Turkish Airlines EuroLeague: Round 1 Friday recap

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague basketball returned yesterday at its very best. There were victories for title chasing clubs like Real Madrid, CSKA Moscow, and Olympiacos. Former champ Maccabi Tel Aviv also won, but reigning title holders Fenerbahce Istanbul was edged by EuroCup champion Unicaja Malaga.

On Friday, three other former Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champions were back in action for the 2017/2018 campaign. FC Barcelona Lassa met Panathinaikos, while Zalgiris Kaunas met high-flying Crvena Zvezda Belgrade. Elsewhere, current Spanish league holders Valencia visited Moscow to face Khimki.

Khimki Moscow Region vs. Valencia Basket, 75-70

An we’ll start in Moscow, where home team Khimki took out Valencia in a game between two clubs looking to be outside title bets this season. A tight first quarter allows the hosts to open an 18-17 lead, before Khimki opened the second frame with a 25-19 charge that made it 43-36 through halftime. Valencia rallied in the third, using a 16-21 run to make it 59-57 through thirty minutes. Khimki still had the advantage and built on it in a game winning fourth quarter.

Alexey Shved secured 19 points in victory, followed by Thomas Robinson with 16 points.

Erick Green drained a game-high 22 points (and 8 rebounds for Valencia, while Tibor Pleiss scored 13 points.

Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, 78-76

Crvena Zvezda has dominated Serbia’s domestic league and the Adriatic League for the last three seasons, while last Turkish Airlines EuroLeague term the club made the play-offs. This season, Red Star will be seeking to go further in the elite competition, but was undone by a robust home performance by former champ Zalgiris Kaunas. The visitors actually led 53-57 after three quarters, but Zalgiris used the last period to surge 25-19 and win the game.

Paulius Jankunas topped the win with 15 points, while Kevin Pangos added 14 points.

Milko Bjelica dropped 18 points in the losing effort, with Pero Antic nailed 17 points.

FC Barcelona Lassa vs. Panathinaikos Athens, 98-71

Arguably the game of the week was Barcelona hosting Panathinaikos, a clash between two European giants looking for a resurgence. Two former champions, but arguably in contrasting situations. Last season was one of progression for Panathinaikos, while Barcelona suffered one of its worst in recent memory. However, Barca is off to a hot start this term and showed it with a cruising home win in Catalonia. It was close at 45-40 through the long break, but 58 second half points stunned the Athens giant to victory.

Kevin Seraphin was the king of the scoreboard with 24 points, while adding 9 boards. Adrien Moerman secured 16 points for Barca.

Nikos Pappas poured in 20 points for The Greens.

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