Round 18 at a glance: Second half arrives with weighty rematches

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade vs. Real Madrid

Dangerous Zvezda (9-8) will attempt to climb into the playoffs places with a visit from co-leader Real (11-6), which has precisely alternated wins and losses in the last seven games. Zvezda, loser of its last two home games, will look for another dominant performance from rising star Filip Petrusev, who took last week’s MVP of the Round award and has now averaged 20.8 points and 8.0 rebounds in his last four games. This week, however, he has the almighty challenge of overcoming Real giant Walter Tavares.

ALBA Berlin vs. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan

ALBA (5-12) will aim to continue its renaissance by gaining a third straight win against visiting Milan (6-11). Jaleen Smith has been crucial to ALBA’s revival in the last two games, scoring 21 and 18 points, and his long-range shootout with Milan’s Billy Baron could be a key factor. Baron did not make a three-pointer in last week’s loss to Olympiacos, having converted at least 3 triples in each of the previous four games, so Milan needs him to regain his accuracy in the German capital.

Panathinaikos Athens vs. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

Two badly struggling teams desperate to return to winning ways go head-to-head as Panathinaikos (6-11) aims to end a five-game losing run against Fenerbahce (10-7), which has also dropped five consecutive games to see its playoffs position come under threat. Fenerbahce will hope that star guard Nick Calathes can guide returning to form on the floor he called home for a long time. The competition’s all-time assists leader has averaged just 3.6 assists during his team’s losing run, having previously dished 6.2 per night.

FC Bayern Munich vs. Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz

Co-leader Baskonia (11-6) will look to return to winning ways with a trip to always-competitive Bayern (6-11), which has won two in a row at home. We can expect a three-point shootout: Baskonia leads the league with 29.1 long-range attempts per game, with Bayern ranking fourth in that category with an average of 27.8. Revenge will be on the host’s minds after Bayern suffered a 25-point loss – 78-53 – when the teams met in Spain a month ago on a night when the German giant converted only 18 field goals.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna vs. Zalgiris Kaunas

After beating Fenerbahce and Barcelona in its last two games, Virtus (8-9) will look to keep on rolling with a visit from in-form Zalgiris (9-8) in a direct battle on the fringes of the playoffs places. The visiting team could give debuts to two new players, Achille Polonara and Isaiah Taylor, with the latter set for a big role to replace injured point guard Keenan Evans. Zalgiris won October’s meeting between the teams by 3 points, so a road win this week would effectively be worth a three-game margin over Virtus.

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne vs. FC Barcelona

Barcelona (11-6) will look to get back into winning ways with a testing trip to face ASVEL (6-11), which gained a memorable road victory thanks to Nando De Colo’s game-winner when the teams met a month ago. ASVEL has struggled to build more momentum since then, losing its last three games, but Barca also needs to bounce back after losing at home to Virtus last week. ASVEL big man Youssoupha Fall claimed a mammoth 18 rebounds in last month’s meeting, so Barca will be determined to handle him more effectively this time.

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv vs. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade

Maccabi (9-8) suffered its third-heaviest defeat in EuroLeague history with last week’s 33-point loss at Madrid, and faces the tough task of recovering against a red-hot Partizan (8-9) which has won four in a row to climb within one win of the playoffs places. Maccabi’s focus must be improved perimeter defense; the Israeli team allowed Real to convert 18 triples and faces a Partizan that made 15 of 25 in thrashing Monaco last week. That included 4-for-4 three-point accuracy from Danilo Andjusic, who leads the league with 53.7% conversions from downtown.

Valencia Basket vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul

After losing its last two games, Valencia (7-10) will look to reignite a playoffs push against reigning champ Efes (9-8), which is aiming to stop a two-game losing run on the road. Efes could attempt to exploit a weakness in the hosts by establishing a strong presence inside the paint: Valencia has allowed its opponents to convert 56.9% of their two-point attempts, second-worst in the league, while Efes ranks fourth in converting its two-point shots, at 56.6%. Veteran forward Chris Singleton could make his second debut for Efes after re-joining the Turkish team last week.