This weekend in Barcelona there will be the basketball Euroleague 2010/2011 Final Four. On Friday there will be the semifinals and on Sunday the finals. Let’s see which teams will play.

Panathinaikos Athens

The team defeated now the former champions of Regal FCB Barcelona in the quarter-finals winning game 2 abroad and then game 3 and game 4 at home. It’s simply the most experienced and successful team among the semi-finalists after winning the Euroleague in various editions – the last ones in 2007 and 2009 – so it should be considered the favorite to win it again this year.

Montepaschi Siena

The team defeated Olympiacos Piraeus in the quarterfinals making a masterpiece with the victory in game 2 abroad 82-65 after losing Game 1 89-41. Game 3 and Game 4 weren’t easy but coming with authority into the series two days after suffering a devastating defeat is an amazing achievement. At the Final Four the team should finally have the full roster available after playing a long time without playmaker McCalebb. The team has nothing to lose but the semifinal against Panathinaikos is almost a mission impossible. It’s true that the situation seemed worse after Game 1 against Olympiacos so I give Montepaschi a 30% chance of reaching at least the final.

[ad name=”AmazonSports468″]

Maccabi Electra

The Tel Aviv team reached the Final Four beating the Caja Laboral in the quarterfinals in four games winning game 2 abroad then dominating Game 3 and Game 4. Coach David Blatt won several titles in different countries and now he wants to try to win the Euroleague with the team symbol of his nation. I see Maccabi as the favorite in the semifinal but I think it can win the title only if it met Montepaschi Siena in the final.

Real Madrid

The team won a close quarter-final series against the Power Elec. Valencia. Coach Emanuele Molin has been an assistant to Ettore Messina for years and stayed to lead the team when Messina resigned nearly two months ago. It’s obvious that winning the Euroleague as an assistant coach is one thing, now Molin must show what he can do as a head coach at that level. The team is obviously valid as it reached the Final Four but I think it would be a surprise if Real Madrid won the semifinal and even more if it won the Euroleague.

The Final Four are played on do-or-die games so if anyyone don’t give 100% they have already lost before even playing. These games are generally better in terms of competitive spirit than technically because of what’s at stake but certainly we’ll have some excitement!