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The Hungarian team is coming to Slovenia decimated by injuries and after 5 consecutive defeats in their league and in Europe where they have no wins and no chance to go through. Krka need a win here as their score is 2-2 while Tofas and Ural have 3-1 but are playing against each other today. Krka are hosting Tofas in the last round an a win here would make sure that they control their own fate so motivation will not be in question here. They have 3 defeats in a row and they need a good performance tonight to end the first half of the season and improve the atmosphere in the team, while Jaszberenyi's coach states that they are coming here to suffer by the smallest difference possible and they are hoping they won't suffer any new injuries. The Hungarians are missing some very important offensive players and Krka limited them to 41 points in the first game and they found no answer to their aggressive defense, while Tofas limited them to 54 points in the last round. The Slovenians have not been too good in defense lately and I believe they will be good today. Details

By wining this game the Israel team would take a big step towards the second stage, and they will do everything they can to get there. The Macedonian team on the other hand have no chance of going further, and are going to Israel without two of their main players, Gecevski and Cekovski, who stayed behind to recover from minor injuries. This proves they see the ABA league as much more important at the moment, and this their coach describes this game as a chance to tune in their two young centers, Mladenovski and Arsevski. As their biggest grief in the first match were precisely the centers of Macabi, I don't see a way for them to defend themselves today. As this is a very important game for Macabi, I don't think they will relax at all. They've lost two in a row and this is an ideal chance for them to get back on the winning path. When we also consider the stress of the journey and the situation in both camps, I believe Macabi will cover the handicap today, and for those brave enough among you not even the big one with 21.5 is out of the question. Details

In the first head-to-head, Union Olimpija have won at home by 6 points but now they're facing a completely different situation than it was then. Varese have had four consecutive defeats in a row since then and they are only the 6th team in the Italian league with 3-3 and this is certainly more important for them than Eurocup where they have 1-4 with little or no chance to go to round 2. The Slovenians, on the other hand, are playing better than at the start of the season, they have 3 consecutive wins and have a 3-2 ratio in the Eurocup and a good result here would be a massive boost. Olimpija's players have had a massive confidence boost after their win over Budućnost and they are highly motivated to win an away game in Europe so a counter-handicap seems like a good option. Details

Mega Vizura are an extremely powerful team offensively, and they've been showing it from one game to the other. They play fast, keep the rhythm high, and create transitions all the time. Coach Milojevic said in the preview that he'll try to speed the rhythm up because he thinks Siroki won't be okay with that, so I see them with a higher number of points in this match. Mega's youth can keep the strong rhythm throughout the whole game, they have short offenses, and that goes for this bet. They scored 101 points against MZT in the last home game, and 82 points against Cibona in the away game in the last round. They were finding their way offensively at the beginning of the season, but now they've found their rhythm, and I think they'll go over this margin. Details

In my opinion, Szolnoki are not the favorites in this match that the bookmakers make them out to be and there are several reasons for that. The first is that Mures have already shown in the first round they are serious about this competition as they beat a Minsk while Szolnoki struggled at home against Rilski. The second is the current form - Mures have 3 wins in a row, the atmosphere is great while Szolnoki have lost their last game in the ABA league at home against the last-placed Union Olimpija and that was something they did not expect. The third reason is that Mures will impose their rhythm of the game, they love taking 3-pointers and if this night is as half as good as the one in Minsk, they will cover this spread. Details

Mega Vizura is a real run-and-gun team, and they try to break all of their opponents with tempo. Under Spahija, Cibona too are trying to play a running game with fast transition, so this game should be about a lot of points. The only time Cibona went over this margin this season was vs Szolnoki, but I think today we will see a pretty similar match, as Mega are forcing a faster pace as well. They conceded 88 vs Partizan, 91 vs Igokea and 82 vs MZT, while less vs Krka, Cedevita and Zadar. This match is extremely important to Cibona, for several reasons, and I believe they will be extremely motivated. They have an advantage under the rim, making me believe they will win the rebounding duel and get more attacks in the process, so I see them going over 81 points... Details

Cibona have 0-3 ratio in the Eurocup, and Oostende 2-1, so this game is very important for both teams. Cibona would like to stay in for the second round, and Oostende would like to use this win to make a big step forward and to get the placement into the second round. Belgian team have been oscillating a lot, and they showed it in their last performance against Cantu, when they lost with 20 points difference on the home court. They also have a lot of problems with the injuries. Ponitka is out for this game, and he's one of the main players of the team at the beginning of the season. Two important players under the basket, Wilkinson and Wright, are missing for a while now. Cibona are most dangerous under the basket at the moment, and this will be their advantage. Zizic and Saric are players that make a difference, and it will be very hard to guard them in this game, since all the burden is left on Stipanovic and Berggren. There are no doubts about Cibona's motivation, they've lost 26 European games in a row, and they'll do anything to end the black series, so the option of them not losing with 9 difference seems like a good bet to me. Details

Both teams prefer fast basketball and Neptunas have gone over this margin in 5 of their last 3 games and failed to go over against the strong Besiktas's defense and Russian Khimky, while they went over against Minsk and Triumph in the VTB league and Panionios in this competition. On the other hand, Radnicki have been playing pretty fast lately. They've gone over this margin in 4 out of last 5 games and only defensively-minded Union Olimpija managed to keep them under. Neptunas are a team of 3-pointers and if they set their scopes right they might get quite a few points, and since Radnicki don't know any other way to play but to outrun their opponents I believe this game should be an over. A smaller stake as the margin is set pretty high and this game is very important for both teams. Details

Banvit have been very convincing at their home court, while the Macedonian team has been much weaker away than at home. Banvit want a step forward in Europe this year and they will take this game seriously and I don't think they should have too many problems. The Macedonians are without Davis, Stojanovski is back, but it is questionable just how ready he is and how much his coach is ready to use him. Eurocup is not a priority for MZT and they will look for their chance at home, while I think they have nothing to hope for against experienced and powerful Banvit. A 14,5 handicap is a good option as points difference is an important factor, and Banvit might end up in the battle for the fist spot with Unics so I don't think they will be too relaxed. Details

MZT have a historical game ahead of them, playing on the home court in Europe for the first time, and hosting a very uncomfortable Maccabi Haifa team who kept up great in the last two games against Unics and Maccabi from Tel Aviv. MZT have injury issues, and Damjan Stojanovski is definitely out. The second player on that position, Cade Davis, also got injured, so they'll have a lot of problems on the shooting positions. Sinovec will get a lot of minutes since nobody else is qualified enough, and the question is whether he'll be able to do it himself. Macedonians are strong under the basket, but Hapoel has Ofoegba, who's playing excellent from the beginning of the season. They can match the Macedonians on all positions, and even be stronger on some positions, regardless of MZT playing on the home court. Maccabi had a lot of bad luck at the beginning of the season, even leading against the great Maccabi with 17 points difference, which proves they can play well in the away games. The best option to me seems to be the counter-handicap, and I don't believe the Macedonians can cover it. Details

This is a very important game for both teams, both teams suffered a defeat in the first round and this is their chance to get back into the game. Both teams have many new players, they are still learning to play as a team and they are not brilliant offensively. Since this is important game I do not see these teams playing run basketball at any cost. Buducnost do not allow many points to their opponents when they are playing at home, they play tough defense and TED will have difficult time scoring, especially since they had two very bad offensive games. In domestic league they scored 65 and in Eurocup only 60. Buducnost had a 151 point game against Cibona and 117 against Krka, 149 against Skopje while the only times they went over were games against PAOK and Zadar, a team that collapsed after the first quarter. If we take the importance of this game into account, I believe this game will not get over the point limit. Details

Zvezda are playing the role of main favorite for the ABA League title, they are really strong in offense and the 73,5 margin seems a bit low, even though Olimpija don't concede a lot of goals. This margin was set according to Olimpija's matches. They have been doing brilliantly defense vise this season, but I don't think defenses will decide this match. Olimpija beat Varese, boosted their confidence, and the coach said they will try to attack, which is exactly what Zvezda would like. I think Zvezda will set their own pace and go over this margin. They went under it recently only against Igokea, but that was their first away game this season. Details

Krka are a team whose defense is their strong suit. They are very poor in the offense this season, unable to go over 60 points in three games, and they are hosting the strongest defense in the league today - Partizan. After losing to Cedevita and scoring only 55 points, Krka's coach wasn't looking for the key to this defeat in their offensive play, but rather in the defense, saying that they need to perform even stronger in that department, so I don't believe they've spent too much time training their offense. In four years and eight head-to-head games, Krka went over this margin only once, and didn't win any of their previous encounters. For Partizan, this is a general rehearsal ahead of their Euroleague game with Barcelona, and they will take it very seriously. Due to these reasons, I've opted for under on Krka. Details

Mega Vizura travel to Pionir Arena after a defeat against Cedevita against which they scored only 62 points on their home court. Partizan left offensively more potent Igokea on 56 points in the first game and showed they are again the strongest defensive team. Mega Vizura are a very young team and I think they will be a bit under the impression of the atmosphere in Belgrade since this is their first season in ABA league and their hands will be a bit shaky. Traditionally Partizan have a slower offensive start into to the season, but their defense is always at the top level. I opted for the following bet: under for Mega Vizura since this is a better bet than a handicap because of that slow offensive start I mentioned for Partizan, although it is possible that Partizan will go over the handicap since Mega Vizura never came close to them in last four years. Details

Buducnost spent heavily on players as they look to have better results than the last season. They were unlucky to lose in the finish of the match against Krka, but their star players and last season's MVP Aleksandar Capin especially, had an awful showing. It's unlikely they'll play as bad again in the next match, a home tie against relaxed Zadar, who have done well winning the first round match. Buducnost should be victorious here, they'll come out attacking, so it will be very hard for Zadar to get anything out of this match. Zadar won their home game on passion and tenacity, something that won't be so easy to do in Podgorica. I think that a handicap bet looks good here, as Buducnost can't afford to relax and falter during the game. Details

During pre-season Cibona managed to go over this margin only once. On the other side, Radnicki have gone over the margin four times during pre-season. The fact that this is only the first round of the ABA league should also be taken into account. A lot is at stake today and both teams will try to win their first game of the season. Radnicki signed a lot of new players during the summer and their teamwork is probably not that good. They didn't play a single competitive game so far and that will certainly be somewhat of a handicap for them today. Cibona scored only 61 points against Cedevita in Drazen Petrovic Cup and their players probably need more time to get to know each other, too. Aggressive defense is something both coaches are asking for from their players and overall under seems like a smart bet to me. Cibona scoring less than 84 points is also a smart move. I don't believe they could improve their offensive game by much in the past seven days. Details