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A meeting that could be the battle for the title

The final before the final is the usual cliche used for matches like these. Fenerbahce and Real played each other in the Final Four semis last year, and Real won that and the title afterwards. They've got 1-1 this season, and Fener were close to winning in Madrid, but that match didn't matter much to them then

Hold onto your hat. Of course every quarterfinal Euroleague duel has its charm, but the one between Fenerbahce and Real Madrid is something else. They've played the Final Four semis in Madrid last season, so this could be described as final before the final. And what a bad luck for Fenerbahce. You win the first place in the Top 16 group and end up being rewarded by having to face Real.

This will be a best-of-5 series, but obviously, any defeat will reduce the chance of getting through. It's hard to say who's feeling more pressure. Real are defending the title, Fenerbahce have the home court advantage, and Željko Obradović was setting up this team for the European title. Have no doubts about this - there's no favorite, Fener only have a slight advantage because of the home court.

- We've been fighting this whole season to get to this position and to have the home court advantage through the quarterfinal series - Obradović said.

Here's why. They've only got one defeat at home this entire season. It was a national league duel against Selcuk, in October. After that, they are now in a 21-home-game winning run. As for the Euroleague, they haven't lost a home match of 12 played. One of those was against Real Madrid. Putting aside when they relaxed against Efes and Khimki, they didn't allow anyone to score over 79 in the other 10 Euroleague duels. Real only had 66 in that first duel in Istanbul.

- We're playing the title defender and we have huge respect for them, but we've got to be aware that we're playing at home and our fans' energy and their help will be crucial for winning the first match - Obradović thinks.

He'd be far more comfortable if Jan Vesely was there, but he's not. He should remain the only absence for Fener who have to rely on their defense despite having brilliant offensive end. Their defense is the third best in the Top 16, with 73.7 points allowed. The key will be in stopping Real's offensive machinery, or Fener won't stand a chance because the Turks aren't so wide defensively.

What's a plus for them is definitely the fact that Obradović knows how to get ready for games like these. He's lost only one playoff series, and it was in 2006. He got qualified for Final Four the other six times (six times with Panathinaikos and once with Fenerbahce).

Real announced the match against Fenerbahce convincingly. They crushed Bilbao in Madrid on Sunday, 102-80. The coach Laso was very clever and spared all his best players, so Ayon played only four minutes. Llull spent 19 minutes on the floor, Sergio Rodriguez 18, and Rudy didn't even step onto it. That means Real are ready and rested for this.

- It was really important to rotate the players and we did that, and still kept our recognizable style, hitting 102 points - Laso was happy.

He also commented on his team's health, which is pretty good compared to the first part of the season:

- Rudy felt some back pain after the Euroleague match, so we decided to spare him, but he'll be ready for Fener. The same goes for Nocini. We spared Ayon as much as we could because he's been playing a lot lately. Thompkins is out, unfortunately, and he won't be taking this trip, but we're hoping Ndoura will manage to recover.

All in all, Real are complete because, in reality, Thompkins was more of a drawback this season. And when Real are complete, that means they've got the lineup that won the European title last year, and nobody will have it easy against them, not even Fener at home.

- I think Fener were the better team in the first two stages of Euroleague. They've got nimble and strong players in the paint, and great back shooters. They haven't lost a home match, and their coach Obradović is great, which means they deserve big respect as a team.

The biggest chance for the guests to create a surprise in series like these is usually in the first matches. Clearly, if Real win today, Fener would have to bear with huge pressure later on.

These two teams split the home wins this season, and Llull and Ayon were the best for Real, while Vesely and Datome were the best for Fener. Vesely is out today, which means Ayon will get much more room in the paint, but he should pay attention to Udoh because it's common knowledge that Ayon isn't really the best choice for guarding the opponents' centers.

These kind of tips have become quite a frequent choice when to comes to Real's away games. The margins are mostly based on stats because Real play a rather fast game, which is why it's often forgotten they can also play good defense. That is, after all, what saw them win EL last season. They conceded only 75 and 63 points against Efes in the QF stage last season. Why do I point this out? Because Fener are approximately that level. Just like Efes last year, they are relying on defense this year. There is no rushing into anything, the game is slow paced and organized. We've seen it in the first two meetings these teams played in EL. Fener hit 77 and 73 points in those two. Real have a lot of great defenders and can keep the fast pace up throughout the game. Fener can't really, especially now that Vesely is out. The first two games showed that there is not much running in their games and that defense is what they will rely on today. This is the first game, which means a lot of pressure on Fener. The unbeaten run home won't mean anything if they fail to win today. Real are much more experienced there and have the mentality of winners. That is crucial in these kind of games. I'm sure the kinds will play good defense today and limit the opponents to under 80 points.