SZEKESFEHERVAR (FIBA Europe Cup) - The final week of the Second Round in the FIBA Europe Cup will start with an explosive do-or-die match-up between Alba Fehervar and Pau-Lacq-Orthez in the historic Hungarian capital Szekesfehervar on Tuesday.

The only game on schedule for the day, the duel between the two top teams in Group O, is fully deserving of the special attention, with their international campaigns and Round of 16 berth on the line for both sides.

After getting through the Regular Season unscathed, Elan Bearnais, currently second in the standings with a 3-2 record, have been forced to do things the hard way in the Second Round after complicating their situation with losses to U-BT Cluj-Napoca and BK Pardubice.

Although the Hungarians are ranked higher with a 4-1 mark, they are the only team in the group that haven't succeeded to inflict damage on Pau-Lacq-Orthez, picking up a painful 89-63 loss in France.

That being said, the French side have demonstrated first-rate basketball at home against other teams as well. It is on the road, where they have had major issues and where both of their losses have come.

Having first slumped to a 79-69 loss against Cluj in Romania, Elan Bearnais were also handed a 92-77 defeat by Pardubice in Czech Republic and may be skittish before their trip to Hungary as well.

However, last week Pau-Lacq-Orthez started digging their way out of the hole they have put themselves in by getting a 103-83 revenge against U-BT Cluj-Napoca at the Palais des Sports de Pau to avoid elimination.

Alba Fehervar also won last week, winning away against Pardubice 97-89 in overtime, but it wasn't as momentous of a win as the one celebrated by their Tuesday opponents in the larger scheme of things.

While last week's victory did theoretically open up an alternative path of qualifying to the Round of 16 for them, advancing as one of the top-ranked second-placed teams is unlikely to be a viable option for the Hungarian side due to the fact that their point differential of +2 is second-worst among all eligible teams.

Therefore, barring any miraculous results in other groups, Alba will still need to defeat Pau-Lacq-Orthez to clinch automatic qualification to the next phase of the competition, setting up a double-barreled do-or-die situation in the upcoming contest.

FIBA