Partizan-Real Madrid: a EuroLeague playoff spot up for grabs
Chus Mateo's boys play their final game tonight, as they look to clinch a place in the top six (8:30pm CEST).
Real Madrid head into EuroLeague Round 34 with a playoff place at stake. With seven teams still in the fight, and a whole host of results that could impact the league table, our boys will be hoping to clinch one of the three remaining spots that will secure a direct ticket to the playoffs. A win at the notoriously hostile Partizan court, against a team now out of the running, would ensure the madridistas finish between fourth and seventh. Defeat, and we finish anywhere from fifth to ninth.
Given there is no single tip-off time in the final round, we'll have to wait until Friday to be certain of the final standings. But Madrid could secure a playoff place this evening with a win, providing Bayern manage the same over Fenerbahce, or Monaco lose to Asvel. Any other series of results means waiting for Friday's games involving Anadolu Efes, Barcelona and KK Crvena zvezda.
Chus Mateo's boys have found their best form in the closing stretch of the campaign. They've won their last 10 games (5 in the League and 5 in the EuroLeague) on a run that stretches back to 9 March. They have also come away with the points from two particularly tough grounds, at KK Crvena zvezda and Barcelona, the latter clash in the league this Sunday (89-91). Partizan, meanwhile, have dropped out of the top 10, with two successive defeats leaving them out of the running. Obradovic's team are an athletic unit that boast the competition's second best defense, plus quality players in the form of Carlik Jones, Brandon Davies, Lundberg and Bonga, among others.
Three wins on the bounce at Partizan
Madrid beat Partizán in Round 2 at the Movistar Arena. Their 93-86 victory was led by impressive displays from Campazzo and Ibaka, alongside six players in double digits for point-scoring. The head-to-head between the two teams reads 21-5 in our boys' favour. We've won on all of our three most recent visits - last year's clash, plus the two in the historic playoff comeback on the way to La Undécima.