Round 21 of the regular season features a pair of European basketball classics, with FC Barcelona visiting Real Madrid in a clasico between two of the four teams tied for first place before Crvena Zvezda and Partizan clash in the Belgrade derby. Here's your guide to those and seven more showdowns this week.
ALBA Berlin vs. Valencia Basket
Valencia (10-10) will look to make it four wins in a row as it visits ALBA Berlin (6-14) for a rematch of the 2010 and 2019 EuroCup Finals. Valencia has been battling against injury problems recently but now has key creator Chris Jones available again and could give a debut to new signing Shannon Evans, who leads the Spanish League in scoring this season. ALBA, needing to bounce back from consecutive losses to reignite its faint playoffs hopes, will look to former Valencia forward Luka Sikma for inspiration.
Panathinaikos Athens vs. Zalgiris Kaunas
Red-hot Zalgiris (12-8) goes in search of a fifth straight victory as it visits struggling Panathinaikos (7-13), which has won only one of the last eight. Edgaras Ulanovas clinched last week's comeback win over Zvezda and can always be relied upon to act as Zalgiris's emotional leader. But perhaps more than any other team, the Lithuanians rely on collective work rather than individual brilliance – especially through a defense that has allowed just 76.2 points per game, second-best in the league.