Euroleague Top 16, Istanbul Derby

It is probably fair to say that Round 7 of the Euroleague Top 16 closed on Friday with each of the games going to form. It was certainly a night to be at home as three of the four winners took victories in front of their own fans. So, while it was not a night of surprises, it was certainly a night of potent Basketball action and with the Euroleague Top 16 only at its midway point, there is plenty more to come.

There was just a single game in Group E as Panathinaikos continued its solid Top 16 form by downing Crvena Zvezda to keep pace in the standings. A busier schedule in Group F saw CSKA Moscow get back to winning ways with a crushing success over EA7 Milan. Elsewhere on the continent it was a night of derbies as Laboral Kutxa beat Unicaja Malaga in an all-Spanish clash, while Fenerbahce took the evening’s only road win by defeating Turkish rival Anadolu Efes.

Group E
Panathinaikos Athens welcomed Crvena Zvezda Belgrade to the Greek capital and carved out a 74-69 victory. The win was enough to send The Greens second in Group E with a 5-2 record. As for Crvena Zvezda, the tale of the tape for the club through the Euroleague Top1 6 is that the team just lacks that extra quality needed in the elite stage of European Basketball. The Belgrade contingent held its own once again tonight, but fell short at the final hurdle. A.J Slaughter paced the scoreboard for the winners with 16 points, while Boban Marjanovic had a double-double for Crvena Zvezda with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Group F
After a maiden Top 16 win of the season last week, Unicaja Malaga would have been looking to go on and make it two from two. However, the club travelled to Spanish Liga Endesa rival Laboral Kutxa Vitoria and slipped to a 79-74 defeat. Laboral is getting the job done at home this season and went three from three on its home floor, enough to move the club to fifth in the standings with a 3-4 record. Malaga’s woes returned and the club now props up the standings with a 1-6 record and really needs a blistering second half of the Euroleague Top 16 to progress. Darius Adams set the tone in the winning effort with 20 points and 5 assists.

A typically tight and ferocious Istanbul derby saw Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul grab a vital road win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul with a 71-77 final score. It was Fenerbahce’s fourth consecutive win in the competition and it sent the club third on its own (5-2), while Anadolu Efes slipped back to fourth with a 4-3 record. The teams had traded buckets for much of the contest, but in the final act the visitors pulled away and edged it in the dying minutes. Interestingly, Andrew Goudelock had been quiet all-game, but it was he who produced the triple that sent Fener ahead for good.

After the shock defeat to Olympiacos last week, CSKA Moscow got back to winning ways with a big 97-75 victory over EA7 Armani Milan in the Russian capital. The victory showed that CSKA will be a threat to all this season, despite that loss last week, and the club now moves to a 6-1 record (16-1 this season). EA7 Milan is finding the going tough and has just a single win in the Top 16 phase.