By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The Euroleague play offs are right around the corner and in the next two weeks the last three open spots will be decided and also the home court advantage.
Battle in Athens
The only exception is Real Madrid in Group E, which already secured it. To be exact with a 10-2 record, Real may lose the first place only by two defeats in the next two weeks, against Barcelona on the road and Zalgiris at home, or by losing by 25 points to Barca after the 97-73 first round win. Barcelona (9-3) on the other hand needs one win, either vs Real or on the road vs Galatasaray in order to also secure the home court advantage, without being depended on any other result.
The real battle concerns Panathinaikos (7-5), Maccabi T.A. (7-5) and Alba Berlin (6-6) which are fighting for the third and fourth place. The key game is next week’s contest in Athens between Panathinaikos and Alba. A win of the Greens, combined with a win of Maccabi in Tel Aviv over Galatasaray will make things simple, as the German club will miss the play offs train. However, if Alba gets the win, anything will be possible, as the Germans are hosting Maccabi Tel Aviv in Berlin in the last Top16 week.
Panathinaikos has the tie breaking advantage over Maccabi and also has won in Berlin, while Alba has won in Tel Aviv. The last game of the Greeks will also be tricky, because they will travel to Belgrade to face Crvena Zvezda and if they lose to Alba, then this may turn to be a must win game for them. However, if they lose by five or less points to the Germans, they can get to the play offs even with two defeats in the last two games, having the advantage in every possible tie in seven wins.
Three for one
In Group F, Fenerbahce/ Ulker (10-2), CSKA Moscow (10-2) and Olympiacos (9-3) have already qualified. The Turks have the tie breaking advantage over their two opponents and CSKA is hosting Olympiacos in Moscow next week. The winner of this game will probably be the second team after Fenerbahce which will have the home court advantage and the loser will finish third.
Meanwhile three others teams, Anadolu Efes (5-7), Laboral Kutxa (5-7) and EA7 Milano (4-8), are competing for the fourth spot. Efes is hosting Milano next week and a defeat for the Italians means also the end of the road for them. However even with a win, Milano hosts in the last game CSKA Moscow, so things are not easy at all. Laboral Kutxa hosts next week Fenerbahce/ Ulker, which needs the win in order to secure the home court advantage and the Spaniards will have to travel to Malaga in the last week of Top16. Efes plays on the road against Fenerbahce in the last week of action.
The key games are obvious and they will be played next week. If Anadolu Efes prevails over EA7 Milano and also Fenerbahce/ Ulker gets the road win over Laboral Kutxa, then Efes will also qualify, having already the tie breaking advantage over Laboral, leaving the CSKA-Olympiacos fight to decide the second team of the standings. If not, then we will have a really interesting last week of action.