Montepaschi Siena - Regal FC Barcelona

MATCH PREVIEW

A high-profile showdown between two Euroleague powerhouses will take place in Siena, Italy, where Montepaschi hosts Regal FC Barcelona on Thursday evening. Both teams are tied for first place in Group B with 2-0 records, so the winner in this game will take a major step forwards to become a top-seeded team in the Top 16 Draw. Montepaschi and Regal FCB are also tied for first place in the respective domestic competitions, showing great form, so expect nothing but a stellar game in Siena. Barcelona forward Ersan Ilyasova has become the Euroleague October MVP, after averaging 16 points and 9 rebounds in just 22 minutes per game. And the visitors should be at full strength, since Fran Vazquez, who sat out this weekend’s Spanish League game with gastric problems, is expected to play against Montepaschi, offering intensity, shooting range and blocked shots. Former All-Euroleague center David Andersen, defensive ace Jordi Trias and big man Daniel Santiago round a deep, versatile Regal FCB frontcourt. Andersen and Ilyasova will have a tough test against Shaun Stonerook and Benjamin Eze. Meanwhile, Santiago and Vazquez are ready to battle All-Euroleague second team selection Ksistof Lavrinovic, one of the most unguardable players in the competition due to his combination of size, experience, shooting skills and quickness. Stonerook is ready to create mismatches, too, thanks to his high basketball IQ and all-around game. Barcelona is quite deep at point guard, which is important when you face Morris Finley and All-Euroleague playmaker Terrell McIntyre. 

I can't say that this line has a lot of value. Simply I think it's a good chance to go with tremendous home record of Montepaschi Siena which is now 59-4 in last 3 seasons. They lost only one game in last 2 year to CSKA Moscow and were close to winning this one too last year but failed in the end. Now Montepaschi are showing good confident play on all fronts and what I like the most is that their game does not depend on 2-3 players. They have 5 players with Euroleague index rating over 10 and this stats are correct even for Legabasket. The core of last year Montepaschi with McIntyre, Kaukenas, Sato, Stonerook and Lavrinovic doing the result for their team and so far I don't any single reason why we should not trust them in this match.

Barcelona on other side has great results but let's be honest so far the most seriuos opponent they have played was Panathinaikos which is searching for their identity at the start of the season. In all away games excluding easy one against Nancy Barcelona has struggled. They lost to Gran Canaria in ACB league by 11 pts, they were down to 10 points in Murcia and Fuenlabrada but they managed to win games because on experience and winning mentality. But against Montepaschi that is not enough because Montepaschi has the same winning mentality and home crowd support. Barcelona game depends now on Navarro, Andersen and Ilyasova while all other players so far are still not showing their real potential and here where I see disadvantage for this game. Montepaschi has more balanced game with less dependance from 1 or 2 players.

Montepaschi at home is very strong team and they must win this game if they are thinking about winning this group. Maybe this game would not be easy for them, maybe there will be some up and downs but in the end home court and balanced game should bring Montepaschi a 3-7 points win.

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