Euroleague in full swing

[by Kris SANTIAGO] - The Euroleague is now down to the last eight teams, so it's time to take a look at the teams that are still in the race for the continental club championship.

Montepaschi Siena - Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul

The Italian champions from Siena are going into a tough quarterfinal against Turkish-side Fenerbahce after beating Efes Pilsen from the same country in the "Top 16".
A well-balanced team, Siena can rely on experienced guards Terrell McIntyre (Clemson), Bootsy Thornton (St.John's) and former San Antonio Spur Romain Sato on the smaller positions. In the paint, the team got Shaun Stonerook (Ohio Univ.) Lithuanian giant Ksystof Lavrinovic and the Nigerian "helicopter" Ben Eze which are having a long history of playing with winning teams in Europe.
Will Solomon is the key player for "Fener", the Turkish champions.
Another Clemson product and a former-Memphis Grizzly, Solomon has been playing for the top teams in Europe for quite some time and won numerous awards for his stellar play.
Turkish guard Omer Onan provides experience while James "Flight" White (another ex-Spur in the mix) and Tarence Kinsey (Memphis Grizzlies) have been improving constantly in their European rookie season through the year. On the bigger positions, routinier Mirsad Türkcan (once a first round pick of Houston) and young guns Oguz Savas and Omer Asik are cleaning up the boards.

Prediction: 2-1 Siena. Experience could be the decider in this match up as Siena has more experience and athletism on the pivot positions. On the other hand, Istanbul's bench players contribute much more to the game, while Siena needs to stay out of injury trouble to advance.

CSKA Moscow - Olympiakos Piraeus

The Russians are clearly the favorite team to win the match up, especially after the sudden release of one of the "Reds" most important players, namely Marc Jackson (Hornets).
CSKA is led by Russian-American J.R. Holden, who is a hero in Russia since his championship-winning shot against Spain in the European Championships last year in Madrid.
He controls the pace of the Ettore Messina-coached team and with Trajan Langdon (Duke) on his side, the two are forming one of Europe's mot dangerous backcourt-duo.
Ramunas Siskauskas (Euroleague Champ 2007) and Marcus Goree (West Virginia) are both experienced and belong to the top players on their positions.
Danish-Australian David Andersen (Second Round Pick of Atlanta) is a scoring center in the paint while Theo Papaloukas is another great guard from Greece who won the Euroleague (also voted MVP) and the European Championships and is also a natural leader.
Belgian Tomas van den Spiegel also belongs to the best centers what Europe can offer and Slovenian Matjaz Smodis is back after an injury and contributes significantly to the team. Former Chicago Bull Viktor Khryapa comes from the bench together with Greek Nikos Zisis which gives CSKA probably the deepest bench in whole Europe.

Olympiakos, who lost the Greek cup final to arch-rivals Panathinaikos some days ago, have to hope that Lynn Greer (Bucks) and Arvydas Macijauskas (Hornets) are going to carry the team to the "Top Four". Macijauskas returned on the court after sustaining a rupture of the achilles tendon last year and never looked back. Trouble kid Qyntel "Pit Bull" Woods along with Greek towers Ioannis Bouroussis and Loukas Mavrokefalides going to start for the "Reds" under the boards while talented Serbian guard Milos Teodosic and Greek Georgios Printezis are coming off the bench but are inexperienced. Also on the roster is Jake Tsakalidis who spent some time in the NBA but is a non-factor (like in the NBA) in Europe.

Prediction: 3-0 CSKA. Moscow should not having much trouble to make the next round thanks to it's roster that gives coach Messina a gazillion options.

Tau Ceramica Vitoria - Partizan Igokea Belgrade

The Spanish champ is again on the way to the "Top Four" but will the team be good enough to beat CSKA? But before talking about a possible match-up with CSKA, the Basque need to overcome Partizan from Serbia who trounced surprisingly Panathinaikos a round earlier, are a tough opponent.
Igor Rakocevic (Timberwolves) who is known for his knack for scoring is going against his fellow countrymen while Zoran Planicic of Croatia and formerly of the New Jersey Nets and Pete Mickeal (Rockets) are going to help Igor to beat the underdogs from Belgrade.
Tiago Splitter could be the next Brazilian heading towards the NBA (San Antonio), but before doing so, Tiago and Mirza Teletovic from Bosnia going to pair up under the boards and try to win the Euroleague this time. They are getting help by American center Will McDonald (South Florida) and forward Sergi Vidal from Spain, as well as by talented blog-writing Nigerian Gabe Muoneke (Texas) while Argentinean Pablo Prigioni adds leadership and steady guard play for the ambitious Basques.

The Serbian basketball powerhouse surprised by beating 2007 Euroleague champions Panathinaikos Athens and advancing to the "Top Eight".
Mainly due to Milt Palacio's impressive performance (24 points), the "black-whites" edged the clear favorites from Greece 827-30 to go after the next title candidate.
Young Serbians Milenko Tepic and Novica Velickovic are getting valuable playing time and contribute whenever needed, but the big star of the team in Nikola Pekovic who should be heading over to Greece for a big contract soon and could be drafted by the NBA this year as well.
Pekovic, who hails from Montenegro, blossomed into a star this season and has all tools to play in major competition although being only 22 years-old.
Along with the youngsters, there are Dusan Kecman and Cedomir Vitkovac, who are with Palacio the respected and experienced players on the roster, while promising Uros Tripkovic struggled a bit this season but is also set to be a future star in the dress of Partizan.

Prediction: 3-0 Tau. This could be a tough road for Tau; still Tau should use the home court-advantage to go on further.

Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv - A.X.A. FC Barcelona

After a bad start into the season, the Israelis changed coaches and added former Hawk forward Esteban Batista and former Hornet guard Alex Garcia to the squad.
Ex-Terp Terence Morris, who played also in the NBA with Houston and Orlando, is getting better output the longer the season lasts. A bust in the NBA, Marcus Fizer found his niche in Europe where he played his best pro ball so far but will be lost for the rest of the season due to an injury.
Vonteego Cummings (Philly), David Bluthenthal (USC) and foremost Will Bynum (Pistons) had to step up their game significantly while the return of touted Croatian post Nikola Vujcic boosts Maccabi's chances to make it far this year. Yotam Halperim, probably the best Israeli right now, is having a strong season and paired with routined Derrick Sharp along talented NBA-prospect Omar Casspi, the near future for Tel Aviv looks promising.

Slovenian PG Jaka Lakovic is leading the team while the other veterans Gianluca Basile (Italy) , Roger Grimau (Spain) , Pepe Sanchez (Argentina & Temple) and American Alex Acker (Pistons) providing depth on the positions around the perimeter. Extravagant center Mario Kasun (formerly of the Magic) returned to the court after some health issues but isn't playing like before his irregularities with his heart beat.Jordi Trias and Fran Vazquez (First round pick Orlando) compensate for Kasun's problems while Denis Marconato is also in the mix although having a sub-par season. Bucks' first rounder Ersan Ilyasova is having a dismal year after his return to Europe but has lately showed flashes of what he is capable of.

Prediction: 2-1 Maccabi. Maccabi is currently riding the wave; Barcelona won't be able to upset the former Euroleague champs.