Home Other EuroLeague preview: EA7 Milano aim to halt Baskonia in four-game Tuesday

EuroLeague preview: EA7 Milano aim to halt Baskonia in four-game Tuesday

EA7 Milano host Baskonia on Tuesday night aiming to stop the Liga Endesa side’s winning run of two games in the EuroLeague.

But while Milano ended their three-game losing streak last week against Anadolu Efes, they will have to stop a Baskonia side who thrashed Fenerbahce, a team that many consider to be one of the favourites in their last encounter. Fatigue clearly got the better of the Vitoria-based side over the weekend as they lost to Valencia, domestically but EA7 Milano coach Jasmin Repesa believes that Tuesday’s opponents will still be in good condition.

“We face a team coming off a great period, in great shape,” Repesa said. “They lost to Valencia in the Spanish League, but they played less than 48 hours after beating Fenerbahce and it was a difficult task, especially because playing Fenerbahce for sure took away a lot in terms of physical energy and mentally.

“They are very well built, with a lot of talented players. They can score at will, too. So we need to be very focused and play with a lot of intensity for the entire 40 minutes.”

∞∞∞ FENERBAHCE LOOK TO GET BACK ON TRACK, AS DO MACCABI ∞∞∞

Desperate to get back to winning ways and put perhaps their worst EuroLeague showing behind them, Fenerbahce travel to Israel to face Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, who like their opponents, are looking to shake off a two-game losing run.

The last time the two sides saw each other, Fenerbahce swept Maccabi in the 2014-15 playoffs, including a 75-74 victory in Tel Aviv in Game three to close the series. This though is a much different Maccabi line-up to the 2014-15 season, and Fenerbahce coach Zeljko Obradovic knows that.

“We will play against a team that has quality in all positions,” he said. “They have a specific way of playing basketball, not only this year. After our bad game in Vitoria we must understand that this game is very important for us.”

Fenerbahce currently has a 4-2 record in EuroLeague play, while Maccabi are 2-4.

∞∞∞ TWO MORE GAMES COMPLETE TUESDAY LINE-UP ∞∞∞

In addition to Milano taking on Baskonia and Fenerbahce travelling to Tel Aviv, Tuesday’s fixture list features two match ups featuring sides desperate to climb up the standings.

For the first time in EuroLeague history, Brose Baskets host Crvena Zvezda as both sides aim to bounce back from narrow losses in round six, last week.

Bamberg lost 72-70 on the road to Darussafaka Dogus, while Red Star were edged by Unics Kazan 65-62. Both sides have 2-4 records this season.

Unics Kazan are currently riding a two-game winning streak have lost their first four games previous to that. They travel to Istanbul on Tuesday to face Anadolu Efes.

Both sides have faced each other twice in EuroLeague history with the two teams having won a game apiece.

“We are looking for a balance between the recovery and preservation activity,” said Unics coach Evgeny Pashutin. “In addition, Anadolu Efes is an athletic team with good rebounders. There are a lot of snipers in their roster also . Our task will be to be focused during 40 minutes and don’t allow them for second-chance points.”

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