The penultimate round of the regular season is sure to bring plenty of drama
Game Center: Barcelona tops Fener 75-83 in Istanbul
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8 Minute de lecture
The penultimate round of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season could see several postseason scenarios confirmed as the last few playoff places are chased. Here’s your guide to Round 33!
Wednesday, April 2
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 75-83 FC Barcelona
Barcelona overturned a 15-point deficit to grab a vital road victory at Fenerbahce. Barcelona improved to 19-14 to boost its playoff hopes, while Fenerbahce dropped to 22-11 after ending an eight-game home winning streak. The opening stages were closely contested before Fenerbahce dominated the second quarter for a solid halftime lead, 50-39. But Barca rallied after the break and flew into the lead with a 0-11 fourth-quarter run which ultimately proved enough. Joel Parra was the inspiration with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Jabari Parker top-scored with 24 points. Nigel Hayes-Davis paced the hosts with 20 points.
Thursday, April 3
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (19:00 CET)
A week after seeing its own postseason hopes ended, Zalgiris (14-18) will attempt to derail Partizan’s (16-16) ambitions in Kaunas. The Serbian team knows that even winning both its last two games might not be enough to make the play-in, and needs to snap a three-game losing streak on the road. The most recent of those came at Bayern on Thursday despite Carlik Jones’s third double-double of the season (19 points and 10 assists). His backcourt duel with the in-form Sylvain Francisco (19 points and 8 assists at ASVEL last week) will be a highlight. Zalgiris’s season has run out of steam with four losses out of five, and Andrea Trinchieri will be eager to recover his team’s usual defensive meanness after allowing more than 80 points in each of the last four games.
AS Monaco vs. Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (19:00 CET)
A big battle between the two teams currently tied for third place will see Monaco (20-12) host Panathinaikos (20-12), with a top four finish guaranteed for the winner. Panathinaikos is looking to bounce back from last week’s home loss to Paris, and will focus on improved defense after allowing 101 points in that game. A great offensive showdown will take place between two of the competition’s biggest stars as Mike James takes on Kendrick Nunn, while the frontcourt will see fit-again Omer Yurtseven attempt to tame the threat of Daniel Theis. Monaco has already beaten the reigning champ once this season, winning 88-91 on the road in November in Vassilis Spanoulis’s first game in charge, and opposing coach Ergin Ataman will know that stopping James’s distribution is vital after he dished 10 assists in that game.
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv vs. FC Bayern Munich (20:30 CET)
Bayern (19-13) will attempt to keep its top four hopes on track – and stay in control of a direct route into the playoffs – as it visits Maccabi (10-22). With Monaco and Panathinaikos just one win above Bayern and playing each other on the same night, the German team knows that a victory will be enough to claim a share of fourth place heading into the final round. This should be a high-scoring shootout because both teams have been scoring for fun recently, with Maccabi scoring 88 and 92 but still losing against both Efes and Panathinaikos lost week. The Israeli team’s biggest threat is forward Roman Sorkin, who has scored at least 10 points in 13 straight games, but Maccabi’s greater concern is slowing down a Bayern offense led by the tireless Carsen Edwards (19.9 points per game).
Real Madrid vs. Paris Basketball (21:00 CET)
A vital battle between two of the five teams tied for sixth place will see Real (18-14) and Paris (18-14) go head-to-head with everything at stake. Both teams were winners on Friday in very different styles, with Real edging a low-scoring slugfest at Zvezda while Paris delivered an offensive masterclass to net triple figures at Panathinaikos. A thrilling backcourt battle will see the under-sized but exciting guards go head to head, with Facu Campazzo vying for supremacy with TJ Shorts. The teams endured contrasting fortunes from long-range last time out, with Real going 7-of-25 from deep (28%) at Zvezda, while Paris drained 17 triples on 30 attempts in Athens (56.7%), and the accuracy of home team shooters like Dzanan Musa and Mario Hezonja against visiting duo Tyson Ward and Nadir Hifi could be decisive.
Friday, April 4
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul (20:00 CET)
Zvezda (18-14) hosts red-hot Efes (18-14) for another highly meaningful confrontation between direct rivals in the race for the playoffs. The Turkish team has roared up the standings and into a share of sixth place with a run of six straight wins, spearheaded by the all-round excellence of Elijah Bryant (16.5 points per game during the winning run). Zvezda has stuttered in recent weeks, with Friday’s home setback against Real Madrid marking a fourth defeat in six games. Ioannis Sfairopoulos’s men suffered at both ends of the court when the teams met in Istanbul, as 17 points from big man Dan Oturu led Efes to a convincing 89-67 victory, and Zvezda will need the leadership of backcourt star Codi Miller-McIntyre – who scored a season-high 24 points against Real – to put the brakes on Efes’s hot streak.
ALBA Berlin vs. Olympiacos Piraeus (20:00 CET)
Suddenly struggling Olympiacos (22-10) will look to snap a three-game losing streak with a visit to last-placed ALBA. After missing 14 free throws and converting just 4 of its 20 three-point attempts in last week’s home loss to Monaco, when only Sasha Vezenkov and fellow forward Alec Peters performed well, Reds coach Georgios Bartzokas will expect to see his players show more focus and accuracy. ALBA, though, needs to do absolutely everything much better after losing in humiliating fashion at home to Virtus in Round 32, suffering a club record 44-point defeat. Only Matt Thomas reached double figures with 11 points, stretching his double-digit scoring streak to 10 games, but a lot more will be needed against a visiting team desperate to rediscover its form ahead of the playoffs.
Virtus Segafredo Bologna vs. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (20:30 CET)
An Italian derby will see Virtus attempt to snuff out the postseason ambitions of domestic rival Milan (16-16). Virtus is coming off a perplexing double-round week after jumping from a club record loss (-36) to a club record victory (+44) in the space of three days, with Friday’s triumph at ALBA coming courtesy of 35 assists including 8 from Alessandro Pajola. Milan’s hopes of reaching the play-in are now hanging by a thread following a three-game losing streak culminating in Thursday’s costly home defeat to Barcelona, and Ettore Messina’s men need to improve their defense after allowing at least 90 points in all three of those games. Offensively, Shavon Shields is in top form with double-digit scoring in nine games straight.
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz vs. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (20:30 CET)
In the only game of the week not impacting the playoff race, Baskonia (13-19) and ASVEL (13-19) go head-to-head for a meeting which will probably decide which team finishes higher in the standings. ASVEL has the incentive of trying to set a new club record for victories in a season after equalling the previous best with Thursday’s win over Zalgiris, when Theo Maledon and Nando De Colo performed their usual scoring heroics with 19 and 16 points respectively. Baskonia is coming off a fruitless road week against Fenerbahce and Efes, and needs to improve offensively from the last meeting of the teams in Round 4, when 18 points and 8 boards from the explosive Chima Moneke wasn’t enough to stop ASVEL from taking a 76-69 home victory.