2013/2014 Euroleague: Round 5, Friday
Round 5 of the 2013/2014 Euroleague season is done and dusted after Friday´s games. It proved to be a good night for home teams as no club recorded a road win as the night threw up several key contests. CSKA Moscow demolished Partizan in Russia to keep in touch in Group A, while Olympiacos came through a thriller against Stelmet Zielona Gora to win on the buzzer.
EA7 Armani Milano easily saw off Strasbourg, Galatasaray ended Bayer Munich´s recent good form, and C. Zvezda Telekom enjoyed home comforts against Lietuvos Rytas in the other games on Friday.
Group A
CSKA Moscow – Partizan NIS Belgrade, 88-46
Euroleague giants CSKA Moscow laid down a thumping defeat upon Partizan Belgrade in Russia, which the home team will hope is a turning point in a rocky season. The win takes CSKA to 3-2 in Group A while Partizan´s woes continue with the club dropping to the foot of the table with 1-4.
As the score line suggests, this one was not a close game and from the tip off to the final buzzer the Russian giants were on top. During the first 10 minutes the home team set about Partizan and carved out a healthy 21-10 lead. It was much the same in the second period as Moscow kept scoring consistency high to go in at halftime with the board reading 42-18. The first half set the tone for the second with the visitors struggling to find any rhythm; and with Moscow on fire the score stood at 69-31 at the end of the third. The onslaught continued in the fourth quarter as Moscow recorded the easiest of victories.
Sonny Weems hit a game high 18 points and also laid on 8 assists. Vitaliy Fridzon with 16 and Vladimir Micov with 15 were also regular scorers for the winners.
Bogdan Bogdanovic was a consistent getter for Partizan with 13 points, while Joffrey Lauvergne had a good game with 9 points and 12 rebounds.
Group C
Olympiacos – Stelmet Zielona Gora, 79-77
CSKA´s crunching win over Partizan was definitely a highlight of Friday night, but the real thriller was in Greece where reigning champions Olympiacos defeated Stelmet in a very close match. The win takes the Greek team to 5-0 as they remain unbeaten in the 2013/2014 Euroleague season and top Group C. Stelmet fans can be pleased with the teams´ effort, but the club slips to 1-4.
The Polish visitors surprised Olympiacos out of the gates and hit 22 points in the first quarter compared to just 11 from the home team. Current champions Olympiacos now had to spend the rest of the game clawing the deficit back, but it proved tough going as Stelmet refused to give in. During the second quarter the home team started to close the gap, but the visitors held firm to go in at halftime leading 33-42. In the third period Olympiacos started to look more lively and mounted pressure on the Stelmet defense, but once again the Polish team stood tall and lead 55-63 heading into the last 10 minutes. With time running out and 8 points the difference, the Greek team went into overdrive and slowly but surely chipped away at the lead. After a flurry of potential game winning exchanges Stelmet led 77-76 with 2.4 seconds on the board. However, the drama was not over as Evangelos Mantzaris rose from beyond the arc to connect a three pointer on the buzzer to win the game.
Georgios Printezis top scored in the game with 21 points and also took 7 rebounds off the boards. Also in touch for Olympiacos were Vassilis Spanoulis with 18 points and nine assists and Matt Lojeski with 13 points.
Vladimir Dragicevic was a driving force behind Stelmet´s stand as he recorded 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Galatasaray – Bayern Munich, 84-74
Bayern Munich´s solid start to the 2013/2014 Euroleague campaign suffered a setback as Turkish giants Galatasaray gunned down the German debutants in Turkey. The loss sees Munich slip to 3-2 in Group C as Galatasaray improves to 3-2.
The home team laid the foundations for victory during a quality first quarter in which the team outpaced Bayern to finish the period at 29-15. In the second 10 minutes the German visitors improved but still managed to lose the quarter 18-15 to go in at halftime losing 47-30. Much of the damage had been done and there proved to be no way back for Munich, although the team did cut the 17 point lead to twelve at the end of the third. With the score at 61-49 after 30 minutes, it was a case of seeing out the game for Galatasaray and although the home side lost the quarter 23-25 enough had been done to win the match.
Pops Mensah-Bonsu was in fine touch again for Gala as he recorded 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Carlos Arroyo scored 18 points and supplied 6 baskets.
Chevon Troutman was the only double digit scorer for Bayern Munich with 15 points.
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Other Friday results
Group B
EA7 Emporio Armani vs. Strasbourg, 83-72
Group D
C. Zvezda Telekom vs. Lietuvos Rytas, 88-77