Last week of regular season brings two games on Sunday in the early afternoon. The leading GAT Dukes travel to Ljubljana to play the Silverhawks at noon, while the Blue Devils host SBB Vukovi in Hohenems at 14:00. The game in Slovenia will be broadcast regionally on SportKlub television.

Before the last week of play, Novi Sad GAT Dukes are in the driver’s seat with two wins and no losses. Both Belgrade SBB Vukovi and Ljubljana Silverhawks have a 1-1 score, with the Silverhawks at a disadvantage because of a loss in Belgrade. The Cineplexx Blue Devils have 2 losses and no wins, but they will also fight for the home field advantage in the semifinals.

Simple math leaves GAT Dukes on top with a win or a loss by less than 13 points, provided that SBB Vukovi don’t win big against the Blue Devils. The Vojvodinians will have a hard time doing that without their starting quarterback, Alexander McKean, who suffered a leg injury playing against SBB Vukovi two weeks ago. However, a strong performance by their emergency quarterback, William Powell in that same game, puts them in the best spot to have the playoffs go through Novi Sad.

The Silverhawks have tradition going for them, as they have never lost at home against GAT Dukes, with whom they have a 4-4 score during the 5 years of competition. They will go in the lead in case of a win by 14 or more points and if SBB Vukovi’s point differential against the Blue Devils is not larger than 20 points compared to theirs against GAT Dukes. They will finish second with any kind of win and Blue Devils’ defense strong showing against the Serbs.

SBB Vukovi and the Blue Devils will eagerly await the final score in Slovenia, because GAT Dukes win puts them in a position to contend for the second spot and a home field advantage in the semifinals. In case they are triumphant, SBB Vukovi’s point differential combined with GAT Dukes’ one, provided they win, will have to total at 26 or more points for them to finish in the second place. Should the Silverhawks win, the Belgraders could head the league but the point differential needed for that rises.

Semifinals in Hohenems are the most unlikely, because the Blue Devils would have to win against SBB Vukovi with a very high margin and the Silverhawks would need to be dealt a tough loss in order for this to materialize. The Austrians have an even harder task ahead of them with defensive starters Jan Grischenig and Lukas Lampert out of commission for this one. They will look to get the equalizer against SBB Vukovi, being one win behind in their three encounters, with the 2009 finals loss hurting the most.