Euroleague looks to 2017 as Round 15 closes

and now we head into 2017 on the road to the Final Four. Unics Kazan’s recent resurgence paid off with a big home win over Panathinaikos Athens. Brose Bamberg, another team in fine touch, defeated Galatasaray with a road cruise. Finally, Barcelona secured a win over a tricky Darussafaka at home.

Unics Kazan vs. Panathinaikos Athens, 83-81

After a poor first half of the campaign, Unics Kazan has finished the season in style. A close win over Panathinaikos in Russia gave Unics a third consecutive Euroleague win and moved the club to 6-9 in the standings. As for Panathinaikos Athens, the Greek team slipped to 9-6 in a tie for sixth place. The hosts started slow here, but heavy plus 20 scoring in the final three frames handed Unics the win. Keith Langford once again peppered the bucket, this time with 27 points in the win.

Galatasaray Istanbul vs. Brose Bamberg, 75-90

These clubs will head into 2017 in contrasting moods. Brose Bamberg is flying after winning four of its last five games, enough to climb the table to 6-9. Galatasaray on the other hand, continues to struggle. The EuroCup champion is bottom of the table with a 4-11 showing. Bamberg was comfortable on the road and led by 9 points and the long break. The visitors carried the momentum to extend to victory in the second half. Janis Strelnieks topped the win with 18 points, while Daniel Theis secured a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Barcelona vs. Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul, 81-77

After an inconsistent first half to the campaign, Barcelona has put together a solid Christmas period at home and abroad to inject a feel good factor back into the club. This win on Friday pushed Barca to a 7-8 record, while pulling Darussafaka down to 8-7. The Spanish hots were trailing 35-40 by halftime, but surged in the third act and amassed 46 points in the second half to win the game. Ante Tomic led the win with 16 points, while James Anderson took a game high 21 points in the losing effort.