Euroleague: Fenerbahce halts slide

Round 8 of the 2016/2017 Euroleague got underway on Thursday with four games around the continent. Maccabi Tel Aviv was the only club to taste road success with a tight win over Unics Kazan in Russia. Fenerbahce snapped its losing run with a big win over Anadolu Efes in an Istanbul derby. Crvena Zvezda Belgrade used home comforts to brush aside Milan, while Baskonia Vitoria was too good in the second half against Brose Bamberg.

Unics Kazan vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv, 73-74

2013 champs Maccabi Tel Aviv is slowly starting to warm up despite two years in a relative Basketball wilderness. The Israeli giant defeated Unics Kazan by a sniff on the road to move to 4-4 in the standings. Unics on the other hand slipped to 2-6, despite some solid performances the club has dropped two game this week. A 17-25 first quarter set Tel Aviv on the path and the guests held a 54-61 advantage through thirty minutes. Unics Kazan rallied in Q4, but Sonny Weems secured the win in the closing seconds.

Devin Smith scored 16 points and added 6 rebounds in the win, while Colton Iverson secured 12 points.

Keith Langford continued its red hot form with 22 points in a game high effort for Unics.

Fenerbahce Istanbul vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul, 88-80

After losing three on the bounce, we wrote on Tuesday that Fenerbahce needed to recover of risk its Euroleague campaign slipping away. The club pulled it off in style, defeating Anadolu Efes in a typically testy Istanbul derby. The win pushes Fener to 5-3, while Efes slips to 3-5. The hosts recovered from 17-25 at the first split to lead 64-61 at the end of the third act. The home team carried the momentum into the fourth and eased to victory.

Kostas Sloukas delivered 21 points for Fenerbahce, while Jan Vesely provided 20 points and 6 boards.

Jayson Gray scored 19 points in the losing effort, followed by Bryant Dunston with 11 points and Derrick Brown with 8 points and 10 rebounds.

Crvena Zvezda Belgrade vs. EA7 Armani Milan, 83-70

Crvena Zvezda Belgrade got back to winning ways with an impressive home win over in form Milan. Belgrade is always a fortress and so it proved here as both teams sat on 4-4 in the standings after this contest. The hosts built the win in the middle frames and led 54-46 through thirty minutes. There was no comeback in site as Red Star managed a comfortable final stanza.

Marko Simonov nailed 23 points in the win, while Nate Wolters secured 14 points and 6 assists.

Alessandro Gentile paced Milan with 14 points.

Baskonia Vitoria vs. Brose Bemberg, 81-74

Bamberg was left wondering where the next win will come from again. The Germans continued its trend of playing well but failing to win. It happened again here as Vitoria got back on the winning trail and moved to 5-3 in the standings. Bamberg efforts are unrewarded again as the club slipped to 2-6. The guests will be furious after leading 32-47 during the long break. Baskonia drained 49 points in the second half to stun Bamberg and take the win.

Johannes Voightmann topped the win with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Rodrigue Beaubois matched the points haul with 20, while Adam Hanga scored 16 points and Shane Larkin 15 points.

Darius Miller managed 16 in the loss, followed by Maodo Lo added 15 points. Nicolo Melli had a double-double of 12 points and 12 boards.