Euroleague Top 16, Barcelona through, Galatasaray out
Round 11 of the Euroleague Top 16 tipped off on Thursday with five games between the elite clubs of the continent. The rest of the round will be played tomorrow when three more contests close out the week’s action.
There is still plenty to play for in both Groups, but we are starting to see more movement in the qualification picture for the Play-offs. In Group E, Barcelona continued its push at the top of the standings with a road win over a rejuvenated Crvena Zvezda, while Maccabi Tel Aviv bounced back from defeat last week by outthinking Zalgiris Kaunas in Israel. ALBA Berlin kept itself in the frame with a win over Galatasaray, eliminating the Turkish team in the process.
In Group F, CSKA Moscow continued its push to tie down first place in the standings by smashing a struggling Unicaja Malaga at home. There was one more game in the group as Anadolu Efes Istanbul collected a potentially vital home win over Nizhny Novgorod.
Group E
Crvena Zvezda Belgrade vs. FC Barcelona, 73-77
Barcelona’s recent good form continued on Thursday as the club visited Crvena Zvezda in the Euroleague Top 16. The Spanish club has improved in recent weeks and victory here let Barca tie down sole possession of second place in Group E (8-3). It also sent the club through to the play-offs along with great rival Real Madrid. Crvena Zvezda has turned its continental season around in recent weeks, but the visiting Catalonians were a step too far for the Serbian giant. However, the Belgrade club proved that it is still in with a chance if the team continues to produce on the hardwood.
It was the first time these famed clubs had met in 15 years, but Barcelona had the form and made it five consecutive victories in the Euroleague. Veteran playmaker Juan Carlos Navarro led the scoring for the winners with 12 points, followed by an 11 points/10 rebounds double-double from Tomas Satoransky, and 10 points apiece for Marcelihno Huertas and DeShaun Thomas.
Boban Marjanovic continued his run as one of the most complete players this season by doubling up. He recorded a game high 23 points and remained the best Euroleague rebounder this season (and the only one in double digits) with 11 boards.
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv vs. Zalgiris Kaunas, 79-72
Two Euroleague stalwarts run each other close in Israel as Maccabi Tel Aviv edged past Zalgiris Kaunas. The omens were certainly against the visiting Lithuanians who had not won in Tel Aviv for a decade, and the poor streak continued. The loss also dealt Zalgiris’ playoff hopes a serious blow as they dropped to sixth place and a 4-7 record. As for the reigning Euroleague champs from Tel Aviv, they moved to 7-4 and hold third place on their own.
A late rally in the fourth quarter made the score tight at the end of regulation, but the hosts had cruised for much of the game and led 66-54 heading into the final act. Tel Aviv took the win on the back of a career high tying 26 point haul from Jeremey Pargo, while Devin Smith added 19 points in the win.
Arturas Milaknis gathered 19 points in the losing effort, followed by 13 points from Lukas Lekavicius and 12 points from James Anderson.
ALBA Berlin vs. Galatasaray LIV Hospital Istanbul, 75-68
The first meeting between these clubs in five years was extremely important. Victory would have given Galatasaray more hope of qualifying, while ALBA Berlin would have kept the pressure on Panathinaikos in the race for fourth place in Group E. Galatasaray was nursing seven consecutive losses, and this defeat sealed the Turkish clubs’ fate as they were eliminated from the competition (2-9).
Galatasaray blitzed the fourth quarter in a bid to get back into the game and indeed the competition, but ALBA Berlin held for the win, moving to 5-6 in the group. Marko Banic led the Germans with 15 points, while Leon Radosevic secured 11 points, with Alex Renfore and Reggie Redding netting 10 apiece. Zoran Erceg and Ender Arsland got Galatasaray back into the game and supplied 16 points each, but it was not enough to stop the loss.
Group F
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Nizhny Novgorod, 79-75
There was a feeling heading into this contest that neither team could really afford to lose. Efes stood on a 4-6 record, while Nizhny was 2-8. The Turkish hosts held fourth place and managed to hold it while defeating Nizhny and all but ending their qualification hopes. The Russians now slip to seventh place with a dismal 3-8 record and need a lot of things to happen to reach the play offs. Anadolu Efes though has kept itself in the mix in a Group F chasing pack that looks to be taking things to the wire.
The hosts snapped a four game losing streak, but made up for a regular season loss to Nizhny in Istanbul. Efes looked to 15 points from Milko Bjelica, followed by 13 points each for Cedi Osman and Stephane Lasme. The Novgorod contingent had Artsiom Parakhouski finishing with a game high 2 points and 7 rebounds, while Taylor Rochestie secured 18 points and Gal Mekel 13 points.
Unicaja Malaga vs. CSKA Moscow, 77-95
CSKA Moscow qualified last week, but the Russian giant is in pursuit of first place in Group F and certainly did not ease off the gas by sweeping aside Unicaja Malaga on the road. Spanish club Malaga is hanging on by a thread, with only two wins. The club had won twice at home though and taken CSKA to overtime in the Regular Season, so there was still hope. However, the best offensive rebounding team in the competition struggled with defensive glass and let CSKA in too often.
CSKA took first place in Group F with a 9-2 record, at least for tonight, while the loss plunged Unicaja deeper into trouble. The club is now last in the standings with a 2-9 record and looks down and out. Milos Teodosic had a vintage game with 25 points and 7 assists, while Nando De Colo continued his impressive season with 19 points for CSKA. Also pacing the Russians was Sasha Kaun with 16 points.
Fran Vasquez secured 14 points for Malaga. Carlos Suarez followed with 12 points for the losing team.