Turkish Airlines EuroLeague: Zalgiris and Fenerbahce win openers

Yesterday we talked about the important of home advantage in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, teams simply rarely lose on their own floor. That was shown in Game 1 of the Playoffs, but one club bucked the trend on Wednesday. We already saw CSKA Moscow and Panathinaikos win at home yesterday, and today Fenerbahce followed their lead. However, Zalgiris traveled to Olympiacos and picked up the only road win of the week and highlighted why it is a dark horse this season.

Playoff C: Olympiacos Piraeus 78-87 Zalgiris Kaunas (0-1)

Zalgiris is having a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season to remember and on Wednesday the Lithuanian champ showed why it is a genuine title contender. The team snapped the spell of home teams through Game 1 of the Playoffs by defeating Olympiacos in Greece. This win means Zalgiris can now win its home games and take the best-of-five series. As for Olympiacos, the Greek’s will look to even the score on Friday. This was an impressive win when we consider Zalgiris was losing 23-8 early one. The visitors wrestled back the momentum and the teams locked the scoreboard through regulation time. Zalgiris dominated overtime and ultimately cruised to victory in the added period. Brandon Davies was a driving force behind the win with 21 points and 8 rebounds, while Vassilis Spanoulis turned in a vintage display to pace Olympiacos, grabbing 21 points and 9 assists.

Playoff D: Fenerbahce Dogus Istanbul 82-73 KIROLBET Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz (1-0)

Fenerbahce remains on course to defend its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title this season after opening the Playoffs with a relatively easy win over Baskonia. There’s still all to play for, especially as Baskonia has a habit of turning it on under pressure. However, with home court advantage in the series and one win down, Fener is now hot favourite. The hosts built this win on a strong first half and led 43-26 through the long break. In the second half, Baskonia improved, but Fenerbahce was equal to the task and managed to control the game and get the deserved outcome. Brad Wanamaker pushed the success with 16 points, but Kostas Sloukas is worthy of mention for his unselfish display that saw him dish out a career-high 11 dimes.