Belgacom Spirou play host to Maccabi Electra on Thursday with nothing much to play for in this Turkish Airlines Euroleague clash.
Spirou are 2-7 and were eliminated from Top 16 contention two weeks ago and cannot get out of last place in the group, while Maccabi have a 6-3 record and have already advanced to the Top 16 and will finish in second place regardless of any potential ties after this week.
The hosts, perhaps, have the higher motivation here, to give their fans a holiday present by trying to beat one of the top teams, historically, in European competition. Spirou have won only one of the previous six games between these two teams, way back in 1997, so a victory over Maccabi would be a treat for the home crowd.
Forward Lior Eliyahu is not expected to travel to Belgium due to a stomach virus that will keep him sidelined. Sofoklis Schortsanitis and Theo Papaloukas did not play in an Israeli League game on Sunday, but both registered the most minutes for Maccabi the night before in their Adriatic League game, so are expected to play in Charleroi.
After having missed the last Euroleague game, point guard Demond Mallet returned to the Spirou line-up over the weekend and played major minutes in a domestic game. However, Spirou were missing forward Tornike Shengelia in that domestic game, and will also miss this last Euroleague game due to a broken bone in his foot.
The return of Mallet at point guard is Spirou's biggest hope in terms of controlling the pace and taking some advantage over the less-experienced members of Maccabi's backcourt.
Of course, if Papaloukas is matched up with him, experience is no longer an advantage and Mallet gives up a lot of height. The other big battle comes in the paint, between Schortsanitis, who is often unstoppable, and the Spirou tandem of Andre Riddick, whose specialty is stopping opposing big men, and Christophe Begin.
If Shengelia doesn't play, Spirou will need someone to handle crafty power forward Lior Eliyahu, who was Maccabi's leading scorer in his team's 10-point home win when these teams played last month in Tel Aviv.
Spirou defensive ace Jiri Welsch will need to keep Maccabi's best outside shooter, David Blu, in check, while also helping on the visitors' playmakers. If all that happens and shooters like Chris Hill get good looks, Spirou can stay close enough to try for an upset.
