NAHARIYA (FIBA Europe Cup) - The match-up between Basketball Champions League transferees Ironi Nahariya and FIBA Europe Cup representatives Gaziantep will be only one of four inter-competition pairings in the Round of 16.

While the Turkish side qualified to the Play-Offs as the best-ranked second-placed team of the Second Round after finishing behind Elan Chalon in Group K standings, their upcoming Israeli rivals had to switch competitions after claiming sixth place in Group A of the Basketball Champions League.

In the last week of Regular Season action, Ironi Nahariya could not deliver in the do-or-die fixture against last year's FIBA Europe Cup champions Fraport Skyliners, yielding the last available qualification spot in the Basketball Champions League Play-Offs to the German club.

"We'll now need to continue in the FIBA Europe Cup and I wish Frankfurt the best of luck in the next round of the Basketball Champions League," said the Ironi Nahariya head coach Eric Alfasi in the post-game press conference after an 81-64 loss.

In a rather stark contrast, Gaziantep finished their Second Round campaign on a positive note, beating group winners Elan Chalon 92-80 in convincing fashion, having led by as many as 32 points through the course of the game.

Although the Turkish side shared an identical 5-1 records with the French side, they finished a step below due to the negative head-to-head point differential, but secured passage to the Play-Offs without any drama.

On the other end, the Nahariya side had a much more difficult time in the Basketball Champions League, finishing the Regular Season with a 5-9 record and passing only two teams in Group A – Helios Suns and Bakken Bears.

However, Ironi Nahariya already proved their credentials by getting through the Basketball Champions League Qualification Round at the start of the season, when they won both games against Tsmoki Minsk to qualify for the Regular Season.

The coaching staff of the Israeli side have plenty of options on the roster and a deep bench to work with, which could be a big advantage for the Israeli side in the high-intensity Play-Off games to come, with no player even approaching the 30 minutes per game mark.

A force to be reckoned with inside the paint, Yancy Gates has been the go-to guy for coach Eric Alfasi offensively, with the 27-year-old center averaging a team-best 14.4 points as well as 5.0 rebounds per game in the Basketball Champions League.

Nick Faust and Gilbert Brown are the two other players in double figures, averaging 10.9 and 10.7 points respectively, while all-around difference-maker Derwin Kitchen, who is averaging 3.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists, has kept the coach's trust in spite of shooting just 23% from the field.

Meanwhile, Gaziantep have a number of weapons in their arsenal as well, but the presence of Davon Jefferson and Marcus Denmon towers above the rest of the squad. Having arrived to the club midway through the season, Jefferson immediately became the focal point of the offense, averaging 18.9 points and 10.0 rebounds, while Denmon has also been more-than-solid with 17.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.

The elite helping cast of Andy Rautins, Deyan Ivanov, Will Cherry and Jure Balazic has also been steady and coach Stefanos Dedas, who will want his side to match the aggressiveness and intensity of his opponents, especially with the first game played in Northern Israel.

FIBA