April 6, 2013 - Top 16 Week 14 bwin MVP: Kostas Papanikolaou, Olympiacos Piraeus
Kostas
Papanikolaou secured his place among the Olympiacos Piraeus greats with
another clutch performance in Thursday’s must-win clash against BC
Khimki Moscow Region by leading his team to victory and earning the
title of Top 16 Week 14 bwin MVP. Papanikolaou set career highs with 21
points, 12 rebounds and 6 three-pointers made in posting a performance
index rating of 37 to lead his team to a 79-70 victory and second place
in Group F. The index rating was the most in the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague in Top 16 Game 14 and tied for the second best since the
start of the Top 16. Papanikolaou also contributed 2 steals and 2
blocked shots. The second-best index of from the Top 16 finales came
from Caja Laboral center Maciej Lampe, who amassed a career-best 27
points plus 9 rebounds in a 76-64 playoff-clinching victory over
Montepaschi Siena. Read more here.
April 5, 2013 - Game 14
Besiktas JK Istanbul 80 - 73 Fenerbahce Ulker
Besiktas
JK Istanbul came back from an 18-point deficit to beat city rival
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 80-73 and finish off its Turkish Airlines
Euroleague Top 16 Group F campaign with a victory. Daniel Ewing scored
17 points and Damir Markota had 16 points for Besiktas, which took
seventh place in the group with a 2-12 record. Ricky Minard added 13
points while Gasper Vidmar had 10 points for the winners. The 7-point
margin meant Fenerbahce finished last in the group with a 2-12 record
despite 14 points from Oguz Savas, 12 points by Uros Tripkovic and 10
from Ikman Karaman. Bo McCalebb scored 9 points in the first five
minutes, but left the game injured. Read more here.
April 4, 2013
Unicaja Malaga 55 - 68 Alba Berlin
Alba
Berlin finished its Turkish Airlines Euroleague campaign on a winning
note by beating Unicaja Malaga 55-68 on the road on Thursday night. The
game was decided by one run in the first quarter, in which Alba surged
ahead and never led its lead slip back to single digits. Jekel Foster
paced the winners with 13 points. Derrick Byars added 12 –including two
big baskets from beyond the arc – in addition to 5 rebounds. The
Berliners bow out of the competition with a 4-10 mark and seventh place
in Group E. Txemi Urtasun and Luka Zoric both netted 12 points to lead
the hosts, who also finished their Euroleague run. Unicaja dropped to
7-7 and finished in fifth place. The biggest lead of the game, 21
points, was established in Alba’s favor at the start of the fourth
quarter. Read more here.
Olympiacos Piraeus 79 - 70 BC Khimki MR
Reigning
Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus stormed into
the playoffs and took out BC Khimki Moscow Region with a 79-70 victory
at the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Thursday night. Kostas
Papanikolaou turned in a masterful evening with 21 points on 6-of-6
three point shooting plus 12 rebounds and 2 blocks to pace the winners,
who will have home-court advantage when they meet Anadolu Efes Istanbul
in the playoffs. Olympiacos finished second in Top 16 group F with a
9-5 record, while Khimki bowed out at 7-7 and in fifth place. The Reds
first took charge with a 14-2 run bridged the first and second
quarters. Olympiacos continued piling it on as Georgios Printezis
boosted the lead to 45-30 with two minutes left in the second half.
James Augustine revived Khimki as it rallied to within 45-38 at the
break. Read more here.
Real Madrid 86 - 66 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
High-flying
Real Madrid beat Anadolu Efes Istanbul 86-66 in the Spanish capital on
Thursday to claim second place in Group E and the home-court advantage
in its upcoming playoffs duel with Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv. The result
snapped Madrid’s three-game losing skid and boosted its record to 10-4.
Meanwhile, Efes lost its third consecutive game and dropped to 9-5, to
place third place in the group by the virtue of holding a tiebreaker
over 9-5 Panathinaikos Athens. Efes will play reigning champion
Olympiacos Piraeus in the playoffs. Madrid started pulling away in the
first quarter with three triples from Rudy Fernandez to open up an
11-point lead. Jaycee Carroll scored 9 quick points in the second as
the margin reached 20 points. Efes made couple of 0-7 runs in the third
quarter to cut the deficit, but Sergio Llull finished the quarter
stringing together 8 points to extend the margin to 65-48 and Madrid
cruised after that. Read more here.
Panathinaikos Athens 63 - 69 CSKA Moscow
CSKA
Moscow secured first place in Group E of the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague Top 16 with a hard-fought 63-69 victory at Panathinaikos
Athens, setting up a playoffs date with Caja Laboral Vitoria. Viktor
Khryapa led the way with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists while
Sasha Kaun scored 11 points and both Milos Tedosic and Nenad Krstic hit
for 9 points for the visitors. Moscow improved to 11-3 in Group E
despite committing 17 turnovers in the game. Michael Bramos came off
the Panathinaikos bench to lead all scorers with 18 points while
Stephane Lasme scored 11 points. Athens star Dimitris Diamantidis was
held scoreless, though he collected 3 assists, 4 steals, 2 rebounds and
1 block. Panathinaikos finished the Top 16 at 9-5 in fourth place and
will take on FC Barcelona Regal in the playoffs. Read more here.
FC Barcelona Regal 74 - 71 Maccabi Electra
In
a thrilling game to the final buzzer FC Barcelona Regal defeated
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv on Thursday night, 74-71, in Group F.
Barcelona was already group champ before the game. Maccabi qualifies
for the playoffs third, as its loss combines with the Olympiacos win
put the Reds up for second place. Maccabi had its chances until the
start of the last quarter but then, a young star that waited patiently
all season, finally exploded. Alejandro Abrines had a career-best
performance as he soared for 21 points, 12 in the final period, and 3
rebounds to lead Barca to the final win. Ante Tomic added 13 points and
Juan Carlos Navarro, who could not finish the game due to a slight foot
injury, had 12. For Maccabi, Ricky Hickman and Devin Smith had 16
points apiece, David Logan added 11 and Shawn James hit 10. Read more here.
Caja Laboral Vitoria 76 - 64 Montepaschi Siena
Caja
Laboral Vitoria advanced to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Playoffs
from Top 16 Group F by downing Montepaschi Siena 76-64 in a do-or-die
battle on Thursday. Vitoria finished Group F in fourth place with an
8-5 record. It will face Group E champion CSKA Moscow in the upcoming
playoffs. Montepaschi was sixth at 7-7 and now out of the competition.
Maciej Lampe paced the winners with 27 points on 12-of-19 two-point
shooting and 9 rebounds. Andres Nocioni and Fernando San Emeterio each
scored 13 points for Vitoria. Nocioni added 13 rebounds for a
double-double. Bobby Brown led Montepaschi with 24 points but none of
his teammates scored in double digits. Montepaschi used a strong start
to get a 4-8 lead. It didn't last long, however, as Nocioni and Lampe
fueled a 19-3 run which gave Vitoria its first double-digit lead,
23-11, early in the second quarter. Read more here.
Zalgiris Kaunas 90 - 81 Brose Baskets
In
the season finale for both teams, Zalgiris Kaunas downed Brose Baskets
bamber 90-81 in Zalgirio Arena on Thursday. Zalgiris finished the Top
16 with 6-8 record and in the sixth place of Group E, while Bamberg
lost all 14 games and will have to wait another year for its first-ever
Top 16 victory. Zalgiris led for most of the night, but did not manage
to pull away to a double-digit lead until starting the fourth quarter
when Darjus and Ksistof Lavrinovic scored 6 points in a 9-1 run to make
it 75-64. The visitors never managed to come closer than 6 points the
rest of the way. Ksistof Lavrinovic led in victory with 20 points and 8
rebounds and Mindaugas Kuzminkas collected 13 points plus 9 rebounds.
Marko Popovic added 12 points and 6 assists, while Rimantas Kaukenas
also scored 12 for Zalgiris. Read more here.
April 4, 2013 - Euroleague Top 16, Game 14: dramatic decision time!
The
2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 reaches its grand finale
with all four qualifiers battling for homecourt advantage in the
playoffs in Group E while five teams fight over three playoffs spots in
Group F. Five big battles involving all nine of those teams will take
place around the continent on Thursday in a simultaneous tipoff at
20:45 CET. When the dust settles, the playoffs matchups will be
available and the road to the 2013 Final Four in London will be crystal
clear. CSKA Moscow leads Group E with a 10-3 record, with Panathinaikos
Athens, Real Madrid and Anadolu Efes tied for second place each at 9-4.
Panathinaikos hosts CSKA and Efes visits Madrid on Thursday. If CSKA
wins, it will win Group E, Panathinaikos will be fourth, and the winner
between Madrid and Efes will place second. If Panathinaikos wins,
however, many things can happen. Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 14 of Top 16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague:
GROUP E
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Brose Baskets 90:81
Unicaja Malaga vs. Alba Berlin 55:68
Panathinaikos Athens vs. CSKA Moscow63:69
Real Madrid vs. Anadolu Efes 86:66
GROUP F
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. BC Khimki MR 79:70
Caja Laboral vs. Montepaschi Siena 76:64
FC Barcelona Regal vs. Maccabi Electra74:71
Besiktas JK vs. Fenerbahce Ulker 80:73
April 1, 2013 - bwin MVP for March: Devin Smith, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv has been one of the hottest teams in the Turkish
Airlines Euroleague over the last full month of the Top 16 play, and
Devin Smith stands out as the key player responsible for his team's
success. While Maccabi has reeled off four successive wins in March to
put itself on the brink of a playoff berth, Smith ranked among the
Euroleague's best 10 players in most major statistical categories:
performance index rating, scoring, two- and three-point shooting
percentage, rebounds, steals and blocked shots. For his clear
leadership role in Maccabi’s march from near-elimination to Group E's
second place with one Top 16 game to play, Smith is Euroleague
Basketball's choice as the bwin MVP for March. It’s been a wild ride
for Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv this season. After winning its regular
season group, Maccabi stumbled to a 2-5 start, including three home
losses, in the Top 16. Read more here.
March 30, 2013 - Top 16 Week 13
bwin MVP: Nate Jawai, Barcelona Regal
Nate Jawai
was unstoppable for Barcelona Regal on Friday night, dominating inside,
leading his team to victory with a career night and in the process
earning Top 16 Week 13 bwin MVP honors. Jawai was the leading man in
Barca’s 69-77 victory over Montepaschi in Siena, Italy. Making just his
third start of the season in place of injured February MVP Ante Tomic,
Jawai went for 22 points and 12 rebounds in compiling a performance
index rating of 34, which led all players in the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague this week. The Aussie center shot 9 for 10 from the field,
made 4 of 5 free throws and also blocked 2 shots in brilliant effort.
The second best index for the week came from the hands of Rudy
Fernandez, who drained 6 of 8 three-pointers en route to 24 points and
a 30 index in an 81-72 loss at CSKA Moscow. Read more here.
March 29, 2013 - Game 13
Montepaschi
Siena 69 - 77 Barcelona Regal
FC
Barcelona Regal rallied from an early 15-point deficit to down
Montepaschi Siena 69-77 on Friday night in Siena. The victory extended
Barcelona’s winning streak to 11 games and improved its record to 12-1
atop Top 16 Group F, while Siena dropped its fourth consecutive game
and now sits in a three-way tie for fourth place in the group at 7-6.
Siena stormed in front 21-6 to open the game but Barcelona, which
played without its top three scorers - Juan Carlos Navarro, Ante Tomic
and Pete Mickeal – made a 2-17 run at the end of the first and a 4-11
run to start the second quarter to go up 29-24 and take the lead for
good. The margin reached 48-61 near the end of the third quarter, and
when Siena managed to come within 69-72, Marcelinho Huertas sealed the
deal. Nate Jawai amassed career-highs of 22 points and 12 rebounds to
lead Barcelona in victory. Read more here.
Fenerbahce Ulker 73 - 78 Olympiacos Piraeus
Olympiacos
Piraeus rallied for a 73-78 victory over Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul on
Friday night at Fenerbahce Ulker Sports Arena to move closer to a
playoff spot. The hosts enjoyed an 8-point edge early in the fourth
quarter, but the defending champs answered with a 0-13 charge –taking
the lead for good on a Vassilis Spanoulis three-pointer. Fenerbahce
kept it close till the final minute, but Olympiacos was cool down the
stretch. The Reds improved to 8-5 with the win and tie Maccabi Electra
for second place in Top 16 Group F, though neither has clinched a
playoff berth yet. Fenerbahce Ulker dropped its sixth straight game as
its record slipped to 2-11. Spanoulis finished with 14 points and 7
assists for the winners, while Kostas Papanikolaou had 16 points on
4-of-4 three-point shooting and Georgios Printezis, who surpassed the
1,000-point milestone in the opening quarter, added 12 points. Read
more here.
Alba Berlin 77 - Zalgiris Kaunas 55
In
its last home game of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague season, Alba
Berlin gave its fans something more to cheer about by crushing visiting
Zalgiris Kaunas 77-55 on Friday night at o2 World in the German
capital. The win improved Berlin to 3-10 in seventh place of Top 16
Group E, while Zalgirs dropped to 5-8 and sits in sixth place. In a
clash of two teams already eliminated from the playoff hunt, Alba made
a huge 27-3 run over a span of almost 10 minutes that bridged the first
and second quarters and led 41-21 at halftime. The hosts cruised to
victory in the second half, led by Deon Thompson who finished with 16
points. Derrick Byars netted 12, while Nihad Djedovic, DaShaun Wood and
Ali Traore scored 8 apiece. For the visitors, Ksistof Lavrinovic had 15
points, Mario Delas added 8, while Mindaugas Kuzminskas scored 7 in
defeat. Read more here.
BC Khimki MR 82 - 86 Caja Laboral
In
one of the best games so far this season, Caja Laboral Vitoria improved
its chances to reach the playoffs from Top 16 Group F by edging BC
Khimki Moscow Region 82-86 on the road on Friday. Both teams are now
tied at 7-6 in Group F and retain chances to make it to the playoffs.
Andres Nocioni paced the winners with 24 points. Maciej Lampe added 21,
Nemanja Bjelica scored 13 and Fernando San Emeterio got 10, while Omar
Cook dished 11 assists for Vitoria. Paul Davis led five Khimki scorers
in double digits with 15 points. Sergey Monya added 13, Petteri Koponen
and James Augustine each had 12, K.C. Rivers 10 and Zoran Planinic
dished 9 assists for the hosts. Nocioni had 11 points in the first
quarter and a buzzer-beating basket by Nemanja Bjelica gave Vitoria a
19-22 lead after 10 minutes. Read more here.
March
28, 2013
Brose Baskets 60 - 82 Panathinaikos Athens
Panathinaikos
Athens advanced to the 2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague playoffs
from Top 16 Group E by thrashing Brose Baskets Bamberg 60-82 in Germany
on Thursday. Panathinaikos improved to 9-4 in Group E, joining Real
Madrid and Anadolu Efes Istanbul in a three-way tie for second place,
one win behind from group leader CSKA Moscow. Panathinaikos hosts CSKA
and Efes visits Madrid in the Top 16 finale next week, which will
determine the final standings in the group. Bamberg dropped to 0-13 and
will try to break its 19-game losing streak in this round against
Zalgiris Kaunas next week. Jonas Maciulis paced the winners with 24
points on 6-of-7 three-point shooting. Stephane Lasme and James Gist
each added 11 while Sofoklis Schortsanitis had 10 for Panathinaikos. Read more here.
Maccabi Electra 101 - 58 Besiktas JK
Maccabi
Electra dominated Besiktas JK Istanbul 101-58 at Nokia Arena in Tel
Aviv on Thursday night for its sixth straight victory. The Israeli
champs set and tied Top 16 records with a thorough performance in
climbing to 8-5 in the Top 16 Group F standings and edging closer to a
playoff berth. In fact, Maccabi could find itself in the playoffs by
the end of the week, but will need other results to go its way Friday.
Maccabi led by 18 after 10 minutes, 34 at halftime and 56 through three
quarters in a game that was never in doubt. The final margin of
victory, 43, tied for the largest ever in a Top 16 game, first set by
Tau Ceramica Vitoria in a 99-56 victory over Lottomatica Roma in 2007.
The difference at halftime set a new Top 16 mark for largest lead at
the break, which had belonged to Barcelona Regal, which led Fenerbahce
Ulker 19-50 earlier this season. Read more here.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 64 - 70 Unicaja Malaga
Unicaja
Malaga grabbed its fifth consecutive road win in Top 16 Group E by
rallying to down Anadolu Efes Istanbul 64-70 on Thursday. Unicaja
improved to 7-6 in Group E to remain alive, but will be out of the
playoffs race if Panathinaikos Athens beats Brose Baskets Bamberg later
Thursday. If Bamberg wins, however, Unicaja will advance to the
playoffs if it beats Alba and CSKA Moscow tops Panathinaikos next week.
Efes dropped to 9-4, has already qualified to the playoffs and faces a
big showdown against Real Madrid in the Spanish capital next week.
Marcus Williams paced the winners with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 7
assists. Luka Zoric added 21 points and 8 rebounds while Txemi Urtasun
got 12 points for Unicaja. Jordan Farmar led Efes with 13 points. Kerem
Gonlum added 11 for the hosts. Zoric had 11 points in the first quarter
to help Unicaja to get a 14-19 lead late in the first quarter. Read
more here.
CSKA Moscow 81 - 72 Real Madrid
CSKA
Moscow re-established itself as the team to beat in Top 16 Group E with
an 81-72 victory over Real Madrid at Alexander Gomelskiy Universal
Sports Hall in the Russian capital. Sonny Weems scored 21 points and
Milos Teodosic added 17 points and 7 assists to pace CSKA, which
improved to 10-3 in Group E and can finish atop the group if it beats
Panathinaikos next week. Madrid slipped to 9-4, but remains in the hunt
for home-court advantage in the playoffs. CSKA led from start to
finish, taking control with aggressive defense and easy fast break
baskets in the first quarter and never looking back. The lead peaked at
18 in the second and third quarters. Rudy Fernandez heated up in the
third and helped Los Blancos trim the deficit to single figures. Read
more here.
March 28, 2013 - Top 16, Game 13:
the time is now!
The penultimate week of Top 16
action brings with it tremendous drama with virtually everything teams
dream of still up for grabs. In Group E, three teams have clinched
playoff berths and two others are in contention for the fourth, however
the race for the top two spots and the corresponding home-court
advantage in the playoffs is wide open. In Group F, the top spot is
wrapped up, but with four teams tied for second place and another right
behind , drama is guaranteed until the final basket next week! Group E
will dominate the headlines on Thursday of Top 16 Game 13, with three
of the group’s four fixtures slated. In an early Game of the Week tip
off, CSKA Moscow (9-3) hosts Real Madrid (9-3) at 17:45 CET. Their
age-old rivalry is central to the narrative of European basketball.
CSKA could potentially win Group E this week, but to do so it must win
by at least 8 points – it lost by as many after overtime to Madrid
earlier in the Top 16 – and have other results go its way later
(Unicaja beating Anadolu Efes and Brose Baskets beating Panathinaikos).
Read more here.
Here is the schedule for
Game 13 of Top 16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague:
GROUP E
CSKA
Moscow vs. Real Madrid 81:72 Anadolu
Efes vs. Unicaja Malaga 64:70
Brose
Baskets vs. Panathinaikos Athens 60:82
Alba
Berlin vs. Zalgiris Kaunas 77:55
GROUP
F
Maccabi
Electra vs. Besiktas JK 101:58
BC
Khimki MR vs. Caja Laboral 82:86
Fenerbahce
Ulker vs. Olympiacos Piraeus 73:78
Montepaschi
Siena vs. FC Barcelona Regal 69:77
March 23, 2013 - Top 16 Week 12
bwin MVP: Petteri Koponen, BC Khimki Moscow Region
Petteri
Koponen’s breakout game will long be remembered by the BC Khimki Moscow
Region guard. Not only did he lead his team to a 99-76 victory over
visiting Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul, but Koponen’s dominant performance
also secured him bwin MVP honors for the first time. The Finnish guard
came off the bench for season-highs of 23 points and 7 assists en route
to a performance index rating of 35, which was the most among all
players in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague this week to make him the
Top 16 Game 12 bwin MVP. Koponen missed just one shot total – one of
his 4 from behind the arc – in a near perfect performance. He also
committed just a single turnover en route to him impressive totals.
Beyond the stats, Koponen had a hand in all of Khimki’s points in an
11-2 charge to finish the third quarter that restored his team’s
dominance and paved the way to victory. Read more here.
March 22, 2013 - Game 12 Olympiacos Piraeus 67
- 73 Maccabi Electra
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv continued its hot run in the second-half of the Top 16
by taking down reigning champion Olympiacos Piraeus 67-73 Friday night
at Peace and Friendship Stadium. It was the fifth straight win for the
Israeli champs – and fourth on the road – to improve to 7-5 and into a
four-way tie for second place in Group F. Olympiacos has the same
record, as does Montepaschi Siena and BC Khimki Moscow Region. Maccabi
never trailed, pulling away to 13-21 on David Logan’s hot shooting at
the end of the first quarter and extending the lead to 18 at halftime.
When Ricky Hickman gave the visitors a 39-54 lead late in the third
quarter, it looks over for the Reds. However Vassilis Spanoulis ignited
a 14-2 run and set up an interesting fourth quarter. Read more here.
Besiktas JK 72 - 70
Montepaschi Siena
Tutku
Acik scored a driving layup with 0.6 seconds to go as Besiktas JK
Istanbul edged Montepaschi Siena 72-70 for its first-ever Top 16
victory at Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall on Friday night. The thrilling win
improves the already-eliminated Besiktas squad to 1-11 in Group F,
while Siena suffered its third consecutive loss, dropped to 7-5 and saw
its playoff hopes take a hit. After the teams traded leads for the
entire first half, midway through the third quarter Siena built the
largest margin of the night, 39-46. Besiktas came back, and with
back-to-back triples from Serhat Cetin and Damir Markota regained the
lead, 67-66. Siena still entered the final minute up 68-70, but Acik
scored two driving layups in the final 45 seconds to give Besiktas the
historic win. Read more here.
BC Khimki MR 99 - 76 Fenerbahce Ulker
BC
Khimki Moscow Region got closer to claiming a playoff spot from Top 16
Group F by downing Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 99-76 at home on Friday.
Khimki improved to 7-5 in Group F. Fenerbahce dropped to 2-10 and
stayed seventh in Group F with no chance to advance. Petteri Koponen
paced the winners with 23 points on just one missed shot and 7 assists.
Sergey Monya added 18 points, Paul Davis had 14, Vitaly Fridzon 13 and
Egor Vyaltsev contributed 10 for Khimki. Bo McCalebb led Fenerbahce
with 18 points, 7 assists and 5 steals. David Andersen added 14 points
for the guests. Andersen and McCalebb shined early and a free throw by
Emir Preldzic made it a double-digit game, 9-19. Fridzon and Koponen
allowed Khimki to get within 22-23 after 10 minutes. Read more here.
March 21, 2013
Real
Madrid 73 - 74 Panathinaikos Athens
Panathinaikos
Athens edged Real Madrid 73-74 at the Community of Madrid Sports Palace
on Thursday for a crucial victory that puts the Greens on the verge of
qualifying to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Playoffs. The win lifted
Panathinaikos to 8-4 in fourth place of Group E, and it leaves it with
a chance to grab a home-court advantage in the playoffs as well.
Meanwhile, Madrid qualified for the playoffs despite the loss, due to
CSKA Moscow beating Unicaja Malaga earlier. However Real Madrid dropped
to 9-3 and now is in a three-way tie for first place in the group with
CSKA Moscow and Anadolu Efes. The clash between the two Euroleague
powers was close throughout, with neither team holding a lead larger
than 7 points at any time. Read more here.
Unicaja Malaga 66 - 70 CSKA Moscow
CSKA
Moscow booked its place in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague playoffs
with a 66-70 victory over Unicaja Malaga on Thursday night. A tight
game was only decided in the final minute of the fourth quarter, thanks
to a clutch play from Sonny Weems. The pace was frenetic and Unicaja
looked capable of defeating CSKA for the second time this season, but
the visitors proved just too strong at the end. Sasha Kaun took CSKA
through some tough moments and led the scoring with 16 points. Milos
Teodosic and Weems added 13 points apiece – Teodosic also dished 5
assists – and Zoran Erceg scored 10. For Unicaja, Marcus Williams
netted 12 points, including 3 three-pointers on 50% shooting. Earl
Calloway, Zoran Dragic and Krunoslav Simon all contributed 10 points
each. Read more here.
Zalgiris Kaunas 79 - 71 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Zalgiris
Kaunas gave its fans plenty to cheer about in an exciting 79-71 victory
over Anadolu Efes Istanbul on Thursday night at Zalgirio Arena. The
hosts pieced together a 20-1 charge that bridged the second and third
quarters to take a double-digit lead and Efes never got closer than 7
the rest of the way. The win bumped Efes’s record to 5-7,although the
Lithuanian champs have been mathematically eliminated from playoff
contention. Efes, which entered the game tied for first place, slipped
to 9-3. A win would have secured a playoff berth for Efes, which now
must wait for other results to advance this week. Darjus Lavrinovic
paced the home side with 24 points to match his season high. Mindaugas
Kuzminskas added 15 and Rimantas Kaukenas 9 for the victors. Jamon
Lucas paced Efes with 14 points and 7 rebounds, Semih Erden added 13
points, Jordan Farmar 12 and 4 steals and Dusko Savanovic scored 11.
Read more here.
FC Barcelona Regal 83 - 74 Caja Laboral
FC
Barcelona Regal became the Top 16 Group F champion by topping Caja
Laboral Vitoria 83-74 in an all-Spanish League showdown at Palau
Blaugrana on Thursday. Barcelona won its 10th straight game and
improved to 11-1 to seal first place in Group F with two games
remaining. Vitoria dropped to 6-6, but retains its chances to make it
to the playoffs in what promises to be a close race until the end of
the Top 16. Erazem Lorbek paced the winners with 16 points, Ante Tomic
tallied 14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, scoring king Juan Carlos
Navarro recorded 14 points and 6 assists and C.J. Wallace came off the
bench for 13 points in 13 minutes on perfect shooting. Maciej Lampe
carried Caja Laboral with 21 points, Andres Nocioni added 11 and Thomas
Heurtel 10. Barcelona shined on defense early and Wallace had 6 points
late in the first quarter to give the hosts a 18-12 edge after 10
minutes. Read more here.
March 20, 2013
Brose
Baskets Bamberg 72 - 75 Alba Berlin
Alba
Berlin hung on for a 72-75 victory over German League foe Brose Baskets
Bamberg Wednesday night at Stechert Arena to sweep the season series
between the rivals. In a spirited game that featured four lead changes
and three ties in the fourth quarter alone, DaShaun Wood came through
with a key steal on Anton Gavel with less than 10 seconds to go to
protect a 1-point lead. Heiko Schaffartzik tacked on 2 critical free
throws to make it 72-75 and a Gavel miss and a Matt Walsh line
violation sealed the Berlin victory. The victory lifted Berlin to 2-10
in Top 16 Group E, while keeping Bamberg winless in yet another narrow
loss. Deon Thompson paced Alba with 15 points, Ali Traore added 14,
JeKel Foster 11 and Zach Morley 10, while Nihad Djedovic dished 7
assists and Wood 6. Sharrod Ford led the hosts with 16 points, 9
rebounds and 2 blocks. Read more here.
March 16, 2013 - Top 16 Week 11
bwin MVP: Luka Zoric, Unicaja Malaga
Luka
Zoric continued his impressive Top 16 with a dominant performance in
the paint at both ends to lead Unicaja to a crucial road win at Real
Madrid on Friday. In doing so, Luka Zoric became the first player this
season to claim weekly MVP honors twice by becoming the Top 16 Game 11
bwin MVP. Zoric tallied 21 points – making 7 of 10 from the field and 7
of 10 from the line – and grabbed 12 rebounds in addition to 2 steals
and 2 blocks for a performance index rating of 33, which was the most
of any player in Top 16 Game 11. His 12 boards were also the week’s
high. Zoric eclipsed another player with a previous Top 16 MVP under
his belt for this week’s title. Ricky Hickman of Maccabi Electra Tel
Aviv dominated in the fourth quarter to lead his team to a pivotal win
over BC Khimki Moscow Region. Read more here.
March 15, 2013 - Game 11
FC
Barcelona Regal 86 - 61 Besiktas JK
Already
through to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Playoffs, FC Barcelona Regal
extended its winning run to nine games with an 86-61 win over Besiktas
JK Istanbul on Friday night. The win ensured Coach Xavi Pascual’s men
at least a top two finish in Top 16 Group F and home-court advantage in
the playoffs. The Spanish champs led from start to finish, opening the
game on an 11-2 tear and outscoring Besiktas in all four quarters to
cruise to a league-best 10-1 record. Nate Jawai paced Barca with 16
points, 9 rebounds and some earth-shattering slams. Erazem Lorbek added
12 points and Ante Tomic and Pete Mickeal each chipped in with 11.
Cevher Ozer scored a career-high 18 points in defeat and Gasper Vidmar
netted 13 for winless Besiktas. Read more here.
Panathinaikos Athens 82 - 58 Alba Berlin
Panathinaikos
Athens remains in control of its own destiny in a race for a place in
the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Playoffs after cruising to a huge 82-58
win over visiting Alba Berlin on Friday night at OAKA in the Greek
capital. The victory improved Panathinaikos to 7-4 and sole possession
of fourth place in Group E standings, one win ahead of the fifth place
Unicaja Malaga, while Alba dropped to 1-10. The Greens led from start
to finish, after opening up the game with a 14-2 charge, and finished
the first half on a 15-4 spurt that gave them a 22-point halftime lead.
Jonas Maciulis led in victory with 16 points plus 6 rebounds. Stephane
Lasme scored 14, Sofoklis Schortsanitis had 10 points, while Dimitris
Diamantidis tallied 8 points plus 9 assists and Roko Ukic had 8 points
plus 6 assists. Read more here.
Real Madrid 74 - 77 Unicaja Malaga
Unicaja
Malaga shook things up in Top 16 Group E with a 74-77 victory over Real
Madrid at the Community of Madrid Sports Palace in the Spanish capital.
Luka Zoric went wild with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks to lead
Unicaja to its fourth straight road win and to deny – at least for
another week – a playoff berth for both Madrid and Anadolu Efes.
Unicaja improved to 6-5 and sits in fifth place in Group E – one win
behind Panathinaikos Athens for the fourth ticket to the playoffs from
the group. Madrid slipped to 9-2 and into a tie for first place with
Anadolu Efes Istanbul. The hosts took control with a 15-2 first quarter
run and led 40-32 at halftime, but Unicaja rallied back with 13
unanswered points in the third quarter. Madrid clawed its way back to
within 1 late in the fourth. Read more here.
CSKA Moscow 70 - 61 Zalgiris Kaunas
CSKA
Moscow took a crucial step towards locking down a playoffs spot in Top
16 Group E by downing Zalgiris Kaunas 70-61 in the Russian capital on
Friday. CSKA improved to 8-3 and can qualify for the playoffs with a
road win against Unicaja in the next Game of the Week, regardless of
other scores. Zalgiris dropped to 4-7 and is all but mathematically out
of chances to advance. Sonny Weems led the winners with 13 points.
Viktor Khryapa added 12 and 8 rebounds, while Nenad Krstic just missed
a double-double with 9 points and 8 rebounds for CSKA. Rimantas
Kaukenas led Zalgiris with 16 points and Oliver Lafayette added 11 for
the guests. Back-to-back baskets by Krstic allowed CSKA to get a 17-12
lead at the end of the first quarter. CSKA improved its margin to 35-26
at halftime and a triple by Zoran Erceg made it a 14-point game late in
the third quarter. Read more here.
March 14, 2013
Maccabi
Electra 80 - 79 BC Khimki MR
Ricky
Hickman scored 14 fourth-quarter points as Maccabi Electra downed BC
Khimki Moscow Region 80-79 on Thursday night at Nokia Arena in Tel
Aviv, Israel, for its fourth straight win. After claiming the win in a
thriller that featured eight lead changes and two ties in the fourth
quarter alone, Maccabi improved to 6-5, the same record as Khimki and
Caja Laboral. All three are only one win behind Olympiacos Piraeus and
Montepaschi Siena in second. The game was close throughout. A brilliant
Zoran Planinic helped the visitors to a 36-40 halftime lead, but
Maccabi stormed ahead by 12 in the third quarter. Khimki rallied back
to create an exciting finish, in which Hickman took his chance to shine
and led the Israeli champs to an important win. Read more here.
Montepaschi Siena 67 - 68 Olympiacos Piraeus
Reigning
Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus sent a message
that echoed all around Top 16 Group F by edging Montepaschi Siena 67-68
on the road on Thursday. The two teams are now tied for second place in
Group F, each with a 7-4 record. Kostas Papanikolaou and Kostas Sloukas
paced the winners with 11 points apiece. Kyle Hines and Vassilis
Spanoulis each scored 10 for Olympiacos. Hines added 11 rebounds for a
double-double. Matt Janning and Kristjan Kangur led Montepaschi with 14
points apiece. David Moss added 11 for the hosts. Acie Law shined early
to give Olympiacos a 4-12 margin. Montepaschi improved its defense and
a triple by Janning gave the hosts their first lead, 18-17, after 10
minutes. Janning kept pushing Montepaschi and a layup by Benjamin Eze
made it a double-digit game, 36-26. Read more here.
Caja Laboral Vitoria 87 - 67 Fenerbahce Ulker
Caja
Laboral Vitoria picked up its second straight Top 16 victory by easing
past Fenerbahce Ulker 87-67 to remain in the race to reach the playoffs
from Group F in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. Tibor Pleiss led the
way with 14 points and 6 rebounds for Vitoria, which improved to 6-5
and within one win of second place with three games to play. Andres
Nocioni, Maciej Lampe and Fabien Causeue all added 12 points for Caja
Laboral with Thomas Heurtel hitting for 11 points in the win.
Fenerbahce received 16 points from Bo McCalebb but it was not enough as
the Turkish team dropped its fourth game in a row and ninth straight
road game to drop to 2-9 in the group. Romain Sato had 15 points and
Mike Batiste added 12 points. Read more here.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 89 - 86 Brose Baskets
Anadolu
Efes Istanbul is on the verge of securing a place in the Turkish
Airlines Euroleague Playoffs after a thrilling 89-86 overtime win over
Brose Baskets Bamberg at Abdi Ipekci Sport Hall on Thursday. With the
win Efes improved to 9-2 and second place in the Group E standings.
Efes now needs one more win or one Unicaja Malaga loss – which could
happen as soon as Friday – to advance. Meanwhile Bamberg remains
winless in the Top 16. Efes went up by 13 points in the second quarter,
but the visitors erased the deficit by halftime and the lead changed
hands several times in the second half. At the end of regulation, at
76-76, Bamberg had a chance to win it, but Casey Jacobsen missed a
potential game-winning layup. Efes took control in the extra session
with a triple from Dusko Savanovic and a jumper from Jordan Farmar that
put the hosts up for good. Read more here.
March 14, 2013 - Top 16 Game 11:
make or break!
The 2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16
enters its final four weeks with only one team - FC Barcelona Regal in
Group F - qualified to the playoffs. Some teams have the chance to join
Barcelona if they win this week and some other may run out of chances
to go through, so expect a lot of drama all around the continent.
Action starts with four games on Wednesday. In the only showdown in
Group E, Anadolu Efes Istanbul hosts Brose Baskets Bamberg at 19:00
CET. Efes (8-2) will advance to the playoffs if it wins and Real Madrid
beats Unicaja Malaga on Friday. Bamberg (0-10) is out of chances to
advance and still looks for that elusive, first-ever Top 16 win. Three
Group F games will be played at 20:45 on Wednesday. Read more here.
Here is the schedule for
Game 11 of Top 16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague:
GROUP E
Anadolu
Efes Istanbul vs. Brose Baskets 89:86 CSKA
Moscow vs. Zalgiris Kaunas 70:61
Real
Madrid vs. Unicaja Malaga 74:77
Panathinaikos
Athens vs. Alba Berlin 82:58
GROUP
F
Maccabi
Electra vs. BC Khimki Moscow Region 80:79
Montepaschi
Siena vs. Olympiacos Piraeus 67:68
Caja
Laboral Vitoria vs. Fenerbahce Ulker 87:67
FC
Barcelona Regal vs. Besiktas JK Istanbul 86:61
March 9, 2013 - Top 16 Week 10
bwin MVP: Nikola Mirotic, Real Madrid
Nikola
Mirotic’s record-setting display in an overtime victory at Zalgiris
Kaunas was the top performance of the week and it wasn’t even close.
The two-time Euroleague Rising Star Award winner amassed career highs
of 31 points and 11 rebounds in compiling a performance index rating of
37 to earn Top 16 Game 10 bwin MVP honors. Mirotic also dished 2
assists and blocked 2 shots, but the story of his game was at the
charity stripe. Mirotic made 18 of 18 free throws to set Euroleague
records for both most in a game and best accuracy. Moreover, 2 of his
free throws with 3.4 seconds left in regulation sent the game to
overtime and 1 more in the final 30 seconds of the extra session helped
ice a 104-105 victory. Fenerbahce Ulker scorer Bojan Bogdanovic was
second on the list of the week’s stars. Read more here.
March 8, 2013 - Game 10
Unicaja
Malaga 66 - 60 Panathinaikos Athens
Marcus
Williams hit three triples in the final two minutes of the game as
Unicaja Malaga finished on an 11-0 run to edge Panathinaikos Athens
66-60 in a Friday night thriller. The hosts rallied from a 12-point
second half deficit to pick up a victory that improved their record to
5-5 record and within one win of fourth place Panathinaikos in Top 16
Group E and also gave them a tiebreak advantage over the Greens, which
won the first game between them by 5 points. A Jonas Maciulis triple
made it 26-38 right after halftime, but Williams and Luka Zoric carried
Unicaja back into the game before Williams hit from downtown on
Unicaja’s final three possessions of the game to send the local fans
into ecstasy. Williams scored 15 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter
and made 5 of 7 three-pointers for the game. Read more here.
Besiktas JK Istanbul 73 - 83 Caja Laboral
Andres
Nocioni starred with 22 points as Caja Laboral Vitoria ended a
five-game slide by downing Besiktas JK Istanbul 73-83 at Abdi Ipekci
Arena on Friday evening. Caja Laboral never trailed as it improved to
5-5 to remain in the playoff hunt in Top 16 Group F. The loss dropped
Besiktas to 0-10. Nocioni scored 12 second-quarter points as Vitoria
surged to a 23-43 halftime lead. Cevher Ozer starred in a 20-2 charge
to open the second half as the hosts infused drama into the game and
closed within 2. However Vitoria managed to keep Besiktas at bay,
re-extended the lead to double figures in the fourth quarter and racked
up the victory. Nocioni made 5 of 6 three-pointers to lead the
visitors’ attack. Tibor Pleiss tallied 15 points, Maciej Lampe added
14, Nemanja Bjelica had 11 points and 8 assists and Fernando San
Emeterio scored 10 for the winners. Read more here.
BC Khimki MR 78 - 71 Montepaschi Siena
BC
Khimki Moscow Region improved to 6-4 in Top 16 Group F by downing
Montepaschi Siena 78-71 at home on Friday. Khimki is tied with
defending Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus for
third place in Group F, one win behind Montepaschi Siena, second at
7-3. K.C. Rivers paced the winners with 19 points. Paul Davis added 18
and 7 rebounds while Zoran Planinic dished 9 assists for Khimki. Bobby
Brown led Montepaschi with 17 points. Kristjan Kangur added 12 and
Benjamin Ortner 11 for the guests. Rivers had 8 points and six other
Khimki players scored in the first quarter to give the hosts a 25-20
lead after 10 minutes. Davis led an 8-0 run that boosted the hosts'
margin to 39-26. Brown stepped up late in the first half and sank a
wild buzzer-beating shot to get Montepaschi within 44-37 at halftime.
Read more here.
March
7, 2013
Olympiacos Piraeus 77 - 90 Barcelona Regal
FC
Barcelona Regal became the first team to clinch a spot in the 2012-13
Turkish Airlines Euroleague Playoffs by topping reigning champions
Olympiacos Piraeus 77-90 at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Greece
on Thursday. Barcelona improved to 9-1 in Top 16 Group F and will lock
up home court advantage in the playoffs with its next win. Olympiacos
dropped to 6-4. Barcelona grabbed its eighth consecutive triumph and
stopped the Reds' five-game winning streak. Erazem Lorbek paced the
winners with 21 points on near-perfect shooting. Pete Mickeal added 20,
while Ante Tomic and Juan Carlos Navarro each scored 10 for Barcelona.
Vassilis Spanoulis led Olympiacos with 23 points. Georgios Printezis
added 16 and Josh Powell had 15 for the Reds. The first quarter
featured six lead changes, but an outstanding Printezis gave Olympiacos
a 20-17 lead after 10 minutes. Read more here.
Fenerbahce Ulker 85 - 94 Maccabi Electra
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv hit 15 three-pointers and improved its chances to grab
a spot in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Playoffs by downing
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 85-94 on Thursday night. The Israeli champion
picked up its third consecutive victory to improve to 5-5 in Group F,
while Fenerbahce dropped to 2-8 and is all but eliminated from the hunt
for one of the top four places in the group. Maccabi took the lead for
good with a 1-11 run at the start of the second quarter and Fenerbahce
never came closer than 4 points the rest of the way. Ricky Hickman led
the way in victory with 18 points and 6 assists. Devin Smith scored 16
on 4-for-6 three-point shooting, collecting 3 blocks along the way,
while David Logan netted 15 on 5-for-7 three-point shooting. Read more here.
Zalgiris Kaunas 104 - 105 Real Madrid
Nikola
Mirotic was at his best in leading Real Madrid to a memorable 104-105
overtime victory over Zalgiris Kaunas at Zalgirio Arena on Thursday
night. Mirotic forced overtime when he grabbed an offensive rebound and
sank 2 free throws with 3.4 seconds left in regulation to tie the game
at 84-84. He then nailed a big three with 33 seconds left in overtime
and added 2 more from the line to make it 94-101, essentially sealing a
monumental victory. Mirotic finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 2
blocked shots. He set a new Euroleague record for free throws made and
accuracy by going 18 for 18 from the line. The win kept Los Blancos in
first place in Group E with a 9-1 record. Madrid will mathematically
advance to the playoffs if Panathinaikos beats Unicaja Malaga on
Friday. Read more here.
March 6, 2013
Brose
Baskets 58 - 78 CSKA Moscow
CSKA
Moscow rolled to an important 58-78 road win over Brose Baskets Bamberg
at Stechert Arena on Wednesday night to remain in the battle for a top
spot in Top 16 Group E. The Russian champs never trailed after the
opening minute en route to their seventh win alongside just three
losses, which leaves CSKA in third place and just one win out of
second. Bamberg dropped its 10th in a row to remain in the Group E
cellar. Nenad Krstic led a balanced CSKA attack with 17 points, 8
rebounds and 4 assists, while Vladimir Micov added 17 off the bench.
Milos Teodosic delivered 16 points and 8 assists, Sonny Weems scored
11, Sasha Kaun 10 and Andrey Vorontsevich hauled in 11 rebounds for the
visitors, who dominated the boards 24-41. Read more here.
Alba Berlin 86 - 91 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Anadolu
Efes Istanbul edged closer a playoffs spot from Top 16 Group E by
edging Alba Berlin 86-91 in the German capital on Wednesday. Efes
improved to 8-2 and could clinch a playoffs spot as soon as next week
in a home game against Brose Baskets Bamberg. Alba dropped to 1-9 and
was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Jordan Farmar
led the winners with 23 points on 11-of-11 free throw attempts. Semih
Erden added 12 and 8 rebounds while Sinan Guler and Kerem Tunceri each
had 10 points for Efes. DaShaun Wood led Alba with 24 points on 6-of-10
three-point shooting. Ali Traore and Zach Morley each added 12 and
Nihad Djedovic and Yassin Ibdihi scored 11 apiece for the hosts. A 7-0
run that Traore capped with a layup gave Alba an early 10-3 lead.
Farmar and Jamon Lucas stepped up to give Efes get a 24-28 lead after
10 minutes. Read more here.
March 6, 2013 - Top 16 Game 10:
First playoff qualifiers possible this week!
The longer, more exciting Top 16 enters its final
stretch of five games this week as two teams, Real Madrid in Group E
and FC Barcelona Regal in Group C, able to seal the first playoff
berths as soon as this week. For other teams, Top 16 Game 10 brings
opportunities to improve their position in playoff races that will
eventually yield a total of eight survivors who will keep fighting for
Turkish Airlines Euroleague glory. This week's action starts earlier
than usual, with a couple of Group E games in Germany on Wednesday. At
19:00 CET, Alba Berlin welcomes Anadolu Efes Istanbul to the German
capital. Alba (1-8) is all but mathematically out of the playoffs race,
while Efes (7-2) looks for its fourth win in five visits to Berlin over
the years. At 20:45 CET, Brose Baskets Bamberg welcomes CSKA Moscow for
the second time this season. Read more here.
Here is the schedule for
Game 10 of Top 16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague:
GROUP E
Alba
Berlin vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul 86:91 Brose
Baskets Bamberg vs. CSKA Moscow 58:78 Stats
Zalgiris
Kaunas vs. Real Madrid 104:105
Unicaja
Malaga vs. Panathinaikos Athens 66:60
GROUP
F
Olympiacos
Piraeus vs. FC Barcelona Regal 77:90
Fenerbahce
Ulker vs. Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 85:94
BC
Khimki Moscow Region vs. Montepaschi Siena 78:71
Besiktas
JK Istanbul vs. Caja Laboral Vitoria 73:83
March 4, 2013 - bwin MVP for
February: Ante Tomic, FC Barcelona Regal
Most
people celebrate their birthdays only on the date they were born. Ante
Tomic of FC Barcelona Regal started well before he turned 26 in
mid-February and kept the party going until the last day of the month.
By the time he had finished, it was clear to anyone watching that Tomic
has entered his prime as a big man who can anchor a great team, making
him Euroleague Basketball's clear choice as bwin MVP for February.
Tomic was his team's top scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker as
Barcelona put together the only 4-0 record during the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague Top 16 last month. Barcelona defeated the two teams closest
to it in the standings at home, and went on the road to win twice more.
It did not trail on the scoreboard after halftime during any game all
month and not after the first quarter in three of the four victories.
Read more here.
March 2, 2013 - Top 16, Week 9
bwin MVP: Nenad Krstic, CSKA Moscow
He
was the 2011-12 All-Euroleague First Team center and on Friday Nenad
Krstic showed again why. The CSKA Moscow big man not only put up the
best numbers of any player in Top 16 Game 9, but he did so at the most
important times in the game to pave the way to an 80-65 victory over
Alba Berlin. For those reasons, Krstic earned bwin MVP honors, becoming
the fourth CSKA player this season to do so. Krstic scored 20 points on
8-of-12 shooting, grabbed 4 rebounds, dished 4 assists and blocked a
shot for a performance index rating of 26, which led the Turkish
Airlines Euroleague in Top 16 Game 9. He not only played key role in a
20-1 run that broke the game open in the first half, but after Berlin
cut the gap to 5 in the fourth quarter, Krstic put the game to bed with
6 points and an assist in a 10-0 run that sealed the victory. Read more
here.
March 1, 2013 - Game 9
Panathinaikos
Athens 75 - 62 Anadolu Efes
Panathinaikos
Athens took another big step towards a quarterfinal spot with a 75-62
win over Anadolu Efes in the Greek capital on Friday night. The victory
improved the Greens’ record to 6-3 and a share of third place in Group
E, while Efes saw its seven-game win streak snapped and dropped to 7-2
and second place. Efes, however, holds the tiebreaker over
Panathinaikos, as the Turkish side won the first match-up by 14 points.
The two teams were in a close affair for more than three quarters in
OAKA. Efes made a 0-8 run that bridged the third and the fourth quarter
to tie the game at 56-56. But Panathinaikos responded with a string of
16 unanswered points, with Roko Ukic making shots on both ends of the
run that opened up the first double-digit lead of the game and sealed
the deal. Read more here.
Unicaja Malaga 67 - 83 Zalgiris Kaunas
Zalgiris
Kaunas rejoined the race to reach the playoffs in Top 16 Group E by
topping Unicaja Malaga 67-83 in Spain on Friday. Unicaja and Zalgiris
are tied for fifth place in Group E, each with a 4-5 record. Mindaugas
Kuzminskas paced the winners with 15 points. Oliver Lafayette added 14
for Zalgiris, all of them in the second half. Krunoslav Simon led
Unicaja with 13 points. Luka Zoric added 12 and Sergi Vidal had 10 for
the hosts. Unicaja shined early, as Simon and Zoric allowed the hosts
to get a 17-7 margin. Darjus Lavrinovic and Rimas Kaukenas stepped up
to bring Zalgiris within 19-16 after 10 minutes. Zalgiris found a new
go-to guy in Kuzminskas, who led a 0-10 run that put the guests back
ahead, 24-26. He got some help from Tremmell Darden to boost the
guests' margin to 31-38 at halftime. Read more here.
CSKA Moscow 80 - 65 Alba Berlin
CSKA
Moscow improved to 6-3 in Top 16 Group E by downing Alba Berlin 80-65
in the Russian capital on Friday. CSKA held on to third place in Group
E and took another step towards sealing a playoffs spot. Alba dropped
to 1-8 and is all but mathematically out of chances to reach the next
round. Nenad Krstic paced the winners with 20 points on 8-of-12
shooting and 4 assists. Vladimir Micov, Sonny Weems and Andrey
Vorontsevich each added 10 points for CSKA. DaShaun Wood led Alba with
11 points. Deon Thompson, Nihad Djedovic and Zach Morley added 10
apiece for the guests. Alba had a good start and Thompson gave the
guests a 12-15 lead late in the first quarter. It didn't last long,
however, as Krstic and Micov fueled a 20-1 run that gave CSKA the lead
for good, 32-16. Read more here.
February 28, 2013
Real Madrid 76 - 73 Brose Baskets Bamberg
Real
Madrid remained undefeated at home in the 2013 Turkish Airlines
Euroleague season with a 76-73 win over Brose Baskets Bamberg, but it
took everything it had to defeat the brave German champs. Dontaye
Draper’s three-pointer at the buzzer clinched the win for Madrid and
lifted the club to 8-1 in the Top 16. Still without a win in this stage
of the competition, Brose Baskets was on the losing end of a tight
finish for the fourth straight game. On an off-night for Madrid’s
offense, Jaycee Carroll was the only player on the winning side to
break into double-digits in scoring with 11 points. Instead, the
dominant performance was from Rudy Fernandez on defense, as he
contributed 11 rebounds to add to his 9 points and 4 assists. Read more
here.
FC Barcelona Regal 71 - 69 BC Khimki MR
FC
Barcelona Regal took another step towards the Euroleague Playoffs from
Top 16 Group F by downing BC Khimki Moscow Region 71-69 at home on
Thursday. Barcelona improved to 8-1, leads Group F and has all but
mathematically sealed a ticket to the playoffs. Khimki dropped to 5-4
and keeps good chances to reach the playoffs for the first time in club
history. Barcelona set a new Euroleague record for most consecutive Top
16 home wins with 22. Its last Top 16 home loss came against Unicaja on
March 30, 2006. Scoring king Juan Carlos Navarro paced the winners with
19 points on 5-of-10 three-point shooting, Ante Tomic added 16 points
and Erazem Lorbek tallied 11. Paul Davis paced Khimki with 18 points
and 9 rebounds and Zoran Planinic and Vitaly Fridzon added 12 points
apiece in defeat. Read more here.
Montepaschi Siena 87 - 69 Fenerbahce Ulker
Montepaschi
Siena returned to its winning ways in streaking past Fenerbahce Ulker
87-69 in Group F of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16. Aleksandar
Rasic came off the bench to go 4 for 4 on three-pointers in scoring a
team-high 16 points for Siena, which improved to 7-2 in the group.
Daniel Hackett also was a spark off the bench with 13 points, 4 assists
and 8 fouls drawn, while Bobby Brown and David Moss both scored 12
points each and Matt Janning added 10. Fenerbahce dropped to 2-7 in the
group despite 22 points from Bojan Bogdanovic and 10 points, 5 rebounds
and 7 fouls drawn by Bo McCalebb, who returned to the court on which he
starred and won back-to-back Italian league titles in the previous two
seasons. Read more here.
Caja Laboral Vitoria 62 - 66 Maccabi Electra
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv outlasted Caja Laboral Vitoria in a Group F thriller
62-66 Thursday night at Fernando Buesa Arena to storm back into the
playoff hunt. Maccabi won back-to-back games for the first time in the
Top 16 to improve to 4-5, while handing Vitoria its fifth straight loss
and knocking Coach Zan Tabak’s side to 4-5. Maccabi, which lost by 1 to
Laboral at home in the closing seconds in January, also took the
tiebreak advantage between the two. The game was full of drama and
included five ties and five lead changes in the fourth quarter alone,
the last coming on a David Logan three-pointer with 24.7 seconds
remaining. Logan also nailed a pair of free throws with 11 seconds to
go to seal a vital victory. Devin Smith paced the Israeli champs with
20 points, Logan finished with 16, Shawn James tallied 11 points, Read
more here.
Besiktas JK 60 - 79 Olympiacos Piraeus
Reigning
Turkish Airlines Euroleague champs Olympiacos Piraeus picked up its
fifth consecutive win after downing Besiktas JK Istanbul 60-79 at Abdi
Ipekci Arena on Thursday. The Reds improved to 6-3 in Group F, and
could be in a share of second place at the end of the night if results
go their way, while Besiktas remains winless in its first ever Top 16
appearance. Olympiacos took the lead for good at the start of the
second quarter as Vassilis Spanoulis fueled a 7-22 spurt that gave the
visitors a double-digit advantage, which they controlled the rest of
the way. Josh Powell led in victory with 16 points on 7-for-8 two-point
shooting. Kostas Papanikolaou netted 11, Spanoulis finished with 9
points and dished out 8 assists, while Georgios Printezis had 9 points
plus 8 rebounds. For Besiktas, Gasper Vidmar collected 13 points and 7
rebounds, while Patrick Christopher also scored 13. Read more here.
February 28, 2013 - Top 16 Game 9
With five games today, and three more tomorrow,
competition in Turkish Airlines Euroleague TOP 16 will enter in Week 9.
As usual, we are happy to offer you to Watch ALL GAMES LIVE and enjoy
in best European Basketball. Do not miss your favorite team’s action.
After eight played games, there are no undefeated teams, even we have
three teams with great 7-1 record, Real Madrid, Anadolu Efes in Group E
and FC Barcelona Regal in Group F. At same time, two teams are still
without single win, Brose Baskets in Group E and Besiktas JK in Group
F. Today’s action start with Besiktas JK vs. Olympiacos Piraeus at
19.00 CET. Olympiacos at position 4 with 5-3 will try to reach
important win in road game. Read more here.
Here is the
schedule for Game 9 of Top 16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague:
GROUP
E
Real
Madrid vs. Brose Baskets 76:73 CSKA
Moscow vs. Alba Berlin 80:65
Unicaja
Malaga vs. Zalgiris Kaunas 67:83
Panathinaikos
Athens vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul 75:62
GROUP
F
Besiktas
JK vs. Olympiacos Piraeus 60:79
Caja
Laboral vs. Maccabi Electra 62:66
Montepaschi
Siena vs. Fenerbahce Ulker 87:69
Barcelona
Regal vs. BC Khimki Moscow Region 71:69
February 23, 2013 - Top 16 Game 8
bwin tri-MVPs: Devin Smith, Roko Ukic and Luka Zoric
For
the first time in over two years, the weekly MVP honor is shared by
three players! Devin Smith of Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, Roko Ukic of
Panathinaikos Athens and Luka Zoric of Unicaja Malaga all played
significant roles in their respective team’s victories. And they each
had performance index ratings of 28, which led all players and granted
them the title as Top 16 Game 8 bwin tri-MVPs. Smith racked up 19
points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting as Maccabi routed Montepaschi
Siena 92-61 in Tel Aviv. He also was perfect in 4 trips to the line,
grabbed 8 rebounds and dished 4 assists in compiling his 28 index. Ukic
shook off a back injury earlier in the week to lead the Greens to a
vital road win at Zalgiris Kaunas, 73-78. He only missed 2 shots in
scoring a season-high 21 points in addition to 4 rebounds and 6
assists. Read more here.
February 22, 2013 - Game 8
Real
Madrid 77 - 72 Alba Berlin
Real
Madrid needed to resist a second comeback by Alba Berlin to hold on at
home for a 77-72 victory on Friday and keep its share of first place in
Top 16 Group E. Madrid survived a scare to raise its record to 7-1,
tied with Anadolu Efes Istanbul for first place, while Alba fell to
1-7. Alba had rallied from 11 points down before halftime to lead for
long minutes of the second half. Madrid re-established a double-digit
lead at 73-63 before the visitors cut it to 75-72 with 35 seconds left,
but Alba couldn't score again. Jaycee Carroll paced Madrid with 16
points, while Rudy Fernandez had 14, Nikola Mirotic 12 and Felipe Reyes
11. Alba got 14 points from Deon Thompson and 11 each from Yassin
Idbihi and Dashaun Wood. Alba out-rebounded Madrid, the league leader,
by 10-15 on the offensive glass and 31-40 overall. Read more here.
Olympiacos Piraeus 82 - 74 Caja Laboral
Olympiacos
Piraeus led from start to finish in routing Caja Laboral Vitoria 82-74
at the Peace and Friendship Stadium to remain tied for third place in
Top 16 Group F. The defending champs improved to 5-3, while dropping
Vitoria to fifth place at 4-4. Acie Law scored a season-high 18 points
to pace the Reds, who raced out to a 10-2 start and never looked back.
The lead was double-digits for almost the entire second half, peaking
at 20 in the fourth quarter, until a late rally brought Vitoria back.
The final minute revolved around the potential tiebreaker, with the
Reds looking to better the 8-point deficit from the game in Vitoria.
Alas Thomas Heurtel drew Vitoria within 8, Law missed in the closing
seconds and the teams remained on even terms for their Top 16 series.
Read more here.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 63 - 60 CSKA Moscow
Anadolu
Efes Istanbul registered a pivotal win in Top 16 Group E by edging CSKA
Moscow 63-60 at home on Friday. Efes improved to 7-1 and registered its
seventh consecutive win in Group F. CSKA dropped to 5-3 and is tied
with Panathinaikos for third place. Jordan Farmar paced the winners
with 15 points. Jamon Lucas added 14 and 11 rebounds, while Semih Erden
scored 10 for Efes. Milos Teodosic led CSKA with 26 points - a new
Euroleague career high. Sasha Kaun added 12 for the guests. Kaun had
all the points in a 0-6 run that gave CSKA an early 2-8 lead. Vladimir
Micov led a 0-9 run that boosted the guests' margin to 10-22. Farmar
and Dusko Savanovic brought Efes within 16-22 after 10 minutes. Lucas
took over early in the second quarter to get Efes a bit closer, 22-26.
Read more here.
BC Khimki Moscow Region 87 - 56 Besiktas JK
BC
Khimki Moscow Region got back to its winning ways on its home court
with a comfortable 87-56 win over Besiktas JK Istanbul on Friday
afternoon. It was Khimki’s seventh victory in eight home games this
season in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague, and improved the team to 5-3
and a share of third place in Top 16 Group F; Besiktas remains winless
at the bottom of the standings. Khimki was without Zoran Planinic, but
still took control of the game early, making a 13-2 run that bridged
the first and the second quarters. Led by Paul Davis, the hosts pulled
away to an insurmountable advantage after opening the second half with
a 14-5 run, and cruised to victory after that. Davis finished with 18
points plus 6 rebounds in less than 15 minutes on the floor, K.C. Read
more here.
February 21, 2013
Zalgiris
Kaunas 73 - 78 Panathinaikos Athens
Panathinaikos
Athens picked up a huge 73-78 away win over Zalgiris Kaunas on Thursday
night as Roko Ukic scored 11 of his 21 points in the final six minutes
and Dimitris Diamantidis set the all-time Euroleague steals record.
Panathinaikos, which improved to 5-3 in Group E, now holds a tiebreaker
over Zalgiris with two head-to-head victories, while Zalgiris drops to
3-5 and sixth place in the standings. The teams often traded leads, and
no team had a lead bigger than 6 points throughout the entire game. The
hosts went up 61-56 in the fourth quarter, but Michael Bramos and
Diamantidis tied the game before Ukic made his run that secured victory
for Panathinaikos. In addition to his 21 points, Ukic also dished out 6
assists. Diamantidis had 13 points plus 10 assists, while James Gist
scored 12 and grabbed 9 rebounds. Read more here.
Brose Baskets 65 - 68 Unicaja Malaga
Brose
Baskets Bamberg missed a pair of three-point shots to tie the game in
the final seconds before Unicaja escaped from Stechert Arena with a
65-68 victory on Thursday. The win lifted Unicaja to 4-4 to remain in
fifth place in Top 16 Group E, while Bamberg remained winless. Bamberg
had rallied from 16 down in the fourth quarter to within 1 on a Sharrod
Ford basket with a minute and a half to go. Then Ford and Bostjan
Nachbar both had contested threes in the closing seconds to tie the
game, but missed and Unicaja ran off with the win. Luka Zoric scored 10
points in the first quarter to give Unicaja a slim lead. Threes from
Txemi Urtasun and Sergi Vidal helped the visitors take a 10-point
halftime lead. It peaked at 17 before Bamberg’s late rally. Read more here.
Maccabi Electra 92 - 61 Montepaschi Siena
Maccabi
Electra rejuvenated its playoffs hopes with a 92-61 pasting off
Montepaschi Siena on Thursday night at Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv. Devin
Smith and Yogev Ohayon each scored 19 to pace the Israeli champs, who
improved to 3-5 in Top 16 Group F. The result knocked Siena to 6-2 as
it dropped from a share of first place in the standings. After an even
opening quarter, Smith and David Logan led a 14-3 second-quarter run
that put the Israeli champs up by 10 at halftime. The lead reached 20
in the third quarter. After Siena center Benjamin Eze helped narrow the
gap to 12 early in the fourth quarter, Maccabi took off behind Smith
and Guy Pnini, reeling off 21 unanswered points to secure the win.
Smith was 5 for 6 from downtown as Maccabi made 60% of its
three-pointers. Read more here.
Fenerbahce Ulker 60 - 99 Barcelona Regal
FC
Barcelona sent a message that echoed all through Top 16 Group F by
downing Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 60-99 in Turkey on Thursday.
Barcelona improved to 7-1 to remain atop Group F. Fenerbahce dropped to
2-6 and saw its playoff hopes take a serious hit. Pete Mickeal paced
the winners with 17 points on a perfect shooting night. Marcelinho
Huertas and Ante Tomic each added 14 while Juan Carlos Navarro and Joe
Ingles netted 13 apiece for Barcelona. Bojan Bogdanovic had 18 points
for Barcelona and Bo McCalebb added 17. A 0-9 run that Navarro capped
with a three-pointer gave Barcelona a 6-15 lead. Navarro hit two more
from downtown to make it a double-digit game, 13-23, after 10 minutes.
Huertas and Tomic fueled a 0-10 run that Xavi Rabaseda capped with a
dunk to break the game open, 15-33. Barcelona kept rolling, led by an
outstanding Huertas, and boosted its margin to 19-50 at halftime. Read
more here.
February 21, 2013 - Top 16 Game 8:
Crucial games for playoff hopefuls
The second half of the new and expanded Top 16
blasts off this week with more pivotal showdowns
than might be expected for just the eighth game of 14 in this round. As
some teams scrambled to get an edge before Wednesday's roster deadline
for the season, several face games that could change their futures.
That's true of all four games on Thursday, starting with Fenerbahce
Ulker (2-5) hosting FC Barcelona Regal (5-1), the Group F co-leader, at
18:45 CET. A loss could leave FB Ulker as many as three victories out
of playoff position with just six remaining. The same predicament is
faced by Maccabi Electra (2-5) as it welcomes Montepaschi Siena (5-1),
the other co-leader, to Tel Aviv for a 20:05 tipoff. Read more here.
Here is the schedule for
Game 8 of Top 16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague:
GROUP E
Brose
Baskets Bamberg vs. Unicaja Malaga 65:68 Zalgiris
Kaunas vs. Panathinaikos Athens 73:78 Anadolu
Efes Istanbul vs. CSKA Moscow 63:60 Real
Madrid vs. Alba Berlin 77:72
GROUP
F
Fenerbahce
Ulker Istanbul vs. FC Barcelona Regal 60:99 Maccabi
Electra vs. Montepaschi Siena 92:61 BC
Khimki Moscow Region vs. Besiktas JK 87:56 Olympiacos
Piraeus vs. Caja Laboral Vitoria 82:74
February 16, 2013 - Top 16, Week 7
bwin MVP: Sasha Kaun, CSKA Moscow
On
CSKA Moscow’s star-studded team, it was an unheralded blue-collar ace
in the paint that made the big impact in the biggest victory of any
team in Top 16 Game 7. And for his contributions as the Russian champs
bested Panathinaikos 86-69 on Thursday, center Sasha Kaun earned bwin
MVP of the week honors for the first time in his career. Kaun was an
unstoppable force for CSKA as he took advantage of the extra minutes
available due to forward Viktor Khryapa’s injury to stamp his impact on
the result. Kaun scored 13 points on perfect shooting, grabbed 8
rebounds and blocked 5 shots en route to a performance index rating of
30, which was the highest among any player on a winning team in Top 16
Game 7. Read more here.
February 15, 2013 - Game 7
Montepaschi
Siena 85 - 74 Caja Laboral Vitoria
Montepaschi
Siena hit 15 three-pointers on 26 attempts en route to an 85-74 victory
over Caja Laboral Vitoria on Friday night. The win improved Siena’s
record to 6-1 and a share of first place in Top 16 Group F alongside FC
Barcelona Regal, while Caja Laboral dropped its third straight game and
now has a 4-3 record. After trailing 35-39 early in the third quarter,
the Italian champions went on an 18-4 run to take the lead for good.
Siena hit 6 threes in the third quarter and 4 more early in the fourth
to grab full control of the game and cruise to victory. Bobby Brown led
the way with 18 points and 5 assists, while Matt Janning scored 16
points on 4-for-5 three-point shooting. Daniel Hackett also finished
with 16, Benjamin Eze had 10 points and David Moss grabbed 11 rebounds
along with his 9 points. Read more here.
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 78 - 72 Besiktas JK
Fenerbahce
Ulker won the first ever Euroleague meeting against its Istanbul rival
Besiktas JK 78-72 on Friday at Fenerbahce Ulker Sports Arena. Bojan
Bogdanovic scored 25 points to pace Fener in an exciting game that
featured five lead changes in the last four minutes of the game.
Bogdanovic attacked the rim to put the hosts ahead for good, 71-70,
with two minutes to go. Ogus Savas scored the next two baskets, while
Besiktas committed two crucial turnovers that let the game slip away.
Besiktas led by as much as 13 points in the second quarter and 10 in
the third. David Andersen added 13 points and 7 rebounds for the
winners, who improved to 2-5 in Top 16 group F. Savas scored 12 and Bo
McCalebb had 10 points and 4 steals for the winners. Read more here.
BC Khimki MR 82 - 87 Olympiacos Piraeus
Olympiacos
Piraeus registered a critical road win in Top 16 Group F by edging BC
Khimki Moscow Region 82-87 in Russia on Friday. The two teams are now
tied at 4-3 at the halfway mark of this round. Kyle Hines and Vassilis
Spanoulis paced the winners with 19 points each. Kostas Papanikolaou
added 14, Pero Antic 11 and Kostas Sloukas got all of his 10 points in
the fourth quarter. The critical statistic for the champs was
turnovers; Olympiacos tied a Euroleague record by committing just 3.
Paul Davis led Khimki with 20 points. Kresimir Loncar added 19 and 9
rebounds while Zoran Planinic scored 17 points and dished 13 assists -
a new Top 16 record. The loss was Khimki’s first at home this season.
Outstanding shot selection and an inspired Planinic led Khimki to a
23-19 lead after 10 minutes. Read more here.
February 14, 2013
Anadolu
Efes Istanbul 74 - 72 Real Madrid
Anadolu
Efes claimed a big scalp to round off the first half of the Turkish
Airlines Euroleague Top 16, handing Real Madrid its first defeat of the
competition’s second stage. The 74-72 win extends Efes’s own unbeaten
streak to six games and moved it into a tie with Madrid for first place
in the group. Efes tried to pull away, but was repeatedly pegged back
by Real Madrid’s persistent players until the game came down to one
shot. Jaycee Carroll missed a clutch three-pointer and Efes took the
victory. Jamon Lucas led Efes with 16 points and 5 assists. Dusko
Savanovic helped out with 13 points and 8 rebounds and Jordan Farmar
netted 10 points. For Madrid, Rudy Fernandez amassed 14 points, 7
rebounds and 6 assists. Felipe Reyes and Carroll each scored 11 and
Mirza Begic and Sergio Rodriguez both had 10. Read more here.
Brose Baskets 87 - 88 Zalgiris Kaunas
Marko
Popovic sank 3 free throws with no time on the clock in overtime to
lead Zalgiris Kaunas over Brose Baskets Bamberg 87-88 at Stechert Arena
on Thursday night. It was a thrilling game throughout and Bamberg
seemed on track for its first Top 16 win when Anton Gavel sank free
throws with 16 seconds left to put the German champs in front, but
Gavel went from hero to goat when he fouled Popovic on the game’s final
play. The win lifted Zalgiris to 3-4 in Top 16 Group E, which is good
for a tie for fifth place and one victory out of fourth. Popovic paced
the Lithuanian champs with 21 points, while Ksistof Lavrinovic netted
16, Rimantas Kaukenas 14 and Darjus Lavrinovic 11 for the visitors, who
outrebounded Bamberg 27-38. Read more here.
Maccabi Electra 77 - 82 FC Barcelona Regal
FC
Barcelona Regal sent a message that echoed all around Top 16 Group F by
downing Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 77-82 at Nokia Arena on Thursday.
Barcelona reached the Top 16's halfway mark with a 6-1 record to remain
alone in first place. Maccabi dropped to 2-5. Ante Tomic paced the
winners with 18 points. Juan Carlos Navarro and former Maccabi legend
Sarunas Jasikevicius each added 14 for Barcelona. Ricky Hickman led
Maccabi with 19 points. Shawn James added 16 while Devin Smith and
Yogev Oyahon each had 11 for the hosts. Maccabi opened the game with a
7-2 run, but Barcelona improved its defense and a three-pointer by
Erazem Lorbek gave the guests their first lead, 13-14. Three-pointers
by David Logan and Oyahon allowed Maccabi to get a 22-20 edge after 10
minutes. Read more here.
Alba Berlin 65 - 67 Unicaja Malaga
Marcus
Williams’s pull-up three-pointer with less than a second to go lifted
Unicaja Malaga to a 65-67 victory over Alba Berlin at o2 World in the
German capital on Thursday. The shot capped an exciting game with both
teams in it until the buzzer. The win gave Unicaja a 3-4 record and
brought it within one of fourth place at the midway point of the Top
16. Alba slipped to 1-6 in Group E. The hosts seemed to gain the
momentum when they took a 42-34 halftime lead, but Krunoslav Simon
opened the third quarter with 3 three-pointers to put Unicaja back
infront. Alba regained control early in the fourth quarter after a
technical foul on Luka Zoric. Unicaja stayed close from that point, but
did not go ahead until Williams sank his game-winning shot. Simon paced
Unicaja with 12 points, Fran Vazquez added 11 and Earl Calloway and
Williams each finished with 10. Read more here.
CSKA Moscow 86 - 69 Panathinaikos Athens
CSKA
Moscow used a big third quarter to roll past Panathinaikos Athens 86-69
and get back on the winning track in the Top 16. The victory snapped
CSKA’s two-game losing streak as it improved to 5-2 and could move into
second place in Group E by the end of the night. Panathinaikos dropped
to 4-3. The hosts took the lead for good after only four minutes, but
did not take full control of the game until midway through the third
quarter. After triples from James Gist and Jason Kapono got
Panathinaikos within 39-38, Sonny Weems scored 9 points in a 19-5 run
that CSKA used to pull away and never look back. Milos Teodosic made 4
of 6 three-pointers to lead led the way with 20 points plus 7 assists.
Weems scored 19 points, while Sasha Kaun had 13 points, 8 rebounds and
5 blocks. Read more here.
February 14, 2013 - Top 16 Game 7:
Let the playoff races resume!
The Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 reaches its halfway
mark
this week with critical games all over the continent. Top teams nearing
playoffs qualification, battles for survival and pivotal showdowns will
be everywhere in Groups E and F. The action starts with five games on a
busy Thursday, including all in Group E. In a classic battle between
the two teams that have combined for five of the last seven Euroleague
titles, CSKA Moscow (4-2) hosts Panathinaikos Athens (4-2) at 17:00
CET. Their third-place tie in Group E will be broken as CSKA and
Panathinaikos meet for the first time since last season's semifinals,
after having battle against each other to two-point decisions in the
2007 and 2009 Euroleague title games. Read more here.
Here is the schedule for
Game 7 of Top 16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague:
GROUP E
CSKA
Moscow vs. Panathinaikos Athens 86-69 Alba
Berlin vs. Unicaja Malaga 65:67 Anadolu
Efes Istanbul vs. Real Madrid 74:72 Brose
Baskets Bamberg vs. Zalgiris Kaunas 87:88
GROUP
F
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv vs. FC Barcelona Regal 77:82 BC
Khimki Moscow Region vs. Olympiacos Piraeus 82:87 Fenerbahce
Ulker vs. Besiktas JK 78-72 Montepaschi
Siena vs. Caja Laboral Vitoria 85:74
February 2, 2013 - Top 16, Week 6
bwin MVP: Rudy Fernandez of Real Madrid
For
the third time this season, Rudy Fernandez is the week’s bwin MVP after
sparkling in leading Real Madrid to victory. This time though,
Fernandez outdid himself. Rudy recorded a double-double in setting
career highs with 13 rebounds and performance index rating with 34,
which led all players in this week’s Turkish Airlines Euroleague games.
Fernandez also tied Montepaschi Siena guard Bobby Brown for the most
weekly MVP crowns this season. He was the main catalyst as Madrid
remained unbeaten in the Top 16 by besting CSKA Moscow 86-78 in
overtime in the Spanish capital. Rudy amassed 20 points, by making 5 of
6 two-point baskets and 2 of 7 triples, as well as the aforementioned
13 rebounds plus 5 assists and 3 steals. Read more here.
February 1, 2013 - Game 6
Panathinaikos
Athens 76 - 73 Brose Baskets
Panathinaikos
Athens survived a big fourth-quarter scare before edging Brose Baskets
Bamberg 76-73 at OAKA in the Greek capital on Friday night. The win
improved the Greens to 4-2 and a share of third place in Group E, while
Bamberg remains winless in the Top 16. Panathinaikos led for most of
the night, but the lead never reached double digits. After the hosts
made it 51-42 near the end of the third quarter, Bamberg answered with
a 0-7 run to end the third and then took the lead midway through the
fourth quarter. However, Dimitris Diamantidis took matters in his own
hands, assisting and scoring to put the Greens in front, before free
throws from Marcus Banks and Jonas Maciulis sealed the win. Michael
Bramos netted 16 points for the victors, while Lasme had with 15 points
plus 9 rebounds. Read more here.
Caja Laboral Vitoria 71 - 83 BC Khimki MR
BC
Khimki Moscow Region dealt Caja Laboral a second consecutive Top 16
defeat in a Friday night clash in Group F. Khimki won 71-83 in Vitoria,
Spain, to match Caja Laboral for third place in the group at 4-2.
Khimki pulled away late in the third quarter and held on down the
stretch to preserve a tough win. Big man Paul Davis led the winners
with 20 points and 5 rebounds. K.C. Rivers drained 5 of 7
three-pointers en route to 16 points, while Zoran Planinic tallied 13
points and 6 assists, Vitaly Fridzon netted 11 and Sergey Monya scored
10. For Caja Laboral, Fabien Causeur led the way with 15 points,
followed by Maciej Lampe with 13, Nemanja Bjelica with 12 and veteran
Andreas Nocioni with 11. Read more here.
Unicaja Malaga 73 - 78 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Anadolu
Efes Istanbul climbed to second place in Top 16 Group F by edging
Unicaja Malaga 73-78 on the road on Friday. Efes improved to 5-1 with
its fifth consecutive win, something that hasn't happened since the
2004-05 Euroleague season. Unicaja dropped to 2-4 and must bounce back
right away to improve its playoffs chances. Jordan Farmar paced the
winners with 15 points and 5 assists. Kerem Gonlum added 13 points and
10 rebounds while Semih Erden scored 11 for Efes. Luka Zoric led
Unicaja with 20 points. Marcus Williams and Earl Calloway each added 15
for the hosts. Williams also dished 6 assists. Farmar shined early to
help Efes take a 4-10 lead. Unicaja used an 8-0 run to get its first
lead, 12-10. Sasha Vujacic had 6 points in a 0-12 run that gave Efes a
double-digit lead. Read more here.
January 31, 2013
Real
Madrid 86 - 78 CSKA Moscow
Real
Madrid kept its unbeaten streak in the Top 16 alive by beating CSKA
Moscow 86-78 in overtime at home. It was the first meeting between the
two since 2009, and was every bit worth the wait. Madrid improved to
6-0, while CSKA dropped to 4-2 in a key result. Jaycee Carroll was
immense for Madrid with a career-high 31 points on 6-of-8 three-point
shooting. Rudy Fernandez amassed 20 points, a personal-best 13 rebounds
plus 5 assists, while Sergio Llull and Nikola Mirotic both scored 10
points for the hosts. Milos Teodosic and Zoran Erceg – the latter in a
long-awaited return from injury – paced six CSKA scorers in double
figures with 13 points apiece. Read more here.
Olympiacos Piraeus 82 - 71 Fenerbahce Ulker
Reigning
Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus picked up its
second consecutive Top 16 victory by beating Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul
82-71 at the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Thursday night. The win
improved Olympiacos’s record to 3-3 for fourth place in Group F, while
Fenerbahce dropped to 1-5. The Reds took control of the game with a 8-0
spurt in the second quarter, and then cruised to victory after pulling
away to a 20-point advantage at the beginning of the third quarter.
Georgios Printezis scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half, and
Vassilis Spanoulis also finished with 13 for the winners. Acie Law had
12 points in less than 13 minutes before being ejected from the game
after an altercation with Romain Sato. Read more here.
Barcelona Regal 85 - 66 Montepaschi Siena
FC
Barcelona Regal grabbed its fourth consecutive Top 16 Group F victory
by topping previously undefeated Montepaschi Siena 85-66 at home on
Thursday. The two teams are now tied atop the group's standings, each
with a 5-1 record. Caja Laboral Vitoria has the chance to join them if
it beats BC Khimki Moscow Region on Friday. The Italian champs hung
around early, but reserve Xavi Rabaseda reeled off 10 second-quarter
points and got plenty of help from Ante Tomic and an outstanding
Marcelinho Huertas as the hosts grabbed 48-29 halftime lead and never
looked back. Tomic led the winners with 20 points and 5 assists,
Rabaseda finished with 16 points, Nate Jawai netted 11 and Marcelinho
Huertas tallied 10 points and 5 assists. Read more here.
Besiktas JK Istanbul 55 - 77 Maccabi Electra Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv used a 0-18 run spanning the first and second quarters
to ease to a 55-77 victory at Besiktas JK Istanbul in Top 16 Group F
action in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. Lior Eliyahu led the way for
Maccabi with 14 points and 5 rebounds as Tel Aviv improved to 2-4 in
the group. Nik Caner-Medley added 12 points while David Logan chipped
in 10 points and Yogev Ohayon had 7 points and 6 assists for Maccabi.
Besiktas, which made just 5 of 26 from three-point range, dropped to
0-6 despite 13 points from Serhat Cetin, 12 from Patrick Christopher
and 11 from Gasper Vidmar. Jerrells opened the scoring with a jumper
and Markota put back an offensive rebound for a 4-0 lead. Read more here.
Zalgiris Kaunas 92 - 56 Alba Berlin
Zalgiris
Kaunas roared past Alba Berlin 92-56 to snap a three-game losing streak
and get back in the hunt in Top 16 Group E. Marko Popovic recorded 22
points and dished 5 assists to lead the Lithuanian champs, who improved
to 2-4 with the win, while dropping Alba to 1-5. Berlin hung around
early, but some nice baskets by Tremmell Darden gave the hosts a slim
lead. Mindaugas Kuzminskas came off the bench in the second quarter to
help push the advantage to 11 before it sttled at 44-37 at halftime. It
was Marko Popovic who put the game away with 12 points in 14-0 run to
open the second half and the Lithuanian champs never looked back.
Darden added 17 points and Kuzminskas 14 for the hosts, who shook off
the absence of Ibby Jaaber to romp to an impressive win. Read more here.
January 31, 2013 - Top 16 Game 6:
it keeps getting better!
The 2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 reaches its sixth
week
with just two undefeated teams left, both facing tough road challenges
on Thursday. Indeed, Week 6 will be a pivotal one, as some powerhouses
try to rejoin the playoffs race and others look be in an even better
position at the end of this round. Action gets underway with five
showdowns on a busy Thursday. In the earliest game this week, Zalgiris
Kaunas welcomes Alba Berlin at 18:45 CET. Both teams tie for sixth
place in Group E, each with a 1-4 record, which turns this game into a
critical one already. Zalgiris has only lost twice at home and Alba has
not won on the road since November. Read more here.
Here is the schedule for
Game 6 of Top 16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague:
GROUP E
Zalgiris
Kaunas vs. Alba Berlin 92:56 Real
Madrid vs. CSKA Moscow 86:78 Unicaja
Malaga vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul 73:78 Panathinaikos
Athens vs. Brose Baskets Bamberg 76:73
GROUP
F
Besiktas
JK Istanbul vs. Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 55:77 Olympiacos
Piraeus vs. Fenerbahce Ulker 82:71 FC
Barcelona Regal vs. Montepaschi Siena 85:66 Caja
Laboral Vitoria vs. BC Khimki Moscow Region 71:83
January 28, 2013 - bwin MVP for
January: Bobby Brown, Montepaschi Siena
Only
two teams remain undefeated five games into the Top 16, and it's safe
to say that no one would have predicted one of them before the season
started. But if Montepaschi Siena is currently a leading playoff
contender, one major reason is Euroleague Basketball's choice as bwin
MVP for January, point guard Bobby Brown. You could not imagine a much
better start to 2013 than Brown and Siena have enjoyed together in
January. To begin the month, Brown set an ultra-ambitious pace by
breaking the Top 16 single-game scoring record with 41 points in a
comeback road win over Fenerbahce Ulker. In each of the next two games,
he was also the top scorer, as Siena handed Khimki Moscow Region its
first Top 16 loss, then went back on the road to beat defending
champion Olympiacos Piraeus on Brown's game-winning fastbreak layup.
Read more here.
January 26, 2013 - Top 16, Week 5
bwin co-MVPs: Bojan Bogdanovic and Marcus Williams
For
the first time in the Top 16, the weekly bwin MVP honors will be shared
by two players. Bojan Bogdanovic of Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul and
Marcus Williams of Unicaja Malaga both put up a lot of points in
leading their respective teams to crucial wins. In the end, their
performance index ratings were the most among all players on winning
teams in Top 16 Game 5. Bogdanovic starred as his team topped BC Khimki
Moscow Region 85-82 at home on Thursday for their first Top 16 victory.
Bogdanovic tallied 26 points, coming on 5 of 8 two-point shots, 2 of 6
from downtown and a perfect 10 for 10 from the free throw line. He also
recorded 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals before fouling out for his
index of 27. Read more here.
January 25, 2013 - Game 5
Montepaschi
Siena 63 - 57 Besiktas JK
Montepaschi
Siena kept its perfect Top 16 record intact by holding off Besiktas JK
Istanbul 63-57 and taking sole possession of first place in Group F.
The win improved Siena’s record to 5-0, while Besiktas dropped to 0-5
at the bottom of the group. The hosts, who played without Tomas Ress,
controlled the first half as their lead reached 14 points several
times, but Besiktas opened the third quarter with a 0-11 run, and by
holding Siena to only 2 field goals in the quarter, took a 43-45
advantage entering the final 10 minutes. However, Siena’s defense held
its own down the stretch and the hosts pulled out the victory with
Bobby Brown and Viktor Sanikidze scoring key baskets. Sanikidze
finished with 14 points, and Brown had 13. Read more here.
Panathinaikos Athens 54 - 58 Real Madrid
Real
Madrid held Panathinaikos scoreless for the game's final 6 minutes, 30
seconds to nail down a 54-58 comeback victory in Athens on Friday and
remain the only undefeated team in Group E of the Top 16. Madrid is now
5-0 and alone in first place, while Panathinaikos dropped to fourth
place at 3-2. Madrid trailed for more than 34 minutes of the game, by
as many as 14 points, before its closing 0-10 run shocked Panathinaikos
and its home crowd. On a night when its leading scorers were limited to
single digits, Felipe Reyes led Madrid with 13 points, while rookie
Rafael Hettsheimeir added 11 on near-perfect shooting and 5 rebounds.
Panathinaikos had only one double-digit scorer, Michael Bramos with 11
points, as it was held to just 17 points in the second half by Madrid's
defense. Read more here.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 56 - 52 Zalgiris Kaunas
In
an outstanding defensive battle, Anadolu Efes Istanbul improved to 4-1
in Top 16 Group E by edging Zalgiris Kaunas 56-52 at home on Friday.
Efes grabbed its fourth consecutive win in Group E. Zalgiris dropped to
1-4 and registered its third road loss in this year's Top 16. Sasha
Vujacic paced the winners with 12 points. Josh Shipp added 11 while
Dusko Savanovic and Jamon Lucas each had 10 for Efes. Tremmell Darden
and Mindaugas Kuzminskas each scored 10 for Zalgiris. Efes held
Zalgiris scoreless for the opening five minutes, as Jordan Farmar led
the hosts to a 7-0 lead. Shipp and Vujacic helped Efes to keep an
8-point lead after 10 minutes. An outstanding Lucas saw Efes boost its
margin to 25-15, but Kuzminskas kept Zalgiris within 27-23 at halftime.
Read more here.
CSKA Moscow 81 - 94 Unicaja Malaga
Unicaja
Malaga snapped a three-game losing streak by routing CSKA Moscow 81-94
in the Russian capital on Friday evening. The loss ended the Russian
champs’ nine-game winning streak and vaulted Unicaja back into playoff
contention at 2-3. Unicaja's point tally represented the most CSKA has
ever allowed in a Euroleague home game. CSKA, 4-1, visits Group E
leader Real Madrid in the Spanish capital next week. Marcus Williams
starred for Unicaja with a season-high 28 points on 6-of-12 three-point
shooting. The visitors heated up from downtown early to take a 10-point
lead after the first quarter. It reached 17 before Milos Teodosic
fueled CSKA comeback with 8 points and 2 assists in 15-2 run to finish
the half at 43-47. Read more here.
January 24, 2013
Maccabi
Electra 77 - 78 Olympiacos Piraeus
For
the second week in a row, Olympiacos Piraeus was involved in a
thriller, but by edging Maccabi Tel Aviv Electra 77-78, the reigning
Turkish Airlines Euroleague champions ended up on the winning end of a
last-second drama this time. Olympiacos survived in Nokia Arena thanks
to a defensive stand in the final 52 seconds, but the Reds could only
watch as the clock was running out on the hosts who were racing down
the floor for a potential game-winning basket. Alas the buzzer sounded
before Maccabi made a shot attempt and Olympiacos players jumped in joy
to celebrate victory that improved them to 2-3 in Group F, while
Maccabi dropped to 1-4 record. Read more here.
Alba Berlin 82 - 63 Brose Baskets Bamberg
Alba
Berlin made history by winning the first Turkish Airlines Euroleague
Top 16 game by a German club with an 82-63 victory at home over fellow
German side Brose Baskets Bamberg. Both teams came into game with 0-10
records in Top 16 history – including four losses to start Group E.
Nihad Djedovic led the way for Berlin with 20 points along with 8
rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. Yassin Idbihi added 11 points and
Zach Morley and DaShaun Wood both chipped in 10 points for Berlin.
Bamberg remained winless in the group despite 15 points from Bostjan
Nachbar and 13 from Casey Jacobsen. Bamberg coach Chris Fleming trusted
the same starting five as usual in John Goldsberry, Nachbar, Anton
Gavel, Jacobsen and Maik Zirbes. Read more here.
Caja Laboral 79 - 90 FC Barcelona Regal
FC
Barcelona Regal sent a message that echoed all around Top 16 Group F by
topping previously undefeated Caja Laboral Vitoria 79-90 in front of
over 15,000 fans at Fernando Buesa Arena on Thursday. The two teams are
now tie for second place in Group F, each with a 4-1 record and behind
Montepaschi Siena at 4-0. Barcelona broke Vitoria's 17-game winning
streak in both the Spanish League and the Euroleague. Pete Mickeal
paced the winners with 23 points on 10-of-11 two-point shooting. Joe
Ingles added 12 while Ante Tomic and Juan Carlos Navarro each had 11
for Barcelona. Navarro became the first player to reach 3,000 points in
Euroleague history. Maciej Lampe led Vitoria with 21 points and 11
rebounds. Read more here.
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 85 - 82 BC Khimki MR
Fenerbahce
Ulker hung on in a thriller to edge BC Khimki Moscow Region 85-82 on
Thursday at Fenerbahce Ulker Sports Arena for tis first Top 16 victory.
In a game that was close throughout, the fourth quarter featured a
barrage of scoring. The hosts kept a slim lead thanks to excellent free
throw shooting and took advantage of a key Khimki turnover to claim the
win. The key stat for the hosts, who entered the game ranked last in
the league in rebounding, was that they outrebounded Khimki 40-32 –
including 13 offensive rebounds. Bojan Bogdanovic paced the winners
with 26 points, David Andersen added a season-high 18 and Bo McCalebb
netted 16. Zoran Planinic starred for Khimki with 25 points, 6 assists,
4 steals and 13 fouls drawn. Read more here.
January 24, 2013 - TOP 16, Game 5
The fifth week of the Top 16 starts with four games
tonight. Action starts at 19:30 CET with FB Ulker vs. BC Khimki. Later,
the Game of the Week features Maccabi Electra vs. Olympiacos. Four more
games on Friday complete this batch.
Here is the schedule for
Game 5 of Top 16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague:
GROUP E
Alba
Berlin vs. Brose Baskets Bamberg 82:63 CSKA
Moscow vs. Unicaja Malaga 81:94 Anadolu
Efes Istanbul vs. Zalgiris Kaunas 56:52 Panathinaikos
Athens vs. Real Madrid 54:58
GROUP
F
Fenerbahce
Ulker Istanbul vs. BC Khimki MR 85:82 Caja
Laboral vs. FC Barcelona Regal 79:90 Maccabi
Electra vs. Olympiacos Piraeus 77:78 Montepaschi
Siena vs. Besiktas JK 63:57
January 19, 2013 - Top 16, Week 4
MVP: Paul Davis, BC Khimki Moscow Region
Paul
Davis stood head and shoulders above the rest in leading his team to a
momentous victory on Friday and his effort earned him bwin Top 16 Game
4 MVP honors too. Davis starred as BC Khimki Moscow Region was the only
team all week to win at home! He amassed 16 points, 9 rebounds, 2
steals and a club record 5 blocked shots as Khimki routed Maccabi
Electra 88-67. His defensive effort helped Khimki set a Top 16 team
record for most blocks in a game. Davis’s efficiency – 5-of-7 shooting
from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line – helped him amass a
performance index rating of 29, which was the most by any Euroleague
player all week. Read more here.
January 18, 2013 - Game 4
Olympiacos
Piraeus 72 - 74 Montepaschi Siena
Bobby
Brown scored a fast break layup with 1.7 seconds remaining as
Montepaschi Siena finished the game on a 0-7 run over the final 33
seconds for a thrilling 72-74 win over Olympiacos Piraeus at Peace and
Friendship stadium on Friday night. The victory improved Siena to 4-0
and a share of the first place in Group F together with Caja Laboral
Vitoria, while the reigning Turkish Airlines Euroleague champions fell
to 1-3 and fifth place in the Group F standings. During the contest,
the two teams traded leads for the final three quarters, but Olympiacos
went up by 72-67 in the final minute after some magic from Vassilis
Spanoulis. Read more here.
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 75 - 97 Caja Laboral
Caja
Laboral Vitoria cruised to its seventh consecutive Turkish Airlines
Euroleague victory by trouncing Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 75-97 Friday
at Fenerbahce Ulker Sports Arena. Andres Nocioni led five Vitoria
scorers in double figures with 19 points as Coach Zan Tabak’s men
outshot and outrebounded the hosts to win in style. Caja Laboral
improved to 4-0 in Group F, while dropping Fenerbahce to 0-4. The game
was close until midway through the second quarter, but the visitors
finished the half on a 2-15 charge led by Nemanja Bjelica and Fernando
San Emeterio to take a 32-48 halftime lead. The hosts cut the gap to 8
in the third quarter, but Vitoria pushed back and 10 unanswered points
bridging the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth made
it 51-73 to secure the outcome early. Read more here.
BC Khimki MR 88 - 67 Maccabi Electra
BC
Khimki Moscow Region sent a message that echoed all around Top 16 Group
F by thrashing Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 88-67 at home on Friday. Khimki
improved to 3-1 and remained undefeated at home this season. Maccabi
dropped to 1-3 and is two wins away from playoff territory. K.C. Rivers
paced the winners with 20 points. Paul Davis added 16 points, 9
rebounds and 5 blocks, while Petteri Koponen had 15 points for Khimki.
Lior Eliyahu led Maccabi with 17 points. Shawn James added 15 and Devin
Smith 12 for the Israeli champs. Smith scored 10 first-quarter points
and got plenty of help from Eliyahu to give Maccabi a 19-25 lead after
10 minutes. Read more here.
January 17, 2013
Unicaja Malaga 64 -
72 Real Madrid
Real
Madrid rallied from a 14-point deficit to down Unicaja Malaga 64-72 and
stay unbeaten in the Top 16. Madrid improved to 4-0 to keep a share of
first place in Group E with CSKA Moscow, while Unicaja dropped to 1-3
and sits in fifth place. The hosts had the game in control when
Krunoslav Simon scored 8 quick points at the start of the third quarter
and grabbed a 46-32 advantage. But Real Madrid started a comeback with
triples by Nikola Mirotic and Rudy Fernandez before Sergio Rodriguez
scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of triples
that put the visitors up for good. Fernandez finished with 15 points
and Rodriguez with 14 in victory. Read more here.
Zalgiris Kaunas 73 - 87 CSKA Moscow
CSKA
Moscow remained undefeated in Top 16 Group E by downing Zalgiris Kaunas
73-87 in front of a sellout crowd of 15,799 at Zalgirio Arena on
Thursday. CSKA improved to 4-0 in Group E, grabbed its ninth
consecutive win in the 2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague and held on
to a tie for first place with Real Madrid. Zalgiris dropped to 1-3 and
registered its second home loss this season. Milos Teodosic paced the
winners with 24 points and 5 assists. Vladimir Micov added 20 points
and Viktor Khryapa had 15 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals and 2
blocks for the winners. Marko Popovic led Zalgiris with 16 points.
Tremmell Darden added 12, Oliver Lafayette 11 and Ibby Jaaber 10 for
the hosts. Read more here.
Besiktas JK Istanbul 59 - 73 Barcelona Regal
FC
Barcelona Regal broke open a close game by dominating the fourth
quarter to beat Besiktas JK Istanbul 59-73 on the road Thursday. The
Spanish champs held Besiktas scoreless for the first five minutes of
the fourth quarter to crack open what had been a close game. Barca
improved to 3-1 in Group F and registered its first road win, while
Besiktas dropped to 0-4. It was also the third win for Barcelona in as
many games against Besiktas this season. Gasper Vidmar dominated early
to keep Besiktas alive. When the hosts got going, they matched
Barcelona basket for basket, but that all came to an end in the fourth.
Ante Tomic paced Barcelona with 15 points of 7-of-8 shooting. Read more
here.
Brose Baskets Bamberg 76 - 94 Anadolu Efes
Anadolu
Efes Istanbul reeled off its third straight win in Group E and its
first on the road by beating Brose Baskets Bamberg 76-94 at Stechert
Arena on Thursday evening. Efes improved to 3-1 and near the top of the
group standings. The loss kept Bamberg at the bottom of the group and
winless in 10 all-time Last 16 games. The game was closer than the
final score might indicate. Bamberg dominated early, but Efes rallied
to take a 46-47 halftime lead. It was still a 1-point game with three
minutes to go in the third quarter, but Efes held the home side
scoreless for nearly three-minutes to open the fourth quarter, during
which time it scored 7 straight points and amassed a 59-72 lead, from
which Bamberg never recovered. Read more here.
January 16, 2013
Alba
Berlin 73 - 79 Panathinaikos Athens
Jonas
Maciulis erupted for a season-high 28 points to lead Panathinaikos
Athens to a 73-79 victory over Alba Berlin at o2 World in the German
capital. The Greens led for most of the game, though the hosts hung
tough until the very end. Panathinaikos improved to 3-1 and at worst
one win out of first place in Group E, while Berlin remained winless.
Most impressive about Maciulis’s tally was that he needed only 22
minutes and 10 shots to do so. Roko Ukic added 14 points and James Gist
10 for Panathinaikos, which was without star guard Dimitris Diamantidis
due to injury. A big part of Alba staying in the game was its 17
offensive rebounds, but poor shooting overall doomed Coach Sasa
Obradovic’s side. Read more here.
January 17, 2013 - Top 16, Game 4:
Panathinaikos wins Wednesday game
The fourth week of Top 16 is spread over three days
with an early game Wednesday and overall will feature plenty on
rivalries. Panathinaikos defeated Alba Berlin 73-79 in the Greens'
first game at Alba’s o2 World since they beat CSKA there for the 2009
Euroleague crown. Jonas Maciulis scored a season-high 28 points and
came within 1 of his career high as Panathinaikos improved to 3-1 in
Group E, while dropping Alba to 0-10 all-time in the Top 16. Berlin,
which collected 17 offensive rebounds, kept it close till the end, but
Panathinaikos players made big shots whenever threatened. Thursday is
the busy night in Top 16 Game 4 with four contests. Read more here.
Here is the
schedule for Game 4 of Top 16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague:
GROUP E
Alba
Berlin vs. Panathinaikos Athens 73:79 Brose
Baskets vs. Anadolu Efes 76:94 Unicaja
Malaga vs. Real Madrid 64:72 Zalgiris
Kaunas vs. CSKA Moscow 73:87
GROUP
F
Besiktas
JK Istanbul vs. FC Barcelona Regal 59:73 BC
Khimki MR vs. Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 88:67 Fenerbahce
Ulker Istanbul vs. Caja Laboral 75:97 Olympiacos
Piraeus vs. Montepaschi Siena 72:74
January 12, 2013 - Top 16, Week 3
MVP: Ricky Hickman, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
Ricky
Hickman came through when needed most on Thursday night to lead Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv to its first win of the Top 16 and in doing so he also
claimed Top 16, Game 3 bwin MVP honors. Hickman scored 17 of his 24
points in the fourth quarter as Maccabi exploded past Fenerbahce Ulker
91-73 at Nokia Arena. He missed only 4 shots, went 9 for 9 from the
free throw stripe, added 5 rebounds and 5 assists, committed just 1
turnover and drew 9 fouls in amassing a performance index rating of 34,
which was the best among all players on winning teams during the week’s
eight games. The top overall performance came from brose Baskets
Bamebrg forward Bostjan Nachbar, who recorded a personal career-high
and set a team Euroleague record with 35 points in a 90-83s loss at
CSKA Moscow. Read more here.
January 11, 2013 - Game 3
Barcelona
Regal 76 - 68 Olympiacos Piraeus
FC
Barcelona Regal smothered reigning champion Olympiacos Piraeus en route
to a 76-68 victory at Palau Blaugrana on Friday night. Barca kept
Olympiacos star Vassilis Spanoulis to a season-low 9 points in rolling
to a victory, which keeps Coach Xavi Pascual’s men one-victory behind
the Group F leaders. Olympiacos dropped to 1-2. Barcelona was in
control for much of the contest and though the Reds got within4 in both
the second and third quarters and within 6 in the fourth, they were
never able to get within one possession. Ante Tomic paced Barcelona
with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Pete Mickael posted 12 points and 4
blocked shots and Marcelinho Huertas, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Victor
Sada netted 10 each. Read more here.
Real Madrid 75 - 74 Zalgiris Kaunas
Sergio
Rodriguez hit a game-winning three-pointer with 3.5 seconds to go as
Real Madrid survived a thriller to edge Zalgiris Kaunas 75-74 in
Palacio de Deportes in Spain’s capital on Friday night. The win
improves Madrid to 3-0 and a share of Group E lead with CSKA Moscow,
while Zalgiris drops to 1-2, and into a fifth-place tie. The game
itself was a close as it gets, and a triple from Rodriguez was a climax
to an excellent encounter. After Zalgiris built an early 10-point lead,
the hosts quickly caught up and teams kept exchanging leads throughout
the final three quarters and until the final buzzer. The last two
minutes alone featured four lead changes and two ties. Read more here.
Montepaschi Siena 82 - 76 BC Khimki MR
Montepaschi
Siena remained perfect in Top 16 Group F by coming back from a 14-point
early deficit to beat BC Khimki Moscow Region at home 82-76. Siena
improved to 3-0 in the group with Bobby Brown leading the way with 20
points, while Tomas Ress collected 16 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Matthew Janning added 12 points, Viktor Sanikidze had 11 points and 9
rebounds and David Moss chipped in 10 points for the Italian champs.
Khimki dropped to 2-1 and continued its struggles on the road this
season, where the team is 2-5 this season. KC Rivers paced Khimki with
13 points off the bench while Kresimir Loncar had 12 points, Sergey
Monya and Paul Davis 11 points each and Zoran Planinic was held to 10
points, but did hand out 7 assists in the defeat. Read more here.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 71 - 62 Alba Berlin
Anadolu
Efes Istanbul improved to 2-1 in Top 16 Group E by beating Alba Berlin
71-62 at home on Friday. Efes recorded its second consecutive win,
while Alba dropped to 0-3. Jordan Farmar and Dusko Savanovic led the
winners with 15 points apiece. Kerem Tunceri added 11 while Sasha
Vujacic had 10 for Efes. Deon Thompson led Alba with 15 points and 11
rebounds. Je'Kel Foster added 11 points and Yassin Idbihi and DaShaun
Wood each had 10 for the guests. Thompson shined early in the game and
got help from Foster to give Alba a 16-19 edge after 10 minutes.
Tunceri struck three times from downtown in the second quarter to help
Efes take a 35-30 lead at the break. Efes found a new go-to guy in
Farmar, who took over after the break to boost the hosts' lead to 52-44
through three quarters. Read more here.
January 10, 2013
Caja
Laboral Vitoria 77 - 51 Besiktas JK
Caja
Laboral led from start to finish, crushing Besiktas JK Istanbul 77-51
and extending its Euroleague winning streak to six games. Laboral
improved to 3-0 to stay atop Group F, while Besiktas dropped to 0-3.
The hosts stormed out of the gate, using 21 unanswered points to open
up a 25-2 lead and cruised after that. On the way to victory, Laboral
tied a Top 16 defensive record as it allowed only 7 points in the first
10 minutes of the game. Brad Oleson had a game-high 13 points in
victory, while Tibor Pleiss, Maciej Lampe and Milko Bjelica each scored
12. Lampe, who received his bwin December MVP trophy from Euroleague
Basketball president and CEO Jordi Bertomeu before the game, grabbed 10
rebounds and Tibor Pleiss had 9. Read more here.
Panathinaikos Athens 78 - 73 Unicaja Malaga
Panathinaikos
Athens improved to 2-1 in Top 16 Group E by topping Unicaja Malaga
78-73 in the Greek capital on Thursday. Panathinaikos grabbed its fifth
consecutive home win, while Unicaja registered its second straight loss
and dropped to 1-2. James Gist paced the winners with 17 points against
his former team. Marcus Banks and Jonas Maciulis each added 14 and
Dimitris Diamantidis dished 8 assists before leaving the game with a
sprained ankle. Earl Calloway led Unicaja with 14 points. Krunoslav
Simon, Andy Panko and Luka Zoric each added 11 and Kosta Perovic pulled
down 13 rebounds for the guests. Diamantidis led Panathinaikos to a
23-19 lead in the first quarter and an outstanding Banks made it a
double-digit game, 33-23, right after that. Read more here.
Maccabi Electra 91 - 73 Fenerbahce Ulker
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv routed Fenerbahce Ulker 91-73 Thursday night at Nokia
Arena for the Israeli champs’ first Top 16 win. Ricky Hickman and Shawn
James starred with career highs of 24 and 22 points, respectively. The
win means Maccabi will have a share of fifth place in Group F by the
end of Friday’s action with a 1-2 record, while winless Fenerbahce will
be tied for last. Maccabi used a 10-0 first-quarter run to take control
early, but Fenerbahce hung around thanks to Bojan Bogdanovic’s scoring
and Mike Batiste’s hard work on the offensive glass earned the visitors
a 36-36 tie at halftime. Maccabi reserves Sylven Landesberg, Malcolm
Thomas and Moran Roth fueled a third-quarter run that put the hosts up
9 and Roth came up big alongside Hickman and James in the fourth
quarter too. Read more here.
CSKA Moscow 90 - 83 Brose Baskets
CSKA
Moscow pulled out a 90-83 victory over Brose Baskets Bamberg to pick up
its eight consecutive Turkish Airlines Euroleague victory in the
Russian capital on Thursday evening. CSKA improved to 3-0 and remains
atop of the Top 16 Group E standings, while Bamberg drops to 0-3.
Bostjan Nachbar scored 17 points on 5 for 6 three-point shooting in the
opening 11 minutes of the game, and Bamberg nailed 11 three-pointers on
only 14 attempts to stay in the lead for almost entire first half.
After German champs held 45-46 halftime lead, CSKA started to take over
in the second half and took control of the game with a 14-6 run that
bridged the third and the fourth quarter. Read more here.
January 10, 2013 - Top 16, Game 3:
the beat goes on!
The 2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 enters Week 3
with just 5 undefeated teams left in this stage, showing it is being as
competitive, exciting and tough as fans expected - and more. It
promises to be an exciting week in which old friends will reunite, big
showdowns will be played and all teams will keep fighting to get closer
to the quarterfinals. Action gets underway on Thursday at 17:00 CET,
when CSKA Moscow (2-0) hosts Brose Baskets Bamberg (0-2) in Group E.
CSKA is on a seven-game winning streak but Bamberg has always stepped
up in critical games. Both teams faced each other in the regular season
and CSKA got single-digit wins in both games. Three more games will be
played on Thursday. Read more here.
Here is the schedule for
Game 3 of Top 16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague:
GROUP E
CSKA
Moscow vs. Brose Baskets Bamberg 90:83 Panathinaikos
Athens vs. Unicaja Malaga 78:73 Anadolu
Efes Istanbul vs. Alba Berlin 71:62 Real
Madrid vs. Zalgiris Kaunas 75:74
GROUP
F
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv vs. Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 91:73 Caja
Laboral Vitoria vs. Besiktas JK Istanbul 77:51 Montepaschi
Siena vs. BC Khimki Moscow Region 82:76 FC
Barcelona Regal vs. Olympiacos Piraeus 76:68
January 5, 2013 - Top 16, Week 2
MVP: Bobby Brown, Montepaschi Siena
Bobby
Brown enjoyed one of the greatest games in league history on Friday
night as he tied the Euroleague’s single-game scoring record en route
to a come-from-behind 92-98 victory for his Montepaschi Siena over
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul. In doing so, Brown became the bwin MVP of
the week for the third time this season! Brown finished with 41 points
– tying three other players, though none had done so in the past
decade! He not only put up big numbers, but featured prominently in the
highlights too. His final stat line showed him making 8 of 12 two-point
shots, 4 of 6 from behind the arc and he was perfect in 13 trips to the
foul line. He made just 3 turnovers and was fouled 12 times in
compiling a performance index rating of 50 – the most seen in over five
years. Read more here.
January 4, 2013 - Game 2
Fenerbahce
Ulker 92 - 98 Montepaschi Siena
Bobby
Brown was virtually unstoppable on Friday night in tying the
Euroleague’s all-time single-game scoring mark and leading Montepaschi
Siena to a come-from-behind 92-98 victory Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul on
the road. Brown scored 41 points to lead the Italian champs
to their
second-straight win, which keeps them tied for first place in Group F.
Brown also dished 7 assists and was 13 for 13 from the foul line in
racking up a performance index rating of 50, which is tied for sixth
all-time. Fenerbahce led by 8 early in the fourth quarter, but Brown
and co. heated up and took control. The game remained tight until Marco
Carraretto made 2 free throws with 11 seconds left to put the visitors
up two possessions and Brown sealed the win and tied the record with a
slam in the closing seconds. Read more here.
Olympiacos Piraeus 77 - 64 Besiktas JK
In
a game it never trailed, Olympiacos Piraeus got back to its winning
habits by downing Besiktas JK Istanbul 77-64 in Peace and Friendship
Stadium on Friday night. The defending Turkish Airlines Euroleague
champions improve to 1-1 and into a share of fourth place with FC
Barcelona Regal in Group F of Top 16, while Besiktas dropped to 0-2.
Kostas Sloukas hit 2 key three-pointers to help Olympiacos pull away in
the first half. His buzzer-beating triple at the end of the first
quarter, and a four-point play midway through the second, were a major
contribution in a 16-5 run that gave the hosts control of the game.
Back-to-back triples from Vassilis Spanoulis and Georgios Printezis at
the start of the third quarter made it a 16-point game as Olympiacos
never looked back. Read more here.
Zalgiris Kaunas 75 - 63 Unicaja Malaga
Zalgiris
Kaunas picked up its first win of the Top 16 by downing visiting
Unicaja Malaga 75-63 on Friday night. Both teams hold 1-1 record after
two games played and share third place in Group E along with
Panathinaikos Athens and Anodolu Efes Istanbul. Zalgiris led for most
of the game, but could not build a significant lead as Unicaja lingered
for the entire night. However, Ksistof Lavrinovic and Mindaugas
Kuzminskas combined for a 9-2 run to start the fourth quarter, putting
the hosts in control before Paulius Jankunas made a basket-plus-foul to
seal the deal with less than 60 seconds to go. Kuzminskas led the way
with game-high 14 points plus 6 rebounds. Read more here.
Alba Berlin 57 - 75 CSKA Moscow
CSKA
Moscow kept its great momentum going and remained undefeated in Group E
by downing Alba Berlin 57-75 in the German capital on Friday. CSKA
joins Real Madrid atop Group E, each with a 2-0 record. Alba dropped to
0-2. CSKA grabbed its seventh consecutive win in the competition and
stayed undefeated on the road in the 2012-13 Turkish Airlines
Euroleague. Milos Teodosic led the winners with 17 points. Nenad Krstic
added 15 on 9-of-10 free throw shooting while Viktor Khryapa had 10 and
10 rebounds for CSKA. DaShaun Wood led Alba with 14 points and Derrick
Byars added 11. Krstic led a 2-12 run that allowed CSKA to get a 13-24
margin at the end of the first quarter. Read more here.
January 3, 2013
Anadolu
Efes 78 - 64 Panathinaikos Athens
Andolu
Efes Istanbul led from start to finish in sinking Panathinaikos Athens
78-64 at Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall to pick up its first win of the Top 16
on Thursday night. Both teams have 1-1 records after two games in Group
E. As Panathinaikos was without injured guard Dimitris Diamantidis,
Efes got off to a quick start. Joshua Shipp and Jordan Farmar each hit
couple of three-pointers on the way to build a 22-9 lead, and the hosts
never looked back. The margin reached 21 points in the third quarter as
Efes cruised to victory. Farmar led the way with 13 points, Jamon Lucas
finished with 12 points and 5 assists and Dusko Savanovic scored 11.
Read more here.
Brose Baskets Bamberg 67 - 82 Real Madrid
Real
Madrid beat Brose Baskets Bamberg 67-82 Thursday for its second
straight road win to grab a share of first place in Group E. Nikola
Mirotic tallied 19 points and 8 rebounds to pace Los Blancos, who
controlled the action for most of the game. Bamberg rallied in the
third quarter to within 57-59 on a Bostjan Nachbar three-pointer, but
the visitors went back up by 6 through three quarters and Madrid kept
Bamberg without a basket for the first four minutes of the fourth
quarter. Back-to-back three-pointers by Jaycee Carroll made it 61-76
with 4:15 remaining. The lead peaked at 17 and Bamberg never threatened
again. Carroll finished with 13 points, Sergio Rodriguez compiled 11
points and 6 assists and Felipe Reyes added 10 points and 10 boards to
help his team outrebound the hosts 32-42. Read more here.
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 70 - 71 Caja Laboral
Caja
Laboral Vitoria remained undefeated in Group F by edging Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv 70-71 on the road at Nokia Arena on Thursday. Vitoria
improved to 2-0 in Group F and grabbed its fifth consecutive win, while
Maccabi dropped to 0-2. Nemanja Bjelica paced the winners with 17
points. Brad Oleson added 10 and Tibor Pleiss pulled down 11 rebounds,
but it was Fernando San Emeterio who stood out as was the man of the
night with the game-winning shot down the stretch. Ricky Hickman led
Maccabi with 18 points. Darko Planinic added 11, Devin Smith and Sylven
Landesberg each had 10 and Shawn James got 10 rebounds and 3 blocks
despite being troubled by a shoulder injury. Read more here.
BC Khimki MR 78 - 65 Barcelona Regal
BC
Khimki Moscow Region remained undefeated in Top 16 Group F by downing
FC Barcelona Regal 78-65 at home on Thursday. Khimki, which leads Group
F with a 2-0 record, handed Barcelona its first road loss of the
season. Khimki is undefeated at home in all three competitions – the
Euroleague, VTB League and Russian League. Barcelona saw its 17-game
winning streak in the Top 16 end. Barcelona had not lost in the Top 16
since February 3, 2010, 67-66 against Partizan. Zoran Planinic led the
winners with 16 points and 6 assists. Vitaly Fridzon added 13 points
while Paul Davis and Alexey Zhukanenko each had 10 for Khimki. Ante
Tomic led Barcelona with 16 points. Read more here.
January 3, 2013 - Top 16, Game 2:
new year, same great basketball!
A new year starts with great, exciting European
basketball, as the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 reaches its second
week
ready to offer drama, intensity and great showdowns all over the
continent. One of the two road winners in Game 1 faces a tough
challenge in its first Top 16 home game in almost three years, as BC
Khimki Moscow Region faces FC Barcelona Regal in Group F on Thursday at
17:00 CET. Barcelona is undefeated on the road until now and reached
the 100-point mark against Fenerbahce Ulker last week. Also in Group F,
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv hosts Caja Laboral Vitoria at 20:05 CET, in a
modern classic in the competition. Read more here.
Here is the
schedule for Game 2 of Top 16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague:
GROUP
E
Brose
Baskets Bamberg vs. Real Madrid 67:82 Anadolu
Efes Istanbul vs. Panathinaikos Athens 78:64
Zalgiris
Kaunas vs. Unicaja Malaga 75:63
Alba
Berlin vs. CSKA Moscow 57:75
GROUP
F
BC
Khimki Moscow Region vs. FC Barcelona Regal 78:65
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv vs. Caja Laboral Vitoria 70:71
Fenerbahce
Ulker Istanbul vs. Montepaschi Siena 92:98
Olympiacos
Piraeus vs. Besiktas JK Istanbul 77:64
December 31, 2012 - bwin MVP for
December: Maciej Lampe, Caja Laboral Vitoria
A
year ago, a long-term injury forced him to watch his new team miss the
Top 16 for the first time this century. One year later, center Maciej
Lampe proved to be the difference as Caja Laboral Vitoria not only
returned to the Top 16 against all odds, but opened it with a
resounding victory over the defending champions. For his sizeable and
timely contributions to Caja Laboral's revival, Lampe is Euroleague
Basketball's choice as the bwin MVP for December. A month that started
with the team facing a do-or-die situation on the road ended with Caja
Laboral enjoying a four-game winning streak, the second-longest in the
competition. Lampe was key to that turnaround as the major inside force
around which Caja Laboral built its offense. Read more here.
December 29, 2012 - Top 16, Week 1
MVP: Ante Tomic, FC Barcelona Regal
At
the start of a new phase that challenges everyone to raise their game,
FC Barcelona Regal center Ante Tomic did that and more with a
near-perfect all-around performance to earn the bwin MVP honor for Week
1 of the Top 16! Tomic packed as many stats as possible into less than
21 minutes on the floor as Barcelona defeated Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul
100-78 on Friday for the highest Top 16 point total in almost two
years. In a game that Barcelona never trailed, Tomic started strong and
finished with the only double-double of the Top 16's first week: 12
points on 5-for-6 two-point shooting and 11 rebounds, including his
career high of 10 on defense. Read more here.
December 28, 2012 - Game 1
Panathinaikos
Athens 67 - 66 Zalgiris Kaunas
Panathinaikos
Athens opened the Top 16 with a hard-fought 67-66 victory over Zalgiris
Kaunas at OAKA in the Greek capital. The Greens led for much of the
contest, but Ksistof Lavrinovic led Zalgiris back in the fourth
quarter. After a brilliant defensive play by Ibby Jaaber, Darjus
Lavrinovic had an open jumper to win it, but missed and Panathinaikos
celebrated the win. Jason Kapono scored 16 points on 4-of-6 three-point
shooting in 17 minutes in his Euroleague debut for Panathinaikos, which
played much of the game without star guard Dimitris Diamantidis, who
left in the first quarter due to injury. Michael Bramos added 15 – all
on three-pointers – and Stephane Lasme netted 14, including the
go-ahead free throw with 51.8 seconds to go. Read more here.
FC Barcelona Regal 100 - 78 Fenerbahce Ulker
FC
Barcelona Regal got off to a strong start in the 2012-13 Turkish
Airlines Euroleague Top 16 by thrashing Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul
100-78 at home on Friday. Barcelona bounced back from its only loss
this season in style and sent a message that echoed all around the
competition. Marcelinho Huertas and Juan Carlos Navarro led six
Barcelona scorers in double digits with 14 points apiece. Navarro needs
just 11 more to be the first Euroleague player to reach the 3,000-point
mark. Erazem Lorbek, Pete Mickeal and Ante Tomic each had 12, while
Nate Jawai scored 10 for Barcelona. Tomic added 11 rebounds for a
double-double. Read more here.
CSKA Moscow 90 - 71 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
CSKA
Moscow started the 2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 in style
by downing Anadolu Efes Istanbul 90-71 in the Russian capital on
Friday. CSKA used a great second half to get its first win in Group E
and grab its sixth straight triumph, handing Efes its third consecutive
loss. Sonny Weems and Nenad Krstic led the winners with 22 points
apiece. Viktor Khryapa, Dionte Christmas and Milos Teodosic added 11
each for CSKA. Former Theodoros Papaloukas also made his Euroleague
return for CSKA. Jordan Farmar led Efes with 24 points and 6 assists
but none of his teammates scored in double digits. Both teams combined
for 8-of-8 three-point shots in the opening six minutes. Read more here.
December 27, 2012
Montepaschi
Siena 79 - 69 Maccabi Electra
Montepaschi
Siena bested Maccabi Tel Aviv 79-69 at Palaestra on Thursday night in
the third meeting between the two teams this year. The Italian champs
demonstrated their credentials in a great display of offensive variety
and tight defense, establishing Siena as one of the teams to watch in
the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16. Tomas Ress was Montepaschi
Siena’s standout this time around. He scored a career-high 18 points,
grabbed 5 rebounds and dished 2 assists, also coming up with some key
blocks and shots from outside. Bobby Brown was marked tightly but still
managed 16 points and 7 assists, while David Moss added 13 points,
Kristjan Kangur 11 and Matt Janning 10. Read more here.
Unicaja Malaga 85 - 82 Brose Baskets
Unicaja
Malaga opened the 2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 by
rallying to beat Brose Baskets Bamberg 85-82 in Group E on Thursday.
Unicaja earned its fifth consecutive home win, while Bamberg registered
its third straight road loss. Marcus Williams paced the winners with 18
points. Andy Panko added 16 and 7 rebounds in his first Euroleague game
with Unicaja. Sharrod Ford led Bamberg with 16 points on 4-of-6
three-point shooting. Anton Gavel added 15 points and 8 assists, while
Bostjan Nachbar scored 10 points for the guests. Four different players
struck from downtown in a 0-15 Bamberg run which allowed the guests to
take a 15-19 edge after 10 minutes. Read more here.
Caja Laboral 82 - 74 Olympiacos Piraeus
Caja
Laboral Vitoria continued its strong run in the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague with an 82-74 victory at Fernando Buesa Arena over
Olympiacos Piraeus to start Group F play and snap the reigning
champions’ seven-game winning streak. Maciej Lampe scored a career-high
25 points to lead Caja Laboral, which has now won four straight games.
Lampe’s previous high was 19 points from November 2009 when he played
for Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv. Brad Oleson added 15 points, Thomas
Heurtal had 13 points and 7 assists and Andres Nocioni chipped in 11
points. Olympiacos, which had beaten Vitoria twice in the regular
season, lost despite 18 points from Vassilis Spanoulis. Read more here.
Besiktas JK Istanbul 75 - 80 BC Khimki MR
BC
Khimki Moscow Region opened the action in Top 16 Group F just as it
hoped to by downing Besiktas JK Istanbul 75-80 at Abdi Ipekci Sports
Hall on Thursday night. Besiktas held a 26-14 lead early in the second
quarter, but Khimki went on a 6-22 run that put the visitors up 34-41
and gave them lead for good. Khimki took its biggest lead of the game
in the third quarter when Vitaly Fridzon needed only 80 second to sink
three triples for a 53-65 edge, and the visitors managed to hang on for
a big win. Fridzon shot made 4 of 5 three-pointers and scored 12 of his
team-high 20 points in the third quarter. Paul Davis added 17, and
Zoran Planinic had 13 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds in victory. Read
more here.
Alba Berlin 63 - 77 Real Madrid
Real
Madrid opened the Top 16 with an important 63-77 road win over Alba
Berlin at o2 World in the German capital. The visitors led for nearly
the entire game spare for a brief stretch in the second quarter.
Nonetheless, the hosts battled hard, kept it close throughout and
closed the gap to 57-60 early in the fourth quarter before the hosts
pulled away to close out the win. Sergio Llull paced Los Blancos with
15 points and 6 assists, while Rudy Fernandez, Nikola Mirotic and
Jaycee Carroll added 13 points apiece. Rudy also had 7 rebounds and 4
assists for Madrid, which benefitted from 20 Alba turnovers. Albert
Miralles netted 14 points and JeKel Foster scored 10 in his first
Euroleague appearance for Berlin. Read more here.
December 27, 2012 - Top 16 game 1:
Stage is set for Top 16 thrills!
The new and expanded Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 gets rolling this
week
with eight games in six countries on two nights. The 16 teams that
survived four tough regular season groups will begin a marathon of 14
games after which only half will survive and advance to the playoffs –
the next stage on the march to the 2013 Final Four at the o2 Arena in
London. The Top 16 tips off with a pair of games – one from each group
– at 19:00 CET on Thursday. In Group E, Alba Berlin hosts Real Madrid
for the first time since Los Blancos swept a pair of Top 16 games
between them in the 2008-09 season. In Group F, it’s Besiktas JK
Istanbul vs. BC Khimki Moscow Region in a duel pitting the reigning
Turkish champion against the Eurocup champion. Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 1 of Top 16
Turkish Airlines Euroleague:
GROUP E
Alba
Berlin vs. Real Madrid 63:77 Unicaja
Malaga vs. Brose Baskets 85:82 CSKA
Moscow vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul 90:71 Panathinaikos
Athens vs. Zalgiris Kaunas 67:66
GROUP
F
Besiktas
JK Istanbul vs. BC Khimki Moscow Region 75:80 Caja
Laboral Vitoria vs. Olympiacos Piraeus 82:74 Montepaschi
Siena vs. Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 79:69 FC
Barcelona Regal Vs. Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 100:78
December 19, 2012 - Top 16 Groups
breakdown, Group F
Maccabi
Electra’s recently appointed captain Lior Eliyahu is the Israeli
champs’ most experienced player with two appearances in the Euroleague
title game under his belt. Eliyahu’s arsenal is not what one would
expect from a 2.07-meter power forward; his game is based on speed, an
impressive array of unorthodox moves in the paint and great court
vision, all skills which help to make the big men around him better.
Eliyahu’s combination of skills, experience and his position as a fan
favorite make him the face of Maccabi’s success. Two time Euroleague
champion and Final Four MVP Vassilis Spanoulis is at his best again
this season as evidenced by him earning bwin MVP for November honors.
Read more here.
December 18, 2012 - Top 16 Groups
breakdown, Group E
Two-time
Euroleague Rising Star Award winner Nikola Mirotic has blossomed from
promising talent to important contributor to bona fide star in a matter
of seasons. Now the do-it-all forward is a go-to guy for Los Blancos.
Statistics are not enough to fully see what Mirotic means to Madrid,
since the attention opponents must pay to him often opens up
opportunities for fellow stars. Nevertheless, Mirotic is the only
player Coach Laso has started in every game and ranks among the team’s
leaders in scoring, rebounding, blocks and fouls drawn. And as age 21,
the best is yet to come. Marko Popovic is more than just a great
scorer. Now in his second stint and fourth season with Zalgiris,
Popovic has emerged as a team leader on top of his status as a fan
favorite and a winner. Read more here.
Kostas
Papanikolaou secured his place among the Olympiacos Piraeus greats with
another clutch performance in Thursday’s must-win clash against BC
Khimki Moscow Region by leading his team to victory and earning the
title of Top 16 Week 14 bwin MVP. Papanikolaou set career highs with 21
points, 12 rebounds and 6 three-pointers made in posting a performance
index rating of 37 to lead his team to a 79-70 victory and second place
in Group F. The index rating was the most in the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague in Top 16 Game 14 and tied for the second best since the
start of the Top 16. Papanikolaou also contributed 2 steals and 2
blocked shots. The second-best index of from the Top 16 finales came
from Caja Laboral center Maciej Lampe, who amassed a career-best 27
points plus 9 rebounds in a 76-64 playoff-clinching victory over
Montepaschi Siena. Read more 
Besiktas
JK Istanbul came back from an 18-point deficit to beat city rival
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 80-73 and finish off its Turkish Airlines
Euroleague Top 16 Group F campaign with a victory. Daniel Ewing scored
17 points and Damir Markota had 16 points for Besiktas, which took
seventh place in the group with a 2-12 record. Ricky Minard added 13
points while Gasper Vidmar had 10 points for the winners. The 7-point
margin meant Fenerbahce finished last in the group with a 2-12 record
despite 14 points from Oguz Savas, 12 points by Uros Tripkovic and 10
from Ikman Karaman. Bo McCalebb scored 9 points in the first five
minutes, but left the game injured. Read more 
Alba
Berlin finished its Turkish Airlines Euroleague campaign on a winning
note by beating Unicaja Malaga 55-68 on the road on Thursday night. The
game was decided by one run in the first quarter, in which Alba surged
ahead and never led its lead slip back to single digits. Jekel Foster
paced the winners with 13 points. Derrick Byars added 12 –including two
big baskets from beyond the arc – in addition to 5 rebounds. The
Berliners bow out of the competition with a 4-10 mark and seventh place
in Group E. Txemi Urtasun and Luka Zoric both netted 12 points to lead
the hosts, who also finished their Euroleague run. Unicaja dropped to
7-7 and finished in fifth place. The biggest lead of the game, 21
points, was established in Alba’s favor at the start of the fourth
quarter. Read more 
Reigning
Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus stormed into
the playoffs and took out BC Khimki Moscow Region with a 79-70 victory
at the Peace and Friendship Stadium on Thursday night. Kostas
Papanikolaou turned in a masterful evening with 21 points on 6-of-6
three point shooting plus 12 rebounds and 2 blocks to pace the winners,
who will have home-court advantage when they meet Anadolu Efes Istanbul
in the playoffs. Olympiacos finished second in Top 16 group F with a
9-5 record, while Khimki bowed out at 7-7 and in fifth place. The Reds
first took charge with a 14-2 run bridged the first and second
quarters. Olympiacos continued piling it on as Georgios Printezis
boosted the lead to 45-30 with two minutes left in the second half.
James Augustine revived Khimki as it rallied to within 45-38 at the
break. Read more 
High-flying
Real Madrid beat Anadolu Efes Istanbul 86-66 in the Spanish capital on
Thursday to claim second place in Group E and the home-court advantage
in its upcoming playoffs duel with Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv. The result
snapped Madrid’s three-game losing skid and boosted its record to 10-4.
Meanwhile, Efes lost its third consecutive game and dropped to 9-5, to
place third place in the group by the virtue of holding a tiebreaker
over 9-5 Panathinaikos Athens. Efes will play reigning champion
Olympiacos Piraeus in the playoffs. Madrid started pulling away in the
first quarter with three triples from Rudy Fernandez to open up an
11-point lead. Jaycee Carroll scored 9 quick points in the second as
the margin reached 20 points. Efes made couple of 0-7 runs in the third
quarter to cut the deficit, but Sergio Llull finished the quarter
stringing together 8 points to extend the margin to 65-48 and Madrid
cruised after that. Read more 
CSKA
Moscow secured first place in Group E of the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague Top 16 with a hard-fought 63-69 victory at Panathinaikos
Athens, setting up a playoffs date with Caja Laboral Vitoria. Viktor
Khryapa led the way with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists while
Sasha Kaun scored 11 points and both Milos Tedosic and Nenad Krstic hit
for 9 points for the visitors. Moscow improved to 11-3 in Group E
despite committing 17 turnovers in the game. Michael Bramos came off
the Panathinaikos bench to lead all scorers with 18 points while
Stephane Lasme scored 11 points. Athens star Dimitris Diamantidis was
held scoreless, though he collected 3 assists, 4 steals, 2 rebounds and
1 block. Panathinaikos finished the Top 16 at 9-5 in fourth place and
will take on FC Barcelona Regal in the playoffs. Read more 
In
a thrilling game to the final buzzer FC Barcelona Regal defeated
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv on Thursday night, 74-71, in Group F.
Barcelona was already group champ before the game. Maccabi qualifies
for the playoffs third, as its loss combines with the Olympiacos win
put the Reds up for second place. Maccabi had its chances until the
start of the last quarter but then, a young star that waited patiently
all season, finally exploded. Alejandro Abrines had a career-best
performance as he soared for 21 points, 12 in the final period, and 3
rebounds to lead Barca to the final win. Ante Tomic added 13 points and
Juan Carlos Navarro, who could not finish the game due to a slight foot
injury, had 12. For Maccabi, Ricky Hickman and Devin Smith had 16
points apiece, David Logan added 11 and Shawn James hit 10. Read more 
Caja
Laboral Vitoria advanced to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Playoffs
from Top 16 Group F by downing Montepaschi Siena 76-64 in a do-or-die
battle on Thursday. Vitoria finished Group F in fourth place with an
8-5 record. It will face Group E champion CSKA Moscow in the upcoming
playoffs. Montepaschi was sixth at 7-7 and now out of the competition.
Maciej Lampe paced the winners with 27 points on 12-of-19 two-point
shooting and 9 rebounds. Andres Nocioni and Fernando San Emeterio each
scored 13 points for Vitoria. Nocioni added 13 rebounds for a
double-double. Bobby Brown led Montepaschi with 24 points but none of
his teammates scored in double digits. Montepaschi used a strong start
to get a 4-8 lead. It didn't last long, however, as Nocioni and Lampe
fueled a 19-3 run which gave Vitoria its first double-digit lead,
23-11, early in the second quarter. Read more 
In
the season finale for both teams, Zalgiris Kaunas downed Brose Baskets
bamber 90-81 in Zalgirio Arena on Thursday. Zalgiris finished the Top
16 with 6-8 record and in the sixth place of Group E, while Bamberg
lost all 14 games and will have to wait another year for its first-ever
Top 16 victory. Zalgiris led for most of the night, but did not manage
to pull away to a double-digit lead until starting the fourth quarter
when Darjus and Ksistof Lavrinovic scored 6 points in a 9-1 run to make
it 75-64. The visitors never managed to come closer than 6 points the
rest of the way. Ksistof Lavrinovic led in victory with 20 points and 8
rebounds and Mindaugas Kuzminkas collected 13 points plus 9 rebounds.
Marko Popovic added 12 points and 6 assists, while Rimantas Kaukenas
also scored 12 for Zalgiris. Read more 
The
2012-13 Turkish Airlines 
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv has been one of the hottest teams in the Turkish
Airlines Euroleague over the last full month of the Top 16 play, and
Devin Smith stands out as the key player responsible for his team's
success. While Maccabi has reeled off four successive wins in March to
put itself on the brink of a playoff berth, Smith ranked among the
Euroleague's best 10 players in most major statistical categories:
performance index rating, scoring, two- and three-point shooting
percentage, rebounds, steals and blocked shots. For his clear
leadership role in Maccabi’s march from near-elimination to Group E's
second place with one Top 16 game to play, Smith is Euroleague
Basketball's choice as the bwin MVP for March. It’s been a wild ride
for Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv this season. After winning its regular
season group, Maccabi stumbled to a 2-5 start, including three home
losses, in the Top 16. Read more 
Nate Jawai
was unstoppable for Barcelona Regal on Friday night, dominating inside,
leading his team to victory with a career night and in the process
earning Top 16 Week 13 bwin MVP honors. Jawai was the leading man in
Barca’s 69-77 victory over Montepaschi in Siena, Italy. Making just his
third start of the season in place of injured February MVP Ante Tomic,
Jawai went for 22 points and 12 rebounds in compiling a performance
index rating of 34, which led all players in the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague this week. The Aussie center shot 9 for 10 from the field,
made 4 of 5 free throws and also blocked 2 shots in brilliant effort.
The second best index for the week came from the hands of Rudy
Fernandez, who drained 6 of 8 three-pointers en route to 24 points and
a 30 index in an 81-72 loss at CSKA Moscow. Read more 
Olympiacos
Piraeus rallied for a 73-78 victory over Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul on
Friday night at Fenerbahce Ulker Sports Arena to move closer to a
playoff spot. The hosts enjoyed an 8-point edge early in the fourth
quarter, but the defending champs answered with a 0-13 charge –taking
the lead for good on a Vassilis Spanoulis three-pointer. Fenerbahce
kept it close till the final minute, but Olympiacos was cool down the
stretch. The Reds improved to 8-5 with the win and tie Maccabi Electra
for second place in Top 16 Group F, though neither has clinched a
playoff berth yet. Fenerbahce Ulker dropped its sixth straight game as
its record slipped to 2-11. Spanoulis finished with 14 points and 7
assists for the winners, while Kostas Papanikolaou had 16 points on
4-of-4 three-point shooting and Georgios Printezis, who surpassed the
1,000-point milestone in the opening quarter, added 12 points. Read
more 
In
its last home game of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague season, Alba
Berlin gave its fans something more to cheer about by crushing visiting
Zalgiris Kaunas 77-55 on Friday night at o2 World in the German
capital. The win improved Berlin to 3-10 in seventh place of Top 16
Group E, while Zalgirs dropped to 5-8 and sits in sixth place. In a
clash of two teams already eliminated from the playoff hunt, Alba made
a huge 27-3 run over a span of almost 10 minutes that bridged the first
and second quarters and led 41-21 at halftime. The hosts cruised to
victory in the second half, led by Deon Thompson who finished with 16
points. Derrick Byars netted 12, while Nihad Djedovic, DaShaun Wood and
Ali Traore scored 8 apiece. For the visitors, Ksistof Lavrinovic had 15
points, Mario Delas added 8, while Mindaugas Kuzminskas scored 7 in
defeat. Read more 
In
one of the best games so far this season, Caja Laboral Vitoria improved
its chances to reach the playoffs from Top 16 Group F by edging BC
Khimki Moscow Region 82-86 on the road on Friday. Both teams are now
tied at 7-6 in Group F and retain chances to make it to the playoffs.
Andres Nocioni paced the winners with 24 points. Maciej Lampe added 21,
Nemanja Bjelica scored 13 and Fernando San Emeterio got 10, while Omar
Cook dished 11 assists for Vitoria. Paul Davis led five Khimki scorers
in double digits with 15 points. Sergey Monya added 13, Petteri Koponen
and James Augustine each had 12, K.C. Rivers 10 and Zoran Planinic
dished 9 assists for the hosts. Nocioni had 11 points in the first
quarter and a buzzer-beating basket by Nemanja Bjelica gave Vitoria a
19-22 lead after 10 minutes. Read more 
Panathinaikos
Athens advanced to the 2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague playoffs
from Top 16 Group E by thrashing Brose Baskets Bamberg 60-82 in Germany
on Thursday. Panathinaikos improved to 9-4 in Group E, joining Real
Madrid and Anadolu Efes Istanbul in a three-way tie for second place,
one win behind from group leader CSKA Moscow. Panathinaikos hosts CSKA
and Efes visits Madrid in the Top 16 finale next week, which will
determine the final standings in the group. Bamberg dropped to 0-13 and
will try to break its 19-game losing streak in this round against
Zalgiris Kaunas next week. Jonas Maciulis paced the winners with 24
points on 6-of-7 three-point shooting. Stephane Lasme and James Gist
each added 11 while Sofoklis Schortsanitis had 10 for Panathinaikos. 
Maccabi
Electra dominated Besiktas JK Istanbul 101-58 at Nokia Arena in Tel
Aviv on Thursday night for its sixth straight victory. The Israeli
champs set and tied Top 16 records with a thorough performance in
climbing to 8-5 in the Top 16 Group F standings and edging closer to a
playoff berth. In fact, Maccabi could find itself in the playoffs by
the end of the week, but will need other results to go its way Friday.
Maccabi led by 18 after 10 minutes, 34 at halftime and 56 through three
quarters in a game that was never in doubt. The final margin of
victory, 43, tied for the largest ever in a Top 16 game, first set by
Tau Ceramica Vitoria in a 99-56 victory over Lottomatica Roma in 2007.
The difference at halftime set a new Top 16 mark for largest lead at
the break, which had belonged to Barcelona Regal, which led Fenerbahce
Ulker 19-50 earlier this season. Read more 
Unicaja
Malaga grabbed its fifth consecutive road win in Top 16 Group E by
rallying to down Anadolu Efes Istanbul 64-70 on Thursday. Unicaja
improved to 7-6 in Group E to remain alive, but will be out of the
playoffs race if Panathinaikos Athens beats Brose Baskets Bamberg later
Thursday. If Bamberg wins, however, Unicaja will advance to the
playoffs if it beats Alba and CSKA Moscow tops Panathinaikos next week.
Efes dropped to 9-4, has already qualified to the playoffs and faces a
big showdown against Real Madrid in the Spanish capital next week.
Marcus Williams paced the winners with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 7
assists. Luka Zoric added 21 points and 8 rebounds while Txemi Urtasun
got 12 points for Unicaja. Jordan Farmar led Efes with 13 points. Kerem
Gonlum added 11 for the hosts. Zoric had 11 points in the first quarter
to help Unicaja to get a 14-19 lead late in the first quarter. Read
more 
CSKA
Moscow re-established itself as the team to beat in Top 16 Group E with
an 81-72 victory over Real Madrid at Alexander Gomelskiy Universal
Sports Hall in the Russian capital. Sonny Weems scored 21 points and
Milos Teodosic added 17 points and 7 assists to pace CSKA, which
improved to 10-3 in Group E and can finish atop the group if it beats
Panathinaikos next week. Madrid slipped to 9-4, but remains in the hunt
for home-court advantage in the playoffs. CSKA led from start to
finish, taking control with aggressive defense and easy fast break
baskets in the first quarter and never looking back. The lead peaked at
18 in the second and third quarters. Rudy Fernandez heated up in the
third and helped Los Blancos trim the deficit to single figures. Read
more 
Petteri
Koponen’s breakout game will long be remembered by the BC Khimki Moscow
Region guard. Not only did he lead his team to a 99-76 victory over
visiting Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul, but Koponen’s dominant performance
also secured him bwin MVP honors for the first time. The Finnish guard
came off the bench for season-highs of 23 points and 7 assists en route
to a performance index rating of 35, which was the most among all
players in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague this week to make him the
Top 16 Game 12 bwin MVP. Koponen missed just one shot total – one of
his 4 from behind the arc – in a near perfect performance. He also
committed just a single turnover en route to him impressive totals.
Beyond the stats, Koponen had a hand in all of Khimki’s points in an
11-2 charge to finish the third quarter that restored his team’s
dominance and paved the way to victory. Read more 
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv continued its hot run in the second-half of the Top 16
by taking down reigning champion Olympiacos Piraeus 67-73 Friday night
at Peace and Friendship Stadium. It was the fifth straight win for the
Israeli champs – and fourth on the road – to improve to 7-5 and into a
four-way tie for second place in Group F. Olympiacos has the same
record, as does Montepaschi Siena and BC Khimki Moscow Region. Maccabi
never trailed, pulling away to 13-21 on David Logan’s hot shooting at
the end of the first quarter and extending the lead to 18 at halftime.
When Ricky Hickman gave the visitors a 39-54 lead late in the third
quarter, it looks over for the Reds. However Vassilis Spanoulis ignited
a 14-2 run and set up an interesting fourth quarter. Read more 
Tutku
Acik scored a driving layup with 0.6 seconds to go as Besiktas JK
Istanbul edged Montepaschi Siena 72-70 for its first-ever Top 16
victory at Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall on Friday night. The thrilling win
improves the already-eliminated Besiktas squad to 1-11 in Group F,
while Siena suffered its third consecutive loss, dropped to 7-5 and saw
its playoff hopes take a hit. After the teams traded leads for the
entire first half, midway through the third quarter Siena built the
largest margin of the night, 39-46. Besiktas came back, and with
back-to-back triples from Serhat Cetin and Damir Markota regained the
lead, 67-66. Siena still entered the final minute up 68-70, but Acik
scored two driving layups in the final 45 seconds to give Besiktas the
historic win. Read more 
BC
Khimki Moscow Region got closer to claiming a playoff spot from Top 16
Group F by downing Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 99-76 at home on Friday.
Khimki improved to 7-5 in Group F. Fenerbahce dropped to 2-10 and
stayed seventh in Group F with no chance to advance. Petteri Koponen
paced the winners with 23 points on just one missed shot and 7 assists.
Sergey Monya added 18 points, Paul Davis had 14, Vitaly Fridzon 13 and
Egor Vyaltsev contributed 10 for Khimki. Bo McCalebb led Fenerbahce
with 18 points, 7 assists and 5 steals. David Andersen added 14 points
for the guests. Andersen and McCalebb shined early and a free throw by
Emir Preldzic made it a double-digit game, 9-19. Fridzon and Koponen
allowed Khimki to get within 22-23 after 10 minutes. Read more 
Panathinaikos
Athens edged Real Madrid 73-74 at the Community of Madrid Sports Palace
on Thursday for a crucial victory that puts the Greens on the verge of
qualifying to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Playoffs. The win lifted
Panathinaikos to 8-4 in fourth place of Group E, and it leaves it with
a chance to grab a home-court advantage in the playoffs as well.
Meanwhile, Madrid qualified for the playoffs despite the loss, due to
CSKA Moscow beating Unicaja Malaga earlier. However Real Madrid dropped
to 9-3 and now is in a three-way tie for first place in the group with
CSKA Moscow and Anadolu Efes. The clash between the two Euroleague
powers was close throughout, with neither team holding a lead larger
than 7 points at any time. Read more 
CSKA
Moscow booked its place in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague playoffs
with a 66-70 victory over Unicaja Malaga on Thursday night. A tight
game was only decided in the final minute of the fourth quarter, thanks
to a clutch play from Sonny Weems. The pace was frenetic and Unicaja
looked capable of defeating CSKA for the second time this season, but
the visitors proved just too strong at the end. Sasha Kaun took CSKA
through some tough moments and led the scoring with 16 points. Milos
Teodosic and Weems added 13 points apiece – Teodosic also dished 5
assists – and Zoran Erceg scored 10. For Unicaja, Marcus Williams
netted 12 points, including 3 three-pointers on 50% shooting. Earl
Calloway, Zoran Dragic and Krunoslav Simon all contributed 10 points
each. Read more 
Zalgiris
Kaunas gave its fans plenty to cheer about in an exciting 79-71 victory
over Anadolu Efes Istanbul on Thursday night at Zalgirio Arena. The
hosts pieced together a 20-1 charge that bridged the second and third
quarters to take a double-digit lead and Efes never got closer than 7
the rest of the way. The win bumped Efes’s record to 5-7,although the
Lithuanian champs have been mathematically eliminated from playoff
contention. Efes, which entered the game tied for first place, slipped
to 9-3. A win would have secured a playoff berth for Efes, which now
must wait for other results to advance this week. Darjus Lavrinovic
paced the home side with 24 points to match his season high. Mindaugas
Kuzminskas added 15 and Rimantas Kaukenas 9 for the victors. Jamon
Lucas paced Efes with 14 points and 7 rebounds, Semih Erden added 13
points, Jordan Farmar 12 and 4 steals and Dusko Savanovic scored 11.
Read more 
FC
Barcelona Regal became the Top 16 Group F champion by topping Caja
Laboral Vitoria 83-74 in an all-Spanish League showdown at Palau
Blaugrana on Thursday. Barcelona won its 10th straight game and
improved to 11-1 to seal first place in Group F with two games
remaining. Vitoria dropped to 6-6, but retains its chances to make it
to the playoffs in what promises to be a close race until the end of
the Top 16. Erazem Lorbek paced the winners with 16 points, Ante Tomic
tallied 14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, scoring king Juan Carlos
Navarro recorded 14 points and 6 assists and C.J. Wallace came off the
bench for 13 points in 13 minutes on perfect shooting. Maciej Lampe
carried Caja Laboral with 21 points, Andres Nocioni added 11 and Thomas
Heurtel 10. Barcelona shined on defense early and Wallace had 6 points
late in the first quarter to give the hosts a 18-12 edge after 10
minutes. Read more 
Alba
Berlin hung on for a 72-75 victory over German League foe Brose Baskets
Bamberg Wednesday night at Stechert Arena to sweep the season series
between the rivals. In a spirited game that featured four lead changes
and three ties in the fourth quarter alone, DaShaun Wood came through
with a key steal on Anton Gavel with less than 10 seconds to go to
protect a 1-point lead. Heiko Schaffartzik tacked on 2 critical free
throws to make it 72-75 and a Gavel miss and a Matt Walsh line
violation sealed the Berlin victory. The victory lifted Berlin to 2-10
in Top 16 Group E, while keeping Bamberg winless in yet another narrow
loss. Deon Thompson paced Alba with 15 points, Ali Traore added 14,
JeKel Foster 11 and Zach Morley 10, while Nihad Djedovic dished 7
assists and Wood 6. Sharrod Ford led the hosts with 16 points, 9
rebounds and 2 blocks. Read more 
Luka
Zoric continued his impressive Top 16 with a dominant performance in
the paint at both ends to lead Unicaja to a crucial road win at Real
Madrid on Friday. In doing so, Luka Zoric became the first player this
season to claim weekly MVP honors twice by becoming the Top 16 Game 11
bwin MVP. Zoric tallied 21 points – making 7 of 10 from the field and 7
of 10 from the line – and grabbed 12 rebounds in addition to 2 steals
and 2 blocks for a performance index rating of 33, which was the most
of any player in Top 16 Game 11. His 12 boards were also the week’s
high. Zoric eclipsed another player with a previous Top 16 MVP under
his belt for this week’s title. Ricky Hickman of Maccabi Electra Tel
Aviv dominated in the fourth quarter to lead his team to a pivotal win
over BC Khimki Moscow Region. Read more 
CSKA
Moscow took a crucial step towards locking down a playoffs spot in Top
16 Group E by downing Zalgiris Kaunas 70-61 in the Russian capital on
Friday. CSKA improved to 8-3 and can qualify for the playoffs with a
road win against Unicaja in the next Game of the Week, regardless of
other scores. Zalgiris dropped to 4-7 and is all but mathematically out
of chances to advance. Sonny Weems led the winners with 13 points.
Viktor Khryapa added 12 and 8 rebounds, while Nenad Krstic just missed
a double-double with 9 points and 8 rebounds for CSKA. Rimantas
Kaukenas led Zalgiris with 16 points and Oliver Lafayette added 11 for
the guests. Back-to-back baskets by Krstic allowed CSKA to get a 17-12
lead at the end of the first quarter. CSKA improved its margin to 35-26
at halftime and a triple by Zoran Erceg made it a 14-point game late in
the third quarter. Read more 
Reigning
Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus sent a message
that echoed all around Top 16 Group F by edging Montepaschi Siena 67-68
on the road on Thursday. The two teams are now tied for second place in
Group F, each with a 7-4 record. Kostas Papanikolaou and Kostas Sloukas
paced the winners with 11 points apiece. Kyle Hines and Vassilis
Spanoulis each scored 10 for Olympiacos. Hines added 11 rebounds for a
double-double. Matt Janning and Kristjan Kangur led Montepaschi with 14
points apiece. David Moss added 11 for the hosts. Acie Law shined early
to give Olympiacos a 4-12 margin. Montepaschi improved its defense and
a triple by Janning gave the hosts their first lead, 18-17, after 10
minutes. Janning kept pushing Montepaschi and a layup by Benjamin Eze
made it a double-digit game, 36-26. Read more 
Anadolu
Efes Istanbul is on the verge of securing a place in the Turkish
Airlines Euroleague Playoffs after a thrilling 89-86 overtime win over
Brose Baskets Bamberg at Abdi Ipekci Sport Hall on Thursday. With the
win Efes improved to 9-2 and second place in the Group E standings.
Efes now needs one more win or one Unicaja Malaga loss – which could
happen as soon as Friday – to advance. Meanwhile Bamberg remains
winless in the Top 16. Efes went up by 13 points in the second quarter,
but the visitors erased the deficit by halftime and the lead changed
hands several times in the second half. At the end of regulation, at
76-76, Bamberg had a chance to win it, but Casey Jacobsen missed a
potential game-winning layup. Efes took control in the extra session
with a triple from Dusko Savanovic and a jumper from Jordan Farmar that
put the hosts up for good. Read more 
Nikola
Mirotic’s record-setting display in an overtime victory at Zalgiris
Kaunas was the top performance of the week and it wasn’t even close.
The two-time Euroleague Rising Star Award winner amassed career highs
of 31 points and 11 rebounds in compiling a performance index rating of
37 to earn Top 16 Game 10 bwin MVP honors. Mirotic also dished 2
assists and blocked 2 shots, but the story of his game was at the
charity stripe. Mirotic made 18 of 18 free throws to set Euroleague
records for both most in a game and best accuracy. Moreover, 2 of his
free throws with 3.4 seconds left in regulation sent the game to
overtime and 1 more in the final 30 seconds of the extra session helped
ice a 104-105 victory. Fenerbahce Ulker scorer Bojan Bogdanovic was
second on the list of the week’s stars. Read more 
BC
Khimki Moscow Region improved to 6-4 in Top 16 Group F by downing
Montepaschi Siena 78-71 at home on Friday. Khimki is tied with
defending Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus for
third place in Group F, one win behind Montepaschi Siena, second at
7-3. K.C. Rivers paced the winners with 19 points. Paul Davis added 18
and 7 rebounds while Zoran Planinic dished 9 assists for Khimki. Bobby
Brown led Montepaschi with 17 points. Kristjan Kangur added 12 and
Benjamin Ortner 11 for the guests. Rivers had 8 points and six other
Khimki players scored in the first quarter to give the hosts a 25-20
lead after 10 minutes. Davis led an 8-0 run that boosted the hosts'
margin to 39-26. Brown stepped up late in the first half and sank a
wild buzzer-beating shot to get Montepaschi within 44-37 at halftime.
Read more 
Nikola
Mirotic was at his best in leading Real Madrid to a memorable 104-105
overtime victory over Zalgiris Kaunas at Zalgirio Arena on Thursday
night. Mirotic forced overtime when he grabbed an offensive rebound and
sank 2 free throws with 3.4 seconds left in regulation to tie the game
at 84-84. He then nailed a big three with 33 seconds left in overtime
and added 2 more from the line to make it 94-101, essentially sealing a
monumental victory. Mirotic finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 2
blocked shots. He set a new Euroleague record for free throws made and
accuracy by going 18 for 18 from the line. The win kept Los Blancos in
first place in Group E with a 9-1 record. Madrid will mathematically
advance to the playoffs if Panathinaikos beats Unicaja Malaga on
Friday. Read more 
CSKA
Moscow rolled to an important 58-78 road win over Brose Baskets Bamberg
at Stechert Arena on Wednesday night to remain in the battle for a top
spot in Top 16 Group E. The Russian champs never trailed after the
opening minute en route to their seventh win alongside just three
losses, which leaves CSKA in third place and just one win out of
second. Bamberg dropped its 10th in a row to remain in the Group E
cellar. Nenad Krstic led a balanced CSKA attack with 17 points, 8
rebounds and 4 assists, while Vladimir Micov added 17 off the bench.
Milos Teodosic delivered 16 points and 8 assists, Sonny Weems scored
11, Sasha Kaun 10 and Andrey Vorontsevich hauled in 11 rebounds for the
visitors, who dominated the boards 24-41. Read more 
Panathinaikos
Athens took another big step towards a quarterfinal spot with a 75-62
win over Anadolu Efes in the Greek capital on Friday night. The victory
improved the Greens’ record to 6-3 and a share of third place in Group
E, while Efes saw its seven-game win streak snapped and dropped to 7-2
and second place. Efes, however, holds the tiebreaker over
Panathinaikos, as the Turkish side won the first match-up by 14 points.
The two teams were in a close affair for more than three quarters in
OAKA. Efes made a 0-8 run that bridged the third and the fourth quarter
to tie the game at 56-56. But Panathinaikos responded with a string of
16 unanswered points, with Roko Ukic making shots on both ends of the
run that opened up the first double-digit lead of the game and sealed
the deal. Read more 
Zalgiris
Kaunas rejoined the race to reach the playoffs in Top 16 Group E by
topping Unicaja Malaga 67-83 in Spain on Friday. Unicaja and Zalgiris
are tied for fifth place in Group E, each with a 4-5 record. Mindaugas
Kuzminskas paced the winners with 15 points. Oliver Lafayette added 14
for Zalgiris, all of them in the second half. Krunoslav Simon led
Unicaja with 13 points. Luka Zoric added 12 and Sergi Vidal had 10 for
the hosts. Unicaja shined early, as Simon and Zoric allowed the hosts
to get a 17-7 margin. Darjus Lavrinovic and Rimas Kaukenas stepped up
to bring Zalgiris within 19-16 after 10 minutes. Zalgiris found a new
go-to guy in Kuzminskas, who led a 0-10 run that put the guests back
ahead, 24-26. He got some help from Tremmell Darden to boost the
guests' margin to 31-38 at halftime. Read more 
CSKA
Moscow improved to 6-3 in Top 16 Group E by downing Alba Berlin 80-65
in the Russian capital on Friday. CSKA held on to third place in Group
E and took another step towards sealing a playoffs spot. Alba dropped
to 1-8 and is all but mathematically out of chances to reach the next
round. Nenad Krstic paced the winners with 20 points on 8-of-12
shooting and 4 assists. Vladimir Micov, Sonny Weems and Andrey
Vorontsevich each added 10 points for CSKA. DaShaun Wood led Alba with
11 points. Deon Thompson, Nihad Djedovic and Zach Morley added 10
apiece for the guests. Alba had a good start and Thompson gave the
guests a 12-15 lead late in the first quarter. It didn't last long,
however, as Krstic and Micov fueled a 20-1 run that gave CSKA the lead
for good, 32-16. Read more 
FC
Barcelona Regal took another step towards the Euroleague Playoffs from
Top 16 Group F by downing BC Khimki Moscow Region 71-69 at home on
Thursday. Barcelona improved to 8-1, leads Group F and has all but
mathematically sealed a ticket to the playoffs. Khimki dropped to 5-4
and keeps good chances to reach the playoffs for the first time in club
history. Barcelona set a new Euroleague record for most consecutive Top
16 home wins with 22. Its last Top 16 home loss came against Unicaja on
March 30, 2006. Scoring king Juan Carlos Navarro paced the winners with
19 points on 5-of-10 three-point shooting, Ante Tomic added 16 points
and Erazem Lorbek tallied 11. Paul Davis paced Khimki with 18 points
and 9 rebounds and Zoran Planinic and Vitaly Fridzon added 12 points
apiece in defeat. Read more 
Montepaschi
Siena returned to its winning ways in streaking past Fenerbahce Ulker
87-69 in Group F of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16. Aleksandar
Rasic came off the bench to go 4 for 4 on three-pointers in scoring a
team-high 16 points for Siena, which improved to 7-2 in the group.
Daniel Hackett also was a spark off the bench with 13 points, 4 assists
and 8 fouls drawn, while Bobby Brown and David Moss both scored 12
points each and Matt Janning added 10. Fenerbahce dropped to 2-7 in the
group despite 22 points from Bojan Bogdanovic and 10 points, 5 rebounds
and 7 fouls drawn by Bo McCalebb, who returned to the court on which he
starred and won back-to-back Italian league titles in the previous two
seasons. Read more 
Reigning
Turkish Airlines Euroleague champs Olympiacos Piraeus picked up its
fifth consecutive win after downing Besiktas JK Istanbul 60-79 at Abdi
Ipekci Arena on Thursday. The Reds improved to 6-3 in Group F, and
could be in a share of second place at the end of the night if results
go their way, while Besiktas remains winless in its first ever Top 16
appearance. Olympiacos took the lead for good at the start of the
second quarter as Vassilis Spanoulis fueled a 7-22 spurt that gave the
visitors a double-digit advantage, which they controlled the rest of
the way. Josh Powell led in victory with 16 points on 7-for-8 two-point
shooting. Kostas Papanikolaou netted 11, Spanoulis finished with 9
points and dished out 8 assists, while Georgios Printezis had 9 points
plus 8 rebounds. For Besiktas, Gasper Vidmar collected 13 points and 7
rebounds, while Patrick Christopher also scored 13. Read more 
Maccabi
Electra rejuvenated its playoffs hopes with a 92-61 pasting off
Montepaschi Siena on Thursday night at Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv. Devin
Smith and Yogev Ohayon each scored 19 to pace the Israeli champs, who
improved to 3-5 in Top 16 Group F. The result knocked Siena to 6-2 as
it dropped from a share of first place in the standings. After an even
opening quarter, Smith and David Logan led a 14-3 second-quarter run
that put the Israeli champs up by 10 at halftime. The lead reached 20
in the third quarter. After Siena center Benjamin Eze helped narrow the
gap to 12 early in the fourth quarter, Maccabi took off behind Smith
and Guy Pnini, reeling off 21 unanswered points to secure the win.
Smith was 5 for 6 from downtown as Maccabi made 60% of its
three-pointers. Read more 
FC
Barcelona sent a message that echoed all through Top 16 Group F by
downing Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 60-99 in Turkey on Thursday.
Barcelona improved to 7-1 to remain atop Group F. Fenerbahce dropped to
2-6 and saw its playoff hopes take a serious hit. Pete Mickeal paced
the winners with 17 points on a perfect shooting night. Marcelinho
Huertas and Ante Tomic each added 14 while Juan Carlos Navarro and Joe
Ingles netted 13 apiece for Barcelona. Bojan Bogdanovic had 18 points
for Barcelona and Bo McCalebb added 17. A 0-9 run that Navarro capped
with a three-pointer gave Barcelona a 6-15 lead. Navarro hit two more
from downtown to make it a double-digit game, 13-23, after 10 minutes.
Huertas and Tomic fueled a 0-10 run that Xavi Rabaseda capped with a
dunk to break the game open, 15-33. Barcelona kept rolling, led by an
outstanding Huertas, and boosted its margin to 19-50 at halftime. Read
more 
Montepaschi
Siena hit 15 three-pointers on 26 attempts en route to an 85-74 victory
over Caja Laboral Vitoria on Friday night. The win improved Siena’s
record to 6-1 and a share of first place in Top 16 Group F alongside FC
Barcelona Regal, while Caja Laboral dropped its third straight game and
now has a 4-3 record. After trailing 35-39 early in the third quarter,
the Italian champions went on an 18-4 run to take the lead for good.
Siena hit 6 threes in the third quarter and 4 more early in the fourth
to grab full control of the game and cruise to victory. Bobby Brown led
the way with 18 points and 5 assists, while Matt Janning scored 16
points on 4-for-5 three-point shooting. Daniel Hackett also finished
with 16, Benjamin Eze had 10 points and David Moss grabbed 11 rebounds
along with his 9 points. Read more 
Fenerbahce
Ulker won the first ever Euroleague meeting against its Istanbul rival
Besiktas JK 78-72 on Friday at Fenerbahce Ulker Sports Arena. Bojan
Bogdanovic scored 25 points to pace Fener in an exciting game that
featured five lead changes in the last four minutes of the game.
Bogdanovic attacked the rim to put the hosts ahead for good, 71-70,
with two minutes to go. Ogus Savas scored the next two baskets, while
Besiktas committed two crucial turnovers that let the game slip away.
Besiktas led by as much as 13 points in the second quarter and 10 in
the third. David Andersen added 13 points and 7 rebounds for the
winners, who improved to 2-5 in Top 16 group F. Savas scored 12 and Bo
McCalebb had 10 points and 4 steals for the winners. Read more 
Anadolu
Efes claimed a big scalp to round off the first half of the Turkish
Airlines Euroleague Top 16, handing Real Madrid its first defeat of the
competition’s second stage. The 74-72 win extends Efes’s own unbeaten
streak to six games and moved it into a tie with Madrid for first place
in the group. Efes tried to pull away, but was repeatedly pegged back
by Real Madrid’s persistent players until the game came down to one
shot. Jaycee Carroll missed a clutch three-pointer and Efes took the
victory. Jamon Lucas led Efes with 16 points and 5 assists. Dusko
Savanovic helped out with 13 points and 8 rebounds and Jordan Farmar
netted 10 points. For Madrid, Rudy Fernandez amassed 14 points, 7
rebounds and 6 assists. Felipe Reyes and Carroll each scored 11 and
Mirza Begic and Sergio Rodriguez both had 10. Read more 
Marko
Popovic sank 3 free throws with no time on the clock in overtime to
lead Zalgiris Kaunas over Brose Baskets Bamberg 87-88 at Stechert Arena
on Thursday night. It was a thrilling game throughout and Bamberg
seemed on track for its first Top 16 win when Anton Gavel sank free
throws with 16 seconds left to put the German champs in front, but
Gavel went from hero to goat when he fouled Popovic on the game’s final
play. The win lifted Zalgiris to 3-4 in Top 16 Group E, which is good
for a tie for fifth place and one victory out of fourth. Popovic paced
the Lithuanian champs with 21 points, while Ksistof Lavrinovic netted
16, Rimantas Kaukenas 14 and Darjus Lavrinovic 11 for the visitors, who
outrebounded Bamberg 27-38. Read more 
Marcus
Williams’s pull-up three-pointer with less than a second to go lifted
Unicaja Malaga to a 65-67 victory over Alba Berlin at o2 World in the
German capital on Thursday. The shot capped an exciting game with both
teams in it until the buzzer. The win gave Unicaja a 3-4 record and
brought it within one of fourth place at the midway point of the Top
16. Alba slipped to 1-6 in Group E. The hosts seemed to gain the
momentum when they took a 42-34 halftime lead, but Krunoslav Simon
opened the third quarter with 3 three-pointers to put Unicaja back
infront. Alba regained control early in the fourth quarter after a
technical foul on Luka Zoric. Unicaja stayed close from that point, but
did not go ahead until Williams sank his game-winning shot. Simon paced
Unicaja with 12 points, Fran Vazquez added 11 and Earl Calloway and
Williams each finished with 10. Read more 
CSKA
Moscow used a big third quarter to roll past Panathinaikos Athens 86-69
and get back on the winning track in the Top 16. The victory snapped
CSKA’s two-game losing streak as it improved to 5-2 and could move into
second place in Group E by the end of the night. Panathinaikos dropped
to 4-3. The hosts took the lead for good after only four minutes, but
did not take full control of the game until midway through the third
quarter. After triples from James Gist and Jason Kapono got
Panathinaikos within 39-38, Sonny Weems scored 9 points in a 19-5 run
that CSKA used to pull away and never look back. Milos Teodosic made 4
of 6 three-pointers to lead led the way with 20 points plus 7 assists.
Weems scored 19 points, while Sasha Kaun had 13 points, 8 rebounds and
5 blocks. Read more 
For
the third time this season, Rudy Fernandez is the week’s bwin MVP after
sparkling in leading Real Madrid to victory. This time though,
Fernandez outdid himself. Rudy recorded a double-double in setting
career highs with 13 rebounds and performance index rating with 34,
which led all players in this week’s Turkish Airlines Euroleague games.
Fernandez also tied Montepaschi Siena guard Bobby Brown for the most
weekly MVP crowns this season. He was the main catalyst as Madrid
remained unbeaten in the Top 16 by besting CSKA Moscow 86-78 in
overtime in the Spanish capital. Rudy amassed 20 points, by making 5 of
6 two-point baskets and 2 of 7 triples, as well as the aforementioned
13 rebounds plus 5 assists and 3 steals. Read more 
Panathinaikos
Athens survived a big fourth-quarter scare before edging Brose Baskets
Bamberg 76-73 at OAKA in the Greek capital on Friday night. The win
improved the Greens to 4-2 and a share of third place in Group E, while
Bamberg remains winless in the Top 16. Panathinaikos led for most of
the night, but the lead never reached double digits. After the hosts
made it 51-42 near the end of the third quarter, Bamberg answered with
a 0-7 run to end the third and then took the lead midway through the
fourth quarter. However, Dimitris Diamantidis took matters in his own
hands, assisting and scoring to put the Greens in front, before free
throws from Marcus Banks and Jonas Maciulis sealed the win. Michael
Bramos netted 16 points for the victors, while Lasme had with 15 points
plus 9 rebounds. Read more 
FC
Barcelona Regal grabbed its fourth consecutive Top 16 Group F victory
by topping previously undefeated Montepaschi Siena 85-66 at home on
Thursday. The two teams are now tied atop the group's standings, each
with a 5-1 record. Caja Laboral Vitoria has the chance to join them if
it beats BC Khimki Moscow Region on Friday. The Italian champs hung
around early, but reserve Xavi Rabaseda reeled off 10 second-quarter
points and got plenty of help from Ante Tomic and an outstanding
Marcelinho Huertas as the hosts grabbed 48-29 halftime lead and never
looked back. Tomic led the winners with 20 points and 5 assists,
Rabaseda finished with 16 points, Nate Jawai netted 11 and Marcelinho
Huertas tallied 10 points and 5 assists. Read more 
Zalgiris
Kaunas roared past Alba Berlin 92-56 to snap a three-game losing streak
and get back in the hunt in Top 16 Group E. Marko Popovic recorded 22
points and dished 5 assists to lead the Lithuanian champs, who improved
to 2-4 with the win, while dropping Alba to 1-5. Berlin hung around
early, but some nice baskets by Tremmell Darden gave the hosts a slim
lead. Mindaugas Kuzminskas came off the bench in the second quarter to
help push the advantage to 11 before it sttled at 44-37 at halftime. It
was Marko Popovic who put the game away with 12 points in 14-0 run to
open the second half and the Lithuanian champs never looked back.
Darden added 17 points and Kuzminskas 14 for the hosts, who shook off
the absence of Ibby Jaaber to romp to an impressive win. Read more 
Montepaschi
Siena kept its perfect Top 16 record intact by holding off Besiktas JK
Istanbul 63-57 and taking sole possession of first place in Group F.
The win improved Siena’s record to 5-0, while Besiktas dropped to 0-5
at the bottom of the group. The hosts, who played without Tomas Ress,
controlled the first half as their lead reached 14 points several
times, but Besiktas opened the third quarter with a 0-11 run, and by
holding Siena to only 2 field goals in the quarter, took a 43-45
advantage entering the final 10 minutes. However, Siena’s defense held
its own down the stretch and the hosts pulled out the victory with
Bobby Brown and Viktor Sanikidze scoring key baskets. Sanikidze
finished with 14 points, and Brown had 13. Read more 
In
an outstanding defensive battle, Anadolu Efes Istanbul improved to 4-1
in Top 16 Group E by edging Zalgiris Kaunas 56-52 at home on Friday.
Efes grabbed its fourth consecutive win in Group E. Zalgiris dropped to
1-4 and registered its third road loss in this year's Top 16. Sasha
Vujacic paced the winners with 12 points. Josh Shipp added 11 while
Dusko Savanovic and Jamon Lucas each had 10 for Efes. Tremmell Darden
and Mindaugas Kuzminskas each scored 10 for Zalgiris. Efes held
Zalgiris scoreless for the opening five minutes, as Jordan Farmar led
the hosts to a 7-0 lead. Shipp and Vujacic helped Efes to keep an
8-point lead after 10 minutes. An outstanding Lucas saw Efes boost its
margin to 25-15, but Kuzminskas kept Zalgiris within 27-23 at halftime.
Read more 
For
the second week in a row, Olympiacos Piraeus was involved in a
thriller, but by edging Maccabi Tel Aviv Electra 77-78, the reigning
Turkish Airlines Euroleague champions ended up on the winning end of a
last-second drama this time. Olympiacos survived in Nokia Arena thanks
to a defensive stand in the final 52 seconds, but the Reds could only
watch as the clock was running out on the hosts who were racing down
the floor for a potential game-winning basket. Alas the buzzer sounded
before Maccabi made a shot attempt and Olympiacos players jumped in joy
to celebrate victory that improved them to 2-3 in Group F, while
Maccabi dropped to 1-4 record. Read more 
Alba
Berlin made history by winning the first Turkish Airlines Euroleague
Top 16 game by a German club with an 82-63 victory at home over fellow
German side Brose Baskets Bamberg. Both teams came into game with 0-10
records in Top 16 history – including four losses to start Group E.
Nihad Djedovic led the way for Berlin with 20 points along with 8
rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. Yassin Idbihi added 11 points and
Zach Morley and DaShaun Wood both chipped in 10 points for Berlin.
Bamberg remained winless in the group despite 15 points from Bostjan
Nachbar and 13 from Casey Jacobsen. Bamberg coach Chris Fleming trusted
the same starting five as usual in John Goldsberry, Nachbar, Anton
Gavel, Jacobsen and Maik Zirbes. Read more 
Caja
Laboral Vitoria cruised to its seventh consecutive Turkish Airlines
Euroleague victory by trouncing Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 75-97 Friday
at Fenerbahce Ulker Sports Arena. Andres Nocioni led five Vitoria
scorers in double figures with 19 points as Coach Zan Tabak’s men
outshot and outrebounded the hosts to win in style. Caja Laboral
improved to 4-0 in Group F, while dropping Fenerbahce to 0-4. The game
was close until midway through the second quarter, but the visitors
finished the half on a 2-15 charge led by Nemanja Bjelica and Fernando
San Emeterio to take a 32-48 halftime lead. The hosts cut the gap to 8
in the third quarter, but Vitoria pushed back and 10 unanswered points
bridging the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth made
it 51-73 to secure the outcome early. Read more 
BC
Khimki Moscow Region sent a message that echoed all around Top 16 Group
F by thrashing Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 88-67 at home on Friday. Khimki
improved to 3-1 and remained undefeated at home this season. Maccabi
dropped to 1-3 and is two wins away from playoff territory. K.C. Rivers
paced the winners with 20 points. Paul Davis added 16 points, 9
rebounds and 5 blocks, while Petteri Koponen had 15 points for Khimki.
Lior Eliyahu led Maccabi with 17 points. Shawn James added 15 and Devin
Smith 12 for the Israeli champs. Smith scored 10 first-quarter points
and got plenty of help from Eliyahu to give Maccabi a 19-25 lead after
10 minutes. Read more 
CSKA
Moscow remained undefeated in Top 16 Group E by downing Zalgiris Kaunas
73-87 in front of a sellout crowd of 15,799 at Zalgirio Arena on
Thursday. CSKA improved to 4-0 in Group E, grabbed its ninth
consecutive win in the 2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague and held on
to a tie for first place with Real Madrid. Zalgiris dropped to 1-3 and
registered its second home loss this season. Milos Teodosic paced the
winners with 24 points and 5 assists. Vladimir Micov added 20 points
and Viktor Khryapa had 15 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals and 2
blocks for the winners. Marko Popovic led Zalgiris with 16 points.
Tremmell Darden added 12, Oliver Lafayette 11 and Ibby Jaaber 10 for
the hosts. Read more 
Ricky
Hickman came through when needed most on Thursday night to lead Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv to its first win of the Top 16 and in doing so he also
claimed Top 16, Game 3 bwin MVP honors. Hickman scored 17 of his 24
points in the fourth quarter as Maccabi exploded past Fenerbahce Ulker
91-73 at Nokia Arena. He missed only 4 shots, went 9 for 9 from the
free throw stripe, added 5 rebounds and 5 assists, committed just 1
turnover and drew 9 fouls in amassing a performance index rating of 34,
which was the best among all players on winning teams during the week’s
eight games. The top overall performance came from brose Baskets
Bamebrg forward Bostjan Nachbar, who recorded a personal career-high
and set a team Euroleague record with 35 points in a 90-83s loss at
CSKA Moscow. Read more 
Sergio
Rodriguez hit a game-winning three-pointer with 3.5 seconds to go as
Real Madrid survived a thriller to edge Zalgiris Kaunas 75-74 in
Palacio de Deportes in Spain’s capital on Friday night. The win
improves Madrid to 3-0 and a share of Group E lead with CSKA Moscow,
while Zalgiris drops to 1-2, and into a fifth-place tie. The game
itself was a close as it gets, and a triple from Rodriguez was a climax
to an excellent encounter. After Zalgiris built an early 10-point lead,
the hosts quickly caught up and teams kept exchanging leads throughout
the final three quarters and until the final buzzer. The last two
minutes alone featured four lead changes and two ties. Read more 
Panathinaikos
Athens improved to 2-1 in Top 16 Group E by topping Unicaja Malaga
78-73 in the Greek capital on Thursday. Panathinaikos grabbed its fifth
consecutive home win, while Unicaja registered its second straight loss
and dropped to 1-2. James Gist paced the winners with 17 points against
his former team. Marcus Banks and Jonas Maciulis each added 14 and
Dimitris Diamantidis dished 8 assists before leaving the game with a
sprained ankle. Earl Calloway led Unicaja with 14 points. Krunoslav
Simon, Andy Panko and Luka Zoric each added 11 and Kosta Perovic pulled
down 13 rebounds for the guests. Diamantidis led Panathinaikos to a
23-19 lead in the first quarter and an outstanding Banks made it a
double-digit game, 33-23, right after that. Read more 
Real
Madrid beat Brose Baskets Bamberg 67-82 Thursday for its second
straight road win to grab a share of first place in Group E. Nikola
Mirotic tallied 19 points and 8 rebounds to pace Los Blancos, who
controlled the action for most of the game. Bamberg rallied in the
third quarter to within 57-59 on a Bostjan Nachbar three-pointer, but
the visitors went back up by 6 through three quarters and Madrid kept
Bamberg without a basket for the first four minutes of the fourth
quarter. Back-to-back three-pointers by Jaycee Carroll made it 61-76
with 4:15 remaining. The lead peaked at 17 and Bamberg never threatened
again. Carroll finished with 13 points, Sergio Rodriguez compiled 11
points and 6 assists and Felipe Reyes added 10 points and 10 boards to
help his team outrebound the hosts 32-42. Read more 
BC
Khimki Moscow Region remained undefeated in Top 16 Group F by downing
FC Barcelona Regal 78-65 at home on Thursday. Khimki, which leads Group
F with a 2-0 record, handed Barcelona its first road loss of the
season. Khimki is undefeated at home in all three competitions – the
Euroleague, VTB League and Russian League. Barcelona saw its 17-game
winning streak in the Top 16 end. Barcelona had not lost in the Top 16
since February 3, 2010, 67-66 against Partizan. Zoran Planinic led the
winners with 16 points and 6 assists. Vitaly Fridzon added 13 points
while Paul Davis and Alexey Zhukanenko each had 10 for Khimki. Ante
Tomic led Barcelona with 16 points. Read more 
FC
Barcelona Regal got off to a strong start in the 2012-13 Turkish
Airlines Euroleague Top 16 by thrashing Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul
100-78 at home on Friday. Barcelona bounced back from its only loss
this season in style and sent a message that echoed all around the
competition. Marcelinho Huertas and Juan Carlos Navarro led six
Barcelona scorers in double digits with 14 points apiece. Navarro needs
just 11 more to be the first Euroleague player to reach the 3,000-point
mark. Erazem Lorbek, Pete Mickeal and Ante Tomic each had 12, while
Nate Jawai scored 10 for Barcelona. Tomic added 11 rebounds for a
double-double. Read more 
Unicaja
Malaga opened the 2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 by
rallying to beat Brose Baskets Bamberg 85-82 in Group E on Thursday.
Unicaja earned its fifth consecutive home win, while Bamberg registered
its third straight road loss. Marcus Williams paced the winners with 18
points. Andy Panko added 16 and 7 rebounds in his first Euroleague game
with Unicaja. Sharrod Ford led Bamberg with 16 points on 4-of-6
three-point shooting. Anton Gavel added 15 points and 8 assists, while
Bostjan Nachbar scored 10 points for the guests. Four different players
struck from downtown in a 0-15 Bamberg run which allowed the guests to
take a 15-19 edge after 10 minutes. Read more 
BC
Khimki Moscow Region opened the action in Top 16 Group F just as it
hoped to by downing Besiktas JK Istanbul 75-80 at Abdi Ipekci Sports
Hall on Thursday night. Besiktas held a 26-14 lead early in the second
quarter, but Khimki went on a 6-22 run that put the visitors up 34-41
and gave them lead for good. Khimki took its biggest lead of the game
in the third quarter when Vitaly Fridzon needed only 80 second to sink
three triples for a 53-65 edge, and the visitors managed to hang on for
a big win. Fridzon shot made 4 of 5 three-pointers and scored 12 of his
team-high 20 points in the third quarter. Paul Davis added 17, and
Zoran Planinic had 13 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds in victory. Read
more 
Maccabi
Electra’s recently appointed captain Lior Eliyahu is the Israeli
champs’ most experienced player with two appearances in the Euroleague
title game under his belt. Eliyahu’s arsenal is not what one would
expect from a 2.07-meter power forward; his game is based on speed, an
impressive array of unorthodox moves in the paint and great court
vision, all skills which help to make the big men around him better.
Eliyahu’s combination of skills, experience and his position as a fan
favorite make him the face of Maccabi’s success. Two time Euroleague
champion and Final Four MVP Vassilis Spanoulis is at his best again
this season as evidenced by him earning bwin MVP for November honors.
Read more 
Two-time
Euroleague Rising Star Award winner Nikola Mirotic has blossomed from
promising talent to important contributor to bona fide star in a matter
of seasons. Now the do-it-all forward is a go-to guy for Los Blancos.
Statistics are not enough to fully see what Mirotic means to Madrid,
since the attention opponents must pay to him often opens up
opportunities for fellow stars. Nevertheless, Mirotic is the only
player Coach Laso has started in every game and ranks among the team’s
leaders in scoring, rebounding, blocks and fouls drawn. And as age 21,
the best is yet to come. Marko Popovic is more than just a great
scorer. Now in his second stint and fourth season with Zalgiris,
Popovic has emerged as a team leader on top of his status as a fan
favorite and a winner. Read more 
