Turkish Airlines EuroLeague: Three progress
In a double-round Turkish Airlines EuroLeague week, there is some moving and shaking to be done. Round 27 tipped off with five playoff places up for grabs, but by the close of Wednesday only the final 8th position remained. CSKA Moscow, Olympiacos, and Fenerbahce had already qualified and those clubs were joined by Zalgiris, Panathinaikos, Real Madrid, and Khimki this week.
Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul 87-73 Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
Reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champs Fenerbahce took another step towards tying up home advantage in the playoffs. The already qualified club was too strong for Maccabi Tel Aviv at home and moved to 19-8. As for Maccabi, the Israeli giant has lost its last three. From commanding the final qualifying position, the team is now in real danger at 13-14. The final three games will see multiple clubs chase that coveted position, but Tel Aviv may feel the job should already have been done.
Zalgiris Kaunas 77-65 AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan
Zalgiris is heading to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague after strolling past down and put Milan at home. This success allowed the Lithuanian champs to move to 16-11, while eliminated Serie A title holder Milan drops to 9-18. The win was built on a 14 point run by Aaron White across the third and fourth quarters, a section where Milan managed just 3 points in response.
Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens 91-71 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade
Panathinaikos is also celebrating a place in the EuroLeague playoffs after a crushing home win over Crvena Zvezda. The success took the Greek club to 16-11 amongst a Mini-league tying fourth place. Crvena Zvezda never led in this game and now drops to 11-16 and is removed from the playoff picture.
Valencia Basket 96-88 Real Madrid
Real Madrid was defeated by Spanish rival Valencia in this all-Spain contest. However, Los Blancos is celebrating this evening as its 16-11 record means it has qualified for the playoffs. As for Valencia, the club improves to 10-17, one of the teams moving up in the race for the final qualification place.
CSKA Moscow 89-81 Olympiacos Piraeus
CSKA wrapped up first place in the regular season after a win over title rival Olympiacos. It was nine in a row at home for the former champ CSKA now improves to 22-5. Olympiacos has already qualified and slips to 18-9 in third place, although the Greek team has lost twice to CSKA this season.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 73-85 Khimki Moscow Region
Khimki made club history this week by qualifying for the playoffs for the first ever time. The celebration were sparked by a road win over down and out Anadolu Efes. This win pushed Khimki to 16-11 as the Russian club fought back from a 13-point losing deficit in the first half. Last placed Efes drops further down the pecking order with a 6-21 showing.
Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz 103-79 Brose Bamberg
While Maccabi Tel Aviv’s form has crumbled to the expense of 8th place, Baskonia is the club that has capitalized. The Spanish team crushed Bamberg at home to collect its fourth consecutive win and to now occupy that coveted 8th position with a 14-13 record. As for Bamberg, the German champions fell to 10-17 and is now out of the playoff running.
Unicaja Malaga 95-91 FC Barcelona Lassa
Unicaja Malaga kept its playoff hopes alive with an edgy win over Barcelona, although qualification remains a slim hope. The win improves Malaga to 11-16, three games behind Baskonia. The current EuroCup champs would need several teams to crumble while it win all its remaining contests to progress. Barcelona’s torrid EuroLeague season is almost over as the already eliminated giant fell to 9-17.