MADRID (ACB, Lega A) While the NBA play-offs have been going on since April 22, the post-season is just beginning in the two top professional leagues in Europe.
Spain's ACB play-offs get under way Thursday and Italy's Lega A play-offs began Wednesday.
In each league, the top eight teams qualify for the play-offs and the first round is a quarter-final best-of-five series.
Here is a look at each of the first-round match-ups, with final regular-season record for teams and final regular-season statistics for players included:
SPAIN (ACB)
No. 1 Unicaja Malaga (26-8) vs. No. 8 Adecco Estudiantes (17-17): Unicaja began the season a very ordinary 8-6 before ripping off 11 straight wins to get back in contention for the top spot.
During the regular season against play-off opponent Estudiantes, Unicaja split a pair of games, both decided by two points.
Like most teams at the top of the standings, Unicaja have many options when it needs a crucial basket. Star center Jorge Garbajosa, recently named to the All-Euroleague Second Team and a player who will represent Spain at the FIBA World Championship, averaged 12.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and as always, was as big a threat to step outside and shoot a 3-pointer as he was to score inside.
Marcus Brown, the former leader of CSKA Moscow, had a wonderful debut season with Unicaja, averaging 15.4 points and shooting 89% from the line.
Point guard Pepe Sanchez and forward Walter Hermann (11.9 ppg), a pair of Argentinians who will represent their country at the FIBA World Championship, are key veterans for Unicaja.
Estudiantes won three of their last four games to sneak into the final play-off spot. Former South Florida big man Will McDonald (17.4 ppg) was the fourth-leading scorer in the ACB and the offense revolves around him.
Scrappy forwards Carlos Jimenez (10.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and Hernan Jasen (12.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg) are key supporting players and 20-year-old point guard Sergio Rodriguez (9.2 ppg, 4.9 apg) is a mercurial talent who can elevate his team when playing well.
No. 2 Tau Ceramica (25-9) vs. No. 7 Akasvayu Girona (18-16): Tau went to the Euroleague Final Four for the second straight year but once again came home empty-handed after losing to Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv in the semi-finals.
However, they are again among the favourites to capture the ACB title as they are powered by two of the best frontcourt players in Europe.
Tau's Luis Scola is another Argentina international who was named to All-Euroleague First Team after having a sensational season. In the ACB, he posted team-leading averages of 17 points and seven rebounds and shot an amazing 64% from the field.
Tau also boasts Tiago Splitter of Brazil, who averaged 10.3 points in about 22 minutes.
Tau also have the best point guard in Spain this season in Argentina's Pablo Prigioni of Argentina, who led the ACB with 6.9 assists. Prigioni was recognised with a spot on the All-Euroleague Second Team.
He is looking to have a strong play-offs to boost his chances of playing for his country in Japan.
Akasvayu Girona spent money with the big boys last off-season and it paid off with a berth in the play-offs. The team features a balanced attack that includes 2005 NBA first-round pick Fran Vazquez of Spain, point guard Raul Lopez and American shooting guards Arriel McDonald and Terrell Myers.
No. 3 Winterthur FC Barcelona (24-10) vs. No. 6 Real Madrid (19-15): Barcelona joined Tau at the Euroleague Final Four and also bowed out in the semi-finals, losing to eventual champions CSKA Moscow.
They have received a magnificent season from former NBA guard Shammond Williams, who responded to coach Dusko Ivanovic's entreaties to play within the team concept and led his team to success in Euroleague and in ACB play.
Williams curtailed his own one-on-one tendencies and instead became the table-setter for fellow guard Juan Carlos Navarro (17.9 ppg, third in ACB), one of the most prolific Spanish scorers the last few seasons.
Navarro, whose NBA draft rights are held by the Washington Wizards, was an All-Euroleague First Team selection and was this week voted MVP of the ACB regular season.
Real Madrid had a terrible regular season by their own lofty standards but can still salvage things with a fine post-season showing.
High-scoring guards Louis Bullock (16.7 ppg) and Igor Rakocevic (14.8 ppg) are supported by rebounding machine Felipe Reyes (11.2 ppg, 8 rpg).
No. 4 DKV Joventut (23-11) vs. No. 5 Gran Canaria (20-14): Rudy Fernandez, whose name has been on the lips of NBA draft mavens for the past two seasons, blossomed this season to become one of the best players in Spain.
A speedy shooting guard who plays an all-court game, Fernandez averaged 14.6 points and 4.2 rebounds while creating havoc for defences with his energetic drives to the basket.
Fernandez benefited from playing in the same backcourt with wizened veteran Elmer Bennett (11 ppg, 5.3 apg), still a major factor at 36 years old.
DKV can be tough inside as well with Englishman Andrew Betts in the middle and late-season addition Randy Holcomb, who also played in the NBA and CBA this season.
Gran Canaria principally is comprised of former US college players, including Sitapha Savane (14 ppg, 5.7 rpg), who has made a strong case for playing in Japan for Senegal.
The coaches voted for league MVP and Savane was so impressive this season that he received two votes.
Harper Williams, Marcus Norris and Jim Moran also play for Gran Canaria. Pro rookie Kennedy Winston, who was passed over in the 2005 NBA draft after leaving Alabama after his junior season, is contributing 9.2 points off the bench.
ITALY (LEGA A)
No. 1 Climamio Bologna (27-7) vs. No. 8 Angelico Biella (19-15): Climamio had an incredibly balanced attack for a first-place team, led by 20-year-old natural scorer Marco Belinelli, who averaged 12.8 points.
Belinelli is a legitimate three-point shooting threat and deadly when open coming off a screen.
The best thing about this team, however, is its unselfish nature.
Guards Kiwane Garris, Slovenian national team point guard Sani Becirovic (whose NBA draft rights are held by the Denver Nuggets) and Belinelli all get good shots for team-mates, who include Travis Watson and another Slovenian, Erazem Lorbek.
Becirovic and Lorbek will play at the FIBA World Championship.
Biella features the fourth-leading scorer in Lega A in 32-year-old American small forward Damon Williams, one of the best US export players who is a virtual unknown in the United States.
Williams, who scored points by the bushel for Division III Southern Colorado back in the late 1990s, averaged 18.9 points in his second season in Lega A after starring in Finland, Hungary and Legadue, Italy's second division.
Biella also boasts swingman Thabo Sefolosha (12 ppg), an African-born player raised in Switzerland who is expected to be chosen in the 2006 draft. At 6ft 5in, Sefolosha is a tremendous athlete, as his 6.9 rebounds suggest.
No. 2 Benetton Treviso (26-8) vs. No. 7 Armani Jeans Milano (22-12): Benetton have benefited from the return of point guard Nikos Zisis, who missed 14 games in the middle of the season with a broken wrist.
With Zisis back in fine form (eight assists in final regular season game against Montepaschi Siena), star shooting guard Drew Nicholas, who had to play point guard in Zisis' absence, can again concentrate on scoring.
Nicholas was the top scorer in the Euroleague this season at 18.6 points but shot less and distributed more in the Lega A games, averaging 13.9 points.
Benetton's other top guard is Ramunas Siskauskas (14.1 ppg).
Benetton also has a number of superb players in the frontcourt, including American Marcus Goree (12.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg) and Italian prodigy Andrea Bargnani, who was given the Euroleague Rising Star trophy at the conclusion of the Euroleague season.
Bargnani, a 6ft 11in forward with shooting and slashing skills, is expected to be selected in the top 10 picks of the 2006 draft. He averaged 11.9 points while playing 22.5 minutes.
Armani relies on a trio of former US college stars. Small forwards Preston Shumpert (15 ppg) and Dante Calabria (13.8 ppg) can stretch defences with their three-point marksmanship, while former Seattle SuperSonics draft pick Joseph Blair operates down low.
Still another American, power forward Tyrone Grant, joined the team at mid-season and gives Armani another big body down low.
Benetton won the opening game off their quarter-final on Wednesday.
No. 3 Montepaschi Siena (23-11) vs. No. 6 Lottomatica Roma (22-12): Seton Hall University fans would probably be shocked to learn that a former Pirate, slim Lithuanian shooter Rimantas Kaukenas, has developed into one of the leading scorers in Italy.
The 29-year-old Kaukenas averaged 18.3 points this season, sixth in Lega A and easily leading Montepaschi. He is expected to play at the FIBA World Championship.
Other key players on the team include Shaun Stonerook, the former Ohio University forward who averaged 7.2 points and 7.4 rebounds, and mid-season addition Jamel Thomas (11.8 ppg), a former Providence star who has played in the NBA.
Lottomatica Roma are led by the ageless Dejan Bodiroga, who has been a winner everywhere he has played. The crafty swing forward averaged 15.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and two assists.
American guard David Hawkins of Temple is the team's other big scoring force, averaging 17.3 points and 4.7 rebounds.
Montepaschi have a 1-0 lead in that series after Wednesday's victory.
No. 4 Carpisa Napoli (23-11) vs. No. 5 Snaidero Udine (22-12): Lynn Greer might be the favourite for the Most Valuable Player award in Lega A this season.
The former Temple guard, who has played in Greece, Poland, Russia and Italy in four years since college, led Lega A in scoring at 23.5 points.
Greer's shooting numbers are unbelievable: 52.3 % overall, 50% from three-point range and 91.3% from the line. Toss in a team-leading 3.5 assists, and it's hard to imagine a better season for a 6-1 player.
Former NBA forward Ansu Sesay (14.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and former Colorado star Michel Morandais (12.2 ppg) had excellent seasons for Carpisa, who also boast plenty of offense off the bench from guard Jay Larranaga (7.7 ppg).
Udine is another high-scoring team with American guards Kyle Hill, a former Dallas Mavericks draft pick, leading the way with 15.9 points, and former NBA guard Jerome Allen adding 15.7 points.
Former University of Iowa big man Jacob Jaacks (10.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg) is the team's major post-up threat. Udine also recently signed point guard John Lucas, who spent time in the NBA this season with the Houston Rockets.
PA Sport