The fifth and deciding games in the two remaining playoff series will be played on Tuesday
At a glance: Last 2 spots in the Final Four to be awarded on Tuesday
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5 Χρόνος Ανάγνωσης
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
The playoffs conclude on Tuesday, with four teams battling to join Olympiacos Piraeus and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul at the Final Four. Here’s what to expect from a thrilling pair of Game 5 showdowns.
AS Monaco vs FC Barcelona (19:00 CEST)
FC Barcelona will attempt to complete a historic comeback against an AS Monaco team determined to hold its home court. Both teams have reasons for optimism: Monaco won Games 1 and 2 at home with a degree of comfort, but Barça did manage a strong regular season victory at the Salle Gaston Medecin.
The hosts will look to recover the offensive fluidity that marked their victories in the opening two games, having been stifled by Barça’s defense in Game 4 and only making 23 of its 63 field goal attempts (36.5%), while recording more turnovers (19) than assists (16).
Monaco’s quartet of backcourt stars all particularly struggled from beyond the arc in the last meeting, with Mike James (1 of 5), Elie Okobo (0 of 4), Jordan Loyd (1 of 5) and Matthew Strazel (2 of 7) falling well below their usual three-point shooting standards, so Vassilis Spanoulis will be keen to create some early open looks on the perimeter to boost confidence.
Barça’s injury problems have forced coach Joan Penarroya into some improvisations, and Dario Brizuela has especially flourished in his new point guard role with a series average of 13.8 points on 61.1% three-point shooting.
The Spanish team has also got big performances out of its backup big men in the last couple of games. With Jan Vesely and Chimezie Metu both sidelined by injury, Willy Hernangomez took over Game 3 before Youssoupha Fall did the same in Game 4, so Monaco centers Daniel Theis and Mam Jaiteh will look to respond by rediscovering the inside dominance they enjoyed earlier in the series.
Winning three straight games by taking Game 5 on the road will take a massive effort for Barca, so the big personalities and strong shooting potential of Jabari Parker and Kevin Punter will have to take a key role for the Blaugrana. But with the energy of Alpha Diallo and Jaron Blossomgame adding to the backcourt weapons at Monaco’s disposal, the home team will take some stopping.
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens vs Anadolu Efes Istanbul (20:45 CEST)
Reigning champion Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens welcomes 2021 and 2022 title winner Anadolu Efes Istanbul for the decider of a hugely entertaining back-and-forth series.
The Turkish team will have no fear of the awe-inspiring Athens atmosphere after already grabbing a road win in Game 2, but the Greens can take confidence from the fact that they have never lost consecutive home games during the reign of former Efes coach Ergin Ataman.
Both teams have past recent experience of this type of occasion – Panathinaikos overcame Maccabi in Game 5 this time last season, while Efes did the same against Real Madrid during its 2021 title run – and battle-hardened performers on both sides like Kostas Sloukas, Kendrick Nunn, Shane Larkin and Elijah Bryant will thrive rather than wilt under the pressure.
An X-factor for Efes in Game 4 was playmaker Darius Thompson, who had his team’s highest +/- (8) despite not even attempting a two-point shot, as he delivered 5 assists on just 1 turnover to lead his team’s offense with composure.
Larkin also had a strong night of distribution, dishing 9 assists as part of a team total of 24, so Panathinaikos’s defensive focus will surely be disrupting the visitors’ ball circulation. One key figure in that quest will be former Efes forward Cedi Osman, whose high-energy style has yielded 14.5 points per game so far in the series.
The Greens will look to gain extra possessions by crashing the glass through Omer Yurtseven, who took advantage of Vincent Poirier’s injury problems by grabbing 6 offensive rebounds last time out. Another important physical presence is Juancho Hernangomez, who combines solid rebounding (8.2 boards per game in the series) with dangerous long-range shooting.
And in a series that has delivered constant changes in momentum, with neither team winning two games in a row, we should get ready for plenty of thrills and spills before the last ticket to the Final Four is finally taken.