Fenerbahce Ulker are on home court on Thursday in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 when they play host to defending champions Panathinaikos.
A duel to reach the upper half of Group G's standings is set for Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday, when Fenerbahce Ulker faces Panathinaikos.
Both teams are tied for second place in the group at 1-1. Panathinaikos has won its last 5 showdowns against the Turkish powerhouse – FB Ulker's last win came early in the 2004-05 season.
After not facing each other over the past 4 years, the two now meet in the new state-of-the-art Ulker Sports Arena.
Fenerbahce Ulker has a full team to go against Panathinaikos, as Roko Ukic and Mirsad Turkcan returned last week. Panathinaikos may travel without Ian Vougioukas, who sat out in a Greek League game this weekend.
FB Ulker must stop the Greek squad’s pick-and-roll in the high post, a specialty of point guards Dimitris Diamantidis and Sarunas Jasikevicius. Diamantidis faces the challenge of guarding Ukic, whose size, speed and driving skills turn this match-up into a critical one.
Diamantidis will need all his experience, clutch play and, above all, great defensive skills. Jasikevicius will look to execute his legendary passing skills against Curtis Jerrells. Both teams are really deep at both wings. Panathinaikos will rely on Stratos Perperoglou and Romain Sato to offer athleticism and game smarts.
Three-point threat David Logan, combo guard Nick Calathes and versatile forward Kostas Kaimakoglou give coach Zeljko Obradovic many options at both ends. Perperoglou must use his size against a slasher like Omer Onan, while Sato has a very intriguing matchup against Marko Tomas.
Off the bench, the hosts can turn to Bojan Bogdanovic, who can provide instant offence, and to point forward Emir Preldzic, who can change a game with his size and talent. Mike Batiste and Steven Smith will start for Panathinaikos, giving the Greens size and power around the baskets. Smith has the tough job of guarding James Gist, an unbelievable athlete with great jumping skills.
Batiste, Kostas Tsartsaris and Ian Vougioukas will face a big battle in the paint against big men Gasper Vidmar, Mirsad Turkcan, Kaya Peker or Oguz Savas.
Both teams will play at a very high rhythm, with players coming off the bench often to maintain the pace. Expect an entertaining game.
Euroleague Live Streaming Schedule:
- 16:15 - CSKA Moscow vs Galatasaray
- 18:30 - Fenerbahce vs Panathinaikos
- 19:45 - Barcelona vs Zalgiris
- 19:45 - Cantu vs Maccabi Electra
- 19:45 - Unicaja vs Montepaschi Siena
