Turkish Airlines EuroLeague: Giants win
Round 17 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season commenced on Thursday with four games. Five former champs were in action and four of them tasted success. The only exception was Barcelona, which lost on the road at Panathinaikos. CSKA Moscow dominated Milan on the road in Italy, while Fenerbahce overcame Valencia in style. Lastly, Maccabi Tel Aviv edged Brose Bamberg in a close game in Israel.
Panathinaikos Athens vs. FC Barcelona Lassa, 84-75
Barcelona’s recent solid form came to an end in Athens on Thursday in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Panathinaikos was too strong in this clash of former champions, claiming a win to move to 12-5 and third in the standings. As for Barcelona, the Catalan giant falls to 6-11 on this loss. Through the first half this was a close game, with Panathinaikos holding a slender 36-34 lead through the long break. The hosts carried the momentum into the third act and drained 30 points in the fourth quarter to wrap the win in style.
Nick Calathes and James Gist scored 17 points each in the win, while Calathes made it a double-double with 12 assists. Panathinaikos’ strength in depth was highlighted by Nikkos Pappas with 15 points and Chris Singleton with 14 points.
Thomas Huertal led Barca with a game high 18 points, followed by Ante Tomic with 12 points.
Milan vs. CSKA Moscow, 81-107
In one of the best performances of the season and among the biggest road wins in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague history, CSKA Moscow put Milan to the sword. The win keeps CSKA at the top of the standings with a 13-4 record, while Milan’s woes continued. Now the Italian champ is bottom with 4-13. CSKA dominated from the opening tip off, and by halftime the Army Men led 36-50. That was only the start as the visitors drained 57 points in the second half to swamp Milan and cruise to victory.
Nando De Colo shone in the win with 24 points, while Will Clyburn and Sergio Rodriguez secured 15 points apiece.
Kaleb Tarczewski scored 17 points in the losing effort, with Dairis Bertans hitting 15 points.
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Brose Bamberg, 90-88
Maccabi Tel Aviv was forced to score big to get back to winning ways, edging Brose Bamberg in a hotly fought contest. This success pushes Tel Aviv back to 8th place with a 9-8 winning record. Bamberg’s inconsistencies were shown again and the German champions are now at 6-11. However, the hosts had a 39-41 advantage through halftime here. It was a close game throughout, but Tel Aviv rallied late in the fourth and secured the win in the dying seconds of the contest.
Michael Roll hit 23 points in the win, while John Dibartolomeo scored 14 points. Pierre Jackson managed 11 points in the win and Jonah Bolden, Artsiom Parakhouski, and Alex Tyus all scored 10 points. Bolden grabbed his first ever EuroLeague double-double by taking 10 boards.
Ricky Hickman scored 23 points against his former club, followed by Dejan Musli with 20 points.
Valencia Basket vs. Fenerbache Istanbul, 67-80
Reigning EuroLeague champs, Fenerbahce, got back to winning ways and piled more misery on struggling Valencia with a cruising road win. The victory got Fener’s title defence back on track, pushing the Turkish giant to 11-6 in fourth place. Valencia’s challenges continued as the Spanish champs fell to 5-12 in 14th place. The damage was largely done during an awful first quarter for the hosts, when Fenerbahce moved 7-18 in front. Valencia did well to fight back to 50-51 through thirty minutes, but all energy was spent in the chase. Fenerbahce coldly and expertly picked off the hosts in the fourth act with a 17-29 run.
Marko Guduric led the success with 15 points, followed by Luigi Datome with 14 points and Jason Thompson with 13 points.