Euroleague: Barcelona Regal clinches playoffs
Fenerbahce’s Bo McCalebb goes up high over the Maccabi defenders for a deuce.
Euroleague has it’s first quarterfinalist as FC Barcelona Regal outlasted 2012 Euroleague Champions Olympiacos Piraeus in Top 16 Week 10 action to clinch their seat at the table of eight. In the game of the week, Real Madrid snatched a victory from what looked like a sure thing for Zalgiris Kaunas, coming from seven down with just over a minute to play to knot the score in the final seconds and send it into overtime. Anadolu Efes continued to roll, picking up win number eight moving one step closer to advancing. CSKA Moscow handed Brose Baskets their 10th straight Top 16 loss, while solidifying their standing at the top half of Group E. Maccabi Electra continued their road back to playoff contention with a win over Fenerbahce Ulker, which is Maccabi’s third straight win, fourth in their last five games after opening the Top 16 1-4.
Friday’s contests include No. 4 BC Khimki MR hosting No. 2 Montepaschi Siena in a key Group F match-up; No. 8 Besiktas JK welcoming No. 6 Caja Laboral to Istanbul as they shoot for their first Top 16 win and Caja needing a win to stay in the hunt for advancement out of Group F; and No. 5 Unicaja Malaga hosting No. 4 Panathinaikos Athens in a pivotal game for both clubs as they sit in the middle of the pack in Group E with just four weeks remaining. For Panathinaikos a win would keep them even with CSKA Moscow tied for third at 7-3 and put space between them an Unicaja, who would drop to 4-6, and Zalgiris Kaunas, who did drop to 4-6 with their loss to Real Madrid on Thursday. Should Unicaja win, Panathinaikos would drop to 6-4 and to the No. 4 spot, while Unicaja would improve to 5-5 and remain in the No. 5 spot, but only one game out of advancement in Group E.
Group F
Olympiacos – Barcelona Regal, 77:90
Vassilis Spanoulis goes up for 2 of his game-high 23 against Barcelona Regal.
The two clubs made it clear early on that this was going to be a battle as they exchanged the lead six times in the first 10, but the hosts held a three-point advantage at the buzzer, 20:17.
Regal owned the second frame, using a 4:17 run to amass a 10-point lead, 36:46, as they retreated to the dressing rooms for half-time guidance.
The Reds didn’t get the title of Euroleague champions by giving up when they got down and they weren’t planning on starting in front of an estimated 10,000 friendlies in the arena they affectionately named Peace and Friendship Stadium. An early 9:0 run got the Greek club right back in the contest, eventually taking the lead back late in the quarter, but giving it back up at the end to head into the final quarter down 62:63.
In the fourth Barcelona applied constant pressure to their hosts and kept slowly increasing their advantage as the game clock ticked off. Mid-way through the final 10 they had gotten up by nine, 69:78, on their way to a game-high advantage of 16 before settling for a 13-point win, 77:90, and the first clinched spot in the quarters.
Lorbek’s 21 and Mickeal’s 20 were high for Regal. The duo of Juan Carlos Navarro and Ante Tomic added 10 points each.
Vassilis Spanoulis was game-high with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Georgios Printezis contributed 16 points, and 7 rebounds, Josh Powell added 15 points.
Fenerbahce Ulker – Maccabi Electra, 85:94
Maccabi Electra picked up a big road win in Turkey Thursday when they visited Fenerbahce Ulker Sports Arena in hopes of continuing their climb back into the playoff race. They did just that, with a nine-point decision over Fenerbahce, 85:94. Ulker drops to 2-8 and essentially out of hope for a playoff spot, while Maccabi has some work to do in the final four weeks with games against three playoff contenders that defeated them in the first Top 16 games: Khimki, Olympiacos and Barcelona, who clinched their spot Thursday. Maccabi’s fourth game is with winless Besiktas.
The Israeli club got out to the early lead, but the hosts ran off 11 unanswered to take the lead mid-way through the initial period. At the end of the front 10, the clubs had finished up knotted at 22.
Maccabi took control early in the second quarter, getting the first nine, on the way to a 1:11 run and a 23:33 lead. That would be the last time that Ulker would be within four points for the rest of the contest, as the guests took a 40:49 advantage into the break.
In the third, the guests used the long-ball to extend their lead to 15, but Ulker closed the gap to 11 as the final minute ticked off to head into the last period, 60:71.
At the start of the third Fenerbahce changed defensive tactics and were able to reduce the margin to six, but a couple of triples and the guests had pushed the advantage back to 14. The hosts were able to narrow the lead as the play clock wound down, but they couldn’t bridge the gap fully and Maccabi had their fifth win of the Top 16 round and a solid No. 5 position in Group F.
Ricky Hickman led the way for Maccabi with 18 points and 6 assists. Devin Smith added 16 points 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocked shots. David Logan added 15 points and 3 assists, Shawn James contributed 13 points and 7 rebounds, and Darko Planinic scored 11.
Bojan Bogdanovic was game-high for Fenerbahce with 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Emir Preldzic contributed 15 points and 7 assists, Kaya Peker added 13 points and 6 rebounds, and Bo McCalebb dropped in 12 points, while grabbing 9 rebounds.
Group E
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Real Madrid, 104:105 OT
It was billed as the Euroleague game of the week, and they didn’t disappoint in Kaunas, Lithuania, as Real Madrid chipped away at a seven-point deficit with just over a minute to play in regulation to pull even with 3.4 seconds and send it into overtime. The Spanish club got a record-setting performance from a career-high night for Nikola Mirotic as he coolly stepped to the free throw line for 18 charity tosses during the contest and deposited all 18, breaking the old single-game free throw record. Mirotic’s line showed him with 31 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocked shots and an impressive 37 PIR. He’s now 35 of 38 from the free throw line in Top 16 play, or 92.1%. He also set Euroleague career highs in PIR, points, defensive rebounds, total rebounds, and minutes played.
The opening frame turned out to be a shooting exhibition in the early going as Madrid’s Sergio Llull dropped in three triples before the frame was half over. Zalgiris found their points from all parts of the court, and often; building a 29:19 advantage as the first 10 ticked off.
The guests were able to slice into the 10-point deficit early in the second to get to within five, 31:26, with a 0:7 run. Zalgiris countered with nine unanswered of their own to push the lead to 14, 40:26. Madrid then went back to running points up with a 3:12 run, that cut the gap to five, 43:38. Zalgiris found it difficult to connect on singles as Marko Popovic and Tremmell Darden combined to go 1 of 4 late in the quarter. At the half the 14-point lead had been cut to just four, 44:40.
Darden made up for his missed charity toss with an early triple that pushed the lead back to seven, then Oliver Lafayette dropped two singles after an unsportsmanlike foul was called on Llull. Tremmell canned a jumper with the possession after the free throws, and the hosts had their double digit lead back. Rudy Fernandez found his sweet spot outside the arc and sank two three-balls in a row to pull Madrid to within four, 54:50. The guests kept the pressure on and with two triples and a dunk, and found themselves with a 56:60 lead, representing a 5:20 run. Mirotic nailed a triple as time was running out on the quarter, but then Donald McGrath dropped a three-pointer of his own at the buzzer to send the contest to the final frame with Real Madrid up by two, 61:63.
Zalgiris kept their composure and started rebuilding their lead early in the fourth, getting up 77:70 with just under three minutes to play. They still had a seven-point advantage with just over a minute left, but the hosts didn’t manage the clock well and Madrid chipped away at the lead, until Mirotic connected on another two freebies to pull to within two, 81:79, with 32.7 left. As the battle at the charity stripe continued, Zalgiris got two from Mario Delas, then Mirotic hit two more, followed by McGrath who split his pair to make it a three-point game, 84:81 with 9.5 seconds left. As Madrid’s Sergio Rodriguez came up the sideline looking for a final triple attempt to tie the score, he was fouled by Delas to put him on the line and have no chance at a three-ball attempt. Rodriguez connected on the first to make it 84:82, then intentionally missed the second hoping for a rebound and put back. Mirotic got the rebound and was fouled in the process, sending him to the line for two shots on a double bonus. Mirotic dropped in free throws numbered 15 and 16 on the day to knot the score at 84 with 3.5 seconds to play. The hosts put a play together for the last second, but came up short to set up the extra five.
The clubs got their money’s worth in the extra five, scoring a combined 41 points, which was more than they scored in the second and third periods and just about as many as the dropped in during the fourth 10. Jaycee Carroll got the scoring started with a triple from the corner, then it was a shooting contest from there, many of which came from the charity stripe. Madrid got a five-point advantage when Carroll and Mirotic connected on back-to-back threes and had a six-point lead with under 10 seconds to play, but a Mindaugas Kuzminskas triple, then a steal off the in-bounds play and lay-up cut the margin to a point, 104:105. Zalgiris did get the ball back with 0.5 seconds to play, but had no chance of connecting and Madrid collected their ninth, and one of their toughest, wins of the Top 16 round.
Mirotic’s 31/11 performance was game-high and a Euroleague career-high. Madrid also got 21 from Carroll, 14 from Llull, 11 from Fernandez (who left the game in the fourth after hitting his knee on an advertisement board), and 10 from Rodriguez.
Darden was top man for Zalgiris with 20 points and 5 rebounds, Kuzminskas added 16 on a perfect 7 of 7 shooting night (5 of 5 inside the arc and 2 of 2 from behind). Ksistof Lavrinovic dropped in 14 points and collected 5 rebounds, Lafayette contributed 13 points and 5 assists.
Alba Berlin – Anadolu Efes, 86:91
Alba Berlin and Anadolu Efes took to the court in the first of two Wednesday contests that pitted the No. 7 club in Group E, Alba Berlin against No. 2 Anadolu Efes. Efes had won seven straight Top 16 matches until dropping a tough one last week against Panathinaikos, in Athens. The Turkish club got back on the winning track with a tight win over the struggling Berlin club, to improve to 8-2 on the Top 16 round. The lost drops Alba to 1-9, who has now been eliminated from playoff contention with the loss. A win over winless Brose Baskets in Week 11 could clinch a quarterfinal slot for Efes.
The ‘A’ clubs from Group E came to play in Week 10 as they combined for 52 points in the first 10 minutes. They traded baskets and the lead early, then Alba got seven unanswered to build a lead, only to have that countered at the end of the frame with eight straight from Anadolu to give the Turks a 24:28 margin as the first horn sounded.
The hosts got the lead back early in the second, but Efes ran off some points to get up by six, only to have Alba hit eight unanswered and knot the score at 44 on the way to a 46:50 tally at the half.
Anadolu got the first four of the second half, but the German club ran off 12 straight mid-way through the period to build a six point lead, 64:58. Efes countered and tied it up, Alba went up by three and then Sinan Guler sliced the cords with a three-ball at the buzzer to send the contest into the final 10 tied at 68.
At the worse possible time, Alba found it tough to connect, while Efes pushed their lead to seven. Fortunately, the drought was short-lived for the hosts, and they were able to draw back to within two after a DaShaun Wood triple and Ali Traore deuce. They knotted the board at 81, and that was when they saw nothing but Efes’ tail lights and the guests started pulling away from there and stayed away. In the end, Anadolu had a five-point win and was knocking at the door of the quarterfinals, while Alba came to the realization that they have four games remaining in the 2012-13 Euroleague season.
Jordan Farmar led the way for Anadolu with 23 points, 4 assists, and a PIR of 25. Semih Erden added 12 points and 8 rebounds, Kerem Tunceri and Guler each contributed 10 points to the victory.
Wood was game-high for Alba with 24 points and 5 assists. Traore and Zach Morley added 12 points each, and Nihad Djedovic dropped in 11 points and dished off 6 assists.
Brose Baskets – CSKA Moscow, 58:78
In the second Wednesday game, CSKA Moscow kept pace with Anadolu Efes by picking up a key road win over Brose Baskets, who’s still searching for their first Top 16 victory. CSKA moved to 7-3 and remains in the No. 3 spot behind No. 2 Anadolu at 8-2. Brose stays in the basement at 0-10.
Brose got the first two points on the board with a Jeremiah Massey drive through the middle for a deuce, which was the last time the Bamberg boys would see their score top that of their Russian guests. At the end of the first frame CSKA held a five-point lead, 18:23.
In the second it was much of the same, with the guests building an 11-point margin, only to have the German club cut that to four, 31:35, mid-way through the quarter. By the end of the first 20 CSKA was back up by 11, 35:46. CSKA opened things up in the second half with six unanswered mid-way through the frame to bring the margin to 16, 41:57. At the end of the third the guests were up 47:62.
Bamberg knocked down the first six of the fourth 10 to cut the gap to nine right away. CSKA countered and got it back to 13, only to have Brose get to within nine again mid-way into the quarter. CSKA took over from there and kept stretching the lead until the end when they closed out the scoring with a 20-point win and a step closer to advancing to the next round.
Vladimir Micov and Nenad Krstic shared the high-man honor for CSKA with 17 each. Krstic added 8 rebounds and 4 assists to his total. Milos Teodosic contributed 16 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, and 1 steal. Sonny Weems dropped in 11 points, Sasha Kaun added 10 points, 5 rebounds and 1 blocked shot.
Sharrod Ford was team-high for Brose with 16 points, and Matt Walsh added 13 points and 8 rebounds.
Euroleague Group E
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Euroleague Group F
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