Defending champions Panathinaikos will be looking to remain unbeaten when they host Unics in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 on Wednesday.
In a high-profile game, the reigning Turkish Airlines Euroleague and Eurocup champions face each other in Athens, Greece, where Panathinaikos hosts Unics on Wednesday.
Panathinaikos and Unics won their respective Week 1 games against EA7 Emporio Armani and Fenerbahce Ulker, respectively, turning this game into a fight for first place in Group G. Both teams face each other for the first time in an official game, too.
Panathinaikos won 5 of its last 6 Euroleague games and won Top 16 Game 1 by the biggest margin in the competition (21). Unics is also on fire, as the current Eurocup champion has won 7 of its last 8 Euroleague games. Expect a great tactical battle in what promises to be a very interesting showdown.
Dimitris Diamantidis sat out in a Greek League game this weekend but is set to return against Unics. The Greens have 15 players on their roster. Fotios Zoumpos, Pat Calathes and Alex Kyritsis sat out last week. Bostjan Nachbar, who signed for Unics right before the deadline, will be ready to help his new team.
Unics' number one priority will be slowing reigning Euroleague and Final Four MVP Dimitris Diamantidis, whose clutch play, experience and defensive skills can change a game. Diamantidis will have plenty of help at both guards from four-time Euroleague champion Sarunas Jasikevicius, combo guard Nick Calathes or shooting ace David Logan.
Petr Samoylenko, who had Euroleague career-high numbers in points and assists last week, will have his hands full against Diamantidis. Logan must use his explosiveness and ball handling against a similar player like Terrell Lyday.
Unics is also deep at point guard, as Lynn Greer will come off the bench to offer court sense and determination. The addition of Nachbar gives Unics a lot of possibilities due to his ball handling, versatility and experience. Henry Domercant, however, will still be the guests' top gun, as the veteran shooter is in the prime of his career.
Domercant will have to be at his best against defensive stoppers like Stratos Perperoglou and Romain Sato. Nachbar and Kelly McCarty will have to step up to stop Sato, whose explosiveness and driving skills turn a game around. The battle in the paint will be equally interesting, as Vladimir Veremeenko earned Top 16 Game 1 bwin MVP honours and is ready to test his post moves against Steven Smith and Mike Batiste.
Aleks Maric may see extended playing time to guard giant center Nathan Jawai, while two former Olympiacos players – Ian Vougioukas of Panathinaikos and Aleksey Savrasenko of Unics – will go face to face.
Panathinaikos needs a good game from Diamantidis and Batiste, along with its usual defensive intensity, but Unics is hungry to pull off an historical upset.
