Fenerbahçe and Olympiacos have made good use of their condition of top seeded teams in the Euroleague with home court advantage, winning the first of the best-of-five series of play-offs. Fenerbahçe, fourth in the regular season, defeated Zalgiris (fifth) 89-78; while Olympiacos, leader of the regular season, defeated Monaco, eighth, who qualified defeating Barcelona in the play-in, 91-70.
The surprise came when Panathinaikos, seventh, defeated Valencia Basket, second, at home, by only one point, 67-68. Valencia coach Pedro Martínez complained about a missed foul in the final seconds of the match (via Gigantes). "These are the details. In these kinds of games, when so much is at stake, everything is very tough. Teams give their maximum, defenses are strong, players are physical and very good, so it is hard to find easy scoring chances".
Valencia faces a must-win match tomorrow Thursday to level up the tie so that, in the case Panathinaikos win their two home matches, the deciding fifth game will be played in Valencia.
The remaining match of the first round of the Euroleague play-offs between Real Madrid (third) and Hapoel Tel Aviv (sixth) will be played tonight, Wednesday, at 20:45 CEST, 19:45 BST, in Madrid: unlike previous matches against Israeli teams, this will have a limited live audience, although the match is still considered high risk by authorities.
Euroleague play-off Games (Round 1)
Fenerbahçe 89 - 78 Zalgiris
Olympiacos 91 - 70 Monaco
Valencia Basket 67 - 68 Panathinaikos
Real Madrid - Hapoel Tel Aviv: Wednesday, April 29, 20:45 CEST
Euroleague play-off Games (Round 2)
Fenerbahçe - Zalgiris: Thursday, April 30, 19:45 CEST
Olympiacos - Monaco: Thursday, April 30, 20:00 CEST
Valencia Basket - Panathinaikos: Thursday, April 30, 20:45 CEST
Real Madrid - Hapoel Tel Aviv: Friday, May 1, 20:45 CEST