Turkish Airlines EuroLeague: CSKA Moscow humbles Barcelona

Turkish Airlines Euroleague

Round 24 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague wrapped on Friday with three contests that offered plenty of excitement and talking points. The game of the day was in Catalonia as Barcelona played host to CSKA Moscow. An all-time EuroLeague classic fixture turned into an embarrassing evening for Barcelona as CSKA demolished the team on its own court.

Elsewhere, Unics Kazan continued to struggle even under the heavy scoring of Keith Langford. The Russian club fell at home to high scoring Anadolu Efes. Finally, Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul used home advantage to just edge out Panathinaikos Athens. It is in Turkey where we will start.

Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul vs. Panathinaikos Athens, 77-72

Darussafaka used home advantage to snap Panathinaikos’ three-game winning run to move to 12-12 in the middle of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings. As for the Athens giant, it remains in the hunt near the top, in sixth place with a 14-10 showing. A nervy game saw both sides trade buckets and the lead for long spells. The contest was locked 53-53 through thirty minutes, but the hosts drained 24 points to decide the game in the fourth act. Brad Wanamaker stepped up with 24 points in the win, one more than Chris Singleton managed in the losing effort.

Unics Kazan vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul, 92-99

Unics Kazan can’t buy a win. Despite pouring in 92 points at home, the Russians came up against a stellar Anadolu Efes offense. The Turkish visitors made it a clean sweep of Istanbul successes this week after Darussafaka, Galatasaray, and Fenerbahce all tasted success. Efes is now tied in eighth with a 13-11 record, while Kazan props up the table with a 7-17 record. It’s worth mentioning that Unics still has the best scorer in the competition. Where would the club be without Keith Langford? He drained 23 points again in this losing game.

Editor’s Note: If you want more information about the EuroLeague or other international leagues, you can check out Court Side’s Game Center.

FC Barcelona Lassa vs. CSKA Moscow, 61-85

On paper, this clash is mouth-watering as it pits two giants and former Euroleague champs against each other. However, on the hardwood in 2017, there is a gulf between struggling Barcelona, and reigning Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions CSKA. The Spanish hosts are simply having a horrible season on the continent and slipped to 9-15 on this loss … make no mistake, Barcelona is one of the worst teams in the competition on this form. CSKA Moscow, on the other hand, is one of the best. The club capitalized on Real Madrid’s slip yesterday and joined the Spaniards on top with an 18-6 record.

The Army Men put Barcelona to the sword in the game, including an almost unbelievable 4-29 first quarter. This ten minutes will go down in history as one of the worst in Barca’s history. Current Euroleague MVP Nando De Colo propelled CSKA once again with 23 points.

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