Euroleague: Partizan takes Barcelona to OT
The first half of the Euroleague Week 9 contests were so lopsided that the average number of games behind in the standings the lower teams were from the upper teams was four. The most was Partizan at 2-6 being six games behind Barcelona at 8-0, the closest was Alba at 4-4 being two behind Unicaja at 6-2. In other words, on paper all six games had the potential to be blowouts. As the old saying goes though, ‘you don’t play the games on paper’, and when you’re in Week 9 of 10, fighting for your team’s playing future, there isn’t a stat category that accounts for heart.
The bulk of the games went according to plan on Thursday: In Group B, Maccabi Tel Aviv beat Asseco Prokom by 16 and Unicaja Malaga downed Alba Berlin by 11; Defending champions Olympiacos pounded Cedevita by 22; Group D action saw CSKA use a 41:21 second half to handle Besiktas.
Then there where to clubs out to prove a point, or to hang on to a glimmer of hope that they could scratch and/or claw their way into the Top 16 – Mapooro Cantu and Partizan mt:s, taking on Euroleague legends Real Madrid and FC Barcelona Regal, respectively.
Madrid is vulnerable this season and had to make the trek to Cantu. Mapooro qualified for the Euroleague after winning the Qualification tournament that they hosted prior to the regular season began and have wanted to fit in with the ‘big boys’ all season, but it’s been a rough and inconsistent road for the Italian club. They got their first win in Week 3 over BC Khimki, then won a blow out against Fenerbahce. They then lost two in a row by two points to Olimpija and Panathinaikos and had some revenge taken out on them when they squared off in Moscow in the rematch with Khimki. With the standings as they are in Group A, Thursday’s contest was do or die for Cantu as they came into the game with a 2-6 record and sitting in fourth-place; Fenerbahce is 4-4 with a tough contest Friday against Panathinaikos. Before the game even began Cantu had received some help, Real’s scoring ace, Rudy Fernandez, was out with an injury. Cantu played inspired, knowing they still had a shot at the Top 16 and at the half they had built a 42:35 advantage. Of course, you don’t win eight Euroleague titles and tally up six runners-up honors by taking it easy on anyone, so Madrid didn’t roll over and give their hosts this one, they regrouped at the half and came out swinging, outscoring Cantu 13:21 in the third frame to get the lead heading into the final 10. Fortunately for Cantu, with the combination of the home court, home crowd, stars lining up just right and someone, somewhere wearing their lucky socks, they won the final frame 21:13 to send Madrid packing with a final score of 76:70. For Madrid, they are still, for the moment, at the top of the group and they have their ticket to the Top 16. For Cantu, if Fenerbahce loses Friday to Panathinaikos, a Week 10 show-down between the two will determine the fourth spot in the group and Cantu holds a 24-point advantage in the tie break. If Fenerbahce wins in Athens Friday, the door closes for Cantu.
No team has been better than FC Barcelona Regal through the first nine weeks of the 2012-13 Euroleague season, as is evidenced by their 9-0 record. Arguments could be made about quality of the groups or any number of things, but the fact remains, Barca has beaten every opponent that has been put in front of them and has a 14.45-point margin of victory average over nine games. By contrast, Partizan mt:s has struggled this season with consistency and their Euroleague record of 2-7 stands as proof of that. Thursday, 7,500 friendlies packed into the Pionir to see their boys take on the league powerhouse and just maybe they’d witness something special. Even though they came up a blocked floater with 2 seconds to play in overtime away from picking up the upset of the season, they left the Arena with their heads held high knowing that they just gave Barcelona the game of their season. The hosts held a five-point lead at the half, 30:25, getting up by as much as 11 during the second quarter. Barca cut that gap to one in the third, outscoring the home club 14:18 to head into the final quarter down 44:43. The last two minutes of the contest saw the lead change multiple times and a pair of singles with seconds to play to knot the score. The visitors had two shots before the buzzer to win it, but they both found iron instead of net and the fans got an extra five minutes for their money. Again, free throws set the tone and Barca dropped in two with seconds to play to take a one-point advantage. On the following possession Djordje Gagic got a gorgeous dish in the lane, popped up a floater with a couple of ticks left and as it rose towards the basket for the win, Barcelona’s Nathan Jawai launched himself in perfect timing to swat the potential winner away, preserving Barca’s unblemished record.
The last spot in Group D will come down to next week’s match up between Brose and Partizan in Bamberg. Brose plays Lietuvos Friday, so they’ll either come out 3-6 or 2-7, but they also hold a five-point advantage over Partizan in the tie breaker. Regardless of the outcome of the Brose-Lietuvos game, Partizan has a shot at moving on and after Thursday’s showing against Barca – advantage Partizan.