Euroleague: CSKA defeats Barca
With week 9 of the Euroleague under way many teams are already turning their attention to the Last 16, although there is still plenty to play for around the continent. It was a night where it was good to be home as only one teamed picked up an away win on Thursday.
There was a heavyweight clash in Group A as CSKA Moscow welcomed Barcelona to Russia and pulled off an impressive home win. Elsewhere in the group it seems Fenerbahce has eased off after securing a Last 16 position as the Turkish giant fell to an away defeat at the hands of Partizan NIS Belgrade.
In Group B Zalgiris Kaunas picked up a home win over Anadolu Efes as both teams eye a spot in the Last 16. There was plenty of action in Group C where current champs Olympiacos picked up a routine home win over Montepaschi and Unicaja Malaga boosted its Top 16 chances with a home victory over Bayern Munich.
It was also a busy night in Group D with C. Zvezda Telekom picking up a comfortable home win over the already qualified Laboral Kutxa. With all Last 16 places already assigned in the group, Maccabi Tel-Aviv secured a home court win over Rytas Vilnius.
Games of the night
Group A
CSKA Moscow vs. Barcelona, 79-65
Group A threw up an exciting match up as two of the Euroleague´s best clubs clashed in Russia, with CSKA Moscow defeating Spanish giants Barcelona. Both teams have already qualified for the next phase, but CSKA´s win sees them leapfrog Barca into second place with a record of 6-3. Barcelona falls to third with an equal record but loses out on head to head´s.
It was a slow start from both sets of players but soon enough the first quarter livened up and both teams traded for the lead and by the end of the first period Barcelona held a slender 20-21 lead. Barcelona´s early advantage was short lived as the hosts rallied in the second quarter and dominated the period to carve out an impressive 42-31 lead by the halftime buzzer. The visitors were certainly not out of the game however, and in the third quarter Barca restricted CSKA to just ten points and scored 21 of their own to reduce the deficit to one, with the score at 53-52 after 30 minutes. That monumental third quarter effort seemed to drain the Spanish club as CSKA scored 7 unanswered in the 4th to carve a lead big enough to eventually win the game.
Sonny Weems (image) had a good game for the winners and collected 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Also helping the Moscow cause were Nenad Krstic with 12 points and Andrey Vorontsevich with 10.
Brad Oleson, playing in his first Euroleague game for Barcelona, nabbed 14 points for the team, while Ante Tomic had another standout game with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Group B
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Anadolu Efes, 65-63
Group B is still wide open below all-conquering Real Madrid with three more Last 16 spots up for grabs. Zalgiris Kaunas took a huge step towards the next round by defeating Turkish club Anadolu Efes at home to bolster 4th position with a 4-5 record. Efes stays in third place also on 4-5 and both clubs still need results next week to ensure passage into the Last 16 of the Euroleague.
The hosts opened brightly and dominated the early exchanges to lead 12-5 early in the first, but Efes came roaring back to score 11 without reply and by the end of the period the teams were locked at 16-16. Throughout the second quarter either team could forge a significant lead, so the game was neck and neck before the visitors snatched a small midway initiative by leading 34-36 at halftime. The home teamed responded in the third with plenty of action around the hoop and after half an hour Zalgiris led 62-52. Early in the fourth the hosts carved open a 12 point cushion that would ultimately be enough to win the game, although an 8-0 run by Efes made it a tense finale.
Justin Dentmon proved himself a pivotal player for the winners once again as he secured a game high 23 points. Robertas Javtokas helped Kaunas with an 11 points and 10 rebounds contribution.
Semih Erden was the best player on show for Efes as he collected 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Group C
Unicaja Malaga vs. FC Bayern Munich, 77-72
Unicaja Malaga defeated German team Bayern Munich at home to put one foot in the Last 16 as clubs in Group C fight for the remaining two qualifying places. Spanish club Malaga improved third place and 4-5 in the group and will be confident of progression next week. The wheels have truly come off for Bayern Munich, but remarkably the club still occupies 4th spot in Group C with a 3-6 record.
Malaga lay down an early marker of dominance by dictating the flow of the first quarter to open up a comfortable 29-20 cushion after 10 minutes. Bayern set about cutting that margin in Q2 and although the German team trailed at halftime the lead was down to six with the hosts holding a 43-37 advantage. The visitors put on an explosive third quarter and reeled off 23 points while restricting Unicaja to just 13 to lead 56-60 with the last quarter to come. Bayern Munich looked certain for the win after opening a nine point lead (59-68) in the 4th, but the hosts responded with a frantic effort to come back and claim an unlikely win.
Nik Caner-Medley offered 17 points for Unicaja in what was a vital win. Rafa Hettsheimeir also helped the winning effort by adding 13 points while Fran Vazquez had 12 points and 8 rebounds.
Malcolm Delaney was the pick of the players for Bayern with 14 points and 7 assists, although Deon Thompson with 12 points and 8 rebounds was also impressive for the visitors.
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Other games on the night
Group A
Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Partizan NIS, 77-79
Group C
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Montepaschi, 78-73
Group D
C. Zvezda Telekom vs. Laboral Kutxa, 81-65