The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Play-In Showdown debuts on Tuesday with one winning team advancing to the playoffs while one loser will be eliminated. Here’s how it will all unfold.
Play-In Showdown at a glance
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Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv vs. Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Maccabi and Baskonia go head-to-head in Belgrade with the winner advancing directly to a playoff series with Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens. Both teams finished the regular season strong, with Maccabi winning seven of its last eight games behind an explosive offense that averaged 92 points during that run. Baskonia is coming on the back of outstanding road triumphs at Real Madrid and Virtus Segafredo Bologna, also earned through stellar offense with 95 points scored in both games.
The backcourt will feature a shootout between the players ranked first and third in scoring during the regular season, with Baskonia’s Markus Howard (19.4 points per game) facing Wade Baldwin (17.7 ppg). The Spanish team also possesses the regular season’s leader in assists, Codi Miller-McIntyre (7.2 assists per game), who will look to control the tempo against third-ranked distributor Lorenzo Brown (6.2 apg).
The battle in the paint will be just as fierce, with Maccabi boasting the league’s top rebounder, Josh Nebo (7.3 boards per game). He will face a tough challenge against the Baskonia duo of Tadas Sedekerskis and Chima Moneke, who ranked third and fifth in rebounding, respectively, with 6.8 and 6.7 per night.
Both regular-season meetings were won by the home team, with Maccabi prevailing 89-81 in Belgrade in December led by 17 points and 11 rebounds from Nebo. But that will count for very little on Tuesday in what promises to be a fast-paced and high-scoring thriller.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Virtus Segafredo Bologna
Efes hosts Virtus with both teams knowing defeat means the season is over, while the winner will progress to a decider against the loser of Tuesday’s other play-in contest. Efes finished the regular season in spectacular style, winning the last five games and flexing its muscles with a 100-55 pummeling of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade last time out. It’s exactly the opposite for Virtus, which concluded a disastrous run of form by losing at home to Baskona in Round 34 to make it seven straight defeats.
The main man for Efes is Shane Larkin, who leads the league in Performance Index Rating (20.1 per game). He can count on plenty of support from Elijah Bryant, who scored 26 points against Zvezda, while Rodrigue Beaubois also remains dangerous with an average of 10.3 points per game. Virtus will look to control the tempo through veteran backcourt organizer Daniel Hackett, while the equally experienced hands of Marco Belinelli pose a constant three-point shooting threat.
Will Clyburn is another Efes star who has found top form in recent weeks, but Virtus can lean on the experience of a trio of proven talents underneath the baskets in the form of Toko Shengelia, Jordan Mickey and Bryant Dunston.
Efes cruised to victory when the teams met in Istanbul, winning 99-75 in Round 21 behind a season-high 26 points from Darius Thompson and recent form suggests a similar outcome on Tuesday – but Virtus will give everything to keep its season alive.