Euroleague: Opening wins for Barcelona, Vitoria, Panathinaikos, and Fenerbahce
The dawn of a new Euroleague era has ended. Round one of an historic new Regular Season has closed as the competition embarks on a new frontier where each team will play every other in the first round. At this early stage it is no time to make lasting conclusions. However, on Wednesday and Thursday Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow showed that they are in good form.
That’s the last two Euroleague champions in solid health, but what about Friday? Well, it was more about getting the job done over four very close games. No major statements were made, but still, Fenerbahce, Barcelona, and Panathinaikos picked up expected wins. Also, Baskonia Vitoria also collected a win at home.
It was actually a good evening to be a host as three of the games went in favour of the home team, with Barcelona the only club bucking that trend with a road win.
Unics Kazan vs. Barcelona, 63-69
Barcelona can sometimes take time to warm into a season, but the Catalonians have started solidly in 2016/2016. The Spanish giant edged past Unics after making the long journey to Kazan to open its Euroleague campaign. It took a fourth quarter rally to get it done as the hosts had surged to a 51-43 lead through thirty minutes. Barca found momentum and drained 26 points in the defining fourth act, a haul worthy of completing a comeback win.
Fenerbahce Istanbul vs. Brose Bamberg, 67-66
Turkish champions met German champion in this contest. Last year’s beaten finalist, Fenerbahce, needed to dig deep to see off Bamberg by a single points at home. The Turkish team will undoubtedly improve, so will be happy to have scraped through this encounter. After Bamberg took Q1 18-22, Fenerbahce spent the next two frames cutting the lead and then built on its third quarter advantage by holding on at the death.
Panathinaikos Athens vs. Zalgiris Kaunas, 84-76
Two Euroleague stalwarts clashed on Friday, with former champ Panathinaikos ending up with the easiest win of the night. Not easy, but the easiest. No contest against Zalgiris can ever be described as easy, the Lithuanian giant has been around the continental block too many times. However, Panathinaikos looked assured for much of this contest, barring a third quarter slip. That Q3 blip allowed Zalgiris to fight back from a losing 37-30 halftime to a 51-52 advantage through three frames. However, the hosts regained the initiative in the fourth and wrapped up a comfortable enough home win.
Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul, 85-84
Vitoria is looking to build on its encouraging 2015/2016 Euroleague effort and started with a slender win against Turkish giant Anadolu Efes, a team that has struggled to crack the elite competition in recent years. Anadolu Efes managed to stay a step ahead in Spain for long spells of this game, with the final split showing the Turks 68-73 in front. However, Baskonia has sporting grit in spades and rallied with a 17-11 winning fourth quarter to win the game.