Euroleague: midway through regular season
Round 15 of the Euroleague regular season is underway. What a first half of this season’s competition it has been. Thursday’s five games showed that there is still plenty to play for over the coming 15 rounds. CSKA Moscow was handed its second defeat in as many games, courtesy of Crvena Zvezda. Real Madrid edged out Anadolu Efes, while Olympiacos cruised by Fenerbahce. Elsewhere, Baskonia crushed Maccabi Tel Aviv, and Zalgiris Kaunas grabbed an important away win over Milan.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Real Madrid, 78-80
Real Madrid put a difficult win comprising losses domestically and in Europe behind it with a win over Anadolu Efes in Istanbul. Los Blancos edged this encounter, which saw both clubs trade the lead throughout. Indeed, the game went down to the final play, with the hosts missing the chance to take the win. This victory puts Madrid on 10-5, while Efes is on 7-8. Luka Doncic paced the win with 17 points and 9 assists in a solid offensive effort.
Crvena Zvezda Belgrade vs. CSKA Moscow, 78-67
Crvena Zvezda Belgrade claimed one of its biggest ever European scalps with a cruising home win over high flying CSKA Moscow. The Russian Euroleague champs have been formidable, but were uncharacteristically cold in this contest. The Serbian hosts took full advantage with a fine home display to move to 7-8. CSKA Moscow is still top with a 12-3 record, but the club has lost two on the spin in Europe. Ognjen Kuzmic took a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds for Crvena Zvezda, while Andrey Vorontsevich secured a game high 21 points in the losing effort.
Olympiacos vs. Fenerbahce, 71-62
Fenerbahce’s patchy form continued Thursday. The Turkish club, hot off its huge win over CSKA last week was undone by a comfortable Olympiacos effort. The win allowed the Greek champ to leapfrog the Turkish club with a 10-5 record, while Fener is on 9-6. A terrible first half destroyed Fenerbahce’s hopes, with the club scoring just 21 points. There was an improvement in Q3 and Q4, but Olympiacos cruised to victory led by Matt Lojeski’s 14 points. Kehm Birch doubled up in the win with 10 points and 13 boards, while Jan Vesely top scored with 22 points for Fenerbahce.
Milan vs. Zalgiris Kaunas, 70-78
Two Euroleague strugglers met in Italy on Tuesday, with the spoils going to Zalgiris on the road. Milan’s form has simply fallen off a cliff and the Serie A champs are bottom of the standings with a 4-11 record. Zalgiris has collected enough occasional wins to sit on a record of 6-9 and is certainly in the mix. The teams were locked 56 points apiece through thirty minutes, but the visitors drained 22 points in a game winning fourth act.
Baskonia Vitoria vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv, 101-88
Baskonia’s excellent form continued on Thursday as the Spanish club put a century of point on former Euroleauge champions Tel Aviv. The win sent Vitoria 10-5 in a four-way tie for second place. Maccabi Tel Aviv’s losing streak now stretches to six games and the club is sliding down the standings with a 5-10 record. The hosts were hugely impressive in a second half that swept Tel Aviv away. Baskonia poured in 59 points in an excellent back 20 minutes. Johannes Voigtmann led the attack with 23 points, while Tornhike Shengelia added 22 points and Shane Larkin doubled with 13 points and 13 dimes.