Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz welcomes Virtus Segafredo Bologna for a do-or-die finale on Friday in the last game of the new Play-In Showdown phase.
Baskonia, Virtus stage one-night battle for the final playoff spot
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Virtus comes off a good-as-gold 64-67 road win against Anadolu Efes Istanbul in the first win-or-go-home challenge of the new play-in phase. That gave head coach Luca Banchi's team another make-or-break chance to reach the playoffs. Baskonia, meanwhile, fell 113-85 at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv on Tuesday and lost star forward Chima Moneke to injury. He won't play on Friday. Baskonia beat Virtus 91-95 just a week ago in Bologna, but Virtus won their first game at Buesa Arena this season by double-digits. Baskonia has the league's top scorer in Markus Howard, who scored 34 in that win in Bologna, and Codi Miller-McIntyre, who broke the postseason PIR record with 45 despite losing at Maccabi on Tuesday. Virtus forwards Tornike Shengelia and Achille Polonara both starred for Baskonia in the past and will be comfortable as visitors. Friday night's winner will meet top-seeded Real Madrid in a best-of-five playoff series starting on Tuesday in the Spanish capital.