On Your Mark…
Daniele Vecchi breaks down the Euroleague playoff groupings.
Here are the four groups of Euroleague Top 16, the beginning of the road to Euroleague Final Four in Madrid (May 2nd/4th). The challenge will begin next week, the winner and the second placed of each group will be admitted to the quarterfinals (best-of-three series), the winners will be at Madrid’s Final Four. All four groups are tough, but maybe Group G is the toughest, in front of Group F, apparently the easiest one. I try to prognosticate: Real Madrid, Panathinaikos, Cska Moskow and Lietuvos Rytas to the Final Four.
GROUP D
PANATHINAIKOS ATHENS (GREECE)
MONTEPASCHI SIENA (ITALY)
EFES PILSEN ISTANBUL (TURKEY)
PARTIZAN IGOKEA BELGRADE (SERBIA)
GROUP E
LIETUVOS RYTAS VILNIUS (LITHUANIA)
TAU CERAMICA VITORIA (SPAIN)
FENERBAHCE ULKER ISTANBUL (TURKEY)
ARIS TT BANK THESSALONIKI (GREECE)
GROUP F
REAL MADRID (SPAIN)
MACCABI ELITE TEL AVIV (ISRAEL)
ZALGIRIS KAUNAS (LITHUANIA)
OLYMPIACOS PIRAEUS (GREECE)
GROUP G
CSKA MOSKOW (RUSSIA)
UNICAJA MALAGA (SPAIN)
AXA FC BARCELONA (SPAIN)
LOTTOMATICA ROME (ITALY)
DANIELE VECCHI
26 Responses to “On Your Mark…”
Feb.4 at 12:35 pm
max says:
the Group D is the easiest, there’s no spanish teams!
Feb.4 at 12:43 pm
Matt Caputo says:
cream cheese.
Feb.4 at 12:57 pm
melvin says:
yo, how will be the seed for the quarter finals?
Feb.4 at 12:59 pm
james jj says:
Barcelona is Pau Gasol former team?
Feb.4 at 1:07 pm
Daniele Vecchi says:
quarterfinal 1: 1st group D - 2nd group E
quarterfinal 2: 1st group E - 2nd group D
quarterfinal 3: 1st group F - 2nd group G
quarterfinal 4: 1st group G - 2nd group F Final Four: semifinal 1: winner quartefinal 1 - winner quarterfinal 3. semifinal 2: winner quarterfinal 2 - winner quarterfinal 4.
Feb.4 at 1:22 pm
belly nelly says:
wow, don’t like this kind of programme. better the choose at random, more thrill more palpitation. Tel Aviv rulez, we’re goin to Madrid. Belly Nelly in da place.
Feb.4 at 1:27 pm
fuente says:
could happen Real Madrid-Barcelona in the quarterfinals…..
what a series
Feb.4 at 2:31 pm
Daniele Vecchi says:
yes James, Axa Fc Barcelona is Pau Gasol former team, but he’s an Espanyol (the second team of Barcelona) fan.
Feb.4 at 2:36 pm
Fossa dei Leoni says:
no Fortitudo? No party! Europe miss the F!
Feb.4 at 2:53 pm
OAKA says:
We will be in Madrid next may, hoping to be with our friends Real Madrid! Panatha mou se agapo
Feb.4 at 3:08 pm
what says:
First to 100 flops wins.
Feb.4 at 3:13 pm
drelove says:
euroball rocks!
Feb.4 at 3:15 pm
pooka says:
any european team can compete with NBA teams in perfect shape. You can’t deny this.
Feb.4 at 4:56 pm
max says:
pooka, “can compete” or “can’t compete”?
Feb.4 at 5:08 pm
pooka says:
it’s “can’t compete”. Sorry.
Feb.4 at 6:53 pm
fangy says:
you say that Panathinaikos can’t beat Grizzlies in their best shape?? Come on. Pana win easily
Feb.4 at 7:20 pm
melvin says:
pooka, some euro teams are strong for real, they REALLY can compete with some NBA teams
Feb.4 at 7:32 pm
pooka says:
don’t think so. Nba teams are strong minded, it’s an attitude. You can say the same of european teams? What about talent? You have to admit it.
Feb.4 at 8:12 pm
max says:
I totally disagree with Pooka.
Feb.4 at 9:51 pm
shanty town says:
hey pooka, remember Dirk Nowitzki, german, Regular Season MVP? and Tony Parker, french, MVP if th Finals?
Feb.5 at 6:42 am
pachutin says:
euroball is at the same level of Nba. Not too much difference.
Feb.6 at 7:53 pm
retroking says:
The difference between NBA and Euro is MONEY. That means that NBA keeps a dozen of the best world players, including the European players. Other remaining 200 guys are just of the same strength. Some European clubs are stronger than NBA counterparts some weaker.
Now because of the star players very many NBA teams are forced to orient their game play to compliment individual star performance, while generally speaking Euro clubs more tend to go for an active team approach and individual performances often are being tamed.
As I said that is all generally speaking, because there are European STAR dusted clubs that have to show their investment work and show off their star players and NBA teams that have to work hard without no BrandNamed players. There are pluses and minuses everywhere.
The moment you will transplant the dozen top NBA internationals + couple USA players into European clubs, (basically reverse the trend) we will be talking about Euro clubs as the main thing. For now, unfortunately for Europeans, most the cream of the crop sign up to play for $. Same Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol and many many others. We would love to watch them play, but they are not here.
Feb.15 at 3:33 pm
russian_boy says:
efes pilsen :74 panathinaikos:64
aris ttbank :88 fenerbahce ulker:96 turkish teams winned to greek teams.14/15 feb 2008.
turkish teams very good and dangerous this year now.but myfavourite is cska moscow and maccabi tel aviv.they can champion in 2008.
Feb.15 at 6:31 pm
max says:
about the first top16 week????
Feb.16 at 9:08 pm
melvin says:
hey too real for the league, where’s the next eurotrip???
Feb.20 at 11:23 pm
porfirio says:
eurotrip???