Azovmash will look to keep its Last 16 hopes alive when it hosts Galatasaray Café Crown in a must-win game on Tuesday. Azovmash picked up its first Group A win in the last game before the winter break, beating BancaTercas Teramo 90-82 as Hasan Rizvic dominated the paint with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks. Galatasaray is also coming off a big win, having downed Group A leader Alba Berlin 93-79 at home to improve to 2-2. Week 4 MVP Darius Washington led Galatasaray to victory as he scored a career-high 31 points and added 8 rebounds and 5 assists for the only performance in the Eurocup better than Rizvic’s that week. These teams met on opening night and it was another Galatasaray player that had a career-best effort to stage the win. Rado Rancik produced 39 points and 7 rebounds to lift his team to a 96-82 win in Istanbul. The battle between Rancik and Rizvic could be a thriller, but it is not the only clash of note in this contest. Erik Daniels, who ranks among the league leaders in both scoring and rebounding, will challenge Galatasaray’s Mike Wilkinson at power forward. Rolandas Jarutas and newcomer Maureece Rice must be step up to quiet Washington in the point guard duel, while Azovmash’s Fred House will pit his ace defensive skills and playmaking ability against Galatasaray sharpshooter Simas Jasaitis. The Ukrainian champion will need to win out the rest of the way to keep its Last 16 chances alive and should come out aggressive in its last regular season home game. The foursome of Rancik, Wilkinson, Jasaitis and Washington account for 87.8% of Galatasaray’s points. On the other hand, Azovmash boasts a deeper bench, which it will need to wear down the visitors. If Azovmash looks likely to win, be certain to follow the point difference as a victory by 15 would boost the team’s Last 16 hopes.
REFEREES: Marek Cmikiewicz, Sinisa Herceg, Oskars Lucis