Euroleague, CSKA Moscow makes it 14-0

The honors were split in the Euroleague on Thursday as Round 4 of the Top 16 tipped off with four games across the continent. Two home wins and two away wins dealt with the action in Groups E and F, while there will be a further four contests taking place on Friday.

Real Madrid stretched its lead to 4-0 at the top of Group E with a resounding 83-65 home win over Greek juggernaut Panathinaikos, while in the other encounter in the group ALBA Berlin got back on track with a 65-75 road success over Galatasaray in Turkey. There was no surprise in Group F as CSKA Moscow continued its unblemished record in the Euroleague this season with a 101-74 demolition of Unicaja Malaga in the Russian capital. Turkish heavyweight Fenerbahce headed to Italy and downed Serie A champs EA7 Armani Milan 71-82.

Group E
Real Madrid is slowly moving through the gears and getting better; the Spanish team thumped Panathinaikos at home in a game between the two Euroleague title contenders. Los Blancos posted 28 defensive boards and cut Panathinaikos from second chances, while 10 from 12 from the charity strip handed the hosts some key free points. Felipe Reyes led Madrid with 18 points from the bench, while he also added 9 boards.

ALBA Berlin recovered from two consecutive defeats to keep its Euroleague Top 16 fight alive. The German club overcame Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul on the road in a close game where the score locked three times during the final quarter. Both teams are on a 2-2 record, but it will be ALBA feeling better tonight, especially after recording its first ever away win during this stage of the Euroleague. Reggie Redding set the scoring tone for the Berlin outfit with 16 points, while Zoran Erceg topped the scoring with 19 points for Galatasaray.

Group F
CSKA’s phenomenal form this season continued as the Russian powerhouse stretched its unbeaten run to 14 games, a streak that goes back to day one of this season. Spanish club Unicaja Malaga stood in CSKA’s way this week, but the club cannot catch a break on the continent as they yielded to a rampant Moscow contingent. CSKA now hold control over Group F with a 4-0 record, while Malaga will need to start winning games to recover from a 0-4 record. Nando De Colo led the scoreboard with 28 points for the winning effort.

EA7 Armani picked up its first Top 16 win of the season last week, but there was no repeat performance in Round 4 as the Italians slipped to Fenerbahce. The Turkish club is getting it done on the road, notching its fourth consecutive away from Istanbul, and in this encounter they led from the first quarter and never looked back. However, Milan always posed a threat and the difference on the board was never more than five points, making this a tight contest throughout.