I´m glad to see, that the bookies still underestimate this fantastic, young team from Belgrade. I must agree, if they win in the Fernando Buesa Arena and reach the Final Four, it will be one of the biggest surprises in the history of Euroleague, but it´s definitely a possible outcome. I guess, the bookies think, o.k., they are good, but away they are much weaker and the experience of the Tau players will prevail in the end. Last year I would agree, but not in April 2008.

For me, Partizan has the third best starting five (Palacio, Tepic, Kecman, Velickovic, Pekovic) in Europe. I rate only CSKA-s and Sienas as better. Sure, their roster isn´t deep as Taus, they are less experienced, they play away...So, Tau has to be the favourite, no doubt, but 1.15 or 1.20 for a home win, no way. In the first game (74-66) Partizan played an average game, not bad, but not good enough and Tau deserved the win. Still, with such display they were equal and only Planinic (7/10 shooting, 4/4 for 3-s) made the difference. Splitter, with only 8 points (1/5 shooting), and Mickeal with 4 points (1/6 shooting), were inferior against Pekovic and Velickovic. Not to mention the second game (76-55), where Partizan totally outplayed Tau. On Wednesday the guards have to make the difference again, the shooting abilities of Rakocevic and Planinic and the defense abilities of Prigioni and Vidal, cause Partizan will outrebound Tau again. The key for Partizan to win is to keep the turnovers as low as possible, good free-throw percentage and good defense against Taus shooters. Well, I expect another tight game, as the first one in Vitoria, Tau is under pressure, so I take Partizan + 9,5 @10bet with full stake.

Pick : Partizan +9,5
Odds : 1.89
Stake : 10 / 10
Bookmaker : 10bet
Date : 2008-04-09
Match Result : 85-68
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