By Amy Samin
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv is heading into the home stretch of the regular season in the Euroleague, with only three games left to play and a fight for a spot in the Top 16 against Turkish club Darussafaka.
CSKA Moscow, Unicaja Malaga, and Brose Baskets Bamberg have all punched their tickets for the Top 16. The battle for the final spot from Group D is between Maccabi and Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul. The Turkish team has won three games so far this season, compared to Maccabi's single victory so far.
Maccabi's remaining games are:
3 Dec. at Sassari
10 Dec. vs Bamberg
17 Dec. at Darussafaka
Darussafaka's remaining games are:
4 Dec. vs Malaga
11 Dec. at CSKA
17 Dec. vs Maccabi
What does Maccabi need in order to advance?
Option A
Maccabi wins all three games, Darussafaka loses all three games - Maccabi advances (point spread makes no difference)
Option B
Maccabi wins all three games, Darussafaka wins one game - Maccabi needs to defeat the Turks by more than 11 points in order to advance
Option C
Maccabi wins two games, Darussafaka loses all three games - Maccabi needs to beat the Turks by more than 11 points in order to advance
In any situation other than the options above, Maccabi is out.