Turkish Airlines EuroLeague: regular season closes

The 2017/2018 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague regular season has wrapped and we are now looking forward to knockout hoops in Europe’s premier club competition. All teams had qualified or been eliminated before this week’s action, and the contests for the last eight were already set, apart from one. So, it was to Real Madrid and Brose Bamberg we looked, with needing a massive win to secure home advantage against Panathinaikos in the next round. As it was, the club failed despite managing a massive win and will start the Play-Offs away from home.

Real Madrid vs. Brose Bamberg, 106-86

With nothing to play for, Bamberg had little to stop Real Madrid in this game as the Spanish giant chased fourth place. However, Los Blancos finished fifth despite recording a huge win, ending its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague run with a 19-11 record. As for Bamberg, its continental season is over and the German champs closes its account with an 11-19 showing.

Olympiacos vs. Zalgiris Kaunas, 85-86

Zalgiris Kaunas showed once again it is a serious Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title contender this season by defeating Olympiacos on the road. This clash between two qualified clubs went down to the wire, with even an overtime doing little to separate the teams. Closing regulation time tied the game 80-80 and the overtime period was a low scoring and tense run. However, Zalgiris edged the added period 5-6 to take the win.

Valencia Basket vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv, 87-84

This was also a dead rubber game where two eliminated teams met. Valencia managed to take the win to end its EuroLeague season on a high and finish with a 12-18 record. As for Tel Aviv, the Israeli giant will be wondering how its season could have crumbled so much. Just five weeks ago the team was two games ahead and holding the final qualification berth. Since then, Tel Aviv has dropped every game and is now packing its bags.