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Key facts for the game:
- Turkey has been disappointing in all their warm-up games as well as their opening game against Canada. The absence of Ilyasova is huge while Dixon is in terrible form finishing with just one point yesterday. To pile on the misery, Osman suffered a distorsion and his presence is questionable today.
- Senegal gave Canada a tough game. What they lack in talent (with the exception of Hannah and N'dour) they make up for in athleticism and defensive intensity.

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Key facts for the game:
- Turkey has been disappointing in all their warm-up games as well as their opening game against Canada. The absence of Ilyasova is huge while Dixon is in terrible form finishing with just one point yesterday. To pile on the misery, Osman suffered a distorsion and his presence is questionable today.
- Senegal gave Canada a tough game. What they lack in talent (with the exception of Hannah and N'dour) they make up for in athleticism and defensive intensity.

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Key facts for the game:
- France appeared a little rusty in their opening game against the Philippines and the absence of Batum can't be an excuse. Nevertheless this France team is brimming with talent and experience and possess arguably the best roster outside of the U.S.A. while the presence of coach Collet at the bench ensures continuity.
- New Zealand surprised the Philippines to secure qualification to the next round but the difference in quality between France and New Zealand is simply enormous. Moreover it's worth mentioning that Abercrombie and the two Websters (Tai and Corey) all played over 30 minutes in yesterday's game.

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Key facts for the game:
- The Greece team appearing in this tournament is not same as in the past. In fact after the retirements of Spanoulis and Zisis and the last moment forfeit of Sloukas, there is a worringly thin backcourt. Moreover with the exception of Perperoglou the whole team seems to lack in 3point shooting and their efficiency in half court game situations remains to been seen.
- Mexico maybe missing their superstar Ayon but they still have the talent to be competitive (Stoll,Gutierrez) and this team has already had more games under their belt after competing in the Centrobasket 2016 in late June, so they should be ready.

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Key facts for the game:
- The handicap went up almost 3 points after the first game's shocking scoreline (82-57) which is actually not a fair reflection of the match. In fact Valencia was competitive for 3 quarters and it took a record breaking fourth quarter from Real in which they scored 35 points to reach the final result.
- Despite shooting with 39% from the arc during the season, Valencia went for 2/22 in Thursday's game 1 in Madrid. It will be difficult having such a horrid shooting night for a second time in a row, not with Real's anyway shaky defense.

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- Key facts for the game:
- Murcia are in great shape. They finished the regular season with 5 consecutive wins and gave Real a very competitive game 1 in Madrid before succumbing to a 107-103 loss.
- Palacio de Deportes in Murcia has been a fortress this season. The hosts have won 12 of the 17 games played at home while their biggest loss was by only an 8 point margin to Barcelona. Real Madrid managed to escape with a win but only after overtime.
Real Madrid will again be missing Rudy Fernandez.

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Key facts for the game:
- Olympiakos might be leading 2-1 in the series but Panathinaikos have actually been the better team so far. They lost game 2 by a buzzer beating 3-pointer by Spanoulis who probably committed travelling before shooting and game 3 after leading for most of the match and suffering an incredible blackout in the last 5 minutes.
- Coach Pedoulakis has transformed the Greens into a much more balanced team since he has taken over from Djordjevic despite receiving a surprisingly small contribution from Raduljica and Williams so far.
- Olympiakos will be playing for the rest of the series without key-man Printezis who has been their best player all season and is the only one on their roster capable of providing easy points in the paint with his high accuracy shots. He was shooting with a 64% excluding 3-pointers before going down with injury in the last game.

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Key facts for the game:
- What we mentioned last week is still valid today. AEK remains the team with the deeper bench and that has proven decisive in the first two games. Today it may be even more crucial with White and Waters suspended for Aris (Sakota and Papantoniou will miss the match for the visitors for the same reason).
- The game will be played without spectators as a protest from Aris for the officiating in the second game.

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Key facts for the game:
- What we mentioned last week is still valid today. AEK remains the team with the deeper bench and that has proven decisive in the first two games. Today it may be even more crucial with White and Waters suspended for Aris (Sakota and Papantoniou will miss the match for the visitors for the same reason).
- The game will be played without spectators as a protest from Aris for the officiating in the second game.

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Key facts for the game:
- Bench depth could be the key in this series. Aris has a weak supporting cast and will be again without Hagins while tonight will be playing their sixth match in the last two weeks after getting eliminated from Panathinaikos in 5 games. AEK had an entire week to regroup after the loss against Olympiakos and have anyway a much deeper bench than Aris.

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I will leave out any key facts for the Euroleague final and offer some thoughts instead. This is without a doubt the final everyone expected between the two best teams in Europe this season. On one side CSKA with arguably the two best guards in Euroleague in De Colo and Teodosic and by far the most efficient offense but a less than reliable defense (14th in efficiency rating) and without any true back-up center for Hynes and that's something to worry about. Fenerbahce on the other side is a much more balanced team efficient both in attack and defense. In the bench of Fenerbahce there is no need for introductions for the ''lord of the rings'' coach Obradovic who will go against his promising pupil Itoudis in what is surely an exciting story. All things considered, I just don't see CSKA as the big favourites here as to justify the odds that circulate and backing Fenerbahce to lift their first ever Euroleague title is the sensible choice.

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Key facts for the game:
- After going 2-0 Panathinaikos lost both matches in Thessaloniki but Calathes missed the third one with injury while Gist, Feldeine and Haynes missed the fourth due to disciplinary reasons. They are all expected to return for the crucial last game.
- Aris would have lost all games in Athens this season with double digits if it wasn't for some late looseness from Panathinaikos in game 1 but with so much at stake this won't be the case anymore.
- Αris will be playing again without their only true center Hagins while the short rotations and weak bench are expected to make a difference for the visitors who will be playing their fifth game in 10 days.

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Key facts for the game:
- Despite their disappointing Euroleague campaign, Real Madrid have won 6 straight and 13 of their last 14 games in the ACB.
- Malaga's inconsistency is well documented. Last week against Gran Canaria they shot almost 50% from the 3-point line, a rare feat for Malaga who are not among the best shooting teams in the league. It will be difficult repeating this kind of performance against Real Madrid.
- Markovic and Smith are still unavailable for Malaga while Real is injury free.

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Key facts for the game:
- Cantu have lost 5 of their last 6 games and are out of objectives after securing their place in Lega A so their season is practically over. Moreover they should be a little rusty after going 10 days without an official game.
- Varese are still motivated as they remain in playoff contention and they are in incredible form. They are on a 4 game winning streak and have won 7 of their last 9 matches.

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Key facts for the game:
- Despite a positive period in which Malaga have won 6 of their last 7 matches, their performances haven't been entirely convincing as the absences of Markovic and Smith keep hurting them.
- Malaga have won just 3 of the 11 matches played against teams placed in the top 8 of the ACB.
- Gran Canaria is one of the more dependable teams of the league without big fluctuations in their performances throughout the season.In fact they have lost two games in a row just once.

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Key facts for the game:
- Sevilla recovered well after the loss at Bilbao winning easily against Estudiantes and their good form continues.They have won 7 of their last 11 matches in ACB.
- Tenerife have lost 3 consecutive games by an average of 18 points.
- Tenerife cannot rely on White and Sekulic today while Richotti and Jones are questionable having missed most of the team practices this week.Newly signed center Gagic is unavailable for this match.

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Key facts for the game:
- Sevilla are in great form having won 5 of their last 7 games, including impressive wins against Valencia, Laboral Kutxa and Gran Canaria.
- Bilbao face an injury crisis with Hannah and Todorovic out, Borg doubtful and several other players with various minor injuries hence not in their best condition.

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Key facts for the game:
- Cremona have already secured home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs and will be playing without italian internationals Cusin and Vitali, so a different squad rotation is almost certain.
- After securing a place in the final of the Europe Cup, in form Varese are now pushing strongly for a playoff spot in Lega A having won 5 of their last 7 matches.

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Key facts for the game:
- After losing Causeur and Shenghelia to injuries, Adam Hanga arguably Baskonia's best defender is also doubtful tonight.
- Panathinaikos' ascent came to an abrupt end in the first game but it's hard seeing the Greeks having such a disappointing game again.

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Key facts for the game:
- Despite the inconsistent performances and the poor defensive attitude Cantu remains an immensely talented team with players like Fesenko, Johnson, Hodge and Ukic in their ranks.
- Cremona have been the better team this season but are still without captain Vitali while 4 of their last 5 home wins came with a total margin of just 8 points so they were unconvincing and arguably lucky at least to a degree.