The second double-round week of the season is upon us
Game Center: Dubai, Barca, Efes roll to road wins; Bayern, Zvezda protect home floors
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8 Min lectura
Tuesday, October 14
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv 71-92 FC Barcelona
Barcelona grabbed its third consecutive EuroLeague victory by overwhelming Maccabi 71-92 at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, Serbia, in Round 4 on Tuesday. Barca improved to 3-1 in the standings while Maccabi dropped to 1-3. Barca led 18-31 at the end of the first quarter, extended its margin to 32-60 at halftime and never looked back.
Willy Hernangomez led the winners with 19 points. Kevin Punter and Myles Cale added 12 while Toko Shengelia flirted with a triple-double with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists in less than 19 minutes. Sayon Keita made his EuroLeague debut with Barca and scored 4 points as a starter. Marcio Santos paced Maccabi with 18 points, Tamir Blatt added 15 and Roman Sorkin had 10.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 69-93 Dubai Basketball
Dubai made quite the statement on Tuesday night by going on the road to Fenerbahce and thrashing the defending EuroLeague champs 69-93. The visitors led from the midway point of the first quarter right until the final buzzer, going up by as many as 32 points with 2 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. With this win, Dubai ended its two-game losing streak to improve to a 2-2 record. The misery continues for Fenerbahce, however, as it dropped its third straight.
Mfiondu Kabengele had his best performance to date in his rookie EuroLeague season, posting 26 points and 7 rebounds. Another key contributor for Dubai was Klemen Prepelic, who had 13 points and 6 assists. The UAE-based team also saw Dwayne Bacon net 21 points, Davis Bertans pour in 12 and Filip Petrusev score 11. For Fenerbahce, Wade Baldwin – who was ejected in the fourth quarter – and Bonzie Colson had 12 points each, followed by Devon Hall with 10.
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 88-79 Zalgiris Kaunas
Crvena Zvezda celebrated a second successive EuroLeague win and sank Zalgiris 88-79, improving to 2-2 while the visitors lost for the first time this season. Jordan Nwora paced Zvezda with a game-high 24 points, with Chima Moneke and Donatas Moteijunas adding 13 apiece. Semi Ojeleye netted 10 points and Ebuka Izundu amassed 9 for the hosts, while Maodo Lo and Arnas Butkevicius led Zalgiris on 14 points each.
Zalgiris led 57-58 entering the fourth quarter before Zvezda hit top gear in the home stretch and forced the final twist, taking a 77-69 lead on the back of fervent home support, as Izundu raised the decibel level when he came up with a steal and a ferocious slam to make it 80-72. Zalgiris had one last roll of the dice, but Zvezda stayed firm to give coach Sasa Obradovic a perfect homecoming on his second debut for the Serbian side.
Olympiacos Piraeus 78-82 Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Anadolu Efes grabbed a priceless road win, overcoming Olympiacos 78-82 in a thriller at the Peace and Friendship Stadium. Tyler Dorsey scored 11 early points to send the hosts ahead, but Efes fought back with a 2-16 run propelled by Shane Larkin. The lead continued to swap hands to set up a dramatic finale, and two baskets in the last 80 seconds from Isaia Cordinier ultimately sealed the deal as Sasha Vezenkov’s three-point attempt to force overtime missed the mark.
Efes was paced by 20 points from new signing Cole Swider on 4-of-7 three-point shooting, with Larkin adding 18. Ercan Osmani scored 12, PJ Dozier netted 11 and Cordinier scored 10. Alec Peters hit four triples to lead Olympiacos with 14 points, Tyson Ward scored 13, Vezenkov netted 12 and Dorsey scored 11 in a game that left both teams tied at 2-2.
FC Bayern Munich 64-53 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Bayern bounced back in style from its last home defeat against Zalgiris Kaunas by defeating visiting Milan 64-53 at SAP Garden on Tuesday night. In a game that saw 11 lead changes in the first half, the hosts took control of the game thanks to a 14-2 run midway through the third quarter, right after Milan earned a game-high 7 point-difference, 28-35. Triples by Andreas Obst and Kamar Baldwin at that moment set the tone for the host team, as Milan melted down with just 20 points scored in the second half.
Bayern, which improved to 2-2, was led by Vladimir Lucic, who posted 15 points, while Obst and Baldwin followed with 14 and 11 respectively. Devin Booker had a bittersweet return to Munich, as he posted a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds to pace the visitors, and Shavon Shields had 10 points in the losing effort. Milan slipped to 1-3 after its third loss in a row.
Wednesday, October 15
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens vs. LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (20:15 CEST)
Panathinaikos (2-1) is gunning for its third win of the season as it welcomes an ASVEL team (1-2) targeting a first road triumph. Reigning league MVP Kendrick Nunn again demonstrated his importance to Panathinaikos by netting a dramatic game-winner at Baskonia last week, and the Greens will now look for an improved inside game after making just 51.8% of two-point attempts this season – fourth-worst in the league. ASVEL has struggled even more in that respect, making just 49.6% of two-pointers (19th in the league), so this game could be decided by effectiveness inside the paint. Glynn Watson needs to find greater accuracy for the French team after making just 33.3% of his field-goal attempts so far this season.
Virtus Bologna vs. AS Monaco (20:30 CEST)
Monaco (2-1) is targeting a third straight victory as it travels to face a Virtus team (1-2) aiming to snap a two-game losing slide. The Roca Team boasts one of the league’s most efficient offenses, committing fewer turnovers than any other team (8.7 per game), while Virtus is next-worst in that category with an average of 16.7 ball losses. Elie Okobo has been a key part of that success for Monaco, dishing 16 assists without a turnover so far this season, while big man Daniel Theis boasts a similarly impressive stat with 17 of his 18 two-point efforts converted. Virtus is relying on an explosion from Carsen Edwards, who is seeking a return to form after making just 1 of his 7 three-point attempts in last week’s loss at Paris.
Valencia Basket vs. Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv (20:30 CEST)
A rematch of last season's EuroCup semifinal series will see Valencia (2-1) seek revenge against Hapoel (2-1). The Israeli team triumphed in that showdown thanks to a stellar 32-points performance from Anthony Blakeney, who has continued his form into the new season by averaging 17.7 points per game. Valencia needs to fix its defense after allowing 108 points in last week’s loss against Barcelona, while also maintaining the free-flowing style which has helped Darius Thompson average 15.7 points per game. The Spanish team has been boosted by Brancou Badio’s return from injury, while Hapoel will attempt to return to winning ways with former Valencia guard Chris Jones, who needs to take better care of the basketball after so far recording more turnovers (2.7 per game) than assists (2.0 per night).
Real Madrid vs. Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (20:45 CEST)
Resurgent Real (2-1) will aim for a third straight win with a visit from a Partizan team (2-1) chasing exactly the same reward. The Serbian team will run its offense through the Brown duo: leading scorer Sterling (16.7 points per game) and top distributor Carlik (5.0 assists per night). Real’s home win over ASVEL last week was chiefly facilitated by summer signing Chuma Okeke, who made 17 points without missing a shot. Real has won seven games straight against Partizan but needs to improve its three-point shooting after making just 30% from deep so far – next to worst in the league – and will take hope from the fact that Partizan has the league’s worst perimeter defense, allowing opponents to convert 46.2% of three-point attempts.
Paris Basketball vs. Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (20:45 CEST)
Baskonia (0-3) will attempt to change its status as the league's only winless team with a tough trip to face confident Paris (2-1). The French team's offensive leader is clearly Nadir Hifi, who ranks second in the league with 21.3 points per night with at least 4 triples in every game. But Daulton Hommes – who missed nearly all of last season through injury – showed he poses another weapon from deep by converting 60% of his triples so far. Baskonia will feel frustrated after last week’s last-second loss to Panathinaikos, but can rely on backcourt orchestration from Trent Forrest who ranks second in the league with 7.3 assists per night. In the paint, the Spanish team will rely on Tadas Sedekerskis to continue his average of 7.3 rebounds.