2014/2015 Euroleague, CSKA downs Olympiacos
While Friday in the 2014/2015 Euroleague may not have produced the must see clashes of Thursday, Round 13 of the Top 16 wrapped with plenty of excitement. Zalgiris Kaunas outthought Crvena Zvezda at home in a dead rubber that let both teams let the shackles lose in Group E. In Group F a game of giants befell the Russian capital as CSKA Moscow hosted Olympiacos and saw off their illustrious Greek opponents.
Also in Group F was Anadolu Efes defeating EA7 Armani Milan in a game that gave the advantage back to Efes in the race for fourth place in the standings.
Group E
Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, 76-70
It was all about playing for the badge in Lithuania as both these clubs had already been eliminated after touch 2014/2015 Euroleague Top 16 campaigns. In a game for pride, Zalgiris Kaunas gave its home fans something to cheer about by defeating the Red Star club from Belgrade, Serbia. It was certainly an entertaining game as the teams traded throughout, Zalgiris winning the second frame 28-15 only to see Crvena Zvezda win the third act 11-28. The momentum swung again in the fourth quarter and Zalgiris claimed the victory on the back of a 25-15 run.
Paulius Jankunas scored 19 points and took 9 rebounds to set the winners, while Will Cherry added 17 points and James Anderson 10 points with 8 boards.
Boban Marjanovic maintained his good form with yet another double-double game. He produced 14 points and 12 rebounds to remain the only player in the competition averaging double-double numbers. He was followed by Charles Jenkins with 12 points.
Group F
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. EAY Armani Milan, 86-78
The most important game of the night happened in Istanbul as Anadolu Efes welcomed Italian club EA7 Milan. A loss for Milan meant that the club dropped out of the running for a berth in the Play-offs and thus is eliminated from the competition after the Top 16. As for Efes, the Turkish giant was thrown a gauntlet by Laboral Kutxa Vitoria last night and responded well to take back control of the vital fourth position in the group. Both clubs sit on 7-7 records though, so any wrong move could be disastrous even though Anadolu Efes is holding 4th thanks to superior head to heads.
Milan paced to an eleven point lead in the first quarter, but the hosts soon found a rhythm and proved accurate from the charity strip (18 from 22 attempts) to grab some free points. Thomas Huertal was huge for the club as he hauled 26 points and dished out 5 assists, while Nenad Krstic poured in 22 points and Dario Saric offered 14 points.
Alessandro Gentile and MarShon Brooks hit 17 points each for a valiant Milan. Samardo Samuels made 16 points and Daniel Hackett 13 for the losing club.
CSKA Moscow vs. Olympiacos Piraeus, 76-70
A clash between Euroleague giants and multiple past tournament winners CSKA Moscow and Olympiacos proved an excellent game. Both teams had already progressed, but CSKA sent a message to one of its title rivals with a home win in the Russian capital. The hosts led for much of the game and even held the advantage after a losing third quarter. Olympiacos made it tricky down the straight, but CSKA simply had too much in the tank and closed out the game.
Sasha Kaun and Sonny Weems scored 16 points each for CSKA, while the former added 8 rebounds. Milos Teodosic nailed 14 points and laid on 5 scoring passes.
Georgios Printezis and Matt Lojeski also scored 16 points apiece for Olympiacos.