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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

Even though they showed great resistance against Radnicki and Besiktas, and lost only in the final moments of the game, it seems to me that Bisons won't give so much resistance today. They have a chronic problem with the jump, where they lose even from the teams on the bottom of the Finnish league table. That problem is even more evident this week because they have written off two of their best jumpers, McDade and Hawkins, and I really don't see how they could get less than 10-15 jumps difference compared to Spartak today. Considering Spartak base most of their game on Homan and Yakovenko under the basket, the Finnish will have a hard time defending that. Spartak already defeated a club like Besiktas in the away game, while they defeated Lietuvos Rytas with the two-digit number difference in the last round in the Euroleague. With a game like that, they can definitely win against the Finnish team who have issues with the jump, and whose important players left, and will only be substituted in the following week. Details

The fact is that Slovenian club and national team volleyball are at a much higher level than the one in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but I think Jedinstvo are being largely underrated here.
According to the information from Brcko, the arena will be packed as no other sport is more important than volleyball and this game was put in the evening prime time. They have an excellent run in the domestic league - 5 wins in 5 games, which may not prove their quality, but it shows their form. Just to say, Kakanj lost at home only against much stronger opposition. Jedinstvo are not weaker than them and Calcit is certainly not a far better team.
The Slovenians come to Brcko without Lakner and Stavbar should not play due to finger injury, that is, coach Brumen said he should play unless something unexpected happens, whatever that means. Last year Calcit were literally cannon fodder in away games, the lost against Kaposvar and Humenne in the Central European League, they lost against the Swiss Amriswil in the CEV cup and they had two national team players in their ranks - Jan Planinac and Jan Pokeršnik, and they got no replacements for them. Another fact that speaks in favor of this bet is the fact that their coach Brumen says they know nothing about Jedinstvo or what to expect in Brcko and this means they will look for their chance in the return fixture at home next week.These statements look like a great alibi for a defeat.
Home court, a packed arena, and motivated players on one hand and weakened away team without 2 important players and an alibi from their coach are a reason to go for the home team today. The odds are more than good and one should also go for a clean win by the home team. Details

Noone can accept the fact that Lübbecke are considered as favorites, all credit to their results, a win against Löwen and other games. But I will go for the away team here. Göppingen beat Hamburg at their home in a great game, it didn't go too well against Kiel, but they weren't too far either. Göppingen have a team that can match Lübbecke in all positions, from pivot (Pevnov - Loke), center back (Kneule and Krause - Vuković) to back players (Rnic and Lobedank) where they are even better than the home team. Prost is doing great on the goal, him and Marinovic are a better option than Blazickio and young Semisch. In addition, Göppingen have won their last 3 head-to-heads and the teams are pretty much the same as last year. Details

Apart from the handicap, I will also go for the home win that also pays well. I believe the Slovenian team would be happy with a minimal 3-2 defeat because they are much stronger at home in front of their own fans. Brcko are a town of volleyball tradition and I wouldn't be surprised if Jedinstvo won especially in front of their home crowd. All odds above 3 are a great value and much more realistic ones would be about 2.5 or 2.3. Details

This game has to be an under. Panionios is a team that we wrote about on several occasions, always in terms of their total defense that their coach Panionios insists on. After two minor blunders in the last two rounds, Sferopoulos ordered a complete mobilization and this resulted in their opponents scoring 39 points. Nothing has changed for today, all players and Sferopoulos himself say that they are going for a win here and that they can only get that win here through defense. The two injured players are not too important for the defense and they are replaced by Kyritsis and Skordilis that can play a great defense. In addition, Panionios are facing an opponent who prefer slower game and Besiktas only scored 72 points against the fast Neptunas, while they remained on 58 and 61 points against the Bisons and St. Petersburg, respectively. Panionios are traveling here with an idea to allow the least amount of points possible and Besiktas seem to like this idea so I see this as a game of 60-something each and the home team under seems like the best option. Details

Even though they won all the games, UNICS are still not playing well together since the beginning of the season. You can clearly see that in the offensive segment of their game, where they depend a lot on Goudelock's efficiency. However, they've been winning the games with their defense, so Enisey were the only ones who managed to score more than 72 points against them, and that's thanks to the last quarter. Riga, on the other hand, don't play as fast as they did the last season. Rowland leaving left a big hole in their offense potential, and the games they played so far confirmed that they're better in the defensively orientated games. They conceded 90 points against Khimki this weekend, but the guests had an incredible shots percentage, and I don't believe UNICS can repeat that. Butautas was disappointed with their approach in the middle part of the game, and today, we can expect them to be more aggressive. Riga proved they can have quality in the defense, mostly in Estonia and Ukraine, and maybe even against Lietuvos at the beginning of the season. This margin is a consequence of Riga's game in Israel last week, but I think we'll be seeing a different story here. Details

I don't see PAOK as the favorites of this game. We've seen PAOK in a series of great results, but when you take a closer look, you see that a large number of wins came from very close games and two of those literally were buzzer beaters. The opponents were not any better than the ones today. They beat Buducnost and Alba in the dying moments, and they gambled away a 15-point lead against Kolejlier. They were not impressive on any occasion and the number of turnovers was huge considering the defensive quality of the teams they were up against. They are facing a much more aggressive defense, the one with two 2,15-meter giants in the paint that will take care of PAOK's main weapon - center Bogris. Shooting guards Delaney and Shuler will put the pressure on Cooper, home team's young point guard that is prone to series of errors, as was the case against Kolejlier, and Khimik won't allow him to get into one of his series. All of this points to a win for the home team, and the handicap is a much better solution if you take into consideration PAOK's history of close finishes and buzzer beaters. Details

Kayseri played the Eurocup finals last year. The team are stronger compared to the last year. All of the players who left, besides Jones, had their tasks in the game, and none of them are a talent as the Seattle duo is. I think it will be very difficult to defeat Kayseri on their own court this season. It's a rare occasion to find this kind of atmosphere in the women basketball, and that will be a big shock for any guest. They won't have the standard problems that the teams who have WNBA players do because these two already know how to play together. Kayseri's defense will be extremely aggressive on the home court, and any opponent will lose a lot of balls. The offense won't have any issues because in case of defense getting tighter, Mondt will punish it with the backcourt shots. Kosice were a sensation last year, but a lot has changed since then. First and foremost, the wonder creator Svitek left. Second, Quigley left, and she was the best scorer in Europe last year. She expanded the defense with her backcourt shots, and opened the space for the quality realizations of pick and rolls. Lacy is gone, too, and she's been great in all the entrances. Leuchanka will be here shortly, and she's a progress compared to Kulickova. It's their only plus considering the last season. Pierson might have a similar statistic, but with a far weaker realization. Abdi has a great potential, but she still has problems finding the efficient game. I expect Kayseri to win this easily. 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

Zagreb are a much better team than last season. Dabovic has brought a new dimension to the team and it's already clear that Novi Zagreb will do much better this season. They have a whole range of new reinforcements now. They have the width and don't depend on 3 players like last season. They did quite well in the Central European Basketball League and they lost by only 4 points against Kosice who are a team of similar quality as USK, who have lost one of their main players (Brunson) and their starting point guard Skerovic. They have high hopes for the newcomer Clarendon. They are well-organized and they have a solid concept but no class in their line-up. There will be lots of problems in the defense as they don't have the players to mark the particularly dangerous opposition players. They lack the speed and a good flow of the ball should be quite lethal against them. Zagreb have more than enough quality not to be crushed in the Czech Republic. Details

After initial two defeats against excellent Maccabi Tel Aviv and UNICS, Maccabi Haifa got 5 wins in a row, 3 of which came from away games. Their form is reflected in the fact that they outdone a solid Riga by 20 points in a game in which they had 25 assists and Haifa's best player, Smith, had 18 points/16 rebounds/10 assists which showed just how great he is. The rest of the team is packed with great players like Roth, Ofoegbu, Randle and I really don't see why the bookmakers don't trust this team. While most of the teams are still finding their form in Europe, Haifa are already in top form and have to be the favorites in front of their fans. The mentioned defeats came at the start of the season and Haifa are much better today than they were back then. Banvit are also in great form, but the fact is that they've only played against one really tough opponent and they lost that game against UNICS. The away team lost Simmons who is a very important team player and I don't think they're chances in Israel are so good. The odds are too high and the home team have a value to be bet on. Details

The guests from Prague have a very difficult job today. They've been traditionally passing by Pardubice more easily, but this team has about the same quality as the one last season (Chan instead of Mene). Prague lost with 30 difference on the home court then, and with 13 points difference in the away game. Pardubice kept most of their roster this season, and the rate of strength should be the same. Prague's strongest asset is the frontcourt, but Pardubice are the strongest in the league there, side by side with Nymburk. They can stop Votroubek and Chan, but that's where Prague story ends. I expect a serious performance from the home team, and another win with at least 15 points difference. Details

An important game for both teams as the games in Piraeus here and in Maaseik next week will decide the second-placed team in the group. As much respect I have for Belgian club volleyball, I cannot understand putting Noliko as the favorites as this is not a real state of things.
Olympiakos put up a great fight against Belgorod last week, they were on a par in all three sets and they were helped by 1000 fans. This number may not seem to big, but considering their arena has the stands on only one side of the court, you can understand what kind of support they have. The arrival of football fans has been announced as F.C. Olympiakos played their Champions League game yesterday.
Noliko are a team under construction, they are pretty young and for some players this is the first appearance at this stage of the Champions League. They haven't been too impressive so far, I wasn't convinced with their drubbing of Ostrava to make them such favorites tonight.
In Greece, only clubs from Russia, Italy, Poland and two Turkish clubs - Halkbank and Fenerbahce can be considered as favorites, perhaps only Roeselare from the rest of Europe. And Noliko are still a weaker team than their rivals. One should not go too far with the stake, but the odds are so attractive that they make you put something on Olympiakos. The odds on the home team are rising and we have some nice little value there. Details

The underestimation of the Turkish team continues, and I'm not sure they deserve it. Khimki are a brutal team on the paper, with Popovic, Koponen, Monja, Davis, Loncar, Gelebale... Nobody can tell me that the Turks are a lot worse with Dixon, Diebler, Lyons, Batista, Senturk. Coach Sarica has the backbone of the last season, and if there weren't bad referee decisions against Efes, they would come here undefeated. DIxon can put the pressure on Koponen, Popovic is far from his top shape, and if Batista can match Davis and Loncar, we'll see an equal game, so this handicap must be taken. Details

Even though this season is disappointing for Stakhovsky, here, he's got a chance to fight for Top 100 at the end of the season. Copil lost the Geneva semifinals last week. He had two good wins, but then lost to Struff convincingly thanks to his backhand slice. That's Ukrainian's advantage, and he should use the Romanian's weaker backhand side by coming out to front more often. They only played once against each other, in the Bucharest qualifiers this season, and Copil lost a break there. Besides the strong service, I don't see any other advantages for the Romanian player. He barely defeated Haider who came from the clay courts, and the Austrian was a nice fit for him because of his weak return in conditions like these. Details

I'm aware of the risks when it comes to betting on Hajek, but I calculated even that into my stake. The Czech forfeited last week, but it seems his problem isn't serious because he got the invitation for the Davis Cup finals. He's very motivated here. He's on the edge of coming back to Top 100 here, and that means Australian Open and a big check at the beginning of the next season. He's been motivated in Bratislava for the last few years, which means a lot. Sikora has only one indoor challenger match in his career, and he won two games in it. Last year, he lost to Veger in the qualifiers here. He didn't cover the handicap even then. Hajek is prone to difficult defeats, but in this case, I don't believe he'll gamble away his chance, which means a win in the handicap. Details

As soon as he got into a great shape and gained confidence, Bemelmans was defeated by Becker on Sunday. He mostly dominated in that match, but it went downhill when he missed his match service in the second set at 6-5. It's not really anything surprising when it comes to this talented, but pretty unstable Belgian. I expect that outcome to leave a mark on him, same as the fact that he has two difficult weeks behind him. He got good results on two tournaments, and that made him a big favorite here, but it's not justified, in my opinion. Mertl is a specialist for these kinds of conditions, and his great service isn't easy on anyone on this kind of court. He also had a pretty good week (Ekcental quarterfinals), and I see him as a completely equal opponent here. His freshness should definitely give him advantage, but there's also the fact that he celebrated in both matches against Bemelmans so far, and that gives me extra security. Details

The Ukrainians have lost a single home game since December 2011. This was against Juventus in the last round of the Champions League group stage when the game didn't mean too much to Shakhtar. Today's game is very much important and they even got the opponent to match. In all fairness, Leverkusen beat them in Germany but the game was different than the end result might suggest. In fact, Shakhtar could have had a better result. They outplayed Man United at home, they have 7 wins and a draw in their league (23-2) goal difference) and I believe they can continue this impressive run today. The away team would take a draw within a heartbeat and probably won't risk too much in case of this result. We can take that as a guarantee for void, although I'm pretty sure the Ukrainians should win. One should go for a more convincing option for a smaller stake. I wouldn't be surprised if they retaliate for what happened in Germany. Details