In a playoff battle between classic teams, Real Madrid takes on Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade for a spot in the Final Four. Real finished the regular season in second place with a 23-11 record and will be looking for its 11th continental crown. Partizan is back in the EuroLeague Playoffs for the first time since 2010 after placing seventh in the regular season standings with a 20-14 record.
Obradovic: Playoff legend
When it comes to the EuroLeague Playoffs, Zeljko Obradovic has been almost unbeatable. Since the format was introduced in 2005, Obradovic has won 10 out of 11 playoff series: with Panathinaikos in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012, and with Fenerbahce in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. His only playoff elimination came with Panathinaikos against Baskonia in 2006. If we look further back, Obradovic did even better.
Since he started his coaching career with Partizan in the 1991-92 campaign, Obradovic has won 20 out of 21 playoff series and has a winning record of 49-13 (79.0%). It has won playoff series with six different teams: Partizan, Joventut Badalona, Real, Benetton Treviso, Panathinaikos Athens and Fenerbahce Istanbul. Obradovic also played eight two-game, total-points series in the second-tier competition and won all of them. That's 28-1 in multiple-game elimination rounds. Last season, however, Obradovic and Partizan lost to Frutti Extra Bursaspor in the single-game 7DAYS EuroCup Eighthfinals, 95-103, in overtime.