Defending champion Anadolu Efes will visit Italy’s AX Armani Exchange Milan to tip off the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague playoffs on Tuesday.
After finishing the regular season in the sixth place, Anadolu Efes will take on last year’s semifinalist Milan, who finished the regular season in the third place.
Efes will look for revenge after losing both its regular-season games against the Italian opponent. Its first match away in Milan ended 75-71 while the second match in Istanbul finished 83-77.
Milan, which holds the home-court advantage, will host the first two playoff clashes before the third match in Istanbul.
Teams with three wins will qualify for the EuroLeague Final Four. The winner of this series will face the winner of the playoffs between Olympiacos and Monaco.
This will be Anadolu Efes’ 762nd game in European competitions. It has won 433 of them while losing 328.
Under veteran Turkish coach Ergin Ataman, this will be Efes’ 514th EuropaLeague game, of which it has won 276 and lost 237.
Efes, in the meanwhile, holds an advantage over Milan in continental ties. This will be the 35th clash between Efes and Milan. Of the prior 34 matches, 21 were won by Efes, while Milan won 13 of them.
The match, to be played at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan, will start at 8 p.m. Turkey time (5 p.m. GMT).
In the other playoff match of the day, leader Barcelona will host German giant Bayern Munich, who finished eighth in the regular season.
