April 12, 2014 - Top 16, Round 14 bwin MVP: Justin Dentmon, Zalgiris Kaunas
In
a round of games that featured history being made throughout, one man’s
performance stood above the rest. Justin Dentmon dominated for Zalgiris
Kaunas in leading his team to a sweet 87-80 victory over Real Madrid in
the Lithuanian champs’ final Euroleague game of the season. Dentmon
peppered the nets for 36 points on 7-of-11 three-point shooting en
route to a performance index rating of 40, which led all players in Top
16 Round 14 and made him the bwin MVP for the third time this season.
During the game, Dentmon set the competition record for most
three-pointers in a season with 74. He also set a new team mark for
points in a game. His all-around performance also included 4-of-5
two-point shooting, 7 free throws made without a miss, 5 rebounds, 3
assists and 2 steals. Read more here.
April 11, 2014 - Game 14
Unicaja Malaga 95 - 85 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Unicaja
Malaga snapped a four-game losing streak to finish its Turkish Airlines
Euroleague campaign as a winner by beating playoff-bound EA7 Emporio
Armani Milan 95-85 on Friday night at Martin Carpena Arena. The game
was tied midway through the second quarter, but Unicaja used an 8-0 run
to take a promising halftime advantage and pulled away with an 11-0
third-quarter charge. The win gave Unicaja a 6-8 record in Top 16 Group
E, which placed it fifth. Milan dropped to 10-4, but had already
clinched second place in the group. Vladimir Stimac paced the Unicaja
attack with 16 points, Mindaugas Kuzminskas tallied 13 points and 9
rebounds, Zoran Dragic and Txemi Urtasun added 11 points apiece and
Fran Vazquez scored 10. Read more here.
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul 64 - 55 Partizan NIS Belgrade
Decimated
by injuries to start the season, Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul
completed an inspirational comeback story with a 64-55 home win over
Partizan NIS Belgrade on Friday to claim the fourth and last playoff
spot, the first in club history, from Top 16 Group F. A packed crowd of
11,400 at Abdi Ipecki Arena was on its feet all night long to will
their team to victory and a 7-7 record in Top 16, good for a
fourth-place tie with Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar. Galatasaray won their
tie-break by virtue of a better points difference in their Top 16 group
(+7) than Lokomotiv (-17) and will now face FC Barcelona in the
best-of-five playoffs starting Tuesday in Spain. Partizan did not make
it easy for Galatasaray, cutting a 12-point difference to just 54-47
with the first 5 points of the final quarter. Read more here.
Zalgiris Kaunas 87 - 80 Real Madrid
Zalgiris
Kaunas finished its 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague in outstanding
fashion by downing Real Madrid 87-80 at home in Group F on Friday.
Zalgiris finished Group F with a 2-12 record. Real Madrid was second at
9-3 and will face defending champion Olympiacos Piraeus in the playoffs
– a rematch of last season's final. Justin Dentmon paced the winners
with 36 points on 7-of-11 three-point shooting. Dentmon broke an
all-time Euroleague record for most three-pointers in a season with 74.
The previous record belonged to Terrell McIntyre, who fired in 71
three-point shots with Montepaschi Siena in 2007-08. It was this
season's second-best scoring night - Andres Nocioni had 37 against FC
Barcelona the night before and a new club record for Zalgiris. Read
more here.
April 10, 2014
Olympiacos Piraeus 68 - 65 Panathinaikos Athens
Vassilis
Spanoulis completed an Olympiacos Piraeus comeback from a double-digit
deficit by hitting a three-pointer with 0.5 seconds left to down
archrival Panathinaikos Athens 68-65 in a thrilling Top 16 finale for
both teams on Thursday night. The win clinched third place in Group E
for the Reds with an 8-6 record, while Panathinaikos settled for the
fourth spot at 7-7. It was a game of runs in which Panathinaikos took
control with a 2-16 spurt that bridged the first and second quarters,
and behind 10 second quarter points from Loukas Mavrokefalidis took a
29-37 halftime lead. But Olympiacos rallied after the break with a 16-2
run of its own, as Evangelos Mantzaris sank a pair of triples, putting
the hosts up 45-42. Read more here.
FC Barcelona 86 - 97 Laboral Kutxa Vitoria
Laboral
Kutxa Vitoria finished its 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague season
in style by downing FC Barcelona 86-97 on the road in Group E on
Thursday. Laboral finished Group E with a 5-9 record and snapped
Barcelona's 31-game Top 16 home winning streak, an all-time record.
Barcelona was first in Group E with a 12-2 record. Andres Nocioni paced
the winners with 37 points - a Euroleague career high, the most points
scored by any player in the league this season and a new record for a
visiting player at Palau Blaugrana. Fernando San Emeterio added 18
while Tibor Pleiss had 12 for Laboral. Juan Carlos Navarro led
Barcelona with 25 points – including the 500th three-pointer of his
illustrious career. Read more here.
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 76 - 81 CSKA Moscow
CSKA
Moscow kept its hopes of winning Group F a live with a hard-fought
76-81 road victory over Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv at Nokia Arena. The
game was tied twice in the closing minutes, but back-to-back threes
from Aaron Jackson and Sonny Weems gave CSKA the lead for good and the
visitors held strong down the stretch. CSKA improved to 12-2 and will
win Group F if Zalgiris Kaunas beats Real Madrid on Friday. If Madrid
wins, CSKA will finish the Top 16 in second place. Maccabi dropped to
8-6, but had already clinched third place in Group F and will face EA7
Emporio Armani Milan in the playoffs. Jackson paced CSKA with a
season-high 18 points on 3-of-5 three-point shooting. Weems added 14
points and Sasha Kaun scored 12 for the winners. Read more here.
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 84 - 65 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
In
the always-heated Istanbul derby, Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul finished
its 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague season in style by downing
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 84-67 at home in Top 16 Group E on Thursday.
Fenerbahce finished Group E with a 6-8 record and Efes was eighth at
2-12 after losing its final nine games. Luka Zoric led the winners with
20 points. Oguz Savas added 18, Melih Mahmutoglu had 13, 17-year-old
playmaker Berk Ugurlu scored 12 while Nemanja Bjelica contributed 10
for Fenerbahce, which outrebounded Efes 38-24. Dusko Savanovic led Efes
with 21 points. Kostas Vasileiadis added 12 for the guests. Mahmutoglu,
Bojan Bogdanovic and Zoric helped Fenerbahce take a double-digit lead,
21-10, after 10 minutes. Read more here.
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 84 - 75 FC Bayern Munich
Lokomotiv
Kuban Krasnodar stayed alive in the playoff race by holding off FC
Bayern Munich 84-75 in the last Top 16 game for both teams on Thursday.
Lokomotiv improved to 7-7 in the Group F standings, and will advance
for the first time ever to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Playoffs if
Galatasaray loses at home to Partizan NIS on Friday. Bayern finished it
debut Euroleague season with a 5-9 record. Lokomotiv took control early
behind Krunoslav Simon and Derrick Brown, opening up a 42-25 lead. An
8-0 run at the start of the third gave it the biggest margin of the
night, 54-35, before Lucca Staiger started hitting from downtown. Read
more here.
April 10, 2014 - Top 16 Round 14: it's crunch time!
The 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 rolls
to a finish this week with one playoff spot up for grabs, but the
matchups between most of the other seven playoff teams still very much
to be decided. The open playoff spot is between Galatasaray Liv
Hospital and Lokomotiv Kuban Kransodar for fourth place in Group F,
where Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow will fight for first place, too. In
Group F, Olympiacos Piraeus and Panathinaikos Athens battle for third
place in an exciting, head-to-head showdown in the Game of the Week.
Five games will be played on Thursday, followed by three more in
Friday. Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 14:
GROUP E
Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Anadolu Efes 84-65 - Stats FC Barcelona vs. Laboral Kutxa Vitoria 86-97 - Stats
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Panathinaikos Athens 68-65 - Stats Unicaja Malaga vs. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 95-85 - Stats
GROUP F
Lokomotiv Kuban vs. FC Bayern Munich 84-75 - Stats
Maccabi Electra TA vs. CSKA Moscow 76-81 - Stats
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Real Madrid 87-80 - Stats
Galatasaray Liv Hospital vs. Partizan NIS Belgrade 64-55 - Stats
April 5, 2014 - Top 16, Round 13 bwin MVP: Dimitris Diamantidis, Panathinaikos Athens
In
a week of brilliant performances, a Euroleague legend stood above them
all. Dimitris Diamantidis is the Top 16 Round 13 bwin MVP after leading
Panathinaikos Athens to the playoffs with a 69-60 victory over Unicaja
Malaga. Diamantidis was his usual brilliant and efficient self with 13
points on near-perfect shooting plus 6 assists en route to a
performance index rating of 31, which was the best among players on
winning teams in Top 16 Round 13. The former MVP also amassed 4
rebounds and 1 block and drew 8 fouls. The round’s highest index rating
came from Galatasaray Liv Hospital’s Zoran Erceg, who set club records
with 35 points and 7 three pointers made in an 86-85 overtime loss at
CSKA Moscow. Erceg made 7 of 9 threes and added 9 rebounds and 2 steals
in piling up an index rating of 36. Read more here.
April 4, 2014 - Game 13
Partizan NIS Belgrade 78 - 67 Zalgiris Kaunas
Partizan
NIS Belgrade led from start to finish in downing Zalgiris Kaunas 78-67
at Kombank Arena in the Serbian capital on Friday night. Partizan
improved to 4-9 in Group F, while Zalgiris dropped to 1-12. The Serbian
champs used a perfect start to the game, scoring on their first eight
trips down the floor to open an 18-2 lead and never looked back.
Zalgiris cut the deficit to 42-36 right after halftime, but Partizan
was always in control, quickly pulling away to a double-digit margin
again and cruising to victory. Davis Bertans paced the winners with 17
points plus 10 rebounds. Milenko Tepic netted 14 points, Joffrey
Lauvergne scored 11, and Nikola Milutinov chipped in with 10 points for
Partizan. Read more here.
Real Madrid 81 - 55 Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
In
a game for which the outcome seemed clear early, but whose point
difference would affect both teams, Real Madrid took a 81-55 home win
Friday against visiting Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar. The victory left
Madrid tied with CSKA for first place in Top 16 Group F, both with 11-2
records, but enhanced its chances to win a tie-breaker if both teams
win or lose next week. The exact opposite was true for Lokomotiv, which
remains tied for the group's fourth and final playoff spot with
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul, both with 6-7 records. In both
pairs, the teams are 1-1 against each other with identical head-to-head
victory margins, so the next tie-breaker is overall point difference in
the group. Read more here.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 78 - 83 Olympiacos Piraeus
Two-time
defending Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus
improved to 7-6 in Top 16 Group E by downing Anadolu Efes Istanbul
78-83 on the road on Friday. Olympiacos had already qualified to the
playoffs before the game, but faces a battle for third place in Group E
against archrivals Panathinaikos Athens at home next week. Efes dropped
to 2-11 with its eighth consecutive loss. Euroleague MVP Vassilis
Spanoulis led the winners with 17 points. Bryant Dunston and Matt
Lojeski each added 13, while Giorgi Shermadini had 10 for Olympiacos.
Kostas Vasileiadis and Jamon Gordon each scored 16 points for Efes and
Milko Bjelica added 14. Olympiacos had a strong start and a dunk by
Dunston gave the Reds a 5-11 lead. Read more here.
CSKA Moscow 86 - 85 Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul
Sonny
Weems scored all 12 of his points in the extra session as CSKA Moscow
outlasted Galatasaray Liv Hospital 86-85 in a thriller Friday at
Universal Sports Hall in the Russian capital. CSKA won its eighth
straight home game and improved to 11-2 in Group F of the Top 16, which
ensures Coach Ettore Messina’s side at least a share of first place
heading into the last game of the stage. Despite a record-setting night
for big man Zoran Erceg, Galatasaray dropped to 6-7, but enters a
decisive home game against Partizan next week with a chance to reach
the playoffs. Erceg set club records with 35 points and 7
three-pointers made. The point total was also the most in a Turkish
Airlines Euroleague game this season. Sasha Kaun paced the winners with
14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Read more here.
April 3, 2014
FC Bayern Munich 92 - 94 Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
In
a virtual must-win game for both sides, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv edged
Bayern Munich 92-94 at the Audi Dome to clinch a playoff berth for the
fifth straight season and eliminating Munich from the playoff race.
Maccabi will face EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in the playoffs. A dramatic
and high-scoring game came down to the wire; close throughout the first
three quarters, Maccabi held Bayern to one basket over a nine minute
stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters to claim a double-digit
lead. However Bayern rallied in the closing minutes and Maccabi
struggled from the free throw line. The hosts had several shots to tie
the score or take the lead. In the end, Malcolm Delaney went to the
line down 3 in the closing seconds. Read more here.
Panathinaikos Athens 69 - 60 Unicaja Malaga
Panathinaikos
Athens advanced to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague playoffs from Top 16
Group E by downing Unicaja Malaga 69-60 in front of 13,200 fans in the
Greek capital on Thursday. Panathinaikos improved to 7-6 and locked up
a playoff spot thanks to Fenerbahce Ulker’s 95-73 road loss against
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria. Those results also sent Panathinaikos’s
archrival Olympiacos Piraeus into the next stage. Dimitris Diamantidis
led the winners with 13 points and 6 assists. Stephane Lasme added 10
points for Panathinaikos. Vlado Stimac led Unicaja with 12 points.
Back-to-back baskets by Fran Vazquez gave Unicaja an early 2-6 lead. It
didn't last long, however, as Roko Ukic and Lasme fueled a 14-1 run,
which Ramel Curry capped with a three-pointer for a 16-7 lead. Read
more here.
April 2, 2014
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 91 - 63 FC Barcelona
EA7
Emporio Armani Milan sent a message throughout the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague by rocking FC Barcelona 91-63 on Wednesday at the site of
the 2014 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four, Mediolanum Forum. A
12-0 run in the second quarter put the hosts in control for good and a
16-2 third-quarter charge fueled by Alessandro Gentile and Samardo
Samuels turned it into a blowout as Milan became the first team to
score 90 points against Barcelona’s vaunted defense since Unicaja
Malaga in April 2007. Milan won its seventh straight game and improved
to 10-3 behind only Barcelona in Group E. Barca saw its 13-game game
winning streak and run of 24 straight Top 16 victories come to an end.
Read more here.
April 2, 2014 - Top 16 Round 13: the battle goes on!
Action, drama and great basketball are on tap for
Top 16 Round 13 as the longest and most dramatic phase of the Turkish
Airlines Euroleague season races toward an exciting finish. Four teams
have advanced to the playoffs while eight others continue trying to
seize one of four remaining spots. As many as three teams could seal
their tickets to the next round this week, although even among
qualified teams in Group F, the battle for final playoff position
continues. The only two teams who know exactly where they stand, EA7
Emporio Armani Milan and still-perfect FC Barcelona, meet at the Final
Four venue of Mediolanum Forum to start Round 13 early on Wednesday.
Three games follow on Thursday and four more on Friday. Don't miss it!
Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 13:
GROUP E
EA7 Emporio Armani vs. FC Barcelona 91-63 - Stats
Panathinaikos Athens vs. Unicaja Malaga 69-60 - Stats
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria vs. Fenerbahce Ulker 95-73 - Stats
Anadolu Efes vs. Olympiacos Piraeus 78-83 - Stats
GROUP F
FC Bayern Munich vs. Maccabi Electra 92-94 - Stats
CSKA Moscow vs. Galatasaray Liv Hospital 86-85 - Stats
Real Madrid vs. Lokomotiv Kuban 81-55 - Stats
Partizan NIS Belgrade vs. Zalgiris Kaunas 78-67 - Stats
March 31, 2014 - MVP for March: Ante Tomic, FC Barcelona
In
addition to a gold standard of Top 16 perfection established by his
team, a new precedent in individual excellence has been set by the
player who has proven to be a driving force in one of the Turkish
Airlines Euroleague's most amazing streaks ever. For the second time in
a row, Ante Tomic of FC Barcelona is Euroleague Basketball's choice as
the bwin MVP of the month. Never before in the nearly 10 years and 61
monthly MVP designations to date has the same player won the award even
twice in the same season, let alone back-to-back. There is an
overabundance of reasons why Tomic is the first, starting with
Barcelona's 4-0 record in March, which extended the team's winning
streak in the Top 16 - the longest and arguably the toughest phase of
the season - to an incredible 24 games over Tomic's two seasons with
the club. Read more here.
March 29, 2014 - Top 16, Round 12 bwin MVP: Derrick Brown, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
Derrick
Brown has enjoyed a spectacular debut Turkish Airlines Euroleague
campaign with Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, and in Top 16 Round 12 he
added another feather in his cap by claiming the prize as the week’s
bwin MVP. Brown, who was named the league’s MVP for November, was an
ever-present force in Lokomotiv’s 84-73 win over Partizan NIS Belgrade.
He posted 18 points, making 6 of 6 two-point shots, and 6 of 8 from the
foul line. Brown also dished a career-high 7 assists, pulled down 5
rebounds, claimed 3 steals, made 1 block and drew 6 fouls, adding up to
a performance index rating of 34, which was the best of any player this
week. Behind him with an index rating of 30 was Sergio Rodriguez of
Real Madrid. Read more here.
March 28, 2014 - Game 12
FC Barcelona 84 - 62 Panathinaikos Athens
In
a battle between Turkish Airlines Euroleague giants, FC Barcelona
locked up first place in Top 16 Group E by downing Panathinaikos Athens
84-62 at home on Friday. Barcelona improved to 12-0, registered its
24th consecutive Top 16 win and its 31st straight Top 16 home triumph -
both all-time Euroleague records. Panathinaikos dropped to 6-6 and a
tie with archrivals Olympiacos Piraeus for third place in the Group.
Erazem Lorbek and Alex Abrines scored 15 points apiece to lead the
winners, while Ante Tomic added 11 points and 9 rebounds. Roko Ukic led
Panathinaikos with 13 points and Dimitris Diamantidis added 11. Ukic
shined early and got help from Dimitris Diamantidis and Mike Batiste to
give Panathinaikos a 14-15 edge after 10 minutes. Read more here.
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 73 - 82 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
A
day after clinching a playoff spot without playing, EA7 Emporio Armani
Milan celebrated by holding off Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 73-82 on the
road Friday night to get a step closer to securing home-court advantage
in the next stage. Milan improved to 9-3 and is in sole possession of
second place in Group E, while Fenerbahce diminished its playoff
chances by dropping to 5-7 and a share of fifth place. Milan started
pulling away when Gani Lawal scored 10 points in the second, including
three highlight-reel dunks, and Curtis Jerrells orchestrated a 3-13 run
that opened Milan’s 12-point lead. The visitors held a 29-38 halftime
advantage, before opening the third quarter with 3 consecutive triples
en route to a 42-62 lead. Read more here.
Lokomotiv
Kuban Krasnodar improved its chances of reaching the playoffs from Top
16 Group F by downing Partizan NIS Belgrade 84-73 at home on Friday.
Lokomotiv improved to 6-6 and tied Galatasaray Liv Hospital for fourth
place. Partizan dropped to 3-9 and was mathematically eliminated from
playoff contention with the loss. Derrick Brown led the winners with 18
points on 6-of-6 two-point shooting plus 7 assists and 3 steals.
Valeriy Likhodey added 15 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting, Simas
Jasaitis scored 13, Richard Hendrix 12 and Mantas Kalnietis dished 8
assists for Lokomotiv. Davis Bertans led Partizan with 20 points. Sasha
Pavlovic added 13 for the guests. Read more here.
March 27, 2014
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 76 - 77 Real Madrid
In
a battle between Turkish Airlines Euroleague powerhouses that went down
to the wire, Real Madrid locked up home-court advantage in the playoffs
by edging Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 76-77 at Nokia Arena on Thursday.
Madrid improved to 10-2 in Group F and managed to clinch at least a
second-place finish in the group. Maccabi dropped to 7-5 and remains
third in the group. Sergio Rodriguez paced the winners with 21 points
with 11-of-11 free throw shooting. Nikola Mirotic added 17 while
Ioannis Bourousis had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Madrid. Devin Smith
led Maccabi with 23 points, including one of the longest baskets in
competition history - a 22-meter prayer at the end of the third
quarter. Read more here.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 79 - 105 Laboral Kutxa Vitoria
Laboral
Kutxa Vitoria rolled to its largest win of the season by routing
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 79-105 on Thursday night at Abdi Ipekci Arena.
Tibor Pleiss scored 20 to lead a Vitoria attack that saw all but one
player score a basket for Coach Sergio Scariolo. The win lifted Laboral
into seventh place in Group E with a 3-9 record, while Efes dropped to
bottom of the table at 2-10. Neither team can qualify for the playoffs.
Efes was within 5 after a high-scoring first quarter, but the visitors
pulled away to lead 42-55 at halftime and Efes never got closer than 9
the rest of the way. The visitors piled it on in the fourth and led by
as many as 29 before the final buzzer. Read more here.
Zalgiris Kaunas 72 - 84 Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul
Carlos
Arroyo hit 5 three-pointers in a span of nine minutes of the second
half, lifting Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul to a key 72-84 road win
over Zalgiris Kaunas at Zalgiris Arena on Thursday. The Turkish
champion won its third consecutive game and remains in at least a share
of fourth place in Group F with a 6-6 record, while already-eliminated
Zalgiris dropped to 1-11. Galatasaray held a double-digit lead in the
second quarter, but the hosts used a strong finish to the half to cut
to 35-38 at the break. Galatasaray pulled away in the third quarter
behind Furkan Aldemir and Malik Hairston, before Arroyo put on his show
to not allow Zalgiris to even think of a comeback. Read more here.
CSKA Moscow 77 - 70 FC Bayern Munich
CSKA
Moscow stayed in the fight to win Top 16 Group F by downing FC Bayern
Munich 77-70 in the Russian capital on Thursday. CSKA improved to 10-2
and could seal home-court advantage in the playoffs as soon as tonight
if Real Madrid beats Maccabi Electra in Tel Aviv. Bayern dropped to
5-7, but still has a chance to reach the playoffs. Sonny Weems led the
winners with 15 points. Nenad Krstic added 12 while Kyle Hines and
Sasha Kaun each scored 10 for CSKA. Hines added 7 rebounds and 4
blocks. Deon Thompson led Bayern with 14 points. Nihad Djedovic and
Chevon Troutman each scored 13 for the guests, who outrebounded CSKA
23-35. Kaun shined early to give CSKA an 18-11 lead. Read more here.
March 27, 2014 - Top 16 Round 12: even more thrills coming up!
The 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16
reaches its final three weeks with a lot of teams fighting to get to
the playoffs. So far only three teams – FC Barcelona in Group E and
Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow in Group F – have made it to the next stage
and as many as 10 others are fighting for five open spots in both
groups. Five games are scheduled on a decisive Thursday, followed by
three equally important contests on Friday. Stay tuned! Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 12:
GROUP E
Anadolu Efes vs. Laboral Kutxa 79-105 - Stats
Unicaja Malaga vs. Olympiacos Piraeus 63-80 - Stats
Fenerbahce Ulker vs. EA7 Emporio Armani 73-82 - Stats
FC Barcelona vs. Panathinaikos Athens 84-62 - Stats
GROUP F
CSKA Moscow vs. FC Bayern Munich 77-70 - Stats
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Galatasaray Liv Hospital 72-84 - Stats
Maccabi Electra vs. Real Madrid 76-77 - Stats
Lokomotiv Kuban vs. Partizan NIS Belgrade 84-73 - Stats
March 22, 2014 - Top 16, Round 11 bwin MVP: Rudy Fernandez, Real Madrid
In
a thrilling Game of the Week on Thursday night, Rudy Fernandez led Real
Madrid to a crucial 93-79 victory over CSKA Moscow and in the process
claimed the weekly bwin MVP award for Round 11 of the Top 16. Having
already taken the honor in Top 16 Round 3, it is the second weekly MVP
award of the season for Fernandez, and the sixth of his spectacular
Euroleague career. Spending 34 minutes on court – another personal best
and more than any other Madrid player – Fernandez finished with 28
points by shooting 5 of 9 for two pointers, 4 of 7 on three-pointers
and making all 6 of his attempts from the free throw line. He added 4
rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals to compile a performance index rating
of 33, the highest of any player on a winning team this week. Read more
here.
March 21, 2014 - Game 11
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 76 - 69 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Curtis
Jerrells got hot in the fourth quarter to lead EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
to a hard-fought 76-69 win over visiting Anadolu Efes Istanbul on
Friday night at Mediolanum Forum in the Fashion Capital. The win took
Milan ever closer to a playoffs berth. Despite not having the Turkish
Airlines Euroleague’s leading scorer Keith Langford in the lineup,
Milan found the way to win its fourth straight game, improving to 8-3
and staying in sole possession of second place in Group E. Meanwhile,
Efes dropped to 2-9, and lost all mathematical chances to advance. The
visitors led for majority of the contest, but never more than 41-48
midway through the third quarter. Read more here.
Unicaja Malaga 61 - 77 FC Barcelona
FC
Barcelona remained undefeated in Top 16 Group F and came a step closer
to clinching first place by downing Unicaja Malaga 61-77 on the road in
front of 10,600 fans on Friday. Barcelona improved to 11-0 and will
seal first place with its next win - or the next loss by EA7 Emporio
Armani Milan. Unicaja dropped to 5-6 and is tied for fourth place.
Bostjan Nachbar paced the winners with 16 points. Ante Tomic and Erazem
Lorbek each scored 12 for Barcelona. Tomic added 10 rebounds for a
double-double. Earl Calloway led Unicaja with 15 points. Mindaugas
Kuzminskas added 13 while Vladimir Stimac had 11 for the hosts. Read
more here.
Olympiacos Piraeus 89 - 59 Laboral Kutxa Vitoria
Olympiacos
Piraeus snapped a four-game losing streak and shot back to the heart of
the playoff race with a convincing 89-59 victory over Laboral Kutxa
Vitoria on Friday at Peace and Friendship Stadium. The Reds used a 14-0
first-quarter run to take control for good, boosted the margin to 18 at
halftime and led by as many as 35 in the fourth. With the victory
Olympiacos improved to 5-6 and joined a tie for fourth place in Group
E. The loss mathematically eliminated Laboral from playoff contention.
Olympiacos made 10 of 18 three-pointers (55.6%) and outrebounded the
visitors 39-21. Matt Lojeski led five Olympiacos scorers in double
figures with 16 points. Read more here.
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul 76 - 69 FC Bayern Munich
Like
a phoenix rising from the ashes of devastating injures this season,
Galatasaray Liv Hospital moved into a tie for Group F's last playoffs
spot when it held of FC Bayern Munich for a 76-69 victory before 10,000
adoring fans in Istanbul on Friday. The victory forged a three-way tie
for fourth place with Munich and Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, all with
5-6 records and three games left in the Top 16. Among the three,
however, Galatasaray enjoys a tie-break advantage due to its two
victories over Munich and one over Lokomotiv. Carlos Arroyo
masterminded Friday's win by scoring 16 points and dishing 11 assists,
a Galatasaray club record in the Euroleague. Read more here.
March 20, 2014
Partizan NIS Belgrade 72 - 70 Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
Partizan
NIS Belgrade rallied from a 15-point deficit and survived a thrilling
ending to down Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 72-70 on Thursday night at
Kombank Arena in the Serbian capital. The win improved Partizan to 3-8
in Group F and kept its slim playoff hopes alive, while Maccabi dropped
to 7-4 and sits in the third place in the standings. A Maccabi win
would have clinched a playoff berth for Coach David Blatt’s men. The
visitors took control early, with Sofoklis Schortsantis dominating
inside, and four different players hitting from long range in the
building of a 14-29 lead. The visitors remained in control thanks to a
big game from Alex Tyus, and their defense not allowing Partizan to get
close. Read more here.
Panathinaikos Athens 76 - 67 Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul
In
an emotional night marked by coaching legend Zeljko Obradovic's return
to Athens, Panathinaikos Athens registered a pivotal win in Group E by
downing Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 76-67 in the Greek capital on
Thursday. Panathinaikos improved to 6-5, stayed in playoffs territory
and gained the tiebreak advantage over Fenerbahce, which dropped to
5-6. Mike Bramos led the winners with 23 points on 7-of-8 three-point
shooting. Bramos tied the club record for most threes in a game – which
he had already shared with Dimitris Diamantidis – and became the first
player in competition history to make 7 triples in a game on three
occasions. Dimitris Diamantidis added 15 points, 6 rebounds and 6
assists while Antonis Fotsis and Zack Wright each scored 10 points for
Panathinaikos. Read more here.
Real Madrid 93 - 79 CSKA Moscow
With
a display of relentless offense that finally buried the best defense in
the competition, Real Madrid defeated CSKA Moscow 93-79 on Thursday to
take over first place in Top 16 Group F. Both teams are tied with 9-2
records and 14-point wins against each other, but Madrid has beaten the
rest of the group by 4 points more than CSKA - so far. Despite 8 ties
and 17 lead changes in the first three quarters, Madrid didn't commit a
turnover until the fourth had started and its total of 2 at the end of
the game was a new Euroleague record. Rudy Fernandez scored a
career-high 28 points to go with 4 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists to
lead Madrid through comeback try after comeback try by CSKA. Nikola
Mirotic added 15 points, including the crucial final free throws that
let Madrid match the difference from its earlier 14-point loss in
Moscow. Read more here.
Zalgiris Kaunas 85 - 86 Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
In
a game that came down to the final shot, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
edged Zalgiris Kaunas 85-86 on Thursday at Zalgiris Arena. The visitors
led by 13 early in the fourth quarter before Sarunas Jasikevicius
helped the Lithuanian champs rally back to within 1. Despite a pair of
clutch jumpers from Marcus Williams to keep Lokomotiv on top, Saras had
a long three at the buzzer to win it. However his shot hit the front
rim and allowed Lokomotiv to race home with its third road win of the
Top 16 to improve to 5-6 in Group F. Zalgiris slipped to 1-10 with its
fifth straight loss. Derrick Brown scored 15 points and grabbed 9
rebounds and Richard Hendrix added 15 and 8 for the winners. Read more here.
March 20, 2014 - Top 16 Round 11: it only gets better!
With just four games left to do in the Top 16, there
are six playoffs spots up for grabs. Some teams could join FC Barcelona
and CSKA Moscow in the playoffs this week, others could completely run
out of chances to advance and several others can improve their
respective situations with a win. Above all, there is intensity, drama,
action and meaningful showdowns all over the continent. So Turkish
Airlines Euroleague fans, sit back, relax and enjoy the show! Four
games will be played on Thursday, followed by four more on Friday. Read
more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 11:
GROUP E
Panathinaikos Athens vs. Fenerbahce Ulker 76-67 - Stats
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Laboral Kutxa 89-59 - Stats
Unicaja Malaga vs. FC Barcelona 61-77 - Stats
EA7 Emporio Armani vs. Anadolu Efes 76-69 - Stats
GROUP F
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Lokomotiv Kuban 85-86 - Stats
Partizan NIS vs. Maccabi Electra 72-70 - Stats
Real Madrid vs. CSKA Moscow 93-79 - Stats
Galatasaray Liv Hospital vs. FC Bayern Munich 76-69 - Stats
March 15, 2014 - Top 16, Round 10 bwin MVP: Malcolm Delaney, FC Bayern Munich
Malcolm
Delaney provided another inspirational performance in his debut
Euroleague season by leading FC Bayern Munich over red-hot Real Madrid
Thursday. His effort resulted in Delaney earning bwin MVP honors for
Round 10 of the Top 16. Delaney scored 20 points, making 4 of 6 two
point shots and 2 of 5 from three-point range, plus 6 of 6 from the
free-throw line. He dished 6 assists, grabbed 3 rebounds, and also drew
9 fouls. It all added up to a performance index rating of 24 – the
highest of any player on a winning team this week. The best index
rating of Top 16 Round 10, and the second best of the entire season,
came from Laboral Kutxa Vitoria center Tibor Pleiss. Read more here.
March 14, 2014 - Game 10
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 60 - 65 Panathinaikos Athens
A
Euroleague legend as a player, Fragiskos Alvertis made a successful and
a dramatic coaching debut as Panathinaikos Athens pulled out a 60-65
overtime road win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul on Friday night. The
Greens improved to 5-5 and a share of third place in Group E, while
Efes dropped to 2-8, seventh place, and is all but mathematically
eliminated from reaching the playoffs. Neither team held more than a
6-point lead throughout the game. Kostas Vasileiadis led an 11-1 run
that put Efes up 37-31 in the third, and Zoran Planinic scored 7 points
in the fourth to keep the hosts in front. But Jonas Maciulis sent the
game into overtime with a tough triple, his only of the game, with 13
seconds left in regulation. Read more here.
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 66 - 67 Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul
Carlos
Arroyo scored the go-ahead layup with 17.7 seconds remaining – the last
of six fourth-quarter lead changes – and the visitors defended strong
on the final possession as Galatasaray Liv Hospital edged Lokomotiv
Kuban Krasnodar 66-67 on the road Friday. The result leaves the two
teams tied for fifth place in Group F with 4-6 records, trailing Bayern
Munich by one win for fourth place. Arroyo, whose three-pointer earlier
in the quarter had also put his team in front, finished with 14 points.
Manuchar Markoishvili – in his first game back from an Achilles tendon
injury in October – led the visitors with 19 points on 5-of-8
three-point shooting and Mailik Hairston added 10. Read more here.
March 13, 2014
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 77 - 67 Zalgiris Kaunas
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv took another step towards a place in the playoffs with
a 77-67 win over Zalgiris Kaunas on Thursday night at Nokia Arena. The
victory improved Maccabi’s record to 7-3, good for third place in Group
F. Zalgiris remained last with a 1-9 record. David Blu hit a pair of
triples in the final minute of the second quarter, and Maccabi kept the
visitors scoreless for five minutes at the start of the third, putting
together a 15-2 run for 47-33 lead. The visitors never came closer than
6 points the rest of the way, as Tyrese Rice, Ricky Hickman and
Sofoklis Schortsanitis led the hosts to victory. Rice finished with 19
points and 6 assists, Hickman netted 14, Guy Pnini bagged 11 points and
Schortsanitis finished with 10 for Maccabi. Read more here.
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 69 - 67 Unicaja Malaga
Fenerbahce
Ulker used a 13-1 fourth quarter run to beat Unicaja Malaga 69-67
Thursday at Ulker Sports Arena and join its rival in a tie for third
place in Top 16 Group E with 5-5 records. Fener led much of the way,
but Unicaja took over late in the third quarter and led by as many as 8
after a Ryan Toolson triple early in the fourth. However Nemanja
Bjelica and Luka Zoric stepped up when needed most and Bo McCalebb free
throws and a Linas Kleiza slam in the final half minute sealed the
outcome. Bjelica finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds for the
winners. McCalebb also scored 13, while Zoric and Kleiza netted 11
apiece. Mindaugas Kusminskas paced Unicaja with 13 points. Read more here.
CSKA Moscow 84 - 52 Partizan NIS Belgrade
CSKA
Moscow avenged its lone loss of the Top 16 and stormed into the
playoffs with an 84-52 rout of visiting Partizan NIS Belgrade on
Thursday. A 16-0 second-quarter run put the game out of reach and CSKA
coasted the rest of the way. The victory ensured CSKA at least a share
of first place in Group F at the end of the round with a 9-1 record.
Partizan dropped to 2-8 after getting blown out in the Russian capital
for the second time this season. Vitaly Fridzon and Sasha Kaun led a
balanced CSKA attack with 13 points apiece and Victor Khryapa
contributed 11 points, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. All 12 CSKA
players in uniform scored and nine different players dished at least 1
assist. Read more here.
March 13, 2014 - Top 16 Round 10: a pivotal week!
With only four Top 16 games remaining after it
finishes, the stakes not only climb higher in Round 10 on Thursday and
Friday, but the fates of several teams could be decided - for better or
for worse. Already-qualified FC Barcelona has the chance this week to
reach another goal. Two more teams could join Barcelona in the
playoffs. And one team must win or see its own options for the next
round extinguished. The rest are in the battle of their lives for
position to stay alive in the playoffs race! So get ready for the drama
you expect from the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16! Five games will
be played on Thursday, followed by three more on Friday. Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 10:
GROUP E
Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Unicaja Malaga 69-67 - Stats Laboral Kutxa vs. EA7 Emporio Armani 65-83 - Stats
Anadolu Efes vs. Panathinaikos Athens 60-65 - Stats
FC Barcelona vs. Olympiacos Piraeus 70-58 - Stats
GROUP F
CSKA Moscow vs. Partizan NIS Belgrade 84-52 - Stats
Maccabi Electra vs. Zalgiris Kaunas 77-67 - Stats
FC Bayern Munich vs. Real Madrid 85-83 - Stats
Lokomotiv Kuban vs. Galatasaray Liv Hospital 66-67 - Stats
March 8, 2014 - Top 16, Round 9 bwin MVP: Zoran Dragic, Unicaja Malaga
Zoran
Dragic of Unicaja Malaga couldn't have chosen a better night to nail
down his first bwin MVP of the Week honor. Dragic hit the ground
running on Friday and didn't stop until Unicaja owned an 83-75 victory
against Anadolu Efes Istanbul and sole possession of third place in Top
16 Group E. He poured in 24 points, matching his Euroleague career
high, by hitting 4 of 6 shots from two-point and three-point range,
respectively, as well as 4 of 5 from the foul line. Dragic added 4
steals, another career high, to go with 3 assists and 3 rebounds for a
performance index rating of 30, the highest this week and his best in
two Euroleague seasons. Read more here.
March 7, 2014 - Game 9
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul 74 - 85 Real Madrid
Real
Madrid improved to 8-1 in Top 16 Group F and got closer to locking up a
playoffs spot by downing Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul 74-85 on the
road on Friday. Madrid is tied with CSKA Moscow for first place in
Group F and will lock up a playoffs spot with a win against FC Bayern
Munich next week. Galatasaray dropped to 3-6 and faces two decisive
games against Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar and Bayern in the next couple
of weeks. Nikola Mirotic led the winners with 18 points. Rudy Fernandez
added 14 while Sergio Rodriguez and Ioannis Bourousis each had 13 for
Madrid. Zoran Erceg led Galatasaray with 18 points. Carlos Arroyo added
16 while Milan Macvan had 11 for the hosts. Read more here.
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 78 - 76 Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
Lokomotiv
Kuban snapped a three-game losing streak with a tough 78-76 victory
over Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv on Friday. Krunoslav Simon scored 15 of
his 23 points in the fourth quarter to lead Lokomotiv, which improved
to 4-5 in the Top 16 and grabbed a share of fourth place in Group F
alongside Bayern Munich. It was also the first win for Coach Evgeny
Pashutin’s men against Maccabi in four meetings this season. Maccabi
slipped to 6-3, but remains in sole possession of third place in the
group. The hosts used a 10-0 run bridging the first and second quarters
to take the lead and never trailed again. Maccabi closed to within a
shot multiple times in the fourth quarter and David Blu had a good look
at a go-ahead three with less than 10 seconds remaining, but missed.
Read more here.
March 6, 2014
Olympiacos Piraeus 86 - 88 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
In
a physical battle that went down to the wire, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
registered its first road win of the Top 16 by edging reigning Turkish
Airlines Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus 86-88 on Thursday.
Milan improved to 6-3, stayed second in Group E and won its second game
against Olympiacos, which dropped to 4-5. Keith Langford paced the
winners with 20 points and 8 assists. Gani Lawal added 13 wile Curtis
Jerrells had 11 for Milan. Stratos Perperoglou led Olympiacos with 22
points. Georgios Printezis scored 16, Kostas Sloukas 13 and Bryant
Dunston 11 for the hosts, who were without reigning Euroleague MVP
Vassilis Spanoulis. Read more here.
Zalgiris Kaunas 86 - 88 CSKA Moscow
Aaron
Jackson stopped Justin Dentmon in the closing seconds to deny a late
comeback from the home team and secure CSKA Moscow’s 86-88 victory over
Zalgiris Kaunas on Thursday at Zalgiris Arena. The Russian champs led
by 9 early in the fourth quarter, but Dentmon took charge and helped
lead the hosts back. After Jackson split free throws with 10 seconds
remaining, Zalgiris gave the ball to Dentmon, who watched the clock
wind down before attacking, but Jackson was there and blocked the shot
when Dentmon pulled up for what would have been a game-winning three.
Read more here.
March 6, 2014 - Top 16 Round 9: the battle continues!
The 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 is
heating up for as much excitement as ever, with Round 9 looming as a
potentiall pivotal week as teams keep fighting to get closer to the
playoffs. In fact, the first playoffs spot could be clinched this week
if FC Barcelona can stay undefeated and several other Group E results
go its way. Four games are scheduled on Thursday, followed by four more
on Friday. Every round of games will be more intense and exciting than
the previous one - don't miss it! Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 9:
GROUP E
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. EA7 Emporio Armani 86-88 - Stats
FC Barcelona vs. Fenerbahce Ulker 93-73 - Stats
Panathinaikos Athens vs. Laboral Kutxa 61-68 - Stats
Unicaja Malaga vs. Anadolu Efes 83-75 - Stats
GROUP F
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. CSKA Moscow 86-88 - Stats
Partizan NIS vs. FC Bayern Munich 70-55 - Stats
Lokomotiv Kuban vs. Maccabi Electra 78-76 - Stats
Galatasaray Liv Hospital vs. Real Madrid 74-85 - Stats
March 3, 2014 - MVP for February: Ante Tomic, FC Barcelona
History
has shown that the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 is one of the
toughest phases in any basketball competition, and experts agree that
this season's Group E is among the strongest ever assembled in the
competition. As such, FC Barcelona's undefeated record after eight
games in Group E is a marvel to behold and a good reason why its most
dominant player last month, center Ante Tomic, is Euroleague
Basketball's slam-dunk choice as bwin MVP for February. As Barcelona
defied the odds to become the first 8-0 team in Top 16 history, Tomic
has made the most intense stretch of the season look easy. He started
February by scoring 16 points in a double-digit home win, but that was
his low point of the month. Read more here.
March 1, 2014 - Top 16, Round 8 bwin MVP: Ante Tomic, FC Barcelona
On
Thursday night, Ante Tomic delivered another magnificent display to
claim his second consecutive bwin weekly MVP award. The All-Euroleague
center was again in top form in Top 16 Round 8 to set three new career
highs in leading FC Barcelona to a thrilling 84-89 overtime win in
Istanbul over Anadolu Efes. Tomic scored a career-best 26 points,
making 11 of his 16 two-point attempts and adding 4 of 5 free-throws.
Tomic was also a monster on the boards, pulling in a total of 15
rebounds – another career-high - while providing 3 assists and drawing
7 fouls, which added up to a performance index rating of 40 – the best
of his career, and the best by far in Top 16 Round 8. The second-best
index rating for the week was Derrick Brown of Lokomotiv Krasnodar
Kuban with 29. Read more here.
February 28, 2014 - Game 8
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 78 - 74 Olympiacos Piraeus
Fenerbahce
Ulker grabbed its third consecutive win in Top 16 Group E by edging
defending Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus 78-74
at home on Friday. Fenerbahce and Olympiacos join Unicaja Malaga and
Panathinaikos Athens in a four-way tie for third place in Group F, each
with a 4-4 record. Linas Kleiza paced the winners with 21 points. Bo
McCalebb added 20 for Fenerbahce. Stratos Perperoglou and Kostas
Sloukas led Olympiacos with 17 points apiece while Vangelis Mantzaris
added 10. Bojan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Bjelica combined for all the
points in a 9-0 opening run, but Olympiacos found a go-to guy in
Perperoglou, who got help from Georgios Printezis to give the Reds a
15-16 edge. Read more here.
CSKA Moscow 94 - 93 Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
Aaron
Jackson came off the bench with 4.4 seconds left to sink the
game-winning free throws as CSKA Moscow outlasted Lokomotiv Kuban
Krasnodar in a battle of Russian foes at Universal Sports Hall CSKA in
the Russian capital. Jackson stepped in for a red-hot Milos Teodosic,
who had scored 15 points in the final five minutes before suffering an
apparent finger injury when fouled with those 4.4 seconds remaining.
Jackson’s points represented the last of nine lead changes in a
thrilling fourth quarter of a game that saw Lokomotiv battle back from
a 20-point point deficit. Derrick Brown and Krunoslav Simon highlighted
a 1-16 third-quarter charge by the visitors to tie the game and Marcus
Williams helped Lokomotiv lead by as many as 5 late before Teodosic
stepped up. Read more here.
February 27, 2014
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 97 - 81 Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv rebounded from one of the worst losses in club history
with a spectacular showing in routing Galatasaray Liv Hospital 97-81 on
Thursday at Nokia Arena. The hosts improved to 6-2 in Top 16 Group F to
remain at least in one of the top three spots. The result dropped
Galatasaray to 3-5. Guy Pnini led a spectacular shooting attack for
Maccabi y going 5 for 5 from downtown. As a team the winners were 16
for 28 on three-pointers (57.1%), while Galatasaray made only 9 threes
on the same amount of attempts. Former Maccabi player Milan Macvan felt
right at home as he scored Galatasaray’s first 10 points to keep the
game close in the first quarter, but David Blu heated up in the second
and the lead reached double figures by halftime.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 84 - 89 FC Barcelona
In
one of the most thrilling games of the 2013-14 Turkish Airlines
Euroleague season, FC Barcelona needed overtime to edge Anadolu Efes
Istanbul 84-89 in Group E on the road on Thursday. Barcelona improved
to 8-0 while Efes dropped to 2-6. Ante Tomic paced the winners with
career-highs of 26 points and 15 rebounds, hitting 11 of his 16 shots
for a performance index rating of 40. Juan Carlos Navarro added 17
points and a career-high 11 assists, while Kostas Papanikolaou had 10
points for Barcelona. Zoran Planinic and Kostas Vasileiadis led Efes
with 14 points apiece. Planinic dished 9 assists. Jamon Gordon and
Kerem Gonlum each had 13 for the hosts. Tomic shined early and got
plenty of help from Erazem Lorbek and Papanikolaou to give Barcelona a
6-20 lead. Read more here.
February 27, 2014 - Top 16 Round 8: it only gets better!
The 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague enters its
most decisive part, as the second half of this year's Top 16 begins in
Round 8. From now on, all teams must look back and try not only to win
games, but also to ensure tiebreak advantage against opponents fighting
for similar goals. Whether it is trying to win their groups, reach the
playoffs or keeping its options alive, every point will count. Four
games will be played on Thursday, followed by four more on Friday. And
don’t forget to look for new faces as the season’s last transfer window
opened – and closes – between Rounds 7 and 8. Don't miss it! Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 8:
GROUP E
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. FC Barcelona 84-89 - Stats
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria vs. Unicaja Malaga 71-81 - Stats
EA7 Emporio Armani vs. Panathinaikos Athens 77-75 - Stats
Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Olympiacos Piraeus 78-74 - Stats
GROUP F
Maccabi Electra vs. Galatasaray Liv Hospital 97-81 - Stats
CSKA Moscow vs. Lokomotiv Kuban 94-93 - Stats
FC Bayern Munich vs. Zalgiris Kaunas 79-73 - Stats
Real Madrid vs. Partizan NIS Belgrade 80-57 - Stats
February 22, 2014 - Top 16, Round 7 bwin MVP: Ante Tomic, FC Barcelona
A
number of Euroleague stars shined with superb performances in Top 16
Round 7, but none was better than FC Barcelona’s All-Euroleague center.
Ante Tomic set career highs with 24 points and a performance index
rating of 36, which was the highest off any player in the competition
all week and earned him Top 16 Round 7 bwin MVP honors. Tomic led
Barcelona to a 68-80 victory at rival Laboral Kutxa Vitoria by making 8
of 9 shots in addition to 9 rebounds plus 2 assists, 2 steals and 1
block in a terrific performance. Victor Khryapa flirted with what would
have been the third triple-double in competition history, but had to
settle for the week’s second best index rating. Read more here.
February 21, 2014 - Game 7
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 63 - 71 Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul
The
Istanbul derby went down to the final minutes before Fenerbahce Ulker
Istanbul edged Anadolu Efes Istanbul 63-71 on the road on Friday.
Fenerbahce registered its third win in the last four games to improve
to 3-4 in Group E, while Efes dropped to 2-5. Bojan Bogdanovic paced
the winners with 17 points. Linas Kleiza added 16 while Bo McCalebb had
13 for Fenerbahce. Dusko Savanovic led Efes with 15 points. Jamon
Gordon added 13 and 8 assists, Milko Bjelica had 11 points and Kostas
Vasileiadis 10 for the guests. Gordon and back-to-back three-pointers
by an outstanding Savanovic allowed Efes to get an early 18-9 lead.
Luka Zoric, Emir Preldzic and McCalebb helped Fenerbahce tie the game
at 24-24 after 10 minutes. Read more here.
CSKA Moscow 100 - 65 Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
CSKA
Moscow sent a message throughout the Euroleague with a 100-65 thrashing
of Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv at Universal Sports Hall on Friday night in
the Russian capital. Milos Teodosic shined with 22 points and 8 assists
and Victor Khryapa flirted with a triple double – 10 points, 10
rebounds and 8 assists – as the Russian champs retained at least a
share of first place in Group F with a 6-1 record at the midway point
of the Top 16. Maccabi, 5-2, will be no worse than third at the end of
the round. The loss was the second worst in Maccabi’s illustrious
Euroleague history only to a 125-78 drubbing at the hands of Real
Madrid in January 1976. Read more here.
February 20, 2014
Panathinaikos Athens 66 - 62 Olympiacos Piraeus
In
a derby battle that neither team led by more than 4 points at any
moment of the the game, Panathinaikos Athens held on to stop archrival
Olympiacos Piraeus 66-62 to tie them both for second place in Group E.
Both teams have 4-3 records at the halfway point in the Top 16, the
same as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, all of them now three victories
behind undefeated group leader Barcelona. The last of the game's 13
ties and 14 lead changes came at 62-61 on a free throw by Dimitris
Diamantidis with 46 seconds left. After that, he, James Gist and
Stephane Lasme hit 4 of 6 more tries at the line while the
Panathinaikos defense shut down Olympiacos the rest of the way. Lasme
led the winners with 18 points and added the game's key defensive play,
a big block in the next-to-last minute. Read more here.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 70 - 59 Unicaja Malaga
EA7
Emporio Armani Milan moved into a tie for second place in Group E at
the midway point of the Top 16 after blowing past Unicaja Malaga 70-59
on Thursday in the fashion capital. Keith Langford matched his season
high with 29 points to lead the hosts, who improved to 4-3, which
knocking Unicaja to 3-4. The Milan guard scored 12 in the first quarter
as Milan took control and had 7 in a 9-0 third-quarter run as the lead
grew to 20 points. Nik Caner-Medley helped Unicaja rally in the fourth
quarter, but the visitors never got closer than 8. Nicolo Melli’s
three-pointer with 95 seconds remaining triggered the celebrations for
the hosts. Curtis Jerrells added 13 points and Samardo Samuels tallied
10 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. Read more here.
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria 68 - 80 FC Barcelona
In
an All-Spanish League showdown in Group E, FC Barcelona remained
undefeated in the Top 16 by topping Laboral Kutxa Vitoria 68-80 on the
road. Barcelona improved to 7-0, while Vitoria dropped to 1-6.
Barcelona extended its own record of consecutive Top 16 victories to
19. Ante Tomic paced the winners with Euroleague career highs of 24
points and performance index rating of 36. He made 8 of 9 two-point
shots and grabbed 9 rebounds. Marcelinho Huertas added 16 points, Juan
Carlos Navarro scored 15 and Erazem Lorbek 12 for Barcelona. Fernando
San Emeterio led Vitoria with a season-high 22 points and Tibor Pleiss
added 15 and 10 rebounds for the hosts. Tomic already reached double
digits in scoring in the first quarter. Read more here.
February 20, 2014 - Top 16 Round 7: rivalries are everywhere!
The 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16
reaches its halfway mark with eight exciting showdowns split across the
continent on Thursday and Friday. In two of the highlights of this
round, three pairs of longtime local archrivals will have the rare
chance to showcase their rivalries on the Euroleague stage. Elsewhere,
plenty of major cross-border showdowns adding new chapters to historic
series, too. Four games will be played on Thursday, followed by four
more on Friday. Don't miss it! Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 7:
GROUP E
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria vs. FC Barcelona 68-80 - Stats
EA7 Emporio Armani vs. Unicaja Malaga 70-59 - Stats
Panathinaikos Athens vs. Olympiacos Piraeus 66-62 - Stats
Anadolu Efes vs. Fenerbahce Ulker 63-71 - Stats
GROUP F
Partizan NIS vs. Galatasaray Liv Hospital 70-78 - Stats
CSKA Moscow vs. Maccabi Electra 100-65 - Stats
FC Bayern Munich vs. Lokomotiv Kuban 82-79 - Stats
Real Madrid vs. Zalgiris Kaunas 108-72 - Stats
February 15, 2014 - Top 16, Round 6 bwin MVP: Justin Dentmon, Zalgiris Kaunas
For
the second time this season, Justin Dentmon earned bwin MVP honors for
the week after leading Zalgiris Kaunas to its first Top 16 victory over
Partizan NIS Belgrade on Thursday. Dentmon turned in one of the best
games of his fantastic debut Turkish Airlines Euroleague campaign with
a performance index rating of 33 to lead all players in Top 16 Round 6.
Dentmon produced 23 points on 2-for-2 two-point and 5-of-10 three-point
shooting plus 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block (check it out on
this week’s top 10 plays!) and 8 fouls drawn. Those numbers were
clearly worthy of being the Top 16 Round 6 bwin MVP. The runners-up for
the week were Nenad Krstic of CSKA Moscow and Sergio Rodriguez of Real
Madrid, who were the heroes of their team’s wins. Read more here.
February 14, 2014 - Game 6
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul 71 - 74 CSKA Moscow
In
an intense battle that came down to the final seconds, CSKA Moscow
edged Galatasaray Liv Hospital 71-74 on the road on Friday. CSKA joined
Real Madrid and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv in a three-way tie for first
place in Group 5 with 5-1 records, while Galatasaray dropped to 2-4.
Nenad Krstic paced the winners with 24 points on 11-of-13 two-point
shooting. Kyle Hines added 11 and 11 rebounds while Vladimir Micov
scored 10 for CSKA. Ender Arslan led Galatasaray with 19 points. Carlos
Arroyo added 16 and 9 assists and Pops Mensah-Bonsu tallied 12 points
and 12 rebounds for the hosts. Mensah-Bonsu shined early and got plenty
of help from Cenk Akyol to tie it at 15-15. Sonny Weems and Sasha Kaun
allowed CSKA to get a 21-23 lead after 10 minutes. Read more here.
February 13, 2014
Olympiacos Piraeus 78 - 60 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Olympiacos
Piraeus improved to 4-2 in Top 16 Group E by thrashing Anadolu Efes
Istanbul 78-60 at home on Thursday. Olympiacos grabbed its third
consecutive win, while Efes dropped to 2-4. Vassilis Spanoulis paced
the winners with 16 points. Matt Lojeski and Bryant Dunston each added
13, while Mirza Begic had 10 for Olympiacos. Zoran Planinic led Efes
with 13 points and 7 assists, but the guests were outrebounded 38-28. A
three-pointer by Kostas Vasileiadis tied the game, 7-7, in the early
going. Spanoulis led a 10-1 Olympiacos run and soon added an
off-balance basket that gave the Reds a 24-10 lead late in the first
quarter. Efes improved its defense from that moment, as Milko Bjelica
and Dusko Savanovic carried the guests to within 36-29 at halftime.
Read more here.
Zalgiris Kaunas 89 - 77 Partizan NIS Belgrade
There
are no more winless teams in the Top 16 after Zalgiris Kaunas dominated
Partizan NIS Belgrade, cruising to 89-77 win on Thursday night in
Zalgiris Arena. Both teams now hold 1-5 records and share seventh place
in Group F. Zalgiris took control early with triples from Martynas
Pocius and Tomas Dimsa, finishing the first quarter with 29-16 lead
before Justin Dentmon led the charge in the second period to build
58-41 halftime advantage. The Lithuanian champs never looked back after
the break, building a 23-point margin and cruising to victory paced by
23 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds from Dentmon. Pocius bagged 18 and
dished a career-high 7 assists, while Robertas Javtokas scored 14
points. Read more here.
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 74 - 78 Real Madrid
Real
Madrid ensured at least a share of first place in Group F after holding
on to beat Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 74-78 on the road on Thursday.
Madrid improved to 5-1 in Top 16 Group F, while dropping Lokomotiv to
3-3. Sergio Rodriguez stood tall for Los Blancos once again with 16
points – just 1 missed shot – and 6 rebounds. He clinched the victory
with a layup with 12 seconds remaining. Mantas Kalnietis scored 6
points as Lokomotiv took charge with a 16-3 start. Madrid closed the
gap to 5 at the end of the first quarter before Rodriguez and Salah
Mejri rallied Madrid to a 36-40 halftime lead. The visitors held on
throughout the third quarter and seemed to have the game locked up when
Rodriguez partnered with Marcus Slaughter for an alley-oop and a 60-71
advantage. Read more here.
February 13, 2014 - Top 16 Round 6: back with a bang!
After a one-week break, Turkish Airlines Euroleague
action resumes with Top 16 Round 6, as some teams try to stay in the
playoffs hunt and others try to bounce back from a slow start. There
will be big showdowns between classic Euroleague teams all over the
place. Six games are scheduled on a busy Thursday, followed by two more
on Friday. Don't miss the fun! Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 6:
GROUP E
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul 78-60 - Stats
Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Laboral Kutxa Vitoria 98-64 - Stats
Unicaja Malaga vs. Panathinaikos Athens 87-71 - Stats
FC Barcelona vs. EA7 Emporio Armani 80-70 - Stats
GROUP F
Lokomotiv Kuban vs. Real Madrid 74-78 - Stats
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Partizan NIS Belgrade 89-77 - Stats
Maccabi Electra vs. FC Bayern Munich 66-64 - Stats
Galatasaray Liv Hospital vs. CSKA Moscow 71-74 - Stats
February 3, 2014 - MVP for January: Nenad Krstic, CSKA Moscow
When
the going gets tough, they say, the tough get going. There’s no doubt
that one of the most dominant big men in the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague this decade did just that by putting on his battle gear to
begin the longest phase of the season, the Top 16. For his steady role
in leading CSKA Moscow to a 4-1 record and a share of first place in
Top 16 Group F, Euroleague Basketball has named center Nenad Krstic the
bwin MVP for January. Krstic, an All-Euroleague First Team selection
the last two years, kick-started 2014 by shaking off nagging injuries
to rejoin CSKA's starting lineup and reestablish his rule in the paint.
By the time January was done, CSKA was just a basket away from a
perfect Top 16 start, while Krstic was the top performer - both overall
and per-minute - of any full-time Euroleague player last month. Read
more here.
February 1, 2014 - Top 16, Round 5 bwin MVP: Milos Teodosic, CSKA Moscow
Milos
Teodosic masterminded CSKA Moscow’s comfortable 61-86 road victory at
FC Bayern Munich on Thursday and earned bwin MVP honors for his effort.
The former Euroleague MVP compiled a performance index rating of 31,
the best among all players on winning teams in Top 16 Round 5. Teodosic
was the game’s top scorer with 24 points, as he knocked down a
career-best 6 of his 10 three-point attempts, while going 1-for-3 for
two points, and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. The playmaker also
had 5 assists, 5 rebounds and as many drawn fouls for the third weekly
MVP honor of his career. Read more here.
Lokomotiv
Kuban Krasnodar came out of a tough road test with its third
consecutive win, sinking 13 three-pointers and overcoming the best
scoring performance of the season by Tarence Kinsey to hold off
Partizan NIS Belgrade 81-87 on Friday night. Lokomotiv improved to 3-2
and sits in a sole possession of the fourth place in Group F, while
Partizan dropped to 1-4 and seventh place. Lokomotiv started pulling
away in the second quarter behind triples from Valeriy Likhodey, and
had a 40-50 lead early in the third. The hosts rallied with an 11-1
run, but never regained the lead as Krunoslav Simon led another
Lokomotiv charge. Kinsey led the hosts back within 70-72, but triples
from Andrey Zubkov and Simas Jasaitis sealed the deal. Read more here.
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul 90 - 83 Zalgiris Kaunas
Galatasaray
Liv Hospital grabbed its second consecutive win in Top 16 Group F by
rallying to edge Zalgiris Kaunas 90-83 at home on Friday. Galatasaray
improved to 2-3, while Zalgiris dropped to 0-5. Carlos Arroyo led the
winners with 22 points and 9 assists. Cenk Akyol had 13 points, Zoran
Erceg and Ender Arslan each added 12 and Milan Macvan scored 11 for
Galatasaray. Martynas Pocius and Robertas Javtokas set new personal
Euroleague career highs with 26 and 21 points, respectively, for the
Lithuanian champs. Javtokas hit 10 of 14 two-pointers and added 9
rebounds while Pocius hit 5 of 9 three-point shots and 5 of 6 shot from
inside the arc. Paulius Jankunas added 11 points for Zalgiris, which
led 12-23 after 10 minutes behind an outstanding Javtokas. Read more here.
Panathinaikos Athens 56 - 63 FC Barcelona
FC
Barcelona held Panathinaikos without a basket for the final six minutes
in claiming a 56-63 road win over the Greens at the Olympic Sports
Center in Athens. The victory kept Coach Xavi Pascual’s squad as the
Euroleague’s only unbeaten team through five Top 16 games. Barcelona
also tied its own record with 17 consecutive Top 16 wins and set a new
mark with nine consecutive Top 16 road win. Marcellinho Huertas shined
early as the visitors used a 0-12 run between the first and second
quarters to take the lead for good. The lead peaked at 13 before
Panathinaikos used defense to rally in the second half. However,
despite limiting Barca to 19 second-half points, the Greens scored only
2 in the final six minutes after closing within 5. Read more here.
January 30, 2014
Real Madrid 74 - 68 Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
In
an intense battle between Turkish Airlines Euroleague classics, Real
Madrid improved to 4-1 in Top 16 Group F by edging previously
undefeated Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 74-68 in the Spanish capital on
Thursday. Madrid and Maccabi join a three-way tie with CSKA Moscow for
first place in Group F, each with a 4-1 record. Sergio Llull paced the
winners with 20 points, including Madrid's last 8 in the final 100
seconds. Rudy Fernandez added 16 points and 8 rebounds for Madrid.
Sofoklis Schortsanitis and Guy Pnini led Maccabi with 15 points apiece.
Ricky Hickman added 11 for the guests. Nikola Mirotic and Fernandez
shined early to give Madrid a 16-8 lead. Read more here.
Olympiacos Piraeus 73 - 55 Unicaja Malaga
Olympiacos
Piraeus dominated the glass and pulled away in the second half in
claiming a 73-55 victory over Unicaja Malaga Thursday at Peace and
Friendship Stadium. The hosts set a club record with 21 offensive
rebounds to overcome a rare tough night for Euroleague MVP Vassilis
Spanoulis. Despite the star guard tying a career low with 2 points on
1-of-12 shooting, the Reds turned to veteran forward Georgios
Printezis, who came through with 17 points. Bryant Dunston added 12 and
Stratos Perperoglou 11 for the winners, who improved to 3-2 in Top 16
Group E. Unicaja led early, but after Olympiacos came back and took a
6-point halftime lead, the hosts dominated the second half and coasted
to victory. Read more here.
FC Bayern Munich 61 - 86 CSKA Moscow
CSKA
Moscow was on fire from long range in cruising to a 61-86 victory at
Bayern Munich to improve to 4-1 in Group F of the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague Top 16. Milos Teodosic nailed 6 of Moscow’s 13
three-pointers in scoring 24 points while Victor Khryapa knocked down 4
threes en route to 16 points. Teodosic nailed 3 threes in the second
quarter alone as CSKA raced to a 23-40 halftime lead and never looked
back. Nenad Krstic chipped in 14 points for the winners, who had 22
teams assists compared to just 6 for the hosts. Bayern dropped to 2-3
despite Malcolm Delaney leading the way with 16 points. Read more here.
January 30, 2014 - Top 16, Round 5: tough tests everywhere!
On the heels of non-stop drama last week and heading
into the only break in this phase, the 2013-14 Turkish Airlines
Euroleague Top 16 reaches Round 5 with just two teams undefeated and
both facing major road showdowns in their quest to retain that status.
Group E leader FC Barcelona takes its show on the road against
Panathinaikos Athens, while in Group F's first-place team, Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv, goes to the Spanish capital to face Real Madrid,
which had a perfect season until last week. However, those are just two
among eight games this week that promise great crowds and plenty of
drama between the best basketball clubs in Europe. Four games open Top
16 Round 5 on Thursday, followed by four more on Friday! Stay tuned!
Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 5:
GROUP E
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Unicaja Malaga 73-55 - Stats EA7 Emporio Armani vs. Fenerbahce Ulker 90-85 - Stats
Panathinaikos Athens vs. FC Barcelona 56-63 - Stats
Laboral Kutxa vs. Anadolu Efes 66-72 - Stats
GROUP F
FC Bayern Munich vs. CSKA Moscow 61-88 - Stats
Real Madrid vs. Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 74-68 - Stats
Galatasaray Liv Hospital vs. Zalgiris Kaunas90-83 - Stats
Partizan NIS Belgrade vs. Lokomotiv Kuban 81-87 - Stats
January 25, 2014 - Top 16, Round 4 bwin MVP: Krunoslav Simon, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
Krunoslav
Simon produced the best performance of his Euroleague career, inspiring
his team’s comeback with an outstanding all-round display and claiming
Top 16 Round 4 bwin MVP honors. The 28-year-old Croatian forward led
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar to its second straight Top 16 victory in an
80-75 come-from-behind home effort over Zalgiris Kaunas on Friday
night. Simon spent nearly 34 minutes on the floor, in which he amassed
21 points while connecting on 4 of his 5 two-point tries, 4 of 6
three-point attempts, and converted on his only trip to the free-throw
line. Simon also dished a career-high 8 assists, pulled down 6
rebounds, had 2 steals, a block, and drew 6 fouls for a new personal
best index performance rating of 35, and his first ever weekly bwin MVP
award. Read more here.
January 24, 2014 - Game 4
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 61 - 60 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
In
one of the greatest finishes in professional basketball history, Zoran
Planinic banked in a three-quarter court prayer as time expired to lift
Anadolu Efes Isatnbul to a 61-60 victory over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
on Friday night at Abdi Ipekci Arena. The victory was the first for the
host team in the Top 16, while Milan fell to 2-2 in Group E. The
visitors led most of the game before Dusko Savanovic scored 9 points in
17-2 run that bridged the third and fourth quarter. However Milan
rallied late and regained the lead on Daniel Hackett’s free throw with
11.5 seconds remaining. The game appeared to be in Milan’s pocket after
Savanovic missed a three, but Planinic had other ideas. Read more here.
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 80 - 75 Zalgiris Kaunas
In
a battle that went down to the wire, Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar improved
to 2-2 in Top 16 Group F by rallying to edge Zalgiris Kaunas 80-75 at
home on Friday. Lokomotiv moved into a tie with FC Bayern Munich for
fourth place in Group F, while Zalgiris dropped to 0-4. Krunoslav Simon
paced the winners with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. Valery
Likhodey and Simas Jasaitis each added 11 points while Aleks Maric had
10 for Lokomotiv. Robertas Javtokas led Zalgiris with 16 points. Justin
Dentmon added 15 while Vytenis Lipkevicius had 10 for the guests.
Dentmon added 11 assists to break Zalgiris's Euroleague club record,
which previously belonged to Ed Cota (10). Read more here.
January 23, 2014
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 88 - 67 Partizan NIS Belgrade
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv stormed to exclusive control of first place in Group F
with a blowout 88-67 home win against Partizan Belgrade on Thursday
before a giddy sellout crowd of 11,000 at Nokia Arena. Maccabi is now
4-0 in Group F, a win ahead of both CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid, after
its eighth consecutive victory overall and 12th in the last 13 games.
From a 10-9 scoreboard late in the first quarter, Maccabi went on a
13-minute, 37-10 blast into halftime and never looked back on the way
to beating Partizan. Alex Tyus came off the bench with 16 points on
perfect 8-for-8 two-point shooting and 9 rebounds for Maccabi. Tyrese
Rice, with 15 points, was the only other double-digit scorer for the
winners. Read more here.
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 77 - 72 Panathinaikos Athens
After
dominating early, Fenerbahce Ulker held on late to edge Panathinaikos
Athens 77-72 for the club’s first Top 16 victory. Linas Kleiza made a
pair of big shots in the final minute to help seal the win for Coach
Zeljko Obradovic's side, which handed Panathinaikos its first Top 16
loss. It was all Fenerbahce until Loukas Mavrokefalidis scored all the
points in a 0-9 run to bring Panathinaikos back. Dimitris Diamantidis
threes in the fourth helped complete the comeback and set up a
thrilling finish that featured four lead changes and three ties in the
final six minutes until Kleiza put the game away. Bojan Bogdanovic
paced the winners with 15 points, Nemanja Bjelica and Kleiza added 13
apiece. Read more here.
CSKA Moscow 85 - 71 Real Madrid
The
Euroleague's second-longest unbeaten streak this century is over after
CSKA Moscow led practically from tipoff to the final buzzer to turn
back visiting Real Madrid 85-71 in the Game of the Week. Both teams now
have 3-1 records in Top 16 Group F, while at the end of the game,
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv remained unbeaten at 3-0. CSKA was missing two
top performers due to injury, Kyle Hines and Sonny Weems, while Madrid
travelled without sharpshooter Jaycee Carroll for the same reason, but
the star turned out to be the home team's defense. CSKA worked 40
minutes to hold Madrid 19 points below its season-long scoring average
of 90 points. Read more here.
January 23, 2014 - Top 16 Round 4: the thrills continue!
The 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 is
living up to expectations, with plenty of surprises, close games, great
basketball and drama on weekly basis. With four teams undefeated and
another four looking for their first win, Top 16 Round 4 will not be
any different. Five games are scheduled on Thursday, followed by three
more on Friday, so get ready for fireworks in the heart of the Top 16!
Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 4:
GROUP E
Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Panathinaikos Athens 77-72 - Stats
FC Barcelona vs. Unicaja Malaga 83-79 - Stats
Anadolu Efes vs. EA7 Emporio Armani 61-60 - Stats
Laboral Kutxa vs. Olympiacos Piraeus 70-89 - Stats
GROUP F
CSKA Moscow vs. Real Madrid 85-71 - Stats
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv vs. Partizan NIS 88-67 - Stats
FC Bayern Munich vs. Galatasaray Liv Hospital 66-72 - Stats
Lokomotiv Kuban vs. Zalgiris Kaunas 80-75 - Stats
January 18, 2014 - Top 16, Round 3 bwin MVP: Rudy Fernandez, Real Madrid
In
another huge victory for Real Madrid, Rudy Fernandez produced one of
the best nights of his magnificent career to claim the bwin MVP honor
for Round 3 of the Top 16. Fernandez scored 24 points to lead Madrid to
its highest Top 16 point total in 12 years in a 111-87 victory over
visiting FC Bayern Munich. The 28-year-old swingman made 4 of 7
two-point shots, 4 of 6 from downtown and all 4 of his free throws. He
added 5 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and 5 fouls drawn for a
performance index rating of 30, the best on a winning team in the
week's eight games. The top index rating of the week belonged to Nenad
Krstic of CSKA Moscow who had 33 in a 73-72 loss at Partizan NIS
Belgrade. Read more here.
January 17, 2014 - Game 3
Partizan NIS Belgrade 73 - 72 CSKA Moscow
Partizan
NIS Belgrade used its never-give-up attitude to pull out a thrilling
73-72 win over CSKA Moscow at Kombank Arena in the Serbian capital on
Friday night. The win improves Partizan to 1-2 and a share of fifth
place in Group F, while CSKA holds a 2-1 record and a share of third
place. With head coach Dusko Vujosevic in his first game back on the
bench after being hospitalized for kidney problems, Partizan trailed
for the majority of the first three quarters. CSKA led 36-45 shortly
after halftime, but Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 19 of his 27 points in the
final 14 minutes of the game to rally the hosts. CSKA entered the final
minute up by 1 point, but Milenko Tepic hit a jumper, and Bogdanovic
made 2 of 3 free throws for a slim, but sweet, victory.Read more here.
Panathinaikos Athens 78 - 64 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Panathinaikos
Athens improved to 3-0 in the Top 16 of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague
with a 78-64 victory at home over Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Dimitris
Diamantidis led the Greens with 17 points and 9 assists while Stephane
Lasme added 16 points and 8 rebounds. Ramel Curry chipped in 12 points
and James Gist had 11 for Panathinaikos, which is even atop Group E
with FC Barcelona. Anadolu Efes dropped to 0-3 in the group despite 13
points off the bench from Zoran Planinic. Dusko Savanovic and Dogus
Balbay both added 11 in the loss. Read more here.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 83 - 76 Laboral Kutxa Vitoria
EA7
Emporio Armani Milan held off a late Laboral Kutxa Vitoria charge for
an 83-76 victory at Mediolanum Forum in the fashion capital on Friday
night. The hosts led a 16-point fourth-quarter lead dwindle down to 4
before Keith Langford and Daniel Hackett free throws helped seal a
second straight home win. Milan improved to 2-1 in Top 16 Group E,
while dropping Laboral to 1-2 in the group. Milan never trailed, thanks
in part to an excellent three-point shooting night; Hackett, David Moss
and Curtis Jerrells sank 3 threes apiece and the team as a whole made
half of its 20 attempts. Jerrells and Langford led the Milan attack
with 16 points each, Hackett netted 14, Moss 12 and Alessandro Gentile
10. Read more here.
Unicaja Malaga 89 - 75 Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul
In
an intense battle that went down to the final minutes, Unicaja Malaga
improved to 2-1 in Group E by downing Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 89-75
at home on Friday. Unicaja grabbed its second consecutive win and
dropped Fenerbahce to 0-3. Zoran Dragic paced the winners with 24
points. Ryan Toolson added 12, Carlos Suarez 11 while Vladimir Stimac
scored 10 for Unicaja. Melih Mahmutoglu led Fenerbahce with 19 points
on 5-of-5 three-point shooting. Linas Kleiza added 17 while Bo McCalebb
scored 16 points and dished a Euroleague career-high 8 assists for the
guests. Fran Vazquez, who did not finish the game due to a sprained
ankle, led an 8-1 opening run. Read more here.
January 16, 2014
Olympiacos Piraeus 72 - 81 FC Barcelona
FC
Barcelona sent a message that echoed all around the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague by downing Olympiacos Piraeus 72-81 on the road at Peace and
Friendship Stadium in Group E on Thursday. Barcelona remained
undefeated in Group E and improved to 3-0 with its 15th consecutive Top
16 victory. Olympiacos dropped to 1-2 and saw its 10-game home winning
streak come to an end. Juan Carlos Navarro led the winners with 21
points. Brad Oleson added 14 for Barcelona. Vassilis Spanoulis and
Georgios Printezis led Olympiacos with 17 points apiece. Printezis
shined early to give Olympiacos a 23-14 margin late in the first
quarter. Read more here.
Zalgiris Kaunas 78 - 87 Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv used a big second half to beat Zalgiris Kaunas 78-87
on Thursday at Zalgiris Arena. Tyrese Rice scored 12 of his season-high
20 points in the fourth quarter and Yogev Ohayon tied a Maccabi record
with 11 assists to lead Coach David Blatt’s squad to its seventh
straight Euroleague victory. Maccabi is tied for first place in Top 16
Group F with a 3-0 record, while Zalgiris dropped to 0-3. The hosts led
by as many as 9 in the third quarter, but Maccabi came back with a 2-14
run and the trio of Rice, Ohayon and Devin Smith combined for 22 of
Maccabi’s 24 fourth quarter points as the visitors pulled away for the
victory. Smith scored all of his 15 points in the second half and also
grabbed 8 rebounds, while Shawn James, Alex Tyus and Ohayon each
finished with 10 points. Read more here.
January 15, 2014
Real Madrid 111 - 87 FC Bayern Munich
In
a high-scoring and exciting showdown, Real Madrid stayed undefeated in
the 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague and improved to 3-0 in Group F
by downing Bayern Munich 111-87 at home on Wednesday. Madrid was the
first Euroleague team to break the 110-point mark in over six years.
Los Blancos had 41 third-quarter points, two shy of the all-time
Euroleague record, which belongs to Maccabi Tel Aviv from the 2009-10
season. Rudy Fernandez paced the winners with 24 points on 4-of-6
three-point shooting. He paced six Madrid scorers in double digits.
Sergio Rodriguez added 19 and 7 assists, Nikola Mirotic had 16 points,
Sergio Llull got 13, Jaycee Carroll contributed 12 and Felipe Reyes
scored 11 points and pulled down 6 rebounds in just 15 minutes. Read
more here.
January 15, 2014 - Top 16 Round 3: non-stop action!
As Turkish Airlines Euroleague action resumes with
Top 16 Round 3, six teams remain undefeated in the new phase and six
others are looking for their first wins, so expect big showdowns and
thrills all around the competition. Real Madrid and FC Bayern Munich
open fire in the Spanish capital in an early game on Wednesday. Three
more games are scheduled on Thursday, followed by four more on Friday.
Don't miss the fun! Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 3:
GROUP E
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. FC Barcelona 72-81 - Stats
Unicaja Malaga vs. Fenerbahce Ulker 89-75 - Stats
EA7 Emporio Armani vs. Laboral Kutxa 83-76 - Stats
Panathinaikos Athens vs. Anadolu Efes 78-64 - Stats
GROUP F
Real Madrid vs. FC Bayern Munich 111-87 - Stats
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 78-87 - Stats
Galatasaray Liv Hospital vs. Lokomotiv Kuban 62-63 - Stats
Partizan NIS Belgrade vs. CSKA Moscow 73-72 - Stats
January 11, 2014 - Top 16, Round 2 bwin MVP: Marcelinho Huertas, FC Barcelona
Stepping
up with the second-best scoring night of his six-year Euroleague
career, Marcelinho Huertas inspired FC Barcelona to an eye-catching
road win with a made-to-order performance that earned him the bwin MVP
honor for Top 16 Round 2! Huertas led Barcelona past Fenerbahce Ulker
73-76 in Istanbul on Thursday, registering 23 points – just one below
his Euroleague career-high. He shot 5 of 10 on two-point shots, 2 of 5
from behind the arc, and was perfect on 7 free throws. In addition,
Huertas dished 7 assists, matched his Euroleague career-high with 4
steals, pulled down 3 rebounds and drew 6 fouls for a performance index
rating of 30, the most among all players on winning teams this week.
Read more here.
Panathinaikos
Athens opened the fourth quarter on a 4-17 tear to take the lead for
good en route to a 64-72 victory over Laboral Kutxa Vitoria at Fernando
Buesa Arena to join FC Barcelona for a share of first place in Top 16
Group E. The Greens improved their record to 2-0, while dropping
Vitoria to 1-1. Panathinaikos led throughout the first half before
Thomas Heurtel fueled the hosts in the third period. But the duo of
Stephane Lasme and Dimitris Diamantidis were joined by Ramel Curry and
Mike Bramos in making big shots to pave the way to victory. Lasme led
the winners with 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting, much of which came via
Diamantidis assists. Read more here.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 72 - 74 Unicaja Malaga
In
a close game that saw 22 lead changes and came down to the final
seconds, Unicaja Malaga bounced back from its last week’s home loss by
edging Anadolu Efes Istanbul 72-74 on the road Friday. Unicaja improved
to 1-1 in Group E, while Efes dropped to 0-2. Zoran Dragic led the
winners with 17 points. Ryan Toolson added 16, Vladimir Stimac had 11
while Fran Vazquez scored 10 for Unicaja. Scotty Hopson led Efes with
15 points. Birkan Batuk added a career-high 12 points and Dusko
Savanovic had 11 for the hosts. Efes overcame a slow start to get its
first lead, 15-13, on a layup by Batuk. Fran Vazquez and Dragic helped
Unicaja to a 17-20 edge after 10 minutes. Read more here.
CSKA Moscow 77 - 62 Zalgiris Kaunas
In
a battle between longtime sporting rivals, CSKA Moscow stayed
undefeated in the Top 16 by downing Zalgiris Kaunas 77-62 in the
Russian capital on Friday. CSKA improved to 2-0 in Group F, while
Zalgiris dropped to 0-2. Vitaly Fridzon paced the winners with 15
points. Nenad Krstic added 12 while Milos Teodosic and Sonny Weems each
had 11 in an easy win for CSKA, which led from start to finish. Weems
also dished 5 assists for the victors, whose defense forced Zalgiris
into 18 turnovers. Justin Dentmon led Zalgiris with 22 points. Krstic
led a 12-3 opening run which allowed CSKA to keep a 22-14 lead after 10
minutes. Read more here.
January 9, 2014
FC Bayern Munich 71 - 65 Partizan NIS Belgrade
FC
Bayern Munich remained undefeated in Top 16 Group F by rallying to edge
Partizan NIS Belgrade 71-65 at home on Thursday. Bayern improved to 2-0
in Group F, while Partizan dropped to 0-2. John Bryant paced the
winners with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Deon Thompson also posted a
double-double of 15 points and 10 boards, helping Bayern outrebound
Partizan 47-39. Malcolm Delaney had 12 points and 5 assists for Bayern.
Bogdan Bogdanovic led Partizan with 24 points. Tarence Kinsey added 20
while Joffrey Lauvergne had 11 for the guests. A three-point play by
Thompson gave Bayern a 12-9 edge midway through the first quarter. Read
more here.
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 85 - 75 Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv took care of business against Lokomotiv Kuban
Krasnodar on Thursday at Nokia Arena, pulling away late for its sixth
straight Turkish Airlines Euroleague victory and third win this season
over Lokomotiv. Sofoklis Schortsanitis, making a surprise start after a
previous sprained ankle diagnosis threatened to sideline him for
several weeks, dominated inside and Devin Smith added a double-double
to pace Maccabi, which improved to 2-0 in Group F. The loss dropped
Krasnodar to 0-2. The visitors let briefly late in the third quarter,
but Maccabi used a 12-2 run in the fourth to take the first
double-digit lead of the game and never looked back. Read more here.
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 73 - 76 FC Barcelona
In
a thriller that went down to the wire, FC Barcelona edged Fenerbahce
Ulker Istanbul 73-76 on the road on Thursday. Barcelona remained
undefeated in Top 16 Group E, while Fenerbahce dropped to 0-2.
Marcelinho Huertas paced the winners with 23 points - 14 of which came
in the decisive fourth quarter – in addition to 7 assists and 4 steals.
Brad Oleson added 14 points, Kostas Papanikolaou scored 11 while Erazem
Lorbek got 10 for Barcelona, which was without superstar Juan Carlos
Navarro. Melih Mahmutoglu and Nemanja Bjelica led Fenerbahce with 15
points apiece. Emir Preldzic and Bo McCalebb each added 13 and Bojan
Bogdanovic scored 12 for the hosts. Read more here.
January 9, 2014 - Top 16 Round 2: more and more excitement!
After an exciting opening week, the 2013-14 Turkish
Airlines Euroleague Top 16 enters Round 2 promising a lot of action,
top-class showdowns and its trademark intensity and passion. Four games
are scheduled on Thursday, followed by four more on Friday. The Top 16
just got started, but this week marks the chance for some teams to
re-boot after opening-round losses and others to separate themselves
further from the pack with second victories. Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 2:
GROUP E
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul vs. FC Barcelona 73-76 - Stats
EA7 Emporio Armani vs. Olympiacos Piraeus 81-51 - Stats
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Unicaja Malaga 72-74 - Stats
Laboral Kutxa vs. Panathinaikos Athens 64-72 - Stats
GROUP F
Maccabi Electra vs. Lokomotiv Kuban 85-75 - Stats
FC Bayern Munich vs. Partizan NIS Belgrade71-65 - Stats
CSKA Moscow vs. Zalgiris Kaunas 77-62 - Stats
Real Madrid vs. Galatasaray Liv Hospital 89-84 - Stats
January 4, 2014 - Top 16, Round 1 bwin MVP: Vassilis Spanoulis, Olympiacos Piraeus
For
the second time this season, Vassilis Spanoulis, the Euroleague’s
reigning bwin MVP, is also the bwin MVP of the week! Spanoulis produced
one of the best games of his career in leading the unbeaten Reds
against his former coach, Zeljko Obradovic, and one of the regular
season group winners, Fenerbahce Ulker. The Olympiacos guard racked up
28 points and 9 assists in compiling a performance index rating of 39,
which was head and shoulders above the rest of the league in the Top 16
openers. Spanoulis made 4 of 8 three-pointers, gathered 5 rebounds and
drew 9 fouls in an inspiring performance in a 95-82 win. He finished
with a new career best in index rating and 1 short of his career-high
in scoring. Read more here.
January 3, 2014 - Game 1
Olympiacos Piraeus 95 - 82 Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul
In
a highly entertaining clash of two Turkish Airlines Euroleague
heavyweights, unbeaten champion Olympiacos Piraeus never trailed in
downing Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 95-82 at the Peace and Friendship
Stadium on Friday night. Led by Vassilis Spanoulis and Stratos
Perperoglou, Olympiacos hit 7 of its 12 triples in the final seven
minutes of the game, holding on to the lead after Fenerbahce closed
within 78-75. Spanoulis was unstoppable, finishing with 28 points – 1
short of his career high – plus 9 assists and 5 rebounds, while
Perperoglou scored 15 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. Matthew
Lojeski added 14, and Georgios Printezis had 12 for the Reds. For
Fenerbahce, Emir Preldzic had 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists,
while Bojan Bogdanovic netted 16 points. Read more here.
Zalgiris Kaunas 66 - 84 FC Bayern Munich
Bayern
Munich’s long-range prowess made the difference as the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague newcomers marked their Top 16 debut with a 66-84 victory at
Zalgiris Kaunas. Malcolm Delaney paced the Munich attack with 14 points
and 6 assists, while Heiko Schaffartzik talled 12 points and 5 assists.
The visitors went up by 10 after 5 quick Robin Benzing points early in
the second quarter. Schaffartzik came alive to reject a Zalgiris run as
the visitors took a 36-48 lead at the break. The third quarter is where
Munich broke the game open as Bryce Taylor and Lucca Staiger shined in
a 0-13 charge and Zalgiris never recovered. Taylor finished with 12
points and Benzing 10 for the visitors, who made 10 of 21 threes
(47.6%) compared to just 6-of-33 three-point shooting (18.2%) for the
hosts. Read more here.
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 77 - 84 CSKA Moscow
In
the first-ever all-Russian showdown in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague,
CSKA Moscow grabbed a good-as-gold road overtime win by downing
reigning Eurocup champion Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 77-84 in Group F on
Friday. Milos Teodosic paced the winners with 16 points. Vitaly Fridzon
and Victor Khryapa each added 15, Sonny Weems had 14 while Nenad Krstic
scored 11 for CSKA. Khryapa added 8 rebounds, 7 assists and hit 5-of-6
three-point shots in an impressive all-around performance. Derrick
Brown and Valery Likhodey led Lokomotiv with 13 points apiece. Aleks
Maric added 12 and 10 rebounds, Andrey Zubkov scored 1 and Marcus
Williams tallied 10 points and 8 assists for the hosts. Read more here.
January 2, 2014
FC Barcelona 84 - 65 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
FC
Barcelona opened the 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 in
style by downing Anadolu Efes Istanbul 84-65 in Group E at Palau
Blaugrana on Thursday. Barcelona recorded its eighth home win against
Efes in as many games. Juan Carlos Navarro paced the winners with 21
points. Brad Oleson added 13, Kostas Papanikolaou scored 12 while Joey
Dorsey tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds for Barcelona. Semih Erden led
Efes with 15 points. Dusko Savanovic added 12 while Kerem Gonlum had 10
for the guests. A 12-2 run that Bostjan Nachbar capped with a dunk gave
Barcelona an early 12-4 lead. Gonlum kept Efes within 23-16 late in the
first quarter but Erazem Lorbek, Navarro and Oleson fueled a 25-2 run
that broke the game open, 48-18. Read more here.
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul 84 - 90 Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv pulled away with a 0-12 fourth-quarter run to beat
Galatasaray Liv Hospital 84-90 on Thursday night in both teams’ Top 16
opener at Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall in Istanbul. The fourth quarter
started with plenty of excitement and five lead changes, but Devin
Smith and Yogev Ohayon each hit threes in the game-breaking run. Ricky
Hickman scored a season-high 24 points for Maccabi and Ohayon added 15,
while Smith and Alex Tyus each posted double doubles for the winners.
Smith tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds, Tyus went for 12 points and 11
boards. Carlos Arroyo scored 19 for the hosts, who led by as many as 9
in the second quarter. Zoran Erceg scored 17, Ender Arslan 12 and Henry
Domercant 11 in defeat. Read more here.
Partizan NIS Belgrade 64 - 80 Real Madrid
In
front of one of the biggest crowds in Turkish Airlines Euroleague
history, Real Madrid never trailed to remain unbeaten on the season,
downing Partizan NIS Belgrade 64-80 in the Serbian capital on Thursday.
On the opening night of the Top 16, 21,374 fans packed Kombank Arena.
Partizan was missing head coach Dusko Vujosevic. After being
hospitalized for kidney problems for a few days last week, Vujosevic
was not cleared to be on the sidelines against Real Madrid and was
replaced by his assistant Velimir Gasic. The visitors jumped to a
double-digit lead early on, but resilient Partizan was never out of the
game until Marcus Slaughter and Rudy Fernandez fueled a 0-10 run in the
fourth quarter. Read more here.
Panathinaikos Athens 73 - 57 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Panathinaikos
presented its calling card for the Top 16 with a defensive-minded 73-57
home win over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on Thursday before 14,000 happy
fans at Olympic Sports Center Athens. The Greens cruised to their first
Group E victory by winning every quarter and dominating 39-22 in
rebounds. Dimitris Diamantidis had 11 assists, 4 more than the entire
Milan team. Stephane Lasme had 13 rebounds, 7 more than any Milano
player, and 3 blocks to lead the defensive effort. On the scoring end,
James Gist paced the Greens with 12 points while making 4 of 5
two-pointers and his only triple of the night. He was joined in double
figures by Roko Ukic, with 11 points, while Ramel Curry and Antonis
Fotsis had 10 each. Read more here.
Unicaja Malaga 79 - 93 Laboral Kutxa Vitoria
With
an impressive display of outside shooting, Laboral Kutxa Vitoria
rallied from a double-digit first-half deficit to defeat Spanish rival
Unicaja Malaga 79-93 on the road to open their Top 16 Group E schedule
on Thursday. Laboral made 15 of 24 three-point shots, marking the
highest total in its Top 16 history and matching the second-highest by
the club in any Euroleague phase. Unicaja had led 24-13 after one
quarter, but Laboral quickly started making long shots and piled up 60
points in the second half to make sure the victory headed back to
Vitoria. Andres Nocioni hit 4 of 4 from downtown to lead the winners
with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Fernando San Emeterio and Lamont
Hamilton added 13 points each. Read more here.
January 2, 2014 - Top 16 Round 1: a new challenge begins!
The 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague season
resumes at the start of 2014 with the Top 16, a round-robin group stage
lasting 14 games and more than three months, until April 11. All 16
surviving teams were divided into two groups based on their regular
season's final ranking. All revert to 0-0 records to begin the Top 16,
which adds even more excitement and drama. When the Top 16 ends, on
April 11, the best four teams in each group will advance to the
playoffs, completing the road map to the 2014 Final Four in Milan. But
first, the 2013-14 Euroleague is set to write a new, decisive chapter -
the Top 16! Read more here.
Here is the schedule for Game 1:
GROUP E
Unicaja Malaga vs. Laboral Kutxa Vitoria 79-93 - Stats
Panathinaikos Athens vs. EA7 Emporio Armani 73-57 - Stats
FC Barcelona vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul 84-65 - Stats
Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Fenerbahce Ulker 95-82 - Stats
GROUP F
Partizan NIS Belgrade vs. Real Madrid 64-80 - Stats
Galatasaray Liv Hospital vs. Maccabi Electra 84-90 - Stats
Lokomotiv Kuban vs. CSKA Moscow 77-84 - Stats
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. FC Bayern Munich 66-84 - Stats
December 26, 2013 - Top 16 analysis, Group F
Few Euroleague players ever have been as dominant,
at age 22, as Real Madrid power forward Nikola Mirotic. He leads the
2013-14 Euroleague in performance index rating (20.5 per game) and has
posted career-best numbers in steals and blocks to go with 15.2 points
on average in just 24 minutes per game. Mirotic, the bwin October MVP,
also leads the competition in three-point percentage (18-of-28, 64.3%)
and most important, kept Madrid undefeated throughout the regular
season. Read more here.
December 24, 2013 - Top 16 analysis, Group E
It’s
only fitting that Bojan Bogdanovic enters the Top 16 as the
competition’s leading scorer, since no Euroleague player has averaged
more points since the 2010-11 season than the 24-year-old swingman.
Possessing an array of weapons, the skills to generate offense from the
low post or from long range and the ability to score with his right or
left hand, Bogdanovic has become one of Europe’s most prolific scorers.
As Fenerbahce Ulker targets its first ever trip to the Final Four, look
for Bogdanovic to continue carrying the biggest load. Read more here.
In
a round of games that featured history being made throughout, one man’s
performance stood above the rest. Justin Dentmon dominated for Zalgiris
Kaunas in leading his team to a sweet 87-80 victory over Real Madrid in
the Lithuanian champs’ final Euroleague game of the season. Dentmon
peppered the nets for 36 points on 7-of-11 three-point shooting en
route to a performance index rating of 40, which led all players in Top
16 Round 14 and made him the bwin MVP for the third time this season.
During the game, Dentmon set the competition record for most
three-pointers in a season with 74. He also set a new team mark for
points in a game. His all-around performance also included 4-of-5
two-point shooting, 7 free throws made without a miss, 5 rebounds, 3
assists and 2 steals. Read more 
Unicaja
Malaga snapped a four-game losing streak to finish its Turkish Airlines
Euroleague campaign as a winner by beating playoff-bound EA7 Emporio
Armani Milan 95-85 on Friday night at Martin Carpena Arena. The game
was tied midway through the second quarter, but Unicaja used an 8-0 run
to take a promising halftime advantage and pulled away with an 11-0
third-quarter charge. The win gave Unicaja a 6-8 record in Top 16 Group
E, which placed it fifth. Milan dropped to 10-4, but had already
clinched second place in the group. Vladimir Stimac paced the Unicaja
attack with 16 points, Mindaugas Kuzminskas tallied 13 points and 9
rebounds, Zoran Dragic and Txemi Urtasun added 11 points apiece and
Fran Vazquez scored 10. Read more 
Decimated
by injuries to start the season, Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul
completed an inspirational comeback story with a 64-55 home win over
Partizan NIS Belgrade on Friday to claim the fourth and last playoff
spot, the first in club history, from Top 16 Group F. A packed crowd of
11,400 at Abdi Ipecki Arena was on its feet all night long to will
their team to victory and a 7-7 record in Top 16, good for a
fourth-place tie with Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar. Galatasaray won their
tie-break by virtue of a better points difference in their Top 16 group
(+7) than Lokomotiv (-17) and will now face FC Barcelona in the
best-of-five playoffs starting Tuesday in Spain. Partizan did not make
it easy for Galatasaray, cutting a 12-point difference to just 54-47
with the first 5 points of the final quarter. Read more 
Vassilis
Spanoulis completed an Olympiacos Piraeus comeback from a double-digit
deficit by hitting a three-pointer with 0.5 seconds left to down
archrival Panathinaikos Athens 68-65 in a thrilling Top 16 finale for
both teams on Thursday night. The win clinched third place in Group E
for the Reds with an 8-6 record, while Panathinaikos settled for the
fourth spot at 7-7. It was a game of runs in which Panathinaikos took
control with a 2-16 spurt that bridged the first and second quarters,
and behind 10 second quarter points from Loukas Mavrokefalidis took a
29-37 halftime lead. But Olympiacos rallied after the break with a 16-2
run of its own, as Evangelos Mantzaris sank a pair of triples, putting
the hosts up 45-42. Read more 
Laboral
Kutxa Vitoria finished its 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague season
in style by downing FC Barcelona 86-97 on the road in Group E on
Thursday. Laboral finished Group E with a 5-9 record and snapped
Barcelona's 31-game Top 16 home winning streak, an all-time record.
Barcelona was first in Group E with a 12-2 record. Andres Nocioni paced
the winners with 37 points - a Euroleague career high, the most points
scored by any player in the league this season and a new record for a
visiting player at Palau Blaugrana. Fernando San Emeterio added 18
while Tibor Pleiss had 12 for Laboral. Juan Carlos Navarro led
Barcelona with 25 points – including the 500th three-pointer of his
illustrious career. Read more 
CSKA
Moscow kept its hopes of winning Group F a live with a hard-fought
76-81 road victory over Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv at Nokia Arena. The
game was tied twice in the closing minutes, but back-to-back threes
from Aaron Jackson and Sonny Weems gave CSKA the lead for good and the
visitors held strong down the stretch. CSKA improved to 12-2 and will
win Group F if Zalgiris Kaunas beats Real Madrid on Friday. If Madrid
wins, CSKA will finish the Top 16 in second place. Maccabi dropped to
8-6, but had already clinched third place in Group F and will face EA7
Emporio Armani Milan in the playoffs. Jackson paced CSKA with a
season-high 18 points on 3-of-5 three-point shooting. Weems added 14
points and Sasha Kaun scored 12 for the winners. Read more 
In
the always-heated Istanbul derby, Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul finished
its 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague season in style by downing
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 84-67 at home in Top 16 Group E on Thursday.
Fenerbahce finished Group E with a 6-8 record and Efes was eighth at
2-12 after losing its final nine games. Luka Zoric led the winners with
20 points. Oguz Savas added 18, Melih Mahmutoglu had 13, 17-year-old
playmaker Berk Ugurlu scored 12 while Nemanja Bjelica contributed 10
for Fenerbahce, which outrebounded Efes 38-24. Dusko Savanovic led Efes
with 21 points. Kostas Vasileiadis added 12 for the guests. Mahmutoglu,
Bojan Bogdanovic and Zoric helped Fenerbahce take a double-digit lead,
21-10, after 10 minutes. Read more 
Lokomotiv
Kuban Krasnodar stayed alive in the playoff race by holding off FC
Bayern Munich 84-75 in the last Top 16 game for both teams on Thursday.
Lokomotiv improved to 7-7 in the Group F standings, and will advance
for the first time ever to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Playoffs if
Galatasaray loses at home to Partizan NIS on Friday. Bayern finished it
debut Euroleague season with a 5-9 record. Lokomotiv took control early
behind Krunoslav Simon and Derrick Brown, opening up a 42-25 lead. An
8-0 run at the start of the third gave it the biggest margin of the
night, 54-35, before Lucca Staiger started hitting from downtown. Read
more 
In
a week of brilliant performances, a Euroleague legend stood above them
all. Dimitris Diamantidis is the Top 16 Round 13 bwin MVP after leading
Panathinaikos Athens to the playoffs with a 69-60 victory over Unicaja
Malaga. Diamantidis was his usual brilliant and efficient self with 13
points on near-perfect shooting plus 6 assists en route to a
performance index rating of 31, which was the best among players on
winning teams in Top 16 Round 13. The former MVP also amassed 4
rebounds and 1 block and drew 8 fouls. The round’s highest index rating
came from Galatasaray Liv Hospital’s Zoran Erceg, who set club records
with 35 points and 7 three pointers made in an 86-85 overtime loss at
CSKA Moscow. Erceg made 7 of 9 threes and added 9 rebounds and 2 steals
in piling up an index rating of 36. Read more 
Partizan
NIS Belgrade led from start to finish in downing Zalgiris Kaunas 78-67
at Kombank Arena in the Serbian capital on Friday night. Partizan
improved to 4-9 in Group F, while Zalgiris dropped to 1-12. The Serbian
champs used a perfect start to the game, scoring on their first eight
trips down the floor to open an 18-2 lead and never looked back.
Zalgiris cut the deficit to 42-36 right after halftime, but Partizan
was always in control, quickly pulling away to a double-digit margin
again and cruising to victory. Davis Bertans paced the winners with 17
points plus 10 rebounds. Milenko Tepic netted 14 points, Joffrey
Lauvergne scored 11, and Nikola Milutinov chipped in with 10 points for
Partizan. Read more 
In
a game for which the outcome seemed clear early, but whose point
difference would affect both teams, Real Madrid took a 81-55 home win
Friday against visiting Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar. The victory left
Madrid tied with CSKA for first place in Top 16 Group F, both with 11-2
records, but enhanced its chances to win a tie-breaker if both teams
win or lose next week. The exact opposite was true for Lokomotiv, which
remains tied for the group's fourth and final playoff spot with
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul, both with 6-7 records. In both
pairs, the teams are 1-1 against each other with identical head-to-head
victory margins, so the next tie-breaker is overall point difference in
the group. Read more 
Sonny
Weems scored all 12 of his points in the extra session as CSKA Moscow
outlasted Galatasaray Liv Hospital 86-85 in a thriller Friday at
Universal Sports Hall in the Russian capital. CSKA won its eighth
straight home game and improved to 11-2 in Group F of the Top 16, which
ensures Coach Ettore Messina’s side at least a share of first place
heading into the last game of the stage. Despite a record-setting night
for big man Zoran Erceg, Galatasaray dropped to 6-7, but enters a
decisive home game against Partizan next week with a chance to reach
the playoffs. Erceg set club records with 35 points and 7
three-pointers made. The point total was also the most in a Turkish
Airlines Euroleague game this season. Sasha Kaun paced the winners with
14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Read more 
In
a virtual must-win game for both sides, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv edged
Bayern Munich 92-94 at the Audi Dome to clinch a playoff berth for the
fifth straight season and eliminating Munich from the playoff race.
Maccabi will face EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in the playoffs. A dramatic
and high-scoring game came down to the wire; close throughout the first
three quarters, Maccabi held Bayern to one basket over a nine minute
stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters to claim a double-digit
lead. However Bayern rallied in the closing minutes and Maccabi
struggled from the free throw line. The hosts had several shots to tie
the score or take the lead. In the end, Malcolm Delaney went to the
line down 3 in the closing seconds. Read more 
EA7
Emporio Armani Milan sent a message throughout the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague by rocking FC Barcelona 91-63 on Wednesday at the site of
the 2014 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four, Mediolanum Forum. A
12-0 run in the second quarter put the hosts in control for good and a
16-2 third-quarter charge fueled by Alessandro Gentile and Samardo
Samuels turned it into a blowout as Milan became the first team to
score 90 points against Barcelona’s vaunted defense since Unicaja
Malaga in April 2007. Milan won its seventh straight game and improved
to 10-3 behind only Barcelona in Group E. Barca saw its 13-game game
winning streak and run of 24 straight Top 16 victories come to an end.
Read more 
In
addition to a gold standard of Top 16 perfection established by his
team, a new precedent in individual excellence has been set by the
player who has proven to be a driving force in one of the Turkish
Airlines Euroleague's most amazing streaks ever. For the second time in
a row, Ante Tomic of FC Barcelona is Euroleague Basketball's choice as
the bwin MVP of the month. Never before in the nearly 10 years and 61
monthly MVP designations to date has the same player won the award even
twice in the same season, let alone back-to-back. There is an
overabundance of reasons why Tomic is the first, starting with
Barcelona's 4-0 record in March, which extended the team's winning
streak in the Top 16 - the longest and arguably the toughest phase of
the season - to an incredible 24 games over Tomic's two seasons with
the club. Read more 
Derrick
Brown has enjoyed a spectacular debut Turkish Airlines Euroleague
campaign with Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, and in Top 16 Round 12 he
added another feather in his cap by claiming the prize as the week’s
bwin MVP. Brown, who was named the league’s MVP for November, was an
ever-present force in Lokomotiv’s 84-73 win over Partizan NIS Belgrade.
He posted 18 points, making 6 of 6 two-point shots, and 6 of 8 from the
foul line. Brown also dished a career-high 7 assists, pulled down 5
rebounds, claimed 3 steals, made 1 block and drew 6 fouls, adding up to
a performance index rating of 34, which was the best of any player this
week. Behind him with an index rating of 30 was Sergio Rodriguez of
Real Madrid. Read more 
In
a battle between Turkish Airlines Euroleague giants, FC Barcelona
locked up first place in Top 16 Group E by downing Panathinaikos Athens
84-62 at home on Friday. Barcelona improved to 12-0, registered its
24th consecutive Top 16 win and its 31st straight Top 16 home triumph -
both all-time Euroleague records. Panathinaikos dropped to 6-6 and a
tie with archrivals Olympiacos Piraeus for third place in the Group.
Erazem Lorbek and Alex Abrines scored 15 points apiece to lead the
winners, while Ante Tomic added 11 points and 9 rebounds. Roko Ukic led
Panathinaikos with 13 points and Dimitris Diamantidis added 11. Ukic
shined early and got help from Dimitris Diamantidis and Mike Batiste to
give Panathinaikos a 14-15 edge after 10 minutes. Read more 
A
day after clinching a playoff spot without playing, EA7 Emporio Armani
Milan celebrated by holding off Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 73-82 on the
road Friday night to get a step closer to securing home-court advantage
in the next stage. Milan improved to 9-3 and is in sole possession of
second place in Group E, while Fenerbahce diminished its playoff
chances by dropping to 5-7 and a share of fifth place. Milan started
pulling away when Gani Lawal scored 10 points in the second, including
three highlight-reel dunks, and Curtis Jerrells orchestrated a 3-13 run
that opened Milan’s 12-point lead. The visitors held a 29-38 halftime
advantage, before opening the third quarter with 3 consecutive triples
en route to a 42-62 lead. Read more 
In
a battle between Turkish Airlines Euroleague powerhouses that went down
to the wire, Real Madrid locked up home-court advantage in the playoffs
by edging Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 76-77 at Nokia Arena on Thursday.
Madrid improved to 10-2 in Group F and managed to clinch at least a
second-place finish in the group. Maccabi dropped to 7-5 and remains
third in the group. Sergio Rodriguez paced the winners with 21 points
with 11-of-11 free throw shooting. Nikola Mirotic added 17 while
Ioannis Bourousis had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Madrid. Devin Smith
led Maccabi with 23 points, including one of the longest baskets in
competition history - a 22-meter prayer at the end of the third
quarter. Read more 
Laboral
Kutxa Vitoria rolled to its largest win of the season by routing
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 79-105 on Thursday night at Abdi Ipekci Arena.
Tibor Pleiss scored 20 to lead a Vitoria attack that saw all but one
player score a basket for Coach Sergio Scariolo. The win lifted Laboral
into seventh place in Group E with a 3-9 record, while Efes dropped to
bottom of the table at 2-10. Neither team can qualify for the playoffs.
Efes was within 5 after a high-scoring first quarter, but the visitors
pulled away to lead 42-55 at halftime and Efes never got closer than 9
the rest of the way. The visitors piled it on in the fourth and led by
as many as 29 before the final buzzer. Read more 
Carlos
Arroyo hit 5 three-pointers in a span of nine minutes of the second
half, lifting Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul to a key 72-84 road win
over Zalgiris Kaunas at Zalgiris Arena on Thursday. The Turkish
champion won its third consecutive game and remains in at least a share
of fourth place in Group F with a 6-6 record, while already-eliminated
Zalgiris dropped to 1-11. Galatasaray held a double-digit lead in the
second quarter, but the hosts used a strong finish to the half to cut
to 35-38 at the break. Galatasaray pulled away in the third quarter
behind Furkan Aldemir and Malik Hairston, before Arroyo put on his show
to not allow Zalgiris to even think of a comeback. Read more 
CSKA
Moscow stayed in the fight to win Top 16 Group F by downing FC Bayern
Munich 77-70 in the Russian capital on Thursday. CSKA improved to 10-2
and could seal home-court advantage in the playoffs as soon as tonight
if Real Madrid beats Maccabi Electra in Tel Aviv. Bayern dropped to
5-7, but still has a chance to reach the playoffs. Sonny Weems led the
winners with 15 points. Nenad Krstic added 12 while Kyle Hines and
Sasha Kaun each scored 10 for CSKA. Hines added 7 rebounds and 4
blocks. Deon Thompson led Bayern with 14 points. Nihad Djedovic and
Chevon Troutman each scored 13 for the guests, who outrebounded CSKA
23-35. Kaun shined early to give CSKA an 18-11 lead. Read more 
In
a thrilling Game of the Week on Thursday night, Rudy Fernandez led Real
Madrid to a crucial 93-79 victory over CSKA Moscow and in the process
claimed the weekly bwin MVP award for Round 11 of the Top 16. Having
already taken the honor in Top 16 Round 3, it is the second weekly MVP
award of the season for Fernandez, and the sixth of his spectacular
Euroleague career. Spending 34 minutes on court – another personal best
and more than any other Madrid player – Fernandez finished with 28
points by shooting 5 of 9 for two pointers, 4 of 7 on three-pointers
and making all 6 of his attempts from the free throw line. He added 4
rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals to compile a performance index rating
of 33, the highest of any player on a winning team this week. Read more
Curtis
Jerrells got hot in the fourth quarter to lead EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
to a hard-fought 76-69 win over visiting Anadolu Efes Istanbul on
Friday night at Mediolanum Forum in the Fashion Capital. The win took
Milan ever closer to a playoffs berth. Despite not having the Turkish
Airlines Euroleague’s leading scorer Keith Langford in the lineup,
Milan found the way to win its fourth straight game, improving to 8-3
and staying in sole possession of second place in Group E. Meanwhile,
Efes dropped to 2-9, and lost all mathematical chances to advance. The
visitors led for majority of the contest, but never more than 41-48
midway through the third quarter. Read more 
FC
Barcelona remained undefeated in Top 16 Group F and came a step closer
to clinching first place by downing Unicaja Malaga 61-77 on the road in
front of 10,600 fans on Friday. Barcelona improved to 11-0 and will
seal first place with its next win - or the next loss by EA7 Emporio
Armani Milan. Unicaja dropped to 5-6 and is tied for fourth place.
Bostjan Nachbar paced the winners with 16 points. Ante Tomic and Erazem
Lorbek each scored 12 for Barcelona. Tomic added 10 rebounds for a
double-double. Earl Calloway led Unicaja with 15 points. Mindaugas
Kuzminskas added 13 while Vladimir Stimac had 11 for the hosts. Read
more 
Olympiacos
Piraeus snapped a four-game losing streak and shot back to the heart of
the playoff race with a convincing 89-59 victory over Laboral Kutxa
Vitoria on Friday at Peace and Friendship Stadium. The Reds used a 14-0
first-quarter run to take control for good, boosted the margin to 18 at
halftime and led by as many as 35 in the fourth. With the victory
Olympiacos improved to 5-6 and joined a tie for fourth place in Group
E. The loss mathematically eliminated Laboral from playoff contention.
Olympiacos made 10 of 18 three-pointers (55.6%) and outrebounded the
visitors 39-21. Matt Lojeski led five Olympiacos scorers in double
figures with 16 points. Read more 
Partizan
NIS Belgrade rallied from a 15-point deficit and survived a thrilling
ending to down Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 72-70 on Thursday night at
Kombank Arena in the Serbian capital. The win improved Partizan to 3-8
in Group F and kept its slim playoff hopes alive, while Maccabi dropped
to 7-4 and sits in the third place in the standings. A Maccabi win
would have clinched a playoff berth for Coach David Blatt’s men. The
visitors took control early, with Sofoklis Schortsantis dominating
inside, and four different players hitting from long range in the
building of a 14-29 lead. The visitors remained in control thanks to a
big game from Alex Tyus, and their defense not allowing Partizan to get
close. Read more 
In
an emotional night marked by coaching legend Zeljko Obradovic's return
to Athens, Panathinaikos Athens registered a pivotal win in Group E by
downing Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 76-67 in the Greek capital on
Thursday. Panathinaikos improved to 6-5, stayed in playoffs territory
and gained the tiebreak advantage over Fenerbahce, which dropped to
5-6. Mike Bramos led the winners with 23 points on 7-of-8 three-point
shooting. Bramos tied the club record for most threes in a game – which
he had already shared with Dimitris Diamantidis – and became the first
player in competition history to make 7 triples in a game on three
occasions. Dimitris Diamantidis added 15 points, 6 rebounds and 6
assists while Antonis Fotsis and Zack Wright each scored 10 points for
Panathinaikos. Read more 
Malcolm
Delaney provided another inspirational performance in his debut
Euroleague season by leading FC Bayern Munich over red-hot Real Madrid
Thursday. His effort resulted in Delaney earning bwin MVP honors for
Round 10 of the Top 16. Delaney scored 20 points, making 4 of 6 two
point shots and 2 of 5 from three-point range, plus 6 of 6 from the
free-throw line. He dished 6 assists, grabbed 3 rebounds, and also drew
9 fouls. It all added up to a performance index rating of 24 – the
highest of any player on a winning team this week. The best index
rating of Top 16 Round 10, and the second best of the entire season,
came from Laboral Kutxa Vitoria center Tibor Pleiss. Read more 
A
Euroleague legend as a player, Fragiskos Alvertis made a successful and
a dramatic coaching debut as Panathinaikos Athens pulled out a 60-65
overtime road win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul on Friday night. The
Greens improved to 5-5 and a share of third place in Group E, while
Efes dropped to 2-8, seventh place, and is all but mathematically
eliminated from reaching the playoffs. Neither team held more than a
6-point lead throughout the game. Kostas Vasileiadis led an 11-1 run
that put Efes up 37-31 in the third, and Zoran Planinic scored 7 points
in the fourth to keep the hosts in front. But Jonas Maciulis sent the
game into overtime with a tough triple, his only of the game, with 13
seconds left in regulation. Read more 
Fenerbahce
Ulker used a 13-1 fourth quarter run to beat Unicaja Malaga 69-67
Thursday at Ulker Sports Arena and join its rival in a tie for third
place in Top 16 Group E with 5-5 records. Fener led much of the way,
but Unicaja took over late in the third quarter and led by as many as 8
after a Ryan Toolson triple early in the fourth. However Nemanja
Bjelica and Luka Zoric stepped up when needed most and Bo McCalebb free
throws and a Linas Kleiza slam in the final half minute sealed the
outcome. Bjelica finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds for the
winners. McCalebb also scored 13, while Zoric and Kleiza netted 11
apiece. Mindaugas Kusminskas paced Unicaja with 13 points. Read more 
CSKA
Moscow avenged its lone loss of the Top 16 and stormed into the
playoffs with an 84-52 rout of visiting Partizan NIS Belgrade on
Thursday. A 16-0 second-quarter run put the game out of reach and CSKA
coasted the rest of the way. The victory ensured CSKA at least a share
of first place in Group F at the end of the round with a 9-1 record.
Partizan dropped to 2-8 after getting blown out in the Russian capital
for the second time this season. Vitaly Fridzon and Sasha Kaun led a
balanced CSKA attack with 13 points apiece and Victor Khryapa
contributed 11 points, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. All 12 CSKA
players in uniform scored and nine different players dished at least 1
assist. Read more 
Zoran
Dragic of Unicaja Malaga couldn't have chosen a better night to nail
down his first bwin MVP of the Week honor. Dragic hit the ground
running on Friday and didn't stop until Unicaja owned an 83-75 victory
against Anadolu Efes Istanbul and sole possession of third place in Top
16 Group E. He poured in 24 points, matching his Euroleague career
high, by hitting 4 of 6 shots from two-point and three-point range,
respectively, as well as 4 of 5 from the foul line. Dragic added 4
steals, another career high, to go with 3 assists and 3 rebounds for a
performance index rating of 30, the highest this week and his best in
two Euroleague seasons. Read more 
Real
Madrid improved to 8-1 in Top 16 Group F and got closer to locking up a
playoffs spot by downing Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul 74-85 on the
road on Friday. Madrid is tied with CSKA Moscow for first place in
Group F and will lock up a playoffs spot with a win against FC Bayern
Munich next week. Galatasaray dropped to 3-6 and faces two decisive
games against Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar and Bayern in the next couple
of weeks. Nikola Mirotic led the winners with 18 points. Rudy Fernandez
added 14 while Sergio Rodriguez and Ioannis Bourousis each had 13 for
Madrid. Zoran Erceg led Galatasaray with 18 points. Carlos Arroyo added
16 while Milan Macvan had 11 for the hosts. Read more 
In
a physical battle that went down to the wire, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
registered its first road win of the Top 16 by edging reigning Turkish
Airlines Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus 86-88 on Thursday.
Milan improved to 6-3, stayed second in Group E and won its second game
against Olympiacos, which dropped to 4-5. Keith Langford paced the
winners with 20 points and 8 assists. Gani Lawal added 13 wile Curtis
Jerrells had 11 for Milan. Stratos Perperoglou led Olympiacos with 22
points. Georgios Printezis scored 16, Kostas Sloukas 13 and Bryant
Dunston 11 for the hosts, who were without reigning Euroleague MVP
Vassilis Spanoulis. Read more 
Aaron
Jackson stopped Justin Dentmon in the closing seconds to deny a late
comeback from the home team and secure CSKA Moscow’s 86-88 victory over
Zalgiris Kaunas on Thursday at Zalgiris Arena. The Russian champs led
by 9 early in the fourth quarter, but Dentmon took charge and helped
lead the hosts back. After Jackson split free throws with 10 seconds
remaining, Zalgiris gave the ball to Dentmon, who watched the clock
wind down before attacking, but Jackson was there and blocked the shot
when Dentmon pulled up for what would have been a game-winning three.
Read more 
Fenerbahce
Ulker grabbed its third consecutive win in Top 16 Group E by edging
defending Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus 78-74
at home on Friday. Fenerbahce and Olympiacos join Unicaja Malaga and
Panathinaikos Athens in a four-way tie for third place in Group F, each
with a 4-4 record. Linas Kleiza paced the winners with 21 points. Bo
McCalebb added 20 for Fenerbahce. Stratos Perperoglou and Kostas
Sloukas led Olympiacos with 17 points apiece while Vangelis Mantzaris
added 10. Bojan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Bjelica combined for all the
points in a 9-0 opening run, but Olympiacos found a go-to guy in
Perperoglou, who got help from Georgios Printezis to give the Reds a
15-16 edge. Read more 
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv rebounded from one of the worst losses in club history
with a spectacular showing in routing Galatasaray Liv Hospital 97-81 on
Thursday at Nokia Arena. The hosts improved to 6-2 in Top 16 Group F to
remain at least in one of the top three spots. The result dropped
Galatasaray to 3-5. Guy Pnini led a spectacular shooting attack for
Maccabi y going 5 for 5 from downtown. As a team the winners were 16
for 28 on three-pointers (57.1%), while Galatasaray made only 9 threes
on the same amount of attempts. Former Maccabi player Milan Macvan felt
right at home as he scored Galatasaray’s first 10 points to keep the
game close in the first quarter, but David Blu heated up in the second
and the lead reached double figures by halftime.
The
Istanbul derby went down to the final minutes before Fenerbahce Ulker
Istanbul edged Anadolu Efes Istanbul 63-71 on the road on Friday.
Fenerbahce registered its third win in the last four games to improve
to 3-4 in Group E, while Efes dropped to 2-5. Bojan Bogdanovic paced
the winners with 17 points. Linas Kleiza added 16 while Bo McCalebb had
13 for Fenerbahce. Dusko Savanovic led Efes with 15 points. Jamon
Gordon added 13 and 8 assists, Milko Bjelica had 11 points and Kostas
Vasileiadis 10 for the guests. Gordon and back-to-back three-pointers
by an outstanding Savanovic allowed Efes to get an early 18-9 lead.
Luka Zoric, Emir Preldzic and McCalebb helped Fenerbahce tie the game
at 24-24 after 10 minutes. Read more 
In
a derby battle that neither team led by more than 4 points at any
moment of the the game, Panathinaikos Athens held on to stop archrival
Olympiacos Piraeus 66-62 to tie them both for second place in Group E.
Both teams have 4-3 records at the halfway point in the Top 16, the
same as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, all of them now three victories
behind undefeated group leader Barcelona. The last of the game's 13
ties and 14 lead changes came at 62-61 on a free throw by Dimitris
Diamantidis with 46 seconds left. After that, he, James Gist and
Stephane Lasme hit 4 of 6 more tries at the line while the
Panathinaikos defense shut down Olympiacos the rest of the way. Lasme
led the winners with 18 points and added the game's key defensive play,
a big block in the next-to-last minute. Read more 
In
an intense battle that came down to the final seconds, CSKA Moscow
edged Galatasaray Liv Hospital 71-74 on the road on Friday. CSKA joined
Real Madrid and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv in a three-way tie for first
place in Group 5 with 5-1 records, while Galatasaray dropped to 2-4.
Nenad Krstic paced the winners with 24 points on 11-of-13 two-point
shooting. Kyle Hines added 11 and 11 rebounds while Vladimir Micov
scored 10 for CSKA. Ender Arslan led Galatasaray with 19 points. Carlos
Arroyo added 16 and 9 assists and Pops Mensah-Bonsu tallied 12 points
and 12 rebounds for the hosts. Mensah-Bonsu shined early and got plenty
of help from Cenk Akyol to tie it at 15-15. Sonny Weems and Sasha Kaun
allowed CSKA to get a 21-23 lead after 10 minutes. Read more 
FC
Barcelona held Panathinaikos without a basket for the final six minutes
in claiming a 56-63 road win over the Greens at the Olympic Sports
Center in Athens. The victory kept Coach Xavi Pascual’s squad as the
Euroleague’s only unbeaten team through five Top 16 games. Barcelona
also tied its own record with 17 consecutive Top 16 wins and set a new
mark with nine consecutive Top 16 road win. Marcellinho Huertas shined
early as the visitors used a 0-12 run between the first and second
quarters to take the lead for good. The lead peaked at 13 before
Panathinaikos used defense to rally in the second half. However,
despite limiting Barca to 19 second-half points, the Greens scored only
2 in the final six minutes after closing within 5. Read more 
In
an intense battle between Turkish Airlines Euroleague classics, Real
Madrid improved to 4-1 in Top 16 Group F by edging previously
undefeated Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 74-68 in the Spanish capital on
Thursday. Madrid and Maccabi join a three-way tie with CSKA Moscow for
first place in Group F, each with a 4-1 record. Sergio Llull paced the
winners with 20 points, including Madrid's last 8 in the final 100
seconds. Rudy Fernandez added 16 points and 8 rebounds for Madrid.
Sofoklis Schortsanitis and Guy Pnini led Maccabi with 15 points apiece.
Ricky Hickman added 11 for the guests. Nikola Mirotic and Fernandez
shined early to give Madrid a 16-8 lead. Read more 
Olympiacos
Piraeus dominated the glass and pulled away in the second half in
claiming a 73-55 victory over Unicaja Malaga Thursday at Peace and
Friendship Stadium. The hosts set a club record with 21 offensive
rebounds to overcome a rare tough night for Euroleague MVP Vassilis
Spanoulis. Despite the star guard tying a career low with 2 points on
1-of-12 shooting, the Reds turned to veteran forward Georgios
Printezis, who came through with 17 points. Bryant Dunston added 12 and
Stratos Perperoglou 11 for the winners, who improved to 3-2 in Top 16
Group E. Unicaja led early, but after Olympiacos came back and took a
6-point halftime lead, the hosts dominated the second half and coasted
to victory. Read more 
In
one of the greatest finishes in professional basketball history, Zoran
Planinic banked in a three-quarter court prayer as time expired to lift
Anadolu Efes Isatnbul to a 61-60 victory over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
on Friday night at Abdi Ipekci Arena. The victory was the first for the
host team in the Top 16, while Milan fell to 2-2 in Group E. The
visitors led most of the game before Dusko Savanovic scored 9 points in
17-2 run that bridged the third and fourth quarter. However Milan
rallied late and regained the lead on Daniel Hackett’s free throw with
11.5 seconds remaining. The game appeared to be in Milan’s pocket after
Savanovic missed a three, but Planinic had other ideas. Read more 
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv stormed to exclusive control of first place in Group F
with a blowout 88-67 home win against Partizan Belgrade on Thursday
before a giddy sellout crowd of 11,000 at Nokia Arena. Maccabi is now
4-0 in Group F, a win ahead of both CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid, after
its eighth consecutive victory overall and 12th in the last 13 games.
From a 10-9 scoreboard late in the first quarter, Maccabi went on a
13-minute, 37-10 blast into halftime and never looked back on the way
to beating Partizan. Alex Tyus came off the bench with 16 points on
perfect 8-for-8 two-point shooting and 9 rebounds for Maccabi. Tyrese
Rice, with 15 points, was the only other double-digit scorer for the
winners. Read more 
In
an intense battle that went down to the final minutes, Unicaja Malaga
improved to 2-1 in Group E by downing Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul 89-75
at home on Friday. Unicaja grabbed its second consecutive win and
dropped Fenerbahce to 0-3. Zoran Dragic paced the winners with 24
points. Ryan Toolson added 12, Carlos Suarez 11 while Vladimir Stimac
scored 10 for Unicaja. Melih Mahmutoglu led Fenerbahce with 19 points
on 5-of-5 three-point shooting. Linas Kleiza added 17 while Bo McCalebb
scored 16 points and dished a Euroleague career-high 8 assists for the
guests. Fran Vazquez, who did not finish the game due to a sprained
ankle, led an 8-1 opening run. Read more 
FC
Barcelona sent a message that echoed all around the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague by downing Olympiacos Piraeus 72-81 on the road at Peace and
Friendship Stadium in Group E on Thursday. Barcelona remained
undefeated in Group E and improved to 3-0 with its 15th consecutive Top
16 victory. Olympiacos dropped to 1-2 and saw its 10-game home winning
streak come to an end. Juan Carlos Navarro led the winners with 21
points. Brad Oleson added 14 for Barcelona. Vassilis Spanoulis and
Georgios Printezis led Olympiacos with 17 points apiece. Printezis
shined early to give Olympiacos a 23-14 margin late in the first
quarter. Read more 
FC
Bayern Munich remained undefeated in Top 16 Group F by rallying to edge
Partizan NIS Belgrade 71-65 at home on Thursday. Bayern improved to 2-0
in Group F, while Partizan dropped to 0-2. John Bryant paced the
winners with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Deon Thompson also posted a
double-double of 15 points and 10 boards, helping Bayern outrebound
Partizan 47-39. Malcolm Delaney had 12 points and 5 assists for Bayern.
Bogdan Bogdanovic led Partizan with 24 points. Tarence Kinsey added 20
while Joffrey Lauvergne had 11 for the guests. A three-point play by
Thompson gave Bayern a 12-9 edge midway through the first quarter. Read
more 
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv took care of business against Lokomotiv Kuban
Krasnodar on Thursday at Nokia Arena, pulling away late for its sixth
straight Turkish Airlines Euroleague victory and third win this season
over Lokomotiv. Sofoklis Schortsanitis, making a surprise start after a
previous sprained ankle diagnosis threatened to sideline him for
several weeks, dominated inside and Devin Smith added a double-double
to pace Maccabi, which improved to 2-0 in Group F. The loss dropped
Krasnodar to 0-2. The visitors let briefly late in the third quarter,
but Maccabi used a 12-2 run in the fourth to take the first
double-digit lead of the game and never looked back. Read more 
Bayern
Munich’s long-range prowess made the difference as the Turkish Airlines
Euroleague newcomers marked their Top 16 debut with a 66-84 victory at
Zalgiris Kaunas. Malcolm Delaney paced the Munich attack with 14 points
and 6 assists, while Heiko Schaffartzik talled 12 points and 5 assists.
The visitors went up by 10 after 5 quick Robin Benzing points early in
the second quarter. Schaffartzik came alive to reject a Zalgiris run as
the visitors took a 36-48 lead at the break. The third quarter is where
Munich broke the game open as Bryce Taylor and Lucca Staiger shined in
a 0-13 charge and Zalgiris never recovered. Taylor finished with 12
points and Benzing 10 for the visitors, who made 10 of 21 threes
(47.6%) compared to just 6-of-33 three-point shooting (18.2%) for the
hosts. Read more 
Maccabi
Electra Tel Aviv pulled away with a 0-12 fourth-quarter run to beat
Galatasaray Liv Hospital 84-90 on Thursday night in both teams’ Top 16
opener at Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall in Istanbul. The fourth quarter
started with plenty of excitement and five lead changes, but Devin
Smith and Yogev Ohayon each hit threes in the game-breaking run. Ricky
Hickman scored a season-high 24 points for Maccabi and Ohayon added 15,
while Smith and Alex Tyus each posted double doubles for the winners.
Smith tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds, Tyus went for 12 points and 11
boards. Carlos Arroyo scored 19 for the hosts, who led by as many as 9
in the second quarter. Zoran Erceg scored 17, Ender Arslan 12 and Henry
Domercant 11 in defeat. Read more 
Panathinaikos
presented its calling card for the Top 16 with a defensive-minded 73-57
home win over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on Thursday before 14,000 happy
fans at Olympic Sports Center Athens. The Greens cruised to their first
Group E victory by winning every quarter and dominating 39-22 in
rebounds. Dimitris Diamantidis had 11 assists, 4 more than the entire
Milan team. Stephane Lasme had 13 rebounds, 7 more than any Milano
player, and 3 blocks to lead the defensive effort. On the scoring end,
James Gist paced the Greens with 12 points while making 4 of 5
two-pointers and his only triple of the night. He was joined in double
figures by Roko Ukic, with 11 points, while Ramel Curry and Antonis
Fotsis had 10 each. Read more 
It’s
only fitting that Bojan Bogdanovic enters the Top 16 as the
competition’s leading scorer, since no Euroleague player has averaged
more points since the 2010-11 season than the 24-year-old swingman.
Possessing an array of weapons, the skills to generate offense from the
low post or from long range and the ability to score with his right or
left hand, Bogdanovic has become one of Europe’s most prolific scorers.
As Fenerbahce Ulker targets its first ever trip to the Final Four, look
for Bogdanovic to continue carrying the biggest load. Read more 
