The 16th round of the LNBM starts today and spans over three days. There are at least four very interesting encounters and all of them will be live on Digisport.
CSM U Oradea - U-BT Cluj-Napoca start us off into this long weekend of basketball games. Both teams come after victories in the previous round, Cluj beat Medias and Oradea won in Ploiesti in a dramatic fashion. Both teams have new point guards, Alexandar Vlahovic replacing injured Marcus Hatten and Frank Turner being signed to back up Curtis Millage. On paper the game should be a tight one, both teams needing the win to consolidate their playoff positions. The game starts at 18:00 on Friday and will be LIVE on Digisport 2.
CSU Atlassib Sibiu - CSU Asesoft Ploiesti will see a packed Transilvania Arena. In last year's regular season the game between the two teams ended with a Sibiu rout and Ploiesti manager had to be escorted off the court. It will be interesting to see wheter the Sibiu fans will prepare a special choreography for the game. Ploiesti is without point guard D Brown, who left the team, but still start as favorites given their star studded lineup. The game starts at 17:30 on Saturday and will be LIVE on Digisport 3.
SCM U Craiova - CS Gaz Metan Medias will bring the 10th and 11th placed teams on the court. Although both teams are basically out of the playoffs, none of them can sit relaxed, Timba Timisoara fighting hard to pass them in the table and save themselves from relegation. Craiova is coming after an impressive home win against BC Mures, while Medias is in a slump, losing both their games after the Christmas break. The game starts at 19:00 on Saturday.
Steaua CSM Eximbank Bucuresti - Universitatea Cluj-Napoca is the most one sided game of the round. Steaua want to make amends for exiting the Romanian Cup at the hands of BC Mures, and will probably put on a show against the winless Cluj side. The game will start at 19:00 on Saturday.
BC Timisoara - CS Energia Tirgu Jiu is a game between two playoff contenders. Both teams have identical 7/6 table lines and a loss can damage their chances for the playoffs. Energia beat Pitesti in the previous round while Timisoara dispatched of fellow townies Timba. The game will start at 19:15 on Saturday and will be LIVE on Digisport 3.
BCM U Pitesti - BC Mures Tirgu Mures is one of the interesting games of the round regardless of the two teams' position in the standings. Pitesti is a solid team which can beat any opponent, but they had two unconvincing performances in the championship this year, beating Timba after OT at home and losing to Tirgu Jiu on the road. BC Mures are at their 3rd consecutive road game splitting the first two. BC Mures is in desperate need of a victory to keep their playoff hopes alive, while Pitesti will want to stop their slump in order to maintain their top 4 place for the first round.
Pitesti parted with two foreign players and now have only six, but BC Mures still have seven, so it will be interesting to see who will sit out this encounter. The game will start at 19:50 on Sunday and will be LIVE on Digisport 1.
Timba Timisoara will be the team to sit out this round.
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