Turkish Airlines EuroLeague: CSKA Downs Real Madrid

 The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague has seen a dynamic shift in the leadership position in its standings for the 2018-19 season on Thursday. CSKA Moscow handed Real Madrid its second loss of the season, 88-93, and is now topping the leaderboard with a 9-1 record. Fenerbahce Istanbul has yet to play its game for Round 10, which will take place tonight against the surging FC Barcelona Lassa. But for now, the Russian powerhouse claims pole position in Europe’s top basketball league.

Things are getting cramped atop of the EuroLeague standings and considering how competitive this league is, there we won’t see these top teams let up in the immediate horizon.

The duo of Cory Higgins and Will Clyburn powered Russia’s Army Men to victory in this one. Higgins dropped a game-high 24 points and Clyburn chimed in with 18 points and six boards. With Nando de Colo running things at the point, the trio erased a slim 49-45 lead posted by Real Madrid in the first half with a 6-19 run. From there, the red shirts did not look back as Real Madrid was unable to retake the lead.

CSKA’s shots from long-range were falling all game. They connected on 15-of-26 shots from deep to keep their Spanish hosts at bay. Facundo Campazzo tried his best to carry Real Madrid on the shoulders of his 23-point performance but was unable to weather the storm due to a lack of support on the offensive end of the floor.

There were three other games that took place on November 29th. Maccabi Tel Aviv got their second win of the season at the expense of FC Bayern Muenchen 95-71. B.C. Zalgiris Kaunas are on a mission to climb up the standings and their motivated play was enough to defeat Armani Exchange Milano 83-78. Lastly, Darussafaka Istanbul fell to last place in the standings after losing to Herbalife Gran Canaria 71-75. Darussafaka has only one win and need a drastic turnaround to climb out of the 1-9 hole that they’re in.