Partizan-Real Madrid: visitors looking to seal top spot in EuroLeague Regular Season
Chus Mateo's troops return to the Stark Arena, where they began their comeback in last year's historic playoffs, with the goal of mathematically taking first place (8:30pm CET).
Real Madrid are back on a court that holds happy memories. It was there, eleven months ago, that they beat Partizan Belgrade in two consecutive playoff games to level a series they had been losing and a few days later achieved an unprecedented feat by qualifying for the Final Four. The Stark Arena was also the scene of La Décima in 2018. Today, the Whites top the standings and with home-court advantage, but they have a clear objective: to win so as to secure top spot in the Regular Season. It won't be straightforward, because the Serbs are fighting for a place in the next round.
Madrid travel from Berlin to Belgrade to play the second game of the final double-header in less than 48 hours. The win against Alba Berlin gave the madridistas the reassurance of having the home-court advantage in the playoffs wrapped up, but this is not enough for Madrid, they want more. They are aiming for first place in the overall standings and to beat the record number of wins by a team in this phase, which they now share with 24 with CSKA, Barcelona and Olympiacos. In addition, another away triumph would be their 12th and would also set their all-time away record. They will finish first if they win tonight or Barça lose at home to Panathinaikos.
Meanwhile, Partizan are in a delicate situation. They are in the play-in positions, with some chance of going straight into the playoffs, but also of dropping out of the top 10. The Whites will have to deal with the atmosphere of the fiercest court in Europe. However, Madrid are enjoying a fantastic season away from home and go into the clash on the back of three victories away from the WiZink Center at the tricky venues of Bologna, Malaga and Berlin. When the situation has warranted it, the team has stepped up to the challenge. Tonight will be a stern test for the leaders against an opponent they know very well, with Obradovic at the helm and a host of quality players such as Punter, Nunnally, Avramovic, Dozier Jr, Leday, Kaminsky and Caboclo. At home, they have only lost three games and boast the best two-point shooting percentage (58.7).
Strong performance needed to make up for absentees
In the first round, Real Madrid comfortably won 91-75 at the WiZink Center, leaving the game practically decided at the end of the third quarter with a +25 lead. Six of our players finished in double digits in PIR and that is the way to come out on top this game. The strength of the team and looking after defensive rebounds and turnovers will be key. Madrid will be without Sergio Rodríguez, Llull and Rudy, and Musa is also a doubt. With the best attack in the competition (88.6 points per game), the Whites will have to focus on their defence, which is conceding almost 84 points. This will be the 25th time the two sides go head-to-head in the EuroLeague, with a 19-5 record in Madrid's favour.