Paris (AFP)
Efes Istanbul will face Real Madrid in the Euroleague men's basketball play-offs, for the shock at this stage of the competition, at the end of the regular season which will have to deliver its final verdicts next week.
The Turks end the regular season in 3rd place, with a record of 22 wins and 12 losses and will have home advantage against Real Madrid (20 wins-14 losses) in the quarter-finals, in a series that will be played in best of five encounters.
Another prestigious poster from the quarter-finals, CSKA Moscow 2nd in the regular season with 23 wins for 10 losses (they still have to play against Panathinaikos next Thursday, a game without a stake), will have to beat Fenerbahçe to climb into a new Final 4.
On Friday, Milan won against Efes and retained their 4th place.
The Italians will face the Germans from Bayern Munich in the play-offs while FC Barcelona, who finished the regular season in the lead, will have to wait a little longer to know their opponent.
The Munich went to win in the Palau Blaugrana of Barça 82 to 72, to end their regular season with 21 successes, a record identical to the Milanese who finished in front thanks to their two victories against Bayern.
For Barça, this 10th defeat of the regular season is inconsequential because the Catalans had already locked the first place in the Euroleague, thanks to their 24 victories.
This match of the 34th and final day allowed Pau Gasol (40), the legend of Spanish basketball to return to the floor and with the jersey of his favorite club, twenty years after leaving Barça for the NBA.
Gasol closed the game with 9 points in just over thirteen minutes.
To know their opponent in the quarter-finals, Barça will have to wait for the result of the late match between Zenit Saint Petersburg and Panathinaikos: in case of victory for Saint Petersburg it will be against the Russians, otherwise it will be against the Spaniards of Valencia.
Zenit, who won Friday night against Maccabi Tel Aviv 86 to 69, need a victory against Pana, who have nothing more to hope for in the premier competition of European basketball, Monday evening (7:00 p.m.) to compete in the play-offs, otherwise the last ticket for the quarterfinals will go to Valencia.
© 2021 AFP