Over four consecutive days in a frenetically paced January week, organizers of Turkish Airlines Euro-League Basketball scheduled back-to-back Rounds 19 & 20. Eight matches were played on January 25 and 25 and another eight on January 26 and 27. The action wasn’t devoid of thrills and some big upsets as play-off race for top 8 spots heated up. Here is a summary of these Rounds.
With 86-81 road win over Unics Kazan, Fenerbahce Istanbul improved to 12-7 in standings, while Unics slipped to 7-12. Luigi Datome was Fenerbahce’s top-scorer with 18 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic added another 16 with 7 assists. Fenerbahce restricted Unics’ lead-scorer Keith Langford to just 11 points but Parakhouski netted 21 and Orlando Johnson added a career-best 16.
Galatasaray Istanbul snapped their 5-game losing streak in an emphatic 102-63 win over Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv. That result left both teams at 6-13. It was Maccabi’s worst Euro-League loss in 100 years after CSKA had beaten them 100-65 in 2014. For Galatasaray, Jon Diebler led with 21 points while Maccabi’s Andrew Goudelock netted 22.
Zalgiris Kaunas shocked defending champions CSKA Moscow 79-74 at home with solid defense that forced CSKA to 19 turnovers. Zalgiris improved to 7-12, while CSKA dropped to 14-5. It was also Zalgiris’ first Euro-League win over CSKA in nearly 17 years. For Zalgiris, Kevin Pangos topped with 21 points and Leo Westermann added 10 with 10 assists. CSKA’s James Augustine scored 15.
In a close match, Panathinaikos defeated Barcelona 71-65 and improved to 11-8 in standings, while Barcelona dropped to 8-11 with 7th straight road loss. Panathinaikos began leading in second quarter and never looked back. Panathinaikos’ Ioannis Bourousis top-scored with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Barcelona’s Tyrese Rice scored 12.
Crvena Zvezda recorded their 6th consecutive win by defeating Baskonia Vitoria 87-69 on road. Both teams are now 11-8 in the standings. Marko Simonovic top-scored for Crvena with 23 points and Stefan Jovic added 18 with 12 assists. For Baskonia, Shane Larkin scored 16.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul defeated Darussafaka Dogus 93-81 at home in Istanbul Derby to reach 9-10 in standings to Darussafaka’s 10-9. Brandon Paul led Efes with 21 points while Brad Wanamaker’s 24 for Darussafaka proved wasteful.
With a shot at buzzer, Real Madrid beat Brose Bamberg 91-89 and leveled with CSKA at 14-5 in the standings while Bamberg slipped to 7-12. Madrid’s Sergio Llull top-scored with 26 points including a game-winning last-second floater that made all the difference. Other Madrid scorers were Jaycee Carroll with 24 and Gustavo Ayon 16 with 8 rebounds. For Bamberg, Fabien Causeur scored 14.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan defeated Olympiacos Piraeus 99-83 after an inspiring fourth quarter, when 32 points saw them through. Milan went up to 6-13 against Olympiacos’ 13-6. Davide Pascolo led Milan with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists while Georgios Printezis scored 16 for Olympiacos in defeat.
Fenerbahce Istanbul rallied from a 15-point third-quarter deficit to defeat city rivals Galatasaray Odeabank 85-80. The result took Fenerbahce to 13-7 while Galatasaray fell to 6-14. For Fenerbahce, Jan Vesely topped with 20 points and 7 rebounds and Bobby Dixon added another 17. Blake Schilb’s 21 points and 7 assists for Galatasaray were wasted.
Crvena Zvezda scored their 7th straight win by beating Panathinaikos 72-66 and improved to 12-8 in the standings while Panathinaikos dropped to 11-9. Marko Simonovic top-scored for Crvena at 13 points while Kenny Gabriel scored career-best 23 for Panathinaikos.
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv defeated Unics Kazan 60-52 to reach 7-13 in standings while Unics slipped to 7-13 with third successive loss. In a lackluster play, both teams focused on defense with Andrew Goudelock’s 17 points for Maccabi being the only notable feature. Unics’ Orlando Johnson scored 13 in defeat.
CSKA Moscow restored their lead in standings with a thrilling 80-77 win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul. At 15-5, CSKA look certain to enter play-off stage. Efes slipped to 9-11 but are still in play-off contention. CSKA had a double-digit lead in third quarter and though Efes rallied two minutes from buzzer, they couldn’t make a comeback. Kyle Hines top-scored for CSKA with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Efes’ Heurtel scored 24 in defeat.
Zalgiris Kaunas scored a close 69-66 road win over Darussafaka Dogus and improved to 8-12 while Darussafaka fell at 10-10. Zalgiris’ Kevin Pangos led the scorers with 14 points that included the game-winning three-pointer with 90 seconds remaining. For Darussafaka, Brad Wanamaker’s 17 points, 8 assists and 3 steals went in vain.
Barcelona suffered another 79-93 home loss against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. The result took Baskonia to 12-8 while Barcelona dropped to 8-12. Shane Larkin was Baskonia’s top-scorer with 18 points while Tyrese Rice’s 15 points couldn’t save his team.
Olympiacos Piraeus defeated Brose Bamberg 83-77 at home and improved to 14-6 in the standings while Bamberg slipped to 7-13. Khem Birch was outstanding for Olympiacos with 15 points and 14 rebounds and Vassilis Spanoulis added another 15 with 6 assists. Bamberg’s Nicolo Melli scored 14 in defeat.
In an edge-of-the-seat thriller, Real Madrid defeated EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 94-89 at home to come at level with CSKA at 15-5 in standings while Milan dropped to 6-14. Madrid star Sergio Llull top-scored with 20 points and rising teenager Luka Doncic added another 17. For Milan, Krunoslav Simon scored 20. The match was tied at 85-85 with two minutes left but Llull, Doncic and Gustavo Ayon combined for a 7-0 run that sealed the win for Madrid.