Euroleague, Real Madrid slip to Efes
Round 5 of the 2014/2015 Euroleague season brought with it a big surprise as Anadolu Efes Istanbul shocked Real Madrid to hand the Spanish club its first defeat of the season. Elsewhere on Friday CSKA Moscow stayed perfect in the Euroleague this term, as did Barcelona by gunning down Panathinaikos in a clash of the European titans.
Group A
Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Real Madrid, 75-73
Anadolu Efes pulled off one of the biggest wins of the Euroleague season so far by outlasting Real Madrid at home. The big result meant that the Turkish club joined their illustrious opponents on 4-1 in Group A, sitting atop Los Blancos with a favourable record.
It was a bucket for bucket start to the game, but Madrid soon found some space and took a 0-7 run to hold early control of the game. However, Efes stormed back through the closing minutes of the first to tie the opening quarter 18 apiece. The game remained tight and the scoring consistent in the second period, but the hosts finally managed to carve a small advantage to head into halftime with a 39-36 lead. Nothing changed in terms of deficit through the third quarter as the teams locked again and could not be split through the frame, drawing 21-21 to make it 60-57 through thirty minutes. Madrid hustled in the dying minutes to make it a tied game at 73-73 with seconds to go. Overtime seemed imminent, but Matt Janning made a tip in that secured the win for the Turkish team.
Cedi Osman led the big effort for Efes with 16 points and 7 rebounds, while Dario Saric grabbed 13 points, Stephane Lasme 12 points, and Stratos Perperoglou and Milko Bjelica took 11 points each.
Sergio Llull led the scoring for both teams with 20 points and was backed up by Ioannis Bourousis with 17 points, Andres Nocioni with 11 and Sergio Rodriguez with 10.
Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari vs. Zalgiris Kaunas, 92-80
Italian club Banco di Sardegna Sassari put in a big defensive performance to take out Lithuanian giant Zalgiris at home to win its first ever Euroleague game. A season-high 22 steals meant that the home team had plenty of turnover ball and they duly punished Zalgiris’ slack handling.
The Lithuanians set the early pace with a strong opening quarter, raining baskets on Sassari to lead 17-26 after 10 minutes on the hardwood. Sassari reversed the situation in the second period with a big effort at both ends of the court, winning the stanza 25-15 to snatch a 42-41 lead through the midway rest. The Kaunas outfit managed to regain control of the scoreboard with a solid 18-23 run through the third quarter, snatching back the initiative at the final split (60-64). Sassari went big in the final quarter with a 32 point explosion which Zalgiris could only match by half. The Italians were left to ease to an historic victory.
Group B
Cedevita Zagreb vs. ALBA Berlin, 67-80
Both of these clubs registered their first wins of the Euroleague season last week so all eyes were on the Croatian capital to see which team would build on that momentum. The answer came emphatically from ALBA Berlin as the visitors took an important road win back to Germany.
A high scoring quarter that brought plenty of excitement ended with Cedevita leading the way with a 25-21 score line. Berlin kept their consistent baskets in the second quarter while the Zagreb contingent slipped, allowing ALBA to build a 35-42 lead at the long break. The visitors never looked back from that point as they took the third stint 15-19 and then ensured victory with a 17-19 winning final act. Jamel McLean led the German victory with 20 points, while Roko Ukic high scored for Cedevita with 15 points. More telling was the fact that ALBA had five players scoring double digits and Cedevita could only point to two on their roster who notched ten or more points.
Limoges vs. CSKA Moscow, 76-86
CSKA Moscow remained untouched in the competition with another big victory coming on Friday, this time on the road to French team Limoges. The Russian powerhouse has looked formidable so far in the Euroleague and have done their business with minimum fuss. Limoges on the other hand are running out of games and will need to improve their 1-4 record to stand a chance of qualification.
CSKA laid down a marker through a big scoring first frame as the away team streamed in 27 points, but credit for Limoges for keeping touch with 22 points of their own. The hosts improved in the second quarter as the French support drove them to a 22-18 period win, but at the long break Moscow held a one point cushion, 44-45. Limoges found another gear in the third stanza to put together a wonderful 27-14 run that seemed to have ensured victory through three quarters (71-59). Whether it was CSKA mustering all its skill and experience or Limoges simply collapsing we will never know, nor does it matter. The French team fell apart in the fourth quarter and managed just 5 points, while Moscow sent home 27 points to win the game.
Group C
Barcelona vs. Panathinaikos, 78-69
Barcelona came through a big test against Greek juggernaut Panathinaikos to win at home and keep its 100% record at 5-0 in Group C. As for The Greens, they will live to fight another day and still look in decent shape with a 3-2 record.
The two Euroleague stalwarts could not be separated as they traded through the first quarter, ending the 10 minutes locked at 18-18. Barcelona found a scoring edge in the second frame and kept Panathinaikos at bay to record a 29-20 streak to lead 47-38 heading into the locker room. In the third act the game went tight again, although the Greeks managed to steal Q3 18-19 to slash the deficit by one point at 64-56. Barcelona simply had too many points in the bank and closed the game down in the fourth quarter to ease to the win down the straight.