Anadolu Efes star Vasilije Micic goes for EuroLeague career-high vs Panathinaikos

EuroLeague Round 8 saw Vasilije Micic post a new career high and lead Anadolu Efes past Panathinaikos in Athens (77-80).

The Serbian guard exploded and finished the game with 33 points, on 12/20 shooting and 5/7 from beyond the arc, along with a PIR of 29.

Krunoslav Simon was the only other player of the winners in double digits with 12. For the “Greens”, Shelvin Mack had a team-high 18 points in his EuroLeague debut with Panathinaikos.

The hosts were in control for the majority of the first half. But, Micic took over, helped the visitors build a double-digit lead later in the game and seal the deal.

Efes now is at 4-3, whereas Panathinaikos dropped to 2-4.

In Belgrade, Real Madrid endured the comeback of Crvena Zvezda and earned a big road win (67-73).

The “Whites” came back from a 13-point deficit early in the game (21-8) and led by eight in the third quarter (46-54).

Yet, the Serbians turned things around and took the lead, with four minutes to go (65-64), thanks to a 21-10 run.

Two three-pointers from Trey Thompkins and an excellent defensive performance in crunch time helped the visitors close the game on a 2-9 run of their own and seal the deal.

This was the third straight win for Real Madrid, which improved to 4-4. Zvezda, on the other hand, now has a 3-5 record.

Bayern Munich remained one step away from the top of the EuroLeague standings, after beating Valencia at home (90-79).

In a hard-contested battle, the Bavarians stood tall and closed the game on an 11-1 run to earn the victory.

Vladimir Lucic went for 22 points, seven rebounds and a career-high PIR of 35 for the winners. Klemen Prepelic was the top scorer of the Spaniards, with 18 points.

Bayern improved to 6-2 and won for the sixth time in the last seven EuroLeague games.

This was also the first victory of the Bavarians over Valencia in the EuroLeague.

For their part, the Spaniards dropped to 4-2 in the EuroLeague standings.

In the final match of the night, Zenit Saint Petersburg made a stellar defensive performance and rallied past ASVEL Villeurbanne in France (53-66).

The Russians were in control for the majority of the night. But, the hosts cut the deficit to three, with less than three minutes to go (53-56).

Zenit, though, closed the game on a 0-10 run and sealed its third win in the EuroLeague.

Will Thomas had 14 points for the winners, whereas Charles Kahudi posted 12 for the losing squad.

Zenit now is at 3-1 in the EuroLeague table. On the contrary, ASVEL dropped to 1-5.