Turkish Airlines EuroLeague: road wins on Thursday
There are just five rounds of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague regular season left and the competition is now fierce. Clubs are jostling for position in the hunt for the Play-Offs and each game is high stakes. In a mega clash, Real Madrid topped Panathinaikos in style, while also in Spain Valencia fell to visiting Baskonia. Maccabi Tel Aviv also tasted a road win over Efes, as did Milan over Khimki Moscow Region.
Khimki Moscow Region vs. Milan, 77-86
Milan is finding form with the pressure off. The Serie A champs are mostly playing for pride and took apart Khimki in Russia, despite the host’s excellent home form. The win allows Milan to move to 9-16, probably too little too late for the Play-Offs. As for Khimki, the club remains in touch with a 14-11 run in seventh place. Andrew Goudelock is the kind of clutch player Milan needs and here he delivered a season-high 26 points to pace the win. Khimki will rue a missed opportunity as an Alexey Shved driven 16-2 run allowed the home team a lead in the fourth quarter. Ultimately Milan rallied for the win.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv, 81-94
Maccabi Tel Aviv eased to a road win over down and out Anadolu Efes to maintain its position in 8th, the last berth for the Play-Offs. The former Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champs knows qualification is in its hands if the wins keep coming. As for Efes, the Istanbul giant is bottom at 6-19 and is now mathematically eliminated from the competition. The visitors got busty from downtown in this game, hitting 24 triple attempts and connecting with a massive 15 of them. That heavy hitting allow Maccabi to lead for the entire second half on the way to victory.
Valencia Basket vs. Baskonia Vitoria, 71-81
In an all-Spanish game, Baskonia overcome current ACB champs Valencia. However, the road win could still not allow the club to tie 8th place. As Maccabi Tel Aviv won, Baskonia remains in 9th with a 12-13 record. As for Valencia, the club drops to 9-16 and its hopes of qualification are getting slimmer by the week. In the contest, Baskonia trailed by 55-53 through thirty minutes before erupting with a 28-16 run in the fourth act. It was a comeback win for the visitors as Valencia was stunned.
Real Madrid vs. Panathinaikos Athens, 92-75
Two capital teams, two of the most prestigious clubs in Europe, two clubs tied for 5th place, and two former multiple Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champs. Real Madrid vs. Panathinaikos was the game of the evening. Real Madrid put in a huge home performance to dominate Panathinaikos and move above the Greek team with a 15-10 record in sole possession of fifth. The Greens are still firmly in the Play-Offs picture with a 14-11 showing in 6th. It was just a one-point game at 38-37 through the long break, but Los Blancos exploded with 54 second half points that simple swept aside Panathinaikos.