Turkish Airlines EuroLeague: Fenerbahce and Olympiacos close gap
After Turkish Airlines EuroLeague leaders CSKA Moscow lost yesterday, it was an opportunity for the chasing pack to make up ground on the league leaders. Reigning champs Fenerbahce and former winner Olympiacos are the closest teams and won their games today to get closer to CSKA. Real Madrid lost more ground on its loss at Olympiacos. Elsewhere, Crvena Zvezda Belgrade crushed Milan and Khimki Moscow Region downed Zalgiris Kaunas.
Fenerbahce Istanbul vs. Brose Bamberg, 77-69
Fenerbahce worked early on Jan Vesely’s excellent play to build a game-winning performance over Brose Bamberg. The victory was enough to take the champs up to 15-7 in second place in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings. German Bundesliga champion Bamberg fell to 8-14 after the loss. Vesely was the standout performer with a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds. That was his second best points haul ever and made a career high index score of 36.
Crvena Zvezda Belgrade vs. Milan, 100-89
Serbian giant Crvena Zvezda was in record-making mood on Friday as the team crushed Milan to continue its recent solid form. This was the club’s record-matching points haul for a non-overtime game and allowed the hosts to move to 9-13. As for Milan, the team is at 7-15 and is competing with Barcelona and Anadolu Efes for the dubious position of last in the standings. Once a 12-0 second quarter run gave the home team a double-digit lead, Crvena Zvezda never looked back, scoring 50 points in both halves.
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Khimki Moscow Region, 74-84
Both teams are flying above expectations this season, but Khimki edged this contest with an important road win that means both teams are on impressive 13-9 records. Zalgiris led the early plays and led by 14 points in the second quarter. Khimki rallied well in the second half, using a 1-20 run to get firmly back into the game. The visitors used the momentum to break Zalgiris’ seven-game home winning run. Honeycutt posted 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks.
Real Madrid vs. Olympiacos, 79-80
Both former Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champs clashed with the ambition of closing the gap on CSKA Moscow. In a nail-biting finale, Olympiacos claimed a huge road win. The success allowed the Greek giant to move to second place, tied with Fenerbahce but with a superior head-to-head (2-0). As for Real Madrid, the Spanish heavyweight will certainly be in the mix and dropped to 13-9 just behind the pace-setters.