ASVEL Villeurbanne ends Barcelona’s seven-game EuroLeague winning streak
ASVEL Villeurbanne rallied past Barcelona at home (80-68) and ended the Catalans’ seven-game winning streak in the EuroLeague.
The French took over from the opening tip and never looked back. Playing very well on both ends, they led by nine at halftime (45-36) and 12 at the third of the third quarter (65-53) and cruised to the victory.
Four players scored in double figures for ASVEL, with David Lighty having a game-high 17 points. On the other hand, Nikola Mirotic led Barcelona with 14 points.
“Overall, they were the team with much bigger motivation and this is what is very painful.
When, in a EuroLeague game, you don’t have motivation to continue this great run that we had. Hopefully, we can start a new one,” the head coach of Barcelona, Sarunas Jasikevicius, told reporters afterwards.
ASVEL improved its record to 2-6, whereas Barcelona dropped to 8-2, but remained on top of the EuroLeague standings.
Panathinaikos snapped a four-game EuroLeague losing streak after defeating Bayern Munich at home (83-76).
The “Greens” went on a 21-3 run in the first half, which enabled them to take control and never look back.
For their part, the Bavarians cut the deficit up to two (72-70), but the hosts closed the game on an 11-6 run and sealed the deal.
Nemanja Nedovic was the top scorer of Panathinaikos with 17 points, whereas Vladimir Lucic had 20 for Bayern.
The six-time EuroLeague champions now have a 3-6 record. Meanwhile, the visitors dropped to 7-4.
Valencia edged Fenerbahce in Istanbul (86-90) and handed the Turks their fourth straight loss in the EuroLeague.
The vistors turned things around in the second half and came back from a 10-point deficit (43-33) to win the game.
Valencia played excellent on both ends in the last 20 minutes and outscored the hosts 43-57 to seal the deal.
Sam Van Rossom (20 points, eight of them in crunch time) and Klemen Prepelic (all 13 points in the fourth quarter) led the way for the winners.
Six players of Fenerbahce scored in double figures, with Dyshawn Pierre having 18.
Valencia improved to 7-3, whereas Fenerbahce dropped to 4-7 in the EuroLeague standings.