Euroleague: Real Madrid stays on top
Round 22 of the Euroleague Regular Season is underway, with five games opening the week’s action on Thursday. Real Madrid maintained its hold on the league with a road win over Unics Kazan, while nearest rival CSKA Moscow went big at home to take apart Crvena Zvezda Belgrade. Anadolu Efes Istanbul also tasted home success over Milan.
Elsewhere, Maccabi Tel Aviv downed Baskonia in Israel, while Panathinaikos Athens took out Brose Bamberg in the Greek capital. After the day, Real Madrid was the only club to win on its travels.
Unics Kazan vs. Real Madrid, 77-81
Real Madrid remains in sole possession of first place thanks to a narrow win over Unics Kazan in Russia. The Spanish club now sits on 17-5, while Unics Kazan continues to struggle with a 7-15 record. Los Blancos trailed 57-59 through thirty minutes of this game, but put together a big fourth quarter, taking the game in the final minutes. Anthony Randolph dropped 19 points to pace the win, while Euroleague top scorer Keith Langford scored a game high 20 points.
CSKA Moscow vs. Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, 102-80
CSKA Moscow put Anadolu Efes to the sword in the Russian capital to keep the heat on Real Madrid in second place with a 16-6 record. The hosts controlled long periods and drained an impressive 58 points to secure a 12 point first half lead. CSKA never looked back in the second half. Nando De Colo was at his best with 25 points in the winning effort. Serbian champ and surprise package, Crvena Zvezda, dropped to 12-10 on this loss.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. EA7 Milan, 90-86
Turkish club Anadolu Efes Istanbul downed Milan to put the skids on the Italians’ recent good form. The win propelled Anadolu Efes to 11-11 in the middle of the standings, while Milan slips 7-15 at the bottom of the league. The hosts got the job done in the middle frames, coming back from a 15-27 losing first act to score 54 points over the next two periods. Thomas Huertal stood out with 17 points for the winners.
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Baskonia Vitoria, 85-84
Former Euroleague champs Tel Aviv grabbed an important win over in form Baskonia. The success does little to push Maccabi up the league, but give the club some momentum from 8-14. Vitoria’s form has tailed in recent weeks and the club is on 12-10, but still firmly in the mix. Andrew Goudelock put together a strong attacking game to take 21 points for the winners.
Panathinaikos Athens vs. Brose Bamberg, 81-72
Panathinaikos grabbed a win to move to 13-9 in fifth place. In the process, the Greek club handed Brose Bamberg its fifth loss in six games. The German team is struggling and has slipped to 8-14 in the standings.