Turkish Airlines Euroleague: big wins on Friday
As Round 4 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague closed on Friday, there were intruiging contest aplenty. In Spain, Valencia destroyed Unicaja Malaga in a repeat of the 2017 EuroCup final. Brose Bamberg capped its solid week with a win over sorry Baskonia, while CSKA Moscow claimed a high-scoring away win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul.
Finally, Reigning champs Fenerbahce travelled to Athens and was defeated by a last gasp Panathinaikos attack.
CSKA Moscow vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul, 80-98
After a big loss to Real Madrid ended its winning run on Wednesday, CSKA Moscow got back to winning ways with a crusing win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul. The win moved the Russians to 3-1, while Efes remains without a victory at 0-4. Away from home in Istanbul, CSKA edged a high-scoring first quarter 26-27 before adding another 27 for a 43-54 halftime time. With the momentum, the visitors cruised to victory through the second half.
Will Clyburn dropped 20 points for the Moscow juggernaut, followed by Nando De Colo’s 18 points and Sergio Rodriguez’s 14 points.
Krunoslav Simon nailed a game-high 23 points in the losing effort, while Josh Adams added 17 points.
Brose Bamberg vs. Baskonia Vitoria, 78-72
These clubs have had contrasting weeks. Both entered the two-round week without a win in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague this season. However, by Friday, Bamberg is sitting on 2-2 record after picking up two consecutive victories, while Baskonia is winless (0-4). The teams were locked 17-17 through Q1 before Brose Bamberg took a 35-32 lead at the long break. The hosts extended to 60-52 after thirty minutes before riding a losing fourth act to victory.
Dorell Wright topped Bamberg with 13 points, with Lucca Staiger and Leon Radosevic managing 12 points apiece.
Jayson Granger secured 17 points and 6 assists in the losing team, while Rodrigue Beaubois drained 14 points.
Panathinaikos Athens vs. Fenerbahce Istanbul, 70-68
The game of the round played out in Athens between former multiple Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champs Panathinaikos and current title holders Fenerbahce. The champs have not got their title defence off to a great start, with this loss leaving Fener at 2-2. However, a visit to Athens is never easy and Panathinaikos moves to 2-2 as well. The story of the game was Niko Pappas jumping with 1.2 seconds on the watch to drain a game-winning triple for The Greens.
Pappas took the glory and finished with 24 points, while Nick Calathes added 12 points in success.
Jan Vesely popped in 15 points for Fenerbahce, followed by Nicolo Melli and Brad Wanamaker with 14 points each.
Valencia Basket vs. Unicaja Malaga, 91-53
In a repeat of last season’s EuroCup final, Valencia exacted revenge for its loss in the showpiece by dominating Unicaja Malaga. The Spanish Liga Endesa champs downed the EuroCup victors in style to move to 3-1, while Malaga has plenty to think about at 1-3. As the score suggests, Valencia was in total control, draining 57 first half points to lead 57-25 through the midway point. It was a case of controlling the pace of the game from there and easing to victory.
Errick Green scored 19 points for the winners, while Alberto Abalde hit 18 points and Rafa Martinez managed 14 points.