"Maccabi" Rescue — in hands of "Maccabi"
One of the most titled European clubs all autumn part of a season exhausted himself in a deep hole, but still keeps chances heroically to get out of it. Having replaced on a course of the main round of the head coach, "Maccabi" under supervision of Jean Tabac's returned to life and, having actually refused the services of Jordan Farmar (in the last meetings of team the known American defender or does not appear on a platform at all, or is content with a supporting role), was issued at the end of a tunnel. "Darushshafaka" who has added a series of loud transfers in the past inter-season period with signing of contracts with with Scotty Uilbekin and with Furkan Aldemir already in November intends to switch off it to the Israeli grandee. The deal in this couple is extremely simple: not to dive in Euro cup, Taylor Rochesti and the company have to win in Istanbul with a difference in 12 and more points. Any other result brings in Top-16 of the debutant of tournament out of Turkey, delivered an array of problems to rivals of any caliber viscous defensive basketball, and promising to progress further — as well as any other team collected actually anew before a tournament distance, by the ward Oktaya Makhmuti need time to realize own personnel potential.
of "Fenerbahçe" will try to avoid repeated hit on "Real"
While to "Darushshafak" and to "Maccabi" the fact of hit in Top-16 worries more, the clubs which have already solved an immediate goal, will try to correct structures of groups at the following stage of tournament to secure itself against possible troubles in fight for the permit in a playoffs. Especially actual the matter is for "Fenerbahçe" of Zhelko Obradovich , after all any other result, except an exit in "The final of four", to the Serbian expert for certain will not forgive. Anybody will not manage to press Turks from the first line of standings of group A any more, but it does not mean that to Jan Vesely with companions is uninteresting a victory on the Russian land. After all only having overcome "Khimki", the collective from Istanbul will be able to initiate one of two threefold "zakrutok" ("Real" — "Khimki" — "Bavaria" or "Real" — "Khimki" — "Tsrvena Zvezda") who will not allow "creamy" to finish on the third place in the sextet and, therefore, will give the chance to "Fenerbahçe" to miss each other with the defending champion of Euroleague in Top-16. On the one hand, there is no sense to avoid a repeated meeting with a team of Pablo Lassus , being protected at the Sassari level — but in that case there is a probability that in group E there will be all four representatives of Spain in tournament, and hardly this prospect seems to Obradovich attractive.
"Real" approached to a non-return point
to "Locomotive" not really favourably will beat "Barcelona"
On Friday in Krasnodar to be decided destiny of the first place in group C: to keep at top of the sextet, "railroad workers" need to beat "Barcelona" with any difference, after all at an equal ratio of victories and defeats on the party of Catalan superclub there will be an advantage on personal meetings. The success will bring to a team of Georgios Bartsokas recognition and glory, but is it necessary to "Locomotive", a question difficult. On one bowl of scales the prospect to appear in one pool with all other representatives of Russia in Top-16 with whom southerners in this season play badly (both to CSKA, and "Khimki" within Uniform league of VTB the team conceded) lies, and on another — to appear in the neighbourhood from "Fenerbahçe", "Anadolu Efes" or "Laboral Kutcha" and the strongest in Darushshafaka steam — "Maccabi". The first option seems more attractive taking into account that both Turks, and Israelis will progress, as well as the terrible Basques who have received serious "upgrade" thanks to exchange of Kristyan Kangur on Tornike Shengelia .
of CSKA intends to revenge
In final round of the main round "soldiers" again will play with "Unikakhoy" — the team which authorship possesses the only defeat of Muscovites in the current draw of Euroleague. For the month which has passed since that moment, an invulnerability aura over the heads of leaders of the Spanish collective long ago vanished. Wards of Zhoan Plazy conceded to "Bamberg" and "Darushshafake", having done everything possible to send "Maccabi" for fall. But in Malaga, unlike Krasnodar, most natural "cabin" has to happen: in potentially weaker of two groups at a stage of Top-16 the winner will get the permit, instead of lost as it will be in a case with "Loco" and "Barcelona". To catch it, to each of rivals will be to win with any difference in the account enough.
At last, it should be noted that in total "Locomotive" defeat, a victory of CSKA and any deal at which "Khimki" will take the second or fourth place in group A (that is a victory of guys of Rimas Kurtinaytis over "Fenerbahçe" or defeat with the subsequent formation "zakrutok" with "Real" and the winner vapors "Tsrvena Zvezda" — "Bavaria") will be sent by three Russian clubs to group F. In a bullet E all of them, by the way, too can appear on condition of fiasco of "soldiers" in Malaga, triumph of "railroad workers" and the third line of collective situated near Moscow in the sextet. But such succession of events is improbable, after all it demands coincidence at once two unreal factors — victories of "Bavaria" in Belgrad and "Real" defeats from "Strasbourg". 
In final round of the main round "soldiers" again will play with "Unikakhoy" — the team which authorship possesses the only defeat of Muscovites in the current draw of Euroleague. For the month which has passed since that moment, an invulnerability aura over the heads of leaders of the Spanish collective long ago vanished. Wards of Zhoan Plazy conceded to "Bamberg" and "Darushshafake", having done everything possible to send "Maccabi" for fall. But in Malaga, unlike Krasnodar, most natural "cabin" has to happen: in potentially weaker of two groups at a stage of Top-16 the winner will get the permit, instead of lost as it will be in a case with "Loco" and "Barcelona". To catch it, to each of rivals will be to win with any difference in the account enough.
At last, it should be noted that in total "Locomotive" defeat, a victory of CSKA and any deal at which "Khimki" will take the second or fourth place in group A (that is a victory of guys of Rimas Kurtinaytis over "Fenerbahçe" or defeat with the subsequent formation "zakrutok" with "Real" and the winner vapors "Tsrvena Zvezda" — "Bavaria") will be sent by three Russian clubs to group F. In a bullet E all of them, by the way, too can appear on condition of fiasco of "soldiers" in Malaga, triumph of "railroad workers" and the third line of collective situated near Moscow in the sextet. But such succession of events is improbable, after all it demands coincidence at once two unreal factors — victories of "Bavaria" in Belgrad and "Real" defeats from "Strasbourg".
Cory Higgins
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