Euroleague Top 16 welcomes Crvena Zvezda
The Euroleague Top 16 has a new addition after Friday wrapped Round 8 of the Regular Season, with Crevena Zvezda Belgrade heading through to the next round. The Serbian powerhouse took out Valencia on the road to progress to the next phase of the tournament, while there were four other games on the night.
Group B
CSKA Moscow vs. Cedevita Zagreb, 97-79
CSKA’s season on the continent is becoming a procession. The Russian club already swept into the Euroleague Top 16 and has maintained its unbeaten record in Round 8 with a big home win over Croatian club Cedevita. The Croatians are only on a record of 2-6 but still stand a chance of reaching the next round.
CSKA Moscow surged in the first quarter as the hosts put 32 points on the board and kept Cedevita to 18 points to hold a commanding lead after 10 minutes. The Russians built on their advantage in the second quarter to head into halftime cruising on the scoreboard, 60-34. The Zagreb based visitors struck back in the third quarter to win it 14-19, but CSKA was in control and in the fourth act the home team held off a 23-26 Cedevita run to win the game with ease.
Six players notched double figures in the winning effort, Sonny Weems (14), Nando De Colo (14), Sasha Kaun (13), Andrey Vorontsevich (13), Vitaly Fridzon (13), and Kyle Hines (12).
Fran Pilepic led Cedevita with a game high 23 points, while Tomislav Zubcic hit 14 points.
Group B
PGE Turow vs. Barcelona, 65-104
Like CSKA Moscow, Barcelona has been in formidable form this season and the Spanish giant went hot again to blow away PGE Turow in Poland, leaving the hosts in need of a miracle if they are going to qualify from 1-7.
The Barcelona storm was not in evidence in Q1 as a low key first quarter ended with the visitors 16-20 in front, but hardly in complete control. That changed in the second quarter as Barca went strong in defence to win the period 11-23 to make it 27-43 at the long break. The Spaniards flew into action in the third quarter as they streamed 36 points onto the scoreboard to make it 43-79 with one frame remaining. A 22-25 winning fourth stanza made the ending a formality for Barcelona.
Group D
Valencia vs. Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, 68-77
Crvena Zvezda booked safe passage into the Euroleague Top 16 by taking out Spanish Eurocup champions Valencia on the road. The Serbian giant has been in good form this season and progresses with a 5-3 record, while Valencia can still qualify, but from last place and a 2-6 record it will be tough.
The visitors signalled their intentions to get the job done and qualify by outpacing Valencia through the first quarter to lead 16-20 through the first split. Valencia responded at the bucket in the second quarter, but Crvena Zvezda had the edge and won the frame 21-22 to make it 37-42 through the midway stop. In the third period the visitors took further control with a 15-20 flurry to put the scoreboard on 52-62 through three quarters. Valencia won the fourth act 16-15 to narrow the gap, but the Belgrade contingent had too many points on the board and eased to victory.
Boban Marjanovic topped the winners with 18 points and 11 boards, while Marcus Williams claimed 17 points.
Bojan Dubljevic was the game’s best scorer with 22 points, followed by Pau Ribas with 15 points, while Vladimir Lucic took 14 points.
Olympiacos vs. Neptunas Klaipeda, 89-79
Already qualified Olympiacos eased past Neptunas at home to keep hold of position 1 in the Group D standings (7-1). As for Lithuanian club Neptunas, they fight on from fifth place and a 3-5 record. The Greek hosts had the better of the opening exchanges and managed to lead 24-19 at the first buzzer. In the second period Olympiacos added a 23-17 run to the board to lead well through halftime (47-36). The home team maintained its double digit lead by the end of the game by winning the third quarter 22-17 and riding a 20-26 rally from Neptunas in the fourth.
Galatasaray vs. Laboral Kutxa Vitoria, 82-89
Both Galatasaray and Laboral Kutxa remain in the Group D mix, but the Spanish club from Vitoria took the initiative to win here to move to third and 4-4, while Turkish club Galatasaray slips to fourth at 3-5. The teams locked each other through the first quarter as they tied the frame 17 apiece, before Laboral Kutxa eased in front with a 19-20 second stanza to make it 36-37 through halftime. Still anybody’s game, the visitors edged another quarter, this time taking the third 27-28 as the board read 65-67 at the final split. The fourth frame proved tight as well, but slowly Vitoria put the game to bed late on.