Euroleague Top 16: Real Madrid qualifies

With all sixteen clubs of the Euroleague Top 16 still in the hunt for a qualification place to the play-offs, the competition is still bringing plenty of excitement as it enters Round 10. Split over Thursday and Friday, the round tipped off with four games and Thursday produced the first club punching its ticket to the next round.

That honour goes to Real Madrid as the Spanish team continued its consistent spell with a win over ALBA Berlin.

With everything still to play for, Round 10 could produce evidence of which teams will make the cut in five weeks’ time and which will be eliminated. However, the Euroleague Top 16 continued to throw up surprises, such as Crvena Zvezda’s recent form. The Serbian club is making a good go of escaping from trouble, a shock road win over Galatasaray reinforced that point today.

Also in Group E, Barcelona put in a good performance to beat current champions Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv. In Group F there was an interesting clash between two of the chasing pack as Nizhny Novgorod hosted Laboral Kutxa Vitoria in Russia, victory eventually going to the hosts after a close game. Actually, that Group F clash proved to be the only close game of the night as Group E produced a series of big wins.

Group E

Real Madrid vs. ALBA Berlin, 93-62
Real Madrid had the chance to be the first club to pass to the Playoffs and the Spanish giant took it. Los Blancos has been formidable at home and maintained its 100% record in the Madrid through the Euroleague Top 16 this season. Indeed, Real Madrid put the Berlin contingent to the sword to move further clear in first place with a record of 9-1. As for ALBA, the German club has been doing well, but continental form has been patchy, the Berlin team will have to dust itself down as it is still firmly in the fight with a 4-6 record in fifth place.

Madrid dominated the first quarter, but suffered a loss in the second frame as ALBA woke up. The German club certainly fell back asleep in the third act as the players only scored seven points while Los Blancos drained 24. That gave the hosts a huge lead and they never looked back.

Jaycee Carroll led a well-rounded Madrid attack, leading five players in double figures with 13 points. Sergio Llull offered 12 points, while Rudy Fernandez added 11 points and Gustavo Ayon and Andres Nocioni split 20 points evenly.

Reggie Redding topped the scoring in the game with 14 points for ALBA Berlin, but only one other player followed him to double figures, Alex King with 10 points.

FC Barcelona vs. Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, 89-71
Barcelona put together arguably its best Top 16 performance of this season by cruising past Maccabi Tel Aviv at home. Barca looked solid on the hardwood against the current Euroleague champs, and while Maccabi Tel Aviv has been in patchy form as well, Barcelona can draw confidence after their own dodgy periods this season. The victory sent the Spanish club into joint second with Tel Aviv, both clubs holding a 6-3 record.

Barcelona stormed the visitors in the first half and consistent danger at the bucket produced a score of 47-34 through the long break. Maccabi Tel Aviv hit back in the third, but Barcelona went again in a comfortable fourth that made the victory a formality. Ante Tomic was the go to guy for Barca again, plundering yet another double-double (16 points, 10 boards) for the winners. He was followed by 13 points from Justin Doellman and 11 points apiece for Juan Carlos Navarro, DeShaun Thomas, and Tomas Satoransky. Joe Alexander logged 16 points for the losing champions.
Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul vs. Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, 68-91
Crvena Zvezda Belgrade impressed in a dominating road win that shocked Galatasaray in Turkey. The Red Star club from Serbia has been doing well in recent weeks and has now won two consecutive games to get back in the mix. Indeed, two weeks ago the standings (Crvena Zvezda last on 1-7) suggested the Adriatic League high flyers were down and out, but the team had actually been playing well and not necessarily getting the breaks.

That has changed and Crvena Zvezda now moves off last place with a 3-7 record, replaced by Galatasaray with a 2-8 record. A 16-21 winning first quarter set up the visitors, who then exploded with a 19-31 run in the second and never looked back. Six Belgrade players registered in double figures, including Jaka Blazic with 19 points, Boban Marjanovic with 14 points and 9 rebounds, and Charles Jenkins with 14 points.

Group F

Nizhny Novgorod vs. Laboral Kutxa Vitoria, 89-85
In the sole game in Group F on Thursday, Nizhny Novgorod overcame Laboral Kutxa Vitoria in a contest between two clubs struggling for consistent form. That said, both entered the game firmly in the mix for qualification and that has not really changed, although Laboral Kutxa lost the chance to take a big advantage from this road game. The result kept the club in fifth place with a 4-6 record, while Nizhny stays sixth at 3-7 but is now closer to the teams in the qualification spaces.

Trey Thompkins stood out with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the winners as Nizhny used a 32-20 spurt in the fourth quarter to recover from a 57-65 losing position through thirty minutes. Gal Mekel added 20 points for the winning effort, while 21 points from Bertans Davis put the travelling Spanish club on the brink of victory before Nizhny’s fightback.