These teams will fight for an opportunity to play in the final play-in game on Friday
Efes vs. Virtus: One chance to stay alive
Thirty-four rounds of basketball were not enough for Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Virtus Segafredo Bologna to lock up their spots in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs, but these two still have the chance to be playing playoff basketball in late April by winning two more games in the Play-In Showdown. However, for the loser of Tuesday night’s contest in Istanbul, this will be the end of the road.
The action gets underway at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall at 20:00 CEST on EuroLeague TV, and one hour earlier – at 19:00 CEST – Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv hosts Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in the other play-in game, also on EuroLeague TV. The winner of that clash will be the seventh seed in the playoffs, whereas the loser will face off against the victor of Efes vs. Virtus for a shot at securing the eighth seed. Simple, right?
The Mijatovic effect at Efes
Efes comes into the play-in with plenty of confidence, having been rejuvenated since Tomislav Mijatovic was promoted to the role of head coach ahead of Round 25. Through the first 24 games, when Erdem Can was in the hot seat, Efes had a 9-15 record and sat 16th in the standings. Postseason basketball seemed a long way away.
Yet, Coach Mijatovic went 8-2 in the final 10 games as Efes finished ninth in the EuroLeague standings, thus setting up a play-in battle with 10th-placed Virtus. The positivity that the Efes boss exudes has paid dividends for many players on the roster, with Shane Larkin and Will Clyburn both thriving at present, while the likes of Dan Oturu, Elijah Bryant and Ercan Osmani are playing with plenty of confidence, too.
What’s more, Efes is a perfect 6-0 at home with Mijatovic on the bench, a good omen heading into Tuesday’s home meeting with Virtus. In fact, including Turkish League and Cup action, Efes is 19-3 and 11-0 at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall, making the two-time EuroLeague champion arguably the hottest team on the continent at present.
A turbulent season for Virtus
Virtus, meanwhile, has been in a tailspin for a while. Luca Banchi’s squad ended the season on a seven-game losing streak and went 3-12 from Round 20 onward – hardly the type of form you want your team to have entering the postseason. That said, Virtus has a mix of experience and know-how, two qualities that will be vital in the play-in.
In the first half of the season, Virtus was playing like a Final Four contender, with home-court advantage in the playoffs looking a certainty. There was plenty of talk about Toko Shengelia being a potential MVP candidate, too, and the veterans on the team – Marco Belinelli, Daniel Hackett and Bryant Dunston – were showing that age is just a number. But things just haven’t clicked for Coach Banchi’s men in the second half of the campaign, leading to some doubts entering the postseason.
One positive that Virtus can take is that in a single-legged tie, it has the potential to quickly get back on track. Aware that it is in a win-or-go-home type of game, that could provide the motivation that the team has perhaps lacked in the last couple of months in the EuroLeague.
Key matchups
All eyes are likely to be on Larkin, who led the EuroLeague in PIR during the regular season. The Efes guard was a key piece when the club won back-to-back EuroLeague titles in 2021 and 2022 and therefore knows exactly what is required to go all the way. Curiously, two of Larkin’s two worst performances of the campaign – in terms of PIR, at least – came against Virtus.
Things will not be easy for the two-time All-EuroLeague guard as he will be hounded all game long by Virtus’s defensive-minded duo of Hackett and Alessandro Pajola, two of the best defenders in the competition. Whether Hackett and Pajola can slow Larkin down could be one of the keys to determining the outcome of Tuesday night’s game.
Elsewhere, Clyburn and Shengelia are unlikely to be up against each other too much directly, but their influence from the forward positions will be vital for their respective teams. It is likely that Virtus will try to throw Isaia Cordinier and Ognjen Dobric at Clyburn, with Shengelia likely to have Osmani and Derek Willis on his tail for the majority of the contest. The two ex-CSKA Moscow men are likely to have a lot of attention, so whoever deals with that the best will no doubt help their team during the battle.
While not stars per se, Ante Zizic comes up against the team he left mid-season to join Virtus. He had spent a year and a half at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall, so he will be determined to remind the Turkish club of his talent when he returns to his former home. The man who effectively replaced Zizic, Oturu, also has the chance to show what he is capable of, having made quite the impression since making his EuroLeague debut in Round 12.
There is plenty on the line – namely a second play-in game against the loser of Maccabi vs. Baskonia on Friday – so let’s see which team can continue its season with a win on Tuesday night. The red-hot Efes is the favorite, but the wily Virtus should not be counted out just yet. It should be one hell of a game!