Panathinaikos stun Real Madrid in Euroleague action
Panathinaikos Athens took down Group E leaders Real Madrid in the Greek capital during the closing day of round 11 in the Euroleague Top 16. The victory stopped a recent surge from the Spanish club, as Panathinaikos enhanced its chances of making the Play-offs.
There were also two games in Group F, where Fenerbahce continued its stunning Euroleague form by taking out EA7 Armani Milan at home, while Laboral Kutxa Vitoria kept fighting for its own Play-off berth with a huge win over Olympiacos.
Group E
Panathinaikos Athens vs. Real Madrid, 85-69
Panathinaikos pulled off a huge home win over Group E high flyers Real Madrid. The Greek giant kept hold of sole possession of fourth place in the standings (6-5), while already qualified Real Madrid maintained first place despite the loss (9-2), but lost grip of their five-game winning run.
A massive crowd of 17,200 showed up to the Greek capital and they were rewarded with arguably the most complete European performance The Greens have put together this season. The hosts were hot in the paint and plundered 54 of their points from the key area, while also dishing out 21 assists in an unselfish display. The Greeks had carved a 41-35 lead at halftime, but the third act proved the difference as the home team won it 28-18 to allow a cruise through the fourth.
Nikos Pappas top-scored for Panathinaikos with 22 points, while DeMarcus Nelson was good for sixteen points and James Gist 13 points.
Jaycee Carroll topped an uneven Real Madrid roster with 16 points, followed by 12 points from Rudy Fernandez and 11 apiece from Felipe Reyes and Sergio Llull.
Group F
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul vs. Emporio Armani Milan, 77-98
Fenerbahce is the Euroleague’s in-form team, and the red-hot Turkish club made it nine consecutive wins and also booked its place in the Play-offs. Fener is the fourth club into the next round, following Real Madrid and Barcelona from Group E, and CSKA Moscow from Group F. The win over Milan also pushed the Turkish team to the top of the group, courtesy of a better head to head over CSKA (9-2). As for Milan, the Italians are slowly running out of chances from seventh place and a 3-8 record.
Fenerbahce thrashed Milan at the Ulker Sports Arena, shooting 60.7% from the field and Milan’s persistent fouling game Fener plenty of free throw chances. Indeed, the hosts shot 24 out of 29 from the charity stripe. However, the visitors actually led 42-45 through halftime, but a huge second half (23-16 and 33-16) turned the game around for the Istanbul side.
Bogdan Bogdanovic was the top performer for the winners with 25 points, while Jan Vesely scored 14 points and claimed 14 rebounds. Nemanja Bjelica scored 13 points in the victory, followed by Oguz Savas and Richard Hickman managed 10 points each.
MarShon Brooks fought to 21 points for Milan, with Alessandro Gentile securing 19.
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria vs. Olympiacos Piraeus, 74-73
Spanish club Laboral Kutxa Vitoria took a big step in its fight to make the Play-offs with a big home win over Olympiacos. The hosts secured the victory by a single point to move to a 5-6 record alongside Anadolu Efes Istanbul in fourth place. The two clubs are likely to fight to the wire for qualification.
Olympiacos could have qualified this week, but instead, the Greek giant will have to wait another week. The club has lost two in a row and sits third with an 8-3 record, although one more win will be enough to see the team through. Mike James led the scoring with 17 points for Laboral Kutxa, while Davis Bertans nailed 16 points and Fabian Causeur hit 13 points.
Georgios Printezis paced Olympiacos with 15 points, followed by Othello Hunter with 14 points.