The BKT EuroCup Quarterfinals end tonight with the showdown between Paris Basketball and Joventut Badalona. All four quarterfinal duels are one-game clashes, so the players will leave everything on the floor. Just like in the previous round, the EuroCupbasketball.com staff members who follow the competition as closely as anyone have made their predictions for each game.
Paris by double digits
by Igor Petrinovic
Paris entered the playoffs with a 17-1 regular season record, having already swept Joventut. But both of those were hard-fought wins. The first one in Badalona was in overtime even though Joventut played without Andres Feliz, Ante Tomic, Tyler Cook, Shannon Evans and Vladimir Brodziansky. When they met in the French capital in January, Joventut was up with just over 3 minutes to go before Paris finished the game with a 12-3 run to pull out an 89-82 win. That triumph is the only one by fewer than 16 points during Paris' current 10-game winning streak. Another win gets EuroCup's most dominant team into the best-of-three semifinals, and despite all the Joventut's experience and their two previous games being so close, I think Paris will show why it is a favorite to win the title. Paris will get the job done, eventually winning by a double-digit margin. My pick: Paris.
Joventut stuns Paris
by Geoff Gillingham
So, cards on the table... Joventut Badalona is my pick to go all the way. I really think that Joventut has all that it takes to win this year’s EuroCup, including beating a Paris Basketball side it was 0-2 against during the regular season. That first meeting, in Round 7, saw an undermanned Joventut force overtime against Paris before losing, then it took some heroics from Nadir Hifi to ensure the French team won 89-82 in Round 16. That Round 16 contest took place at Halle Georges Carpentier and this upcoming quarterfinal clash will be held at adidas arena, so will that end up affecting Paris? Nevertheless, I expect Andres Feliz to be play a pivotal role in this game and continue his MVP-caliber season, with Ante Tomic, Andrew Andrews and Shannon Evans, among others, all likely to be heavily involved, too. Paris’s backcourt of TJ Shorts and Hifi has been amazing this season, but I think Joventut has the ability to hand Paris just its second loss of the season – and at the worst time possible. My pick: Joventut.