can defy the odds and add another piece of silverware to their trophy cabinet.

“We did a great job to win our last six games and now we’re ready for the postseason,” he said. “We will fight hard to achieve the goal, which is to win one more title.

“We’re playing much better as a team than we did at the star of the season, as changing half the roster requires time and patience for the team to gel. We’re doing a better job at both ends of the court and we’re reaching the desired level. “

Mateo elaborated that Real were ill-prepared for Partizan’s big men knocking down shots from downtown but praised the way his men were able to deal with adversity and claw their way back into the contest when the chips were down.

“Their big guys \[Aleksej\] Pokusevski and \[Brandon\] Davies scored six threes between them and that created problems for us. We never lost faith and kept fighting all the way, having been able to get back into the game in the closing stages,” Mateo emphasized.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">6⃣ jugadores en dobles dígitos de anotación vs <a href="https://twitter.com/PartizanBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PartizanBC</a>. <a href="https://t.co/EoAIxIVsq1">pic.twitter.com/EoAIxIVsq1</a></p>&mdash; Real Madrid Basket (@RMBaloncesto) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto/status/1910453209262358795?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Partizan and its head coach Zeljko Obradovic now face a tough stretch in the regional ABA League in a bid to secure pole position ahead of the playoffs, having lost six of their last seven EuroLeague games. The home straight meltdown derailed Partizan’s postseason challenge and Obradovic acknowledged that defect by Real pretty much summed up the club’s campaign in Europe’s premier club competition.

“We had a great opportunity to win the game but unfortunately we made some bad decisions on offense down the stretch,” said the winner of a record nine EuroLeague titles with five different clubs.

“It’s the story of the season, as we’ve let a fair few wins slip from our grasp in the closing stages, when we were ahead and appeared to be in control. On the other hand, Real has peaked and I see them as one of the top three contenders to win the title.”

Game News

The winner of a record 11 EuroLeague titles hit top gear ahead of the competition’s business end

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade v Real Madrid (2025-04-10T18:30:00.000Z)

Real Madrid has now won seven straight games against KK Partizan, with Edy Tavares scoring at the buzzer to deliver a crucial victory for Los Blancos in the postseason race.

Real Madrid continues to be Partizan’s nemesis

[Real Madrid](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/real-madrid/mad/) celebrated yet another [memorable win against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/real-edges-partizan-89-91-moves-closer-to-playoff-berth/) in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, triumphing 89-91 to pile more misery on coach Zeljko Obradovic’s men in the final round of the regular season.

The two teams could not have ended their regular-season campaigns in more contrasting fashion, as Real ground out a sixth successive win while Partizan suffered a sixth defeat in its last seven games.

It was also Real’s seventh straight win against Partizan, with the run beginning in the 2023 playoffs when there was so much more at stake than on Friday night in the imposing Belgrade Arena.

Down 2-0, Real turned the series on its head with three successive wins to reach the Final Four before eventually winning a record-extending 11th title In Europe’s premier club competition.

The Spanish club went on to complete regular-season sweeps of Partizan this term and last, while the Serbian side missed out on the play-in for the second successive time.

Trailing 85-76 in the home stretch, Real dug deep to force the final twist in the last few minutes as [Facundo Campazzo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/facundo-campazzo/005928/) and [Walter Tavares](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/) came up big in crunch time, the latter sinking a game-winning floater at the buzzer.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">👊 ¡HASTA EL FINAL SIEMPRE! 👊 <a href="https://t.co/YokhxYO2d7">pic.twitter.com/YokhxYO2d7</a></p>&mdash; Real Madrid Basket (@RMBaloncesto) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto/status/1910444860731252924?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Campazzo, who racked up 12 points, 7 assists and 3 steals to earn the player of the game accolade, acknowledged that an intimidating atmosphere inside Belgrade Arena had inspired Real to stage an impressive late comeback.   

“It’s a big one for our confidence,” the Argentine playmaker said in his postgame comments. “The environment motivated me as we played with a lot of fire and hustle until the end. We were poor in the third quarter but we made the right decisions in the important moments.”

Tavares added: “I am super happy to help my team and this is a great win for us.”

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">😍 ¡Esa sensación...! 🙌 <a href="https://t.co/ujBlj0KTTA">pic.twitter.com/ujBlj0KTTA</a></p>&mdash; Real Madrid Basket (@RMBaloncesto) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMBaloncesto/status/1910439198827700430?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The outcome pleased coach Chus Mateo, too, and he will now hope that other results go Real’s way on Friday to propel his team into the top six, which would mean an automatic playoff berth. If not, Real is headed for the play-in with a good chance of making the business end of Europe’s premier club competition.

“It was a tough game and we were in trouble when their big guys started to score threes,” Mateo said. “We believed until the end though and never stopped thinking that we can win. We’ve got a big heart and we play with enormous pride, as it’s not easy to win six in a row in the EuroLeague.”

In a tight game where thin lines made the difference, Real thrived in the paint and won the battle of the boards 44-33, having collected 16 offensive rebounds to Partizan’s 10 as Tavares and [Serge Ibaka](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/serge-ibaka/003583/) bossed the area close to the basket.

Tavares racked up 14 points and 7 boards while veteran Ibaka posted 11 points and 10 rebounds, tracing the path to a tough road win which will boost Real’s confidence ahead of the upcoming challenges. 

The Spanish giant notched its seventh win in a row against its Serbian rival in dramatic fashion

Paris Basketball's debut season in the EuroLeague couldn't have gone much better, but on Friday night it will discover whether it finishes in the top six or has to play in the play-in.

Paris finished regular season on high, now awaits final results 

[Paris Basketball](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/paris-basketball/prs/) has been the surprise of the season as last year’s BKT EuroCup champion worked its way into the EuroLeague postseason, but Tiago Splitter's squad must now wait to find out who their next opponent will be and where – all the while being confident in their chances.

Coach Splitter was happy his team finished the regular season in strong fashion with [a 72-63 victory at home to ALBA Berlin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/paris-dominates-alba-72-63-to-stay-alive-for-sixth-place/) to remain alive for a direct spot in the playoffs. 

“Today is a day where we can look at the macro – the whole season. I’m proud of the guys what they did the whole season, the regular season," said the Brazilian, whose side finished its debut EuroLeague campaign with a 19-15 record. 

"Now we have the play-in, playoffs, whatever we have in front of us. I’m really proud of how they managed the whole season – ups and downs and competing every game. That’s the most important thing. No game was easy against us. We showed a good spirit every night.

"We are not choosing or saying we want to play against anybody. We believe in ourselves and know we are a dangerous team and we will go from there.” 

While the team struggled to produce offensively against ALBA – scoring just 72 points, 14.9 points fewer than its average coming into the game – Paris only allowed 63 points, the fewest it conceded in any game this season. That came after Paris had allowed 101, 98 and 105 points in its last three games, all of which were on the road.

In the end, it was all about finishing strong and gaining confidence after Paris had been limping to the finish line with just two wins in its last seven games. 

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">c&#39;est Paris, tout simplement.<br><br>😤 <a href="https://twitter.com/ParisBasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ParisBasketball</a> <a href="https://t.co/9lAZr5lYzC">pic.twitter.com/9lAZr5lYzC</a></p>&mdash; adidas France (@adidasFR) <a href="https://twitter.com/adidasFR/status/1910432684561617038?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“It’s a blessing to have this opportunity. We worked really hard – the guys last season and this season,” said [Tyson Ward](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tyson-ward/012610/), who scored 12 points to go with 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals in the win. 

“We had a great opportunity and we came in here and showed what we do best and that’s to play hard, have a lot of fun and brought our identity and style to the EuroLeague. This is just a product of us having fun. We get to enjoy the post-season this year and hopefully do some more in the future.”

TJ Shorts and co. took care of business with a season-best defensive showing 

Paris Basketball v ALBA Berlin (2025-04-10T18:45:00.000Z)

AS Monaco made it four for four in playoff appearances after defeating LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on Thursday night 78-83 to clinch its spot in the quarterfinal round

Monaco secures its spot in the playoffs for the fourth straight year

[AS Monaco](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/as-monaco/mco/) made it four for four in playoff appearances after [defeating LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on Thursday night 78-83](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/monaco-holds-off-asvel-78-83-to-clinch-home-court-advantage-for-playoffs/) to clinch its spot in the quarterfinal round. Coach Vassilis Spanoulis's side follows Olympiacos Piraeus, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens as the teams that have already secured their spots in the playoffs.

Moreover, Monaco will have home-court advantage in the best-of-five playoffs after claiming fourth place in the regular-season standings with a 21-13 record. It will have to wait until the end of Friday's games to learn its playoff opponent, with FC Barcelona, Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Real Madrid the potential foes.

### Monaco aims high with Spanoulis at the helm

Monaco had some early-season struggles as it opened the season with a 5-4 record. That eventually led to a coaching change, with Vassilis Spanoulis – a three-time champion as a player – taking the reins in November. A victory at Panathinaikos in his first game in charge was a positive sign, but Monaco lost three straight games in January to fall to 13-9. However, the team bounced back with three consecutive victories and finished the regular season with four wins in its last five games to climb the table and finish fourth.

This marks the third season in a row in which Monaco will have home-court advantage in the playoffs. It defeated Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in Game 5 in 2023 and fell to Fenerbahce in the same spot last season. In the club’s playoff debut in 2022, Monaco lost in five games to Olympiacos with the fifth game played in Greece.

### Mike James is the heart of the team

[Mike James](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mike-james/005985/), who is joined by [Alpha Diallo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/alpha-diallo/011226/) and [Donatas Motiejunas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/donatas-motiejunas/lcz/) as the only three players to play for Monaco in all of its four EuroLeague campaigns, was once again the go-to player for Monaco. The victory over ASVEL was just the latest example of his importance to Monaco as he scored 20 points – including the go-ahead free throws among his 5 points in the final minute – to lead the way. The 2024 EuroLeague MVP was one of only to players to play every game this season (the other being [Matthew Strazel](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/matthew-strazel/008099/)) and leads the team in scoring (15.8 ppg.), assists (5.7 apg.) and PIR (17.1).

With mid-season signing [Daniel Theis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/daniel-theis/004132/) powering the frontline and [Elie Okobo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/elie-okobo/011212/), [Jordan Loyd](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/jordan-loyd/009754/), Strazel and [Nick Calathes](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nick-calathes/001932/) giving the team a deep and dangerous backcourt, Monaco promises to be a dangerous team in the playoffs.

More Monaco News

The club from the Principality clinched fourth place and home-court advantage for the playoffs

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v AS Monaco (2025-04-10T18:00:00.000Z)

Olympiacos BC center Moses Wright had his best performance yet since returning from a health scare, which should spell good news for the Reds entering the EuroLeague Playoffs.

Moses Wright offers Olympiacos another option ahead of postseason: 'It’s been great to be back'

[Moses Wright](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/moses-wright/012878/)’s season took an unexpected turn back in December, when reports stated that he may miss the remainder of the campaign due to a serious health issue. 

Despite being [Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/olympiacos-piraeus/oly/)’s third-choice center in Georgios Bartzokas’s pecking order behind [Moustapha Fall](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/moustapha-fall/008811/) and [Nikola Milutinov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nikola-milutinov/003941/), Wright offers the Reds something distinctive with his energy, work ethic and ability to run the court.

With four games to go until the end of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague regular season, and Wright having been given the medical all-clear, Bartzokas was forced to rush the 26-year-old back into action due to Milutinov’s absence through injury at LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. His minutes have gradually increased ever since, with Wright netting 8 points in 13:47 minutes on the floor against ALBA Berlin last week.

With both Fall and Milutinov sidelined in Olympiacos’s last game of the season, it was time for Wright to send a message loud and clear.

“I’ve been out for so long,” he told EuroLeague TV after [Olympiacos’s 99-93 win over Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/undermanned-olympiacos-defeats-maccabi-99-93-to-clinch-top-spot/) on Thursday night. “It’s been great to be back on the court. I’ve been missing basketball so much. Getting out there, fighting for my teammates.”

And fight from the off he did. Wright scored half of his team’s first 12 points before heading to the bench for a well-deserved breather. After charging up his batteries, he returned to the court to provide his team with an energy boost on both ends, effectively filling the frontcourt void left by the two absent Olympiacos bigs.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bwinMVP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bwinMVP</a> of the game, Moses Wright!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a> <a href="https://t.co/HYbYOmqQ81">pic.twitter.com/HYbYOmqQ81</a></p>&mdash; Olympiacos B.C. (@Olympiacos_BC) <a href="https://twitter.com/Olympiacos_BC/status/1910431312898310227?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Wright went 7 for 10 from inside to finish the game with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal for a team-high PIR of 28. Most importantly, he provided Olympiacos with a valuable extra option off the bench ahead of the much anticipated playoffs.

“The playoffs are such a big thing in everybody’s life,” Wright added. “Everybody who plays sports always wants to get to the postseason and just do great in the postseason.”

A player with different qualities from Fall and Milutinov, Wright has already proved in the past he can pull off a game-changing outing when his team needs to flip the switch. Fall and Milutinov are expected to be fit in time for postseason, but their fellow center proved on Thursday night that he’s rediscovering his form just in time and he’s ready to step up when it matters most.

The 26-year-old center pulled off a player-of-the-game performance against Maccabi

Olympiacos Piraeus v Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (2025-04-10T18:15:00.000Z)

Fenerbahce Beko locked up the two seed in the EuroLeague Playoffs with a win at FC Bayern Basketball, but Nigel Hayes-Davis and coach Saras Jasikevicius still want more from the team.

Fenerbahce showed its championship credentials ‘for 16 minutes’ in Bayern victory

Already aware that a top-three place was guaranteed, [Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/ulk/) was simply playing for seeding on the last day of the regular season. Win and it could finish first or second; lose and it might finish third.

On the road against an [FC Bayern Munich](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fc-bayern-munich/mun/) side knowing that a victory could be enough to book a guaranteed ticket to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs, the stage was set for a tricky game for coach [Saras Jasikevicius](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fenerbahce-beko-istanbul/ulk/jasikevicius-saras/?season=E2024)’s team.

But Fenerbahce didn’t look overawed at SAP Garden. In fact, it thrived on the occasion.

The Bayern players were forced into mistake after mistake on the offensive end while Fenerbahce was completely at ease, knocking down 5 three-pointers – 2 apiece for [Errick McCollum](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/errick-mccollum/005216/) and [Nicolo Melli](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nicolo-melli/002849/), and 1 for [Tarik Biberovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tarik-biberovic/006961/) – to open a 4-18 lead. The visitors were up by 15 points, 13-28, at the end of the first period, then went ahead by 19 (16-35) and later 24 (19-43) after a pair of triples by Melli and [Nigel Hayes-Davis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/nigel-hayes-davis/008962/).

There was a resigned look on the faces of those in Bayern jerseys, whereas the Fenerbahce players were enjoying themselves. Only in the event of a defeat for Olympiacos Piraeus at home to Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv could Fenerbahce finish first, but Coach Jasikevicius’s squad were putting on a show in the first half in Munich.

At halftime the visitors’ advantage was back to 15 points, 31-46, and it hovered around the 15-17-point mark for much of the third frame. In the fourth quarter, however, Bayern got within six points (71-77) as a famous comeback seemed on the cards, but buckets by [Wade Baldwin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/wade-baldwin-iv/009863/), [Marko Guduric](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/marko-guduric/004004/) and Hayes-Davis took away any sense of drama as Fenerbahce went back up by 15 (71-86).

Despite [coming away with a 77-89 win](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/fenerbahce-secures-two-seed-in-playoffs-with-77-89-win-at-bayern/) and locking up the two seed in the playoffs, there was a sense of frustration that Fenerbahce had allowed its level to drop after enjoying such a commanding lead.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">EuroLeague’de normal sezonun ikincisi; Fenerbahçe Beko! 👏💛💙<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YellowLegacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YellowLegacy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroLeague</a> <a href="https://t.co/UggNjwncY3">pic.twitter.com/UggNjwncY3</a></p>&mdash; Fenerbahçe Beko (@FBBasketbol) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBBasketbol/status/1910436042559070717?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“We played probably 16 good minutes today, which is not good for this time of the year,” Hayes-Davis told EuroLeague TV after the game. “We’re trying to go into the playoffs playing very well. We want to play 35-40 minutes of good Fenerbahce basketball; today we played 16. 

"We shot the ball very well and they didn’t play so well and shoot the ball so well, and we were able to get a good win. Performances like this going into the postseason is how you go home earlier than you want to.”

Rather than take umbrage with Hayes-Davis’s comments, Coach Jasikevicius chose to sing from the same hymn sheet.

“He’s not critical, he’s honest,” the 49-year-old stated. “The more players like this you have on your team, the more chances you have of winning. This is exactly what happened. We fell in love with the offense and when Bayern raised their intensity a bit, thank God a couple of shots fell in.

“But they took out of our offense and defensively… okay, Carsen Edwards is having an amazing season, but 22-23 points in the second half, when we’re still not in foul trouble or in the bonus, is too much for Carsen.

“First of all, it’s a great win. Not many teams are winning over here, but now looking towards the playoffs, we need to be smarter. I might tell Nigel it’s probably a little bit more than 16 minutes, but I’m happy to have players like this who are willing to push the limits, that’s the only way.”

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">Münih’i İstanbul’a çeviren Büyük Fenerbahçe Taraftarına teşekkürlerimizle! 💛💙<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YellowLegacy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YellowLegacy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroLeague</a> <a href="https://t.co/0QBpL9D1LV">pic.twitter.com/0QBpL9D1LV</a></p>&mdash; Fenerbahçe Beko (@FBBasketbol) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBBasketbol/status/1910428666728755328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Fenerbahce will end up facing whichever team finishes as the seventh seed, so that will come from the winner of the 7-8 matchup, the seeding for which has not yet been determined. 

Coach Jasikevicius and his men have high hopes about what they can achieve this season, and they showed it for at least 16 minutes at SAP Garden. The goal, as Hayes-Davis said, is to perform at that level for the full 40 minutes once the EuroLeague Playoffs get underway on April 22.

Its Round 34 triumph locked up the two seed in the playoffs

FC Bayern Munich v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2025-04-10T18:00:00.000Z)

Real Madrid (20-14) kept alive its hopes of squeezing into the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs with a last-gasp 89-91 win at Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (16-18) after big man Walter Tavares sank a delightful turnaround floater on the buzzer. 

Real edges Partizan, 89-91, moves closer to playoff berth

Real Madrid kept alive its hopes of squeezing into the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs with a last-gasp 89-91 win at Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade after big man Walter Tavares sank a delightful turnaround floater on the buzzer.

Tavares was instrumental in Real’s win as he racked up 14 points and 6 boards, for the visitors, while Facundo Campazzo posted 12 points and 7 assists. Dzanan Musa paced Real with 15 points, Sergio Llull chipped in 13 and Mario Hezonja added 12 to underline a smooth team effort. *Los Blancos* improved to 20-24 with the win.

At the other end, big man Brandon Davies led all scorers on 22 points while Carlik Jones registered 15 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds for Partizan. Isaac Bonga netted 14 points and Aleksej Pokusevski poured in 12 for the home side.

Game Videos

Real closed out its regular season campaign with a sixth successive win and its seventh in a row over Partizan after a late 4-15 run which silenced a fervent home crowd hoping for a winning farewell to a patchy season for the Serbian side, which finished the season with a 16-18 record.

Still, Real faces an anxious wait on the outcomes of Friday’s games as it needs either archrival FC Barcelona or Anadolu Efes Istanbul to lose their respective fixtures if the winner of a record 11 EuroLeague titles is to reach this season’s playoffs at the first time of asking.

Otherwise, Real will head into the postseason by entering the Play-In Showdown as it had earlier secured a top-10 finish, but Chus Mateo’s men will now surely be hoping for one of Friday’s two results to go their way.

Bonga and Davies got Partizan going as they scored 16 points between them in the first quarter to give the hosts a 24-22 advantage after the opening 10 minutes. Following a see-saw battle in the second quarter, Real was able to carve out a 46-48 lead at halftime on the back of 12 first-half points from Musa and dominance in the paint.

Real won the battle of the boards 21-16 in the opening 20 minutes but Partizan hit back with five 3-pointers in the third quarter as the unstoppable Davies sank 11 points to engineer a 74-65 lead ahead of the final 10 minutes.

Partizan, which has now lost six of its last even games, looked like breaking its jinx against Real after Davies buried another sweet shot from downtown to give the home team an 84-75 lead in the home stretch, with the home fans in full swing.

However, the Serbian side suffered the kind of late meltdown that has plagued Zeljko Obradovic’s outfit all season long and ultimately derailed its bid to reach the postseason for a second successive term.

The contest seemed to be heading for overtime after Jones hit a mid-range jumper off the dribble to level the score, 89-89, with two seconds left on the clock but Tavares then weaved his magic as he sank a delicious floater to send his teammates into raptures.

Last season’s runners-up snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a late run

Real Madrid edges Partizan, 89-91, moves closer to playoff berth

Paris Basketball did its part to remain in the race for a direct spot in the playoffs with a convincing 72-63 home victory over ALBA Berlin

Paris dominates ALBA 72-63, to stay alive for sixth place 

Paris Basketball did its part to remain in the race for a direct spot in the playoffs with a convincing 72-63 home victory over ALBA Berlin. Paris went on a 15-4 run spanning the middle quarters to take control and improve to 19-15. The win combined with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul’s triumph at FC Bayern Munich kept alive the sixth-place dreams of Paris, which needs Anadolu Efes Istanbul, FC Barcelona and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade all to lose on the final day of the regular season.

Mikael Jantunen and Nadir Hifi led the way for the winners with 15 points each, Tyson Ward scored 12 points and TJ Shorts chipped in 10 points and 7 assists. ALBA dropped its fifth straight game and ninth of the last 10 games to finish the season in last place with a 5-29 record. Justin Bean scored 14 in the defeat.

After Paris opened the scoring, Martin Hermannsson scored 5 straight points in his 100th game for a 2-5 early lead. The hosts temporarily took the lead before a Bean three-point play made it 9-10. Hifi converted a three-pointer play and Collin Malcolm buried a triple in a 10-0 run to move ahead 19-10. ALBA did not score for nearly 3 minutes and a Matt Thomas three-pointer trimmed the gap to 19-14, which was 22-14 after 10 minutes.

The hosts held ALBA to just 1 free throw in the first 3 minutes of the second quarter and Ward and Jantunen buried a three-pointer in a 10-1 surge to lead 32-15. The Paris offense dried up a bit with just one basket in the next 5+ minutes and a 0-8 spurt pulled ALBA within 36-27. Paris punched back with the next 8 points, including back-to-back triples from Jantunen and Sebastian Herrera for a 44-27 cushion. The score was 46-31 at the break.

Paris’s defense held strong to start the second half, not allowing ALBA to score in almost the first 5 minutes and the home fans watched the advantage extend to 20 points at 51-31 thanks also to 4 ALBA turnovers. The margin grew to 21 points before the visitors trimmed it to 16 points at 55-39. And the hosts led 60-39 after 30 minutes.

Ward scored the first 5 points of the final frame to build the advantage to 26 points. The home side was still up 70-47 with more than 5 minutes to go. ALBA did not stop fighting though and put together a 2-16 surge to make it 72-63 with 63 seconds to play. But the hole was too big.

Paris Basketball can still dream of a direct spot in the playoffs

Olympiacos Piraeus has mathematically secured top spot in the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season standings by beating Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 99-93 at the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Thursday night. 

Undermanned Olympiacos defeats Maccabi, 99-93, to clinch top spot

Olympiacos Piraeus has mathematically secured top spot in the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season standings by beating Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 99-93 at the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Thursday night. In a highly entertaining encounter, the hosts saw four of their players net at least 17 points each and register as many as 30 assists to down the Israeli side. Olympiacos improved its record to 24-10, with Maccabi dropping to 11-23.

Evan Fournier led all scorers with 27 points, Sasha Vezenkov scored 21, Moses Wright netted 18 and Alec Peters added 17.  Nigel Williams-Goss scored just 2 points, but he had a career-high 13 assists. Trevion Williams paced Maccabi with 17 points and 13 rebounds, with Rokas Jokubaitis and Roman Sorkin bagging 16 points apiece. Jimmy Clark recorded 11 points in a losing effort.

Sorkin got Maccabi going with four straight points before a basket by Jaylen Hoard on his return to action from injury gave the guests a 2-6 lead. Tamir Blatt, Levi Randolph and Jokubaitis netted one each from deep to make it 10-17. Moses Wright took his tally to 6 early points from inside before back-to-back threes by Peters and another from Vezenkov put Olympiacos ahead, 21-20. Fournier took over with two triples in a row for a 31-28 cushion after a high-scoring first quarter.

The second quarter opened with another rain of threes, as Clark, Peters, Blatt and John DiBartolomeo all hit the target, with the latter giving Maccabi a 34-38 advantage. But Olympiacos fought back, with Wright slamming home a dunk, Shaquielle McKissic nailing a triple and Vezenkov scoring inside to make it 51-48 at halftime.

Olympiacos opened the third quarter with a 10-2 run fueled by Vezenkov and Kostas Papanikolaou. Williams and Sorkin scored inside, but Saben Lee netted an off-balance jumper against his former team to restore a 66-56 lead. Yet, Maccabi replied with a 4-14 surge fueled by Williams to tie it at 70-70 heading into the closing quarter.

Ten points from Fournier and a long two by Peters gave Olympiacos an 84-79 cushion midway through the fourth. Sorkin responded with 5 straight points on the other end, but a red-hot Fournier drilled one from way downtown to restore an 89-84 lead. Then, Fournier scored a floater and Peters made 2 of 2 from the charity stripe to finish the game off.

Four Olympiacos players netted at least 17 points apiece