A Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season that has so far served up thrills, drama and parity like never before – with the playoff and play-in races fully decided only in the last two rounds – now has something new and exciting for fans.
The first-ever Play-In Showdown is upon us, starting on Tuesday, April 16, and available on EuroLeague TV.
Introduced before this season, the Play-In Showdown lets four teams battle it out for the two spots remaining after the top six regular-season teams advanced directly to the best-of-five playoffs.
How it works
Here's a reminder of how the Play-In Showdown is set to unfold:
The play-in opens on Tuesday with two games. In the first, seventh-place Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv hosts eighth-placed Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, with the winner of that game advancing a series in which second-place Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens has home-court advantage.
The loser between Maccabi and Baskonia will have a second chance to make the playoffs three days later, when it will host the winner of Tuesday's second game, in which Anadolu Efes Istanbul hosts Virtus Segafredo Bologna. That game's loser is eliminated and its winner must win again. Whichever of the four teams is left alive on Friday will move on to challenge defending champion Real Madrid, which finishing first in the regular season.