Turkish Airlines EuroLeague: Comforts of Home
Home wins were the order of the day as Round 13 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague tipped off with four games. Fenerbahce topped Crvena Zvezda in Istanbul and Zalgiris Edged out Brose Bamberg in Kaunas. Elsewhere, Panathinaikos defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv and Real Madrid demolished Valencia in the Spanish Capital.
Fenerbahce Istanbul vs. Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, 82-56
Current Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champs Fenerbahce hit back after last week’s loss to beat a Crvena Zvezda team that has been in resurgence recently. It was a dazzling home performance from the champs as they controlled long periods in a cruising win. Success moves Fenerbahce to 9-4, while Crvena Zvezda dropped to 5-8. The hosts led 41-33 through the long break and extended with a 21-9 run in the third act. That opened a 20-point lead and allowed the champs to ease down the straight.
Jan Vesely paced the win with 15 points and 8 rebounds, while Luigi Datome and Brad Wanamaker drained 13 points apiece.
Ognjen Dobric was good for 15 points in the loss.
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Brose Bamberg, 88-84
Zalgiris is flying. The Lithuania champs edged Brose Bamberg to move to 8-5 in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings. Bamberg remains inconsistent and slips to 6-7 on this loss. The hosts hit 10 from 19 triples to pace the offence, but the game went to the wire as the teams locked 72-72 through thirty minutes. The hosts nicked the fourth frame 16-12 to take the win. Arturas Milaknis had a career best game of 20 points and 6 triples in the win, while Paulius Janina’s dropped 17 points, 8 arriving in the decisive fourth act. Corelli Wright secured a game-high 22 points for Bamberg.
Panathinaikos Athens vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv, 89-76
Panathinaikos continued its excellent season after winning this clash between two former champs. The win sent The Greens to 9-4 while Tel Aviv fell to 7-6. This is the second straight week Maccabi has lost on the road to a fellow giant after losing to CSKA last week. The hosts stayed in front through, leading 49-43 through halftime. An 18-13 third act all but settled it as contest as Panathinaikos eased through the fourth quarter. Lukas Lekavicius scored 13 points in the win, while James Gist added a double double of 15 points and 10 boards. Chris Singleton also doubled with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Norris Cole topped the losing effort with 14 points, but only 1 of those came in the second half when Tel Aviv was chasing the game.
Real Madrid vs. Valencia, 91-72
Valencia pipped Real Madrid to the Spanish title last season and neither club has performed well this EuroLeague. However, Madrid showed its class with a home destruction of Valencia. That’s two on the bounce for Los Blancos as they recover to 7-6 after a torrid few weeks. Valencia falls to 10-3 and is bottom of the standings for at least today.