Euroleague: Barcelona and Fenerbahce impress
After Khimki saw off Real Madrid to tip off Round 6 of the 2015/2016 Euroleague yesterday, the week kicked into full action on Thursday in Europe’s elite competition. Six more games took place around the continent to paint a clearer picture in Groups A through D, while a further five games will take place on Friday to close Round 6.
Fenerbahce continued to be different class in Group A and destroyed Bayern Munich in Bavaria, Germany, while Strasbourg edged Crvena Zvezda at home to enhance its chances of qualification. In Group B Olympiacos made it four on the bounce and snapped Cedevita Zagreb’s three game streak in the process. In the other contest Laboral Kutxa Vitoria took apart Milan in Spain.
Group C saw Zalgiris Kaunas get into the mix with a comfortable home win over Stelmet Zielona Gora, while Barcelona streamed in 107 points in a classy destruction of Turkish champs Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir. In Group D CSKA Moscow got back on track and poured misery on Maccabi Tel Aviv in a resumption of a Euroleague classic.
Group A
Bayern Munich vs. Fenerbahce Istanbul, 67-84
Fenerbahce had the chance to enhance its position at the top of Group A and took it with a slick road win over Bayern Munich. The Turkish club now moves 5-1 at the top, while Bayern sits joint last on 2-4. Fener’s win was built on a huge first quarter, a 10-30 run that allowed the visitors to tie the second frame 20-20 and lost the second half but still win at a canter. Bobby Dixon paced the winners with 25 points, 16 of them finding the bucket in the first quarter.
Strasbourg vs. Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, 78-75
Strasbourg took advantage of Real Madrid’s loss yesterday to claim sole possession of third place in Group A with a 3-3 record. Serbian champions Crvena Zvezda slipped up and is now in a three way tie with Bayern and Madrid for the last qualifying place (2-4). The Belgrade contingent used a 19-30 first frame to stun French club Strasbourg, and led 34-52 through halftime. The hosts roared back with a measured second half, scoring 44 points on the way to the win as Jeremey Leloup plundered 24 points and took 8 rebounds.
Group B
Cedevita Zagreb vs. Olympiacos Piraeus, 70-83
Cedevita Zagreb (3-3) was grounded at home by a solid Olympiacos display. The Croatian champions had won their last three games to get back into contention, but Olympiacos killed the run to extend their own unbeaten run to four and move to the top of Group B (5-1). Othello Hunter fuelled the victory with 19 points and 8 boards, and after leading 40-41 at the long break the guests went up a gear in the second half and pulled away from Zagreb down the straight.
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria vs. Emporio Armani Milan, 94-82
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria bounced back from defeat last week at the hands of Cedevita to consolidate second place in the standings at 4-2. Milan’s woes continued and the Italians slipped to 1-5 at the foot of the group and the club needs to start winning games or wave goodbye to the Top 16. The Spanish host controlled the game throughout and during halftime led 52-37, an advantage that was extended to 72-54 after thirty minutes, allowing the home team to cruise in the fourth act. Fabian Causer provided 22 points in victory, while Ioannis Bourousis continued to impress with a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Speaking of impressing, Alessandro Gentile continues to be the jewel for Milan and here he collected 24 points.
Group C
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Stelmet Zielona Gora, 67-56
Zalgiris registered a win over Polish champions Stelmet Zielona Gora to move into third place in Group C with a 3-3 record, while the guests stuck on the bottom of the standings with 1-5. Zalgiris led throughout the game, going into the halftime break leading 36-29. The hosts carried the momentum as the visitors toiled in defence, and despite never really putting Gora to the sword, the Kaunas giant progressed to an easy win.
Barcelona vs. Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir, 107-79
Barcelona broke a century of points on the way to demolishing Turkish champion Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir at home. The Spanish giant is now in top gear and moved to 5-1 for at least a share of first place, while Karsiyaka’s early season promise has ebbed away and the club falls to fifth and 2-4. Shane Lawal led five Barca players in double digits with 19 points, followed by Carlos Arroyo with 18 points and Ante Tomic with 16 points. Barcelona produced heavy scoring throughout, breaking 20 points in every quarter and 25 points in the first, third, and fourth frames.
Group D
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. CSKA Moscow, 82-88
CSKA was handed its first defeat by unbeaten Unicaja Malaga last week, but the Russian giant pulled it together to down Tel Aviv this week. This is of course the resumption of a classic Euroleague rivalry, but this season Tel Aviv is struggling and this defeat pushed the giant to a 1-5 record. This was Tel Aviv’s best performance in week’s, but CSKA still won to move to 5-1 in Group D. Milo Teodosic was huge for Moscow, keeping the club in the game with 19 points in the first half before finishing with a game high 25 points overall.