Olympiacos can advance to the EuroLeague Playoffs if they beat fellow post-season hopefuls Darussafaka Dogus in Piraeus on Friday.
The Reds have won four of their last five games in the EuroLeague and they have won the only previous encounter against Friday’s opponents with Olympiacos scoring a 77-71 win thanks to 15 points each by Georgios Printezis and Matt Lojeski.
For Darussafaka, with six games left of the regular season, they need to win games if they are to prolong their EuroLeague stint. The Istanbul-based side sit in ninth spot, one win off of Baskonia.
However, despite the promising start to the season away from Turkey their last win on the road came just before Christmas when they edged Fenerbahce at the Ulker Sports Arena.
On the flip side, Olympiacos boast an impressive home record as they have won their last seven games at the Peace and Friendship Stadium.
∞∞∞ REAL LOOKS TO MAINTAIN TOP SPOT ∞∞∞
Real Madrid will look to end round 25 on top of the pile in the EuroLeague when they host Crvena Zvezda in the Spanish capital.
The visitors from Serbia however are also in a good position too, but with six games still to be played, Red Star will surely need more wins to make it to the next phase.
“We are focused on this game because it’s key for our qualification,” Real Madrid guard Dontaye Draper said.
“We play against a team full of fighters, they give it all all the time and we will have to face those difficulties to compete and take the win.”
∞∞∞ BROSE TRAVEL TO ISTANBUL TO FACE PLAYOFF HOPEFULS ∞∞∞
Brose Bamberg need to beat Playoff chasing Anadolu Efes on Friday in Istanbul to avoid elimination from post-season contention.
Baskonia’s narrow win on Thursday over Fenerbahce leaves the German champions in that predicament as they travel to the host city for this year’s EuroLeague Final Four.
And in his own descriptive way, Bamberg coach Andrea Trincheri expects one of the most physical battles so far this season.
“I expect one of the toughest physical battles of the whole season,” the Bamberg playcaller said.
“They need a win. They want to eat us right away. They don’t even come to the main course. They want to eat us as an appetizer. They are physically unbelievable.”
