Euroleague: Caja upsets Maccabi at home

The first day of Week 2 competition in the Euroleague Last 16 was a day of surprises as two regular season group winners took hard losses on Thursday. Maccabi Tel Aviv lost at home and found themselves with an 0-2 record and FC Barcelona Regal had a 17-game Last 16 win streak stopped by the Russian club Khimki. Panathinaikos also got pounded by Efes in Turkey. Friday’s matchups should be no less exciting…

Maccabi Electra – Caja Laboral, 70:71
Caja Laboral was holding a four-game winning streak when they took the road trip to Tel Aviv to take on powerhouse Maccabi Elektra in the Nokia Area. Over 11,000 showed up to offer support for Maccabi, but it wasn’t quite enough as the Spanish club held on at the end to pick up their second win in Group F, while Maccabi dropped to 0-2 with the loss. The hosts took an early lead after the first quarter, 23:20, but Caja blew it open in the second, outscoring Maccabi 9:24 to hold a 32:44 advantage at the half. With six minutes to play in the third frame, Maccabi started what would end up being a 21-1 run that ran out the quarter and started in the fourth, to go from 12-points down to 8-points up. Caja then scored 10 unanswered to go up by two, 58:60 with five minutes to play. The hosts countered with seven of their own to regain a lead, 65:60. With 29.6 seconds to play, Yogev Oyahon put Maccabi up by one with a lay-up and then with 8.9 seconds to play Fernando San Emeterio took the ball on the left wing, faked left, drove around two defenders and pulled up just inside the paint and dropped in what would be the game-winner. Maccabi called timeout to set up a play, then got the ball into Oyahon’s hands for the last shot. The Caja defense completely broke down and no one picked the driving Oyahon up as he came from the top of the key down the middle and put up a five-footer, but he didn’t get it high enough and the ball bounced off the front of the rim and Maccabi couldn’t secure the rebound to get another attempt before the final buzzer sounded. Nemanja Bjelica collected 17 points and five rebounds for Caja, Brad Oleson dropped in 10 points, Tibor Pliess grabbed 11 rebounds and Omar Cook dished off five assists in the win. Ricky Hickman tallied 18 points, four rebounds, five assists, three steals and drew nine fouls, amassing a PIR of 27 on the day for Maccabi. Darko Planinic added 11 points and Shawn James hauled in 10 rebounds.

BC Khimki Moscow Region – FC Barcelona Regal, 78:65
Khimki outscored Barcelona Regal in all four quarters of their Week 2 match-up to take a critical, 78:65, win at home against the tough Regal club. Barcelona was without the services of their scoring leader, Juan Carlos Navarro, who was out for the week with an injury. The loss snaps a 17-game Last 16 winning streak the Spanish club had that dated back to Feb. 3, 2010, and drops them to 1-1 on the young second phase of the 2012-13 Euroleague competition. Khimki remains undefeated at 2-0 with the win. Khimki keeps its home unbeaten record intact this season in three leagues, Euroleague, VTB, and the Russian League. Zoran Planinic paced the hosts with 16 points and six assists, Vitaly Fridzon knocked down 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Ante Tomic led Regal with 16 points and five rebounds and Pete Micheal dropped in 14 points and nabbed seven rebounds.

Brose Baskets – Real Madrid, 67:82
Real Madrid took their show on the road and visited Bamberg, Germany and the Brose Baskets club in a Week 2 match up of the two Group E clubs. With the win Madrid boosts their record to 2-0, while Brose drops to 0-2. Madrid built a 38:47 margin heading into the dressing rooms at the half, but Brose pulled to within two, 57:59, deep in the third quarter. The visitors added four to their tally before the third 10 was up to push ahead by six going into the final frame. Madrid took control in the last quarter, eventually building their lead to 17 and then cruising to the win. Nikola Mirotic dropped in 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the win for Real Madrid. His PIR of 26 was the best on the day within the winning clubs and should also compete for Week 2 MVP honors. Jaycee Carroll added 13 points and Sergio Rodriguez contributed 11 points and six assists for the winners. Bostjan Nachbar scored 19 for Brose and ended the day with a PIR of 20. Anton Gavel contributed 17 and Andrew James Ogilvy dropped in 15.

Anadolu Efes – Panathinaikos, 78:64
Anadolu Efes picked up a huge home win over Panathinaikos, who was without their playmaker, Dimitris Diamantidis, who’s injured. Efes got the first three points of the game on a three-ball by Josh Shipp, which was followed by a deuce from James Gist putting the score at 3:2, which was the last time the Greens would get anywhere near the hosts. With three minutes to play in the first quarter Efes had built a 22:9 lead. At the half they were up 45:32 and then 64:43 after three. The win improves Efes to 1-1 and drops Panathinaikos to 1-1, locking them up in the middle of the group standings. Jordan Farmer lead Anadolu with 13 and Jamon-Alfred Lucas added 12 points and five assists to the win. Michael Bramos dropped in 16 points for Athens, Sofoklis Schortsanitis added 15. Stephane Lasme grabbed 10 rebounds (seven offensive) for the visitors.

Group E

This Week’s Matches

Group F

This Week’s Matches