Euroleague: Unicaja outshoots Panathinaikos
BC Khimki MR’s Zoran Planinic, the Euroleague’s Top 16 single-game assist record holder, looks to dish the ball against Siena.
As they closed the books on the Euroleague Top 16 Week 10 contests, the playoff picture got a bit more complicated as mathematically there are six clubs in each group that have a shot at moving on to the quarterfinals. In Group E Real Madrid’s a lock at 9-1; Anadolu Efes sits at 8-2 and baring a major meltdown will also advance. After the top two, there are four clubs within four games of each other as CSKA Moscow is No. 3 at 7-3; Panathinaikos is No. 4 at 6-4; Unicaja is No. 5 at 5-5 and with an outside shot at moving on is No. 6 Zalgiris Kaunas at 4-6. In Group F Barcelona Regal has clinched a playoff spot and is 9-1; Montepaschi Siena is in the No. 2 position in the group at 7-3; BC Khimki MR and Olympiacos are tied at No. 3 at 6-4; Maccabi Electra and Caja Laboral sit at No. 5 with 5-5 marks.
On Friday there were three key contests played with Unicaja Malaga downing Pananthinaikos 66-60 to move the two clubs a single game apart in the middle of the standings and give Unicaja a one-point advantage in the tie-break; BC Khimki MR handed Montepaschi Siena their third loss in the Top 16 round, 78:71, to pull Khimki within a game of the Italian club in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots of Group F and earn a one-point advantage in the tie-break; and Caja Laboral denied Besiktas JK from their first Top 16 win with a 73:83 road victory that keeps Caja in the think of the Group F race for the quarters.
Unicaja Malaga – Panathinaikos Athens, 66:60
Unicaja Malaga got nine points from Marcus Williams in back-to-back-to-back triples with less than a minute to go to erase a nine-point advantage that Panathinaikos had heading into the fourth quarter, to pick up a critical Group E win at home. The win brings the two clubs to within a game of each other as the Top 16 round hits the home stretch and has only four games left.
Unicaja got an early 6:2 lead and wouldn’t see the top end of the score again until there was less than a minute left in the contest. Jonas Maciulis, Roko Ukic, and Dimitris Diamantidis, racked up four three-balls early in the first quarter to take the lead after the first 10, 8:16.
The hosts got the first five of the second frame with a Luka Zoric dunk and Williams’ first (of five) triple of the day. The guests got nothing but dunks and free throws to fall for them until eight minutes into the second quarter, but even so they closed out the first half with a nine-point advantage, 26:35.
After Maciulis opened the second half with a triple, Unicaja ran off nine unanswered to pull to within three, 35:38. The clubs traded triples, but also weren’t afraid to pound the ball inside for lay-ups, bringing the board to read 44:48 with just over two minutes to play. Ukic drained a three to push the lead to seven, and Sofoklis Schortsanitis dropped in a lay-up at the buzzer to give the guests their nine-point lead back heading into the final 10, 44:53.
Unicaja dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring their guests from Athens 22:7 in the final period. The hosts opened the frame with a Williams triple, then Earl Callaway picked Marcus Banks’ pocket, drawing an unsportsmanlike foul from Banks when the ball was advanced to Williams. Williams split the singles, but dropped in a jumper on the follow-up possession from the foul call, cutting the margin to three, 50:53. They pulled to within one on a pair of Fran Vazquez singles, but the guests dropped in five straight to push back to six until seconds later Krunoslav Simon countered with a three-ball of his own bringing the margin back to three, 55:58. Ukic closed out the Greens scoring at 60 with a pair of free throws with just over four minutes to play. Zoric kicked off an 0:11 run for Unicaja with a lay-up, then was followed by a Williams shooting exhibition as the Malaga playmaker dropped in three long-balls to tie the score at 60, then not only win the game for his club, but cover the five-point deficit they had from game one of the series giving Unicaja the tie break win should it come down to needing it.
“We want to carry on playing the way we did today because we managed to beat a great team and managed to get the tie-break advantage, too. I don’t want to focus on my individual performance. I am happy with our good work as a team. We had a great game and have to carry on playing this way, as a team. Above all, I hope that Martin Carpena Arena keeps this atmosphere and that the fans carry on enjoying.” –Marcus Williams
Williams was game-high for Unicaja with 22 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Zoric added 14 points, 9 rebounds (5 offensive, 4 defensive), and a blocked shot. Vazquez contributed 13 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.
Maciulis led Panathinaikos with 15, followed by Ukic’s 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block.
BC Khimki MR – Montepaschi Siena, 78:71
Bobby Brown is surrounded by Khimki defenders in the paint.
K.C. Rivers hit eight of this game-high 19 for Khimki in the first quarter and led the hosts to a 25:20 advantage after the first. As much as the first quarter was all about the long-ball, the second was more inside the arc with jumpers, driving the lane and pounding the ball to the box. Khimki used an 8:0 run to open up a 12-point lead, but Siena was able to cut that down to seven at the intermission, 44:37.
The second quarter remained tight with the clubs exchanging baskets throughout and with Khimki adding on to their margin. Rivers continued racking up the points for the hosts, as did Bobby Brown for Siena. The guests were able to pull to within five, but Khimki then put some extra distance between them at the end of the third, 64:54. Khimki ran away with the contest early in the fourth quarter, knocking down 14 unanswered and building a top margin of 19. Siena never gave up, even if it was to just get the tie-breaker back to their side. They couldn’t bridge the full gap, but played like it was for a big win to the end and had an opportunity with 18.4 seconds to play to get the margin under six, but Matt Janning came up empty.
Rivers was game-high with 19 for Khimki, Paul Davis came up with 18 points inside along with seven rebounds and 3 assists.
Brown led the way for Siena with 17 points and 5 assists, Kristjan Kangur added 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and a blocked shot. Benjamin Ortner added 11 points.
Besiktas JK Istanbul – Caja Laboral, 73:83
When Top 16 play began, Caja Laboral ran through some of the elite clubs in Group F: Olympiacos, Maccabi Electra, Fenerbahce Ulker; racking up a 4-0 record and sharing the top of the group with Barcelona Regal. It was their rivals from Barcelona that snapped their winning streak and sent them on an even longer losing streak, five games. They were able to get back on the winning side with a 10-point victory over winless Besiktas on Friday.
Caja’s losses in recent weeks have not only been losses, but they’ve also lost a tie-break with Maccabi Electra and they sit with a dead tie with Olympiacos as they split their two games with the winning team doing so with identical 82:74 scores.
The visitors got the early lead, winning the first frame 10:18 to set the tone of the contest. The second quarter was much the same, with Caja extending their lead to 20 by the time the half was over, 23:43.
Things got interesting at the beginning of the second half though as the hosts came out with a new plan and motivation to give the 3,000 friendlies that showed up at Abdi Ipekçi Sports Hall a good showing. Looking to take the ball to the hole from the inside instead of just firing up threes, Besiktas went to their ‘bigs’ Cevher Ozer and Gasper Vidmar. The third quarter featured a series that isn’t seen often in basketball, a nine-point possession. Caja’s Andres Nocioni was called for a technical for flopping, which put Ozer on the line for two singles, which he connected on. Due to the technical, Besiktas got the two free throws and the ball back, so when it came back into play, Caja’s Thomas Heurtel was whistled for a foul against Ozer. Not liking the call, Heurtel voiced his displeasure to the officials, loudly, and was also ‘T’ed up, for the second technical in less than a minute. Ozer hit his two charity tosses for the foul, then Fikret Can Akin was put on the line to shoot the technical singles and knocked both of those down (for those keeping score at home, that’s six free throws so far in the same possession…). Once again, there was a technical foul called, so the hosts got the ball back and Ozer ventured out to the arc and found the cords on a three-ball, completing the nine-point possession, six of which he tallied up himself. Ricky Minard was fouled on the next trip down the floor, he connected on both free throws, completing a 20:2 scoring run and drawing the home team to within two, 43:45, with four minutes to play in the third. Caja was able to extend a bit, but the clubs traded baskets for the last few minutes, then the guests tallied the last five of the quarter to head into the fourth quarter up 50:58.
Caja got the first three points of the fourth, to complete a 0:8 run that gave the visitors an 11-point advantage, 50:61. Vidmar split a pair of free throws for the hosts and then Damir Markota nailed a triple to cut the lead to seven. From there, the guests were able to build a 15-point lead, 64:79, with just over two minutes to play. The best the Besitkas could do was chip away at the lead to get as close as possible before the final horn. When they got that, Besiktas had pulled to within 10, 73:83, but were saddled with their 10th straight Top 16 loss.
Nocioni was game-high with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists for Caja. Pleiss added 16 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Maciej Lampe contributed 14 points, and 6 rebounds, Nemanja Bjelica added 11 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Fernando San Emeterio dropped in 10 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and dished off 4 assists.
Vidmar was high-man for Besiktas with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocked shots. Minard added 14 points and 8 rebounds, Markota dropped in 13 points, as did Ozer.
Key Week 11 match-ups:
Group E
CSKA Moscow and Zalgiris, a loss by Zalgiris will basically eliminate them, but if they can pick up a big road win everything will tighten up. The first time around, CSKA pounded Zalgiris on their home court 73:87, this game will be held in Moscow, where CSKA hasn’t lost a home Euroleague game since Nov. 8, 2012. In other words, Zalgiris has a tough task ahead of them and will need to bring their ‘A’ game and make no mistakes like they did in the closing moments of their loss to Real Madrid on Thursday. Even though the Lithuanian squad played some solid basketball against Real Madrid, this one will go to CSKA by 10.
Real Madrid hosts Unicaja Malaga in a game that can lock up a QF spot for Madrid with a win; while a win for Unicaja, combined with some help around the group, could push that Spanish club into a solid position to advance. Unfortunately for Unicaja, the last time they locked horns, Real Madrid got an eight-point win as the visitors. This game will held on Madrid’s home court, a place they haven’t lost a Euroleague game yet this season. It’s an important win for both clubs, but Madrid could win this one by close to 20.
Group F
In Group F will be the rematch between Maccabi Electra and BC Khimki MR in Israel. The home game for Khimki was a 21-point blowout for the hosts and another win will make it difficult, but not impossible, for Maccabi to advance. With the two clubs one game apart (Khimki is No. 3 at 6-4, Maccabi is No. 5 at 5-5) a Maccabi win will certainly make the last three weeks interesting. Khimki and has been winning every other week during Top 16 play; following their current trend, they are due for a loss against Maccabi Electra on the road. This one will come down the last minutes with Khimki pulling off the win, but it’ll be close.
Montepaschi Siena hosts Olympiacos Piraeus in a must-win contest for Olympiacos if they want a shot at defending their 2012 Euroleague title. Siena has cooled off a bit after opening the Top 16 with five straight wins and have now lost three of their last five to occupy the No. 2 position in the group at 7-3. Olympiacos had won five straight after opening the Top 16 1-4, but was beaten by Regal at home in Week 10. A win for Olympiacos against Siena will even the two up, a loss will put Siena a game away from clinching a spot in the quarters. The first time these two played Siena stole a home victory from Olympiacos as Bobby Brown scored five points in the last 19 seconds, including a coast-to-coast lay-up that fell through the iron with 1.7 seconds to play. This could be the best game of the watch as these are two teams that like to move. Olympiacos has far more at stake as a loss will be devastating and Siena is all but locked into the quarters. Emotions will be running high in Athens and the fans will give Olympiacos the win with enough to swing the tie-break their way.
Euroleague Group E
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Euroleague Group F
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