Historic final Top 16 round next week!

The 7DAYS EuroCup Top 16 will reach the ultimate climax as one of the most dramatic rounds in competition history is set to take place next Tuesday and Wednesday as 11 teams battling to decide five playoffs berths.

Never in the five-year history of Top 16 have so many spots been open this late, never have so many teams been eligible to take them, and never has at least one playoffs berth been open in all four Top 16 groups entering the final round.

Things are quite simple in two groups where do-or-die pairings between contenders will directly decide which of them clinch second place and punch their tickets to the quarterfinals, due to start on March 23.

In Group E, Nanterre 92 (2-3) hosts Joventut Badalona (3-2) and will be hunting for a victory of 6 points or more in regulation time to overcome an earlier 95-90 loss in Round 2 and qualify for its first-ever EuroCup Quarterfinals. If 2008 champion Joventut wins that game or loses by fewer than 6 points in regulation time, it will advance to a quarterfinals matchup with unbeaten Virtus Segafredo Bologna (5-0), which has clinched first place in Group G.

A nearly identical situation exists for the second playoffs berth from Group G, where a clash between regional foes Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (2-3) and Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (3-2) will decide which of them faces Group E winner AS Monaco (4-1) in the quarters Olimpija edged Buducnost 74-71 in their first meeting, and Olimpija enters Round 6 with a better point-difference, which means that Buducnost needs to win by more than 3 points in regulation to move to the quarterfinals. Any other result will send Olimpija through.

Things get more complicated in Group H, where three teams are aiming for the as-yet unclaimed second ticket to the playoffs. Herbalife Gran Canaria (2-3) has destiny in its own hands because it will book a quarterfinals spot if it beats group winner UNICS Kazan (5-0). MoraBanc Andorra (2-3) will go through if it beats Mornar Bar (1-4) by at least 10 points in regulation time and if Gran Canaria loses. If Mornar wins in regulation time by a margin between 1 and 9 points, however, Gran Canaria reaches the playoffs regardless of its own outcome. Andorra can become this group's second quarterfinalist with a victory, but only if Gran Canaria loses.

Finally, Group F is set to deliver unprecedented Top 16 drama. None of the four teams have qualified, no team is eliminated, and each of the four can still win the group. Dolomiti Energia Trento (3-2) and Boulogne Metropolitans 92 (3-2) each go through with respective victories, and Trento will take first place if that happens. But both teams will be away from home. Trento is visiting Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar (2-3) which, in turn, knows that a win by 12 or more points makes it a quarterfinalist. Metropolitans will play Partizan NIS Belgrade (2-3) on a neutral floor in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Partizan might need to win by 17 in regulation, or could end up in a position where any win would qualify it, depending both on the winner and the margin of the outcome of the Lokomotiv-Trento game, which tips off three hours earlier in Krasnodar.

Keep in mind, too, that the only two undefeated teams in the Top 16, Virtus and UNICS, will be competing with each other for the best record in this phase, which comes with home-court advantage throughout the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, should either of them make it so far. If they are tied on record, the team with the highest point difference within its group will get that privilege.

Brace yourself because ultimate basketball drama is guaranteed in next week's finale of the 7DAYS EuroCup Top 16!