A true derby in the Eurocup: Venezia – Gran Canaria
Reyer Venezia will host Gran Canaria today in the Palasport Taliercio in an exciting game from the EuroCup Group B. Interestingly both teams are struggling in their domestic leagues, but both have a very good EuroCup campaign so far. Gran Canaria surprisingly leads Group B with an amazing 9-2 record, beating teams like Valencia (twice) and Virtus Bologna. On the other hand, the team coached by Porfi Fisac is 11th in the ACB League, so they missed the qualification for the Copa del Rey tournament that is taking place this week in Granada.
Surely, the team from the Canary Islands is interested to make a push for the ACB playoffs, but their main focus might be on the EuroCup. If they keep 1st place in the group they will have an easier opponent in the Eightfinals and home-court advantage. In fact, they could keep the home-court advantage until the end and with the current format of the EuroCup, they just have to win four home games in a row to win the EuroCup and qualify for next season’s EuroLeague, which would be an incredible achievement. Of course, this is easier said than done, but it’s not an impossible scenario.
Just like Gran Canaria, Reyer Venezia will not participate in their domestic Cup Final 8 tournament. The team from Venice lost it’s last four Serie A games and while they still have chances to reach the playoffs in the very balanced Italian league, they are only two defeats away from the relegation zone.
A win for Venezia today would be important as they would surely like to stay in the top 4 teams in their EuroCup group to have a home-court advantage in the Eightfinals. The betting sites credit Venezia with a better chance to win tonight, but both teams are very unpredictable.
Imre Halasz
Image: CB Gran Canaria
