Fenerbache Ulker and Emporio Armania are both looking for their first win of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 campaign.
In this first-ever Top 16 showdown and critical game in which both teams will try to grab their first win, Fenerbahce Ulker welcomes EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in Group G on Wednesday.
Despite leading by 17 points, FB Ulker fell on the road against Unics 76-71 last week, while Armani could not beat defending champions Panathinaikos. That means the loser of this game will go down to 0-2, a tough hurdle to overcome. Armani has beaten FB Ulker in each of its 6 previous matchups – either as Fenerbahce or Ulker – but their last showdown came in 1997.
Expect a sensational basketball atmosphere in the brand new Fenerbahce Ulker Sports Arena, which hosts a Turkish Airlines Euroleague game for the first time.
FB Ulker is still without starting point guard Roko Ukic, out mid-term with a broken finger. Armani will travel to Istanbul without Malik Hairston, who is sidelined indefinitely because of an Achilles' tendon injury. Stefano Mancinelli is questionable due to a knee problem that kept him out of his team's Italian League game this weekend.
As long as Ukic is sidelined, Curtis Jerrells will be FB Ulker's starting point guard, offering deep range and driving skills. He will have the tough mission of guarding Omar Cook, who led the Top 16 in assists in each of the last three seasons.
Engin Atsur will offer intensity and court vision off the hosts' bench against veteran Jacopo Giachetti. If Mancinelli stays sidelined, Drew Nicholas and Alessandro Gentile will see more minutes at both wings for Armani. Nicholas, a former Alphonso Ford Top Scoring trophy winner, will test his shooting skills against Bojan Bogdanovic, in great form recently.
Gentile must use his aggressiveness against small forward Marko Tomas. FB Ulker is deeper at both wings, as it can use defensive stopper and three-point threat Omer Onan and point forward Emir Preldzic, whose match-up against Gentile will be one of the biggest keys to this game.
Armani relies on its experienced frontcourt duo, Antonis Fotsis and Ioannis Bourousis, to make the difference in the paint. Fotsis must use his size, range and athleticism against James Gist, whose combination of jumping skills and overall talent make him a natural-born mismatch.
Bourousis must box out and use his post skills against Oguz Savas and Gasper Vidmar. Mirsad Turkcan, the Euroleague's all-time top rebounder, should return to action doing what he does best – clean the boards and offer leadership and intensity. But Turkcan and Kaya Peker will not have it easy against rebounding ace Mason Rocca.
