Turkish Airlines EuroLeague: Round 11 opens

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Round 11 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague opened for business on Thursday with five games across the continent. Zalgiris Kaunas took out Panathinaikos Athens at home, while CSKA Moscow picked up a road win over Bamberg. Also successful on the road was Khimki Moscow Region with a win over Milan. Baskonia edged Malaga in a close fought all-Spanish contest, and Maccabi Tel Aviv was too strong for Valencia.

Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Panathinaikos Athens, 80-74

Is Zalgiris a serious Turkish Airlines EuroLeague contender, this season’s dark horse? The club took out high-flying Panathinaikos to move to 6-5, with the Greek team dropped back to 7-4. Zalgiris had a first quarter to forget and trailed 10-20 after ten minutes. The hosts spent the rest of the game rallying, and was already at 31-33 by halftime. A 33-14 third quarter followed and Zalgiris was able to claim a win in the fourth.

Paulius Jankunas scored 17 points in the win, followed by Aaron White with 13 points. Kevin Pangos made a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Nikkos Pappas continued his good form with 16 points in the loss, with Chris Singleton bagging 15 points.

Brose Bamberg vs. CSKA Moscow, 76-92

CSKA has sole possession of first place for at least a day after a cruising road win over Bamberg lifted the club to 9-2. Olympiacos can equal that record tomorrow, but for now CSKA is the leader. As for Bamberg, the German champs continued to be inconsistent and is now at 5-6. The visitors took a while to get going, but still led 39-42 through the long break. In the third act, a 20-28 run gave CSKA Moscow control for good and the guests never looked back.

Nando De Colo’s 20 points paced the win, while Will Clyburn grabbed 15 points and 8 assists.

Augustine Rubit topped Bamberg with 16 points, with Ricky Hickman securing 13 points.

Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Valencia Basket, 94-91

A high-scoring encounter went in favor of a Tel Aviv team that is resurgent this season, moving to 7-4 near the top of the standings on this win. Valencia is finding the elite end of European hoops hard this season and slipped to 3-8. The teams traded 25-21 quarters to be tied 46-46 through the midway point, but Tel Aviv pulled away in the third act to lead 69-65 at thirty minutes. Valencis hit back with a 25-26 winning fourth, and exciting frame that ultimately ended with the hosts claiming the win.

Pierre Jackson drained 21 points in the win, while DeShaun Thomas netted 20 points.

Errick Green is propping Valencia up as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague top scorer, he added 24 points here.

Baskonia Vitoria vs. Unicaja Malaga, 88-82

An All-Spanish contest went in favor of Baskonia as the hosts took out reigning EuroCup champs Malaga. It was Vitoria’s second consecutive win and moves the club to 5-6. Malaga could do with a similar run, the club is now at the bottom of the standings (3-8). A 27-12 first quarter gave the hosts an excellent base to build a win. Malaga addressed the balance a little to make it 41-36 at halftime, before Baskonia stayed calm to win the game, including edging a high-scoring fourth act 29-26.

Janis Timma dropped 24 points in success, followed by Tornhike Shengelia with 12 points.

Adam Waczynski scored a game-high 25 points in the losing effort, while Nemanja Nedovic added 13 points.

Milan vs. Khimki Moscow Region, 71-77

Milan’s season is going from bad to worse and the club’s home loss today pushes it to 3-8, only kept from the bottom by Malaga’s worse record. Khimki on the other hand is back to winning ways with two consecutive successes, and now moves up to 7-4 in sixth place. The hosts actually led 38-31 through the long break, but that seven-point advantage would be reversed in the second half as Khimki controlled the remainder of the game.

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