By Kristian Santiago
ProBasketballNews.com
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 vs. 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 veteran
guards Terrell McIntyre (Clemson), Bootsy
Thornton (St.John's) and former San Antonio Spur
Romain Sato in the backcourt. In the paint, the team
has Shaun Stonerook (Ohio U.) Lithuanian giant
Ksystof Lavrinovic and the Nigerian "helicopter"
Ben Eze. All have a history of playing on winning teams in Europe.
Meanwhile, Will Solomon is the key player for Fener, the Turkish champions.
Another Clemson product and a former member of the Memphis Grizzlies, 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 in their European rookie seasons. At the bigger positions, 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 decidinf factor, as Siena has more experience and athletism underneath. On the other hand, Istanbul's bench is better, while Siena needs to stay out of injury trouble to advance.
CSKA Moscow vs. Olympiakos Piraeus
The Russians are clearly the favorites, especially after the sudden release of one of the "Reds" most important players, 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) at his side, the two are forming one of Europe's mot dangerous backcourt duos.
Ramunas Siskauskas (Euroleague Champ 2007) and Marcus Goree (West Virginia) are both experienced and among the top players at 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 in Euroleague (also voted MVP) and the European Championships and is also a natural leader.
Belgian Tomas van den Spiegel is among the best centers in Europe and Slovenian Matjaz Smodis is back after an injury and a major contributor. Former Chicago Bull Viktor Khryapa comes from the bench together with Greek Nikos Zisis, giving CSKA arguably the deepest bench in all of Europe.
Olympiakos, which lost the Greek cup final to archrivals Panathinaikos recently, hopes that Lynn Greer (Milwaukee Bucks) and Arvydas Macijauskas (Hornets) can carry the team. Macijauskas returned after sustaining a rupture of his Achilles' tendon last year.
Qyntel "Pit Bull" Woods, along with Greek towers Ioannis Bouroussis and Loukas Mavrokefalides are talented starters for the Reds, while Serbian guard Milos Teodosic and Greek Georgios Printezis offer help off the bench. Also on the roster is Jake Tsakalidis, who spent some time in the NBA but has been a non-factor in Europe (like in the NBA).
Prediction: 3-0 CSKA. Moscow should not having much trouble making the next round thanks to a roster that gives coach Messina a gazillion options.
Tau Ceramica Vitoria vs. 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 matchup with CSKA, the Basque need to overcome Partizan from Serbia, who trounced Panathinaikos a round earlier.
Igor Rakocevic (Minnesota Timberwolves), who is known for his knack for scoring, is going against fellow countrymen, while Zoran Planicic of Croatia and formerly of the New Jersey Nets, and Pete Mickeal (Houston Rockets) are going to help Igor to beat the underdogs from Belgrade.
Tiago Splitter could be the next Brazilian headed for the NBA (San Antonio), but before doing so, Tiago and Mirza Teletovic from Bosnia will pair up under the boards and try to win the Euroleague this time. They are getting help from American center Will McDonald (South Florida) and forward Sergi Vidal from Spain, as well as by talented blog-writing Nigerian Gabe Muoneke (Texas). Also, 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." That was mainly due to Milt Palacio's impressive performance (24 points).
Young Serbians Milenko Tepic and Novica Velickovic are getting valuable playing time and contribute whenever needed, but the big star of the team is 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 even though he's just 22-years old.
Those youngsters are joined by Dusan Kecman and Cedomir Vitkovac -- who are with Palacio, form the respected and experienced players on the roster. Meanwhile, promising Uros Tripkovic struggled a bit this season but is also set to be a future star.
Prediction: 3-0 Tau. This could be a tough road for Tau, but having the homecourt advantage should prove valuable.
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv vs. FC Barcelona
After a bad start to 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, has produced more as the season has gone on. A bust in the NBA, Marcus Fizer found his niche in Europe, where he played his best pro ball -- but is out for the rest of the season with an injury.
Vonteego Cummings (Philadelphia 76ers), David Bluthenthal (USC) and especially, Will Bynum (Detroit Pistons) have stepped significantly, while the return of touted Croatian post Nikola Vujcic boosts Maccabi's chances.
Yotam Halperim, probably the best Israeli right now, is having a strong season and paired with Derrick Sharp and NBA prospect Omar Casspi. In other words, things look promising for Tel Aviv.
Slovenian point guard Jaka Lakovic leads Barcelona, while other veterans such as Gianluca Basile (Italy) , Roger Grimau (Spain) , Pepe Sanchez (Argentina nd Temple) and American Alex Acker (Detroit Pistons) provide depth on the perimeter.
Talented center Mario Kasun (Orlando Magic) returned to the court after being sidelined by an irregular heartbeat.Jordi Trias and Fran Vazquez (first-round pick by Orlando) compensate for Kasun's problems, while Denis Marconato is also in the mix -- although he's had a sub-par season.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee Bucks' first-rounder Ersan Ilyasova is having a dismal year after his return to Europe -- but has showed flashes lately.
Prediction: 2-1 Maccabi. Maccabi is currently riding the wave; Barcelona won't be able to upset the former Euroleague champs.
Kristian Santiago covers international basketball for Pro Basketball News. Contact him at kris@eurobasket.com.
