Valencia Basket entered its Round 30 game against FC Bayern Munich without starting center Brandon Davies, but showed great frontcourt depth to get a 70-68 home victory in a thriller that went down to the final shot. 


Big guys lead Valencia to big win 

Valencia Basket entered its Round 30 game against FC Bayern Munich without starting center Brandon Davies, but showed great frontcourt depth to earn a 70-68 home victory in a thriller that came down to the final shot.

Davies was sidelined and Boubacar Toure was far from his best self as he returned after an injury. The visitors arrived at La Fonteta without Danko Brankovic but with experienced center Serge Ibaka. Valencia took a potential disadvantage and turned it into an opportunity with a smart game plan in which putting Ibaka into foul trouble was mandatory.

Indeed, Ibaka picked up 2 quick fouls in the first quarter, which allowed Valencia to attack the rim as often as possible. Valencia outrebounded Bayern 13-7 in the first quarter and made 8 of 12 two-pointers (66.7%) while only allowing Bayern to make 1 of 6 shots inside the arc (16.7%).

Damien Inglis and Jaime Pradilla combined for 23 points, 14 rebounds and a PIR of 31 to lead Valencia Basket to a 70-68 home win over FC Bayern Munich on Round 30 of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Regular Season.

Inglis, Pradilla step up against Bayern

Once Ibaka was temporarily out of the equation, Valencia ran its offense through Jaime Pradilla and Damien Inglis. In short, Valencia did the one thing no-one expected and it paid off really well. Pradilla and Inglis combined for 10 points and 7 rebounds in the first quarter and at the end of it, their team led 28-15.

Bayern did a terrific job to return to the game and as it often happens, Jones took over in crunch time to make the difference. Valencia, however, would not have been able to win without its centers. Pradilla had 8 points and a game-high 8 rebounds. Inglis added a EuroLeague career-high 15 points, 6 rebounds and a PIR of 18. Ibaka finished the game with 4 points, 4 rebounds and 4 fouls in less than 21 minutes.

"I didn't know that, thank you!" Inglis said about his personal-best scoring mark. "We were just trying to get the win and wanted to show our full support to our coach Alex to get the win for him. Without Brandon, one of our main scorers, we have to share the ball to be dangerous tonight. We did it tonight, so props to us and we have to get back on track on Friday."

Valencia plays against AS Monaco in Round 31. Inglis helped Monaco win the BKT EuroCup title in 2022 and the game arrives in a good moment for him. In the last three games, Inglis averaged 12.7 points on 16 of 24 two-point shooting (66.7%), 4.7 rebounds and a PIR of 13.3. Valencia now ranks 11th with a 14-16 record, just like Partizan, which is 10th. The two teams face each other in their regular season finale.

Game News

Despite missing starting center Brandon Davies, Valencia displayed great frontcourt depth to edge Bayern in a thriller

Valencia Basket v FC Bayern Munich (2024-03-20T19:30:00.000Z)

Panathinaikos B.C. steamrolled to a well-deserved 76-89 win at KK Crvena zvezda on the back of a smooth effort which saw the visiting team’s top performers live up to their billing.

Powered by Lessort and Sloukas, the Greens romped through Belgrade

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens steamrolled to a well-deserved 76-89 win at Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, on the back of a smooth effort which saw the visiting team’s top performers live up to their billing.

None more so than center Mathias Lessort, who is well accustomed to Stark Arena in the Serbian capital as he played for Partizan MozzartBet Belgrade from 2021 to 2023 before he joined the Greens during the off-season.

Lessort, who has also played for Zvezda during his illustrious career, hit the ground running at Panathinaikos and he’s powered the team throughout this term, shining again on Wednesday by racking up 19 points and 6 assists against the home side.

His effort was complemented by Dinos Mitoglou and Kostas Sloukas who netted 17 points each, the former collecting 9 boards while the latter dished out 10 assists. Lessort, who spent 36:48 minutes on the court, acknowledged it was a crunch win for Panathinaikos in its bid to secure a top-four finish at the end of the regular season.

Lessort shined again in Belgrade

 “It was a big win for us, very important,” Lessort said after the game. “I’ve played a lot of minutes in this gym, I am used to it and I am ready to do whatever it takes to help my team win,” he added.

Panathinaikos head coach Ergin Ataman was pleased with his team’s effort at both ends of the floor. 

“We’re heading into the last four games and to win at this stage of the season is very important,” the Turkish tactician commented. “We controlled the game from the start and played well on defense apart from early in the third quarter. On offense we moved the ball well and got a very important road win.”

Zvezda’s head coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos could only lament his team’s lack of guile against a more resourceful opponent, as Panathinaikos completed the season’s double over the Serbian outfit.

“We had a chance when we slashed the deficit to 6 or 7 points, but then we had several offenses where we missed open shots,” said the Greek coach who took over from Dusko Ivanovic after Zvezda had made a 1-3 start to the season. “Panathinaikos has the quality and it was very difficult to turn the game around in the end.”

In this double-round week, Panathinaikos next hosts FC Barcelona in a blockbuster while Zvezda is at home to Virtus Segafredo Bologna, with both games on Friday.

Panathinaikos was in charge from start to finish against Crvena Zvezda with five visiting scorers hitting double figures

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade v Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (2024-03-20T19:00:00.000Z)

Valencia Basket defeated FC Bayern Munich 70-68 in Round 30 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

Valencia outlasts Bayern, 70-68

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Semi Ojeleye of Valencia Basket is guarded by Vladimir Lucic of FC Bayern Munich in Round 30 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

Tarik Biberovic has emerged as a key player for Fenerbahçe Beko, which secured an impressive 88-74 win over Barça Basket on Wednesday night.

Tarik Biberovic's work has paid off for Fenerbahçe Beko

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul grabbed its fourth consecutive victory in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, all of them against Spanish teams, by downing FC Barcelona 88-74 in Round 30 at home on Wednesday.

It was a back-and-forth battle in which both teams showed their best face at some point in the game. Fenerbahce rolled early and built a 40-15 lead midway through the second quarter. Barcelona came back with much better intensity on defense after the break and managed to get within striking distance, 62-59, early in the fourth quarter.

With the game on the line, two players stepped up to make the difference: former Barca forward Nigel Hayes-Davis and small forward Tarik Biberovic, whose contribution to his team's winning streak has been sensational.

Hayes-Davis tallied 7 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals in the final 7 minutes of the game, making sure that his team not only won the game, but also managed to get the head-to-head tie-break advantage against Barca. He finished the game with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, a career-high 5 steals and 7 fouls drawn for a game-high PIR of 26.

Tarik Biberovic had 12 points to help Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul get an 88-74 win over FC Barcelona in Round 30 of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Regular Season.

Biberovic makes things happen vs Barca

"That was a goal coming into this game," Hayes-Davis said about the tie-breaker. "We obviously needed to win and then when we saw we had the victory, we needed to make sure we won by 8 or 9 points. So it was a good team win and huge for us in the standings. Defense was very important, Coach talked about that, that we needed to find our identity on defense. We are not always going to break EuroLeague three-point records every week."

Biberovic buried a couple of critical three-pointer in the fourth quarter to make Fenerbahce restore a double-digit game and eventually get an important win. Biberovic missed just one shot on his way to 12 points, adding 2 rebounds and an assist to amass a PIR of 10.

Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius has allowed Biberovic to find his role in the team and Biberovic has brought out his best version in the last five games. He averaged 5.4 points on 20-of-35 three-point shooting (57.1%) and a PIR of 4.3 in his first 16 games. Since then, Biberovic has averaged 12.6 points on 12-of-21 shooting from deep (57.1%) and a PIR of 11.4.

Biberovic is in his sixth season with the club and arguably in his sweetest moment with Fenerbahce. At age 23, Biberovic has a lot to say in the future and is only making Fenerbahce even stronger.

The 23-year-old has been on fire during the team's ongoing winning streak

Biberovic's work has paid off for Fenerbahce

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v FC Barcelona (2024-03-20T17:45:00.000Z)

Panathinaikos B.C. beat KK Crvena zvezda 76-89 in Round 30 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.

Panathinaikos wraps up 76-89 win at Crvena Zvezda

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Kendrick Nunn of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens looks to score against Rokas Giedraitis of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in Round 30 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

Mathias Lessort had another big game for the Greens in his return to Belgrade

Olimpia Milano announced loud and clear that it is still a factor in the race for postseason action, ending AS Monaco Basket’s eight-game winning run by claiming an emphatic road victory, 80-98.

Record-setting offense propelled Olimpia Milano to a statement win 

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan announced loud and clear that it is still a factor in the race for postseason action, ending AS Monaco’s eight-game winning run by claiming an emphatic road victory, 80-98, that was just as comfortable as it was surprising.

The catalyst for the triumph was a magnificent offensive first half, which saw Milan set a new club record on the road by racing to 58 points – beating its previous single-half high in the competition away from home of 56 points, achieved in a 92-89 loss at Real Madrid in the 2018-19 season.

It was also the best first-half scoring performance ever achieved by Milan home or away, and just 2 points short of the team's all-time single-half high.

That scoring came through clockwork efficiency, with Coach Ettore Messina’s team sharing the ball to perfection and finding all sorts of weapons to net with ease both close to the basket and from beyond the arc, as Stefano Tonut, Maodo Lo and Nicolo Melli all reached double figures in the opening two quarters.

When the half ended with a pair of three-pointers from Tonut, Milan had made 8 of its 15 long-range attempts and 14 of 21 from two-point range, dishing 14 assists on just 4 turnovers, and contributing to its dominance by winning the rebounding battle 18-11.

The defense later took over to seal the win as Monaco was held scoreless for more than 5 minutes during the middle part of the fourth quarter, which also saw a flurry from star forward Nikola Mirotic as he netted 8 points in the final period to finish with a game-high 21 points.

Post-game interview with Ettore Messina

Mirotic acknowledged his team’s all-round effectiveness as he reflected: “We knew the importance of this game. We made great preparation and we knew defensively as a whole team we had to step up because we know how capable they are of scoring, especially Mike James.

"So it was a great team effort, and I’m very proud of the team. Now it’s another final on Friday \[against Fenerbahce\] so hopefully, we can get rest, preparation and get the next one. We know what we have to do. Everything has to be together, defensively with the whole team and offensively what we did tonight, share the ball around the whole court and play simple basketball.”

Coach Messina was clear about the key to the win, concluding: “My players played a very good game, extremely focused defensively and much more aggressive on offense. We showed cohesion, which is very important. It's everything you can dream of as a coach and a player, to have cohesion.” 

If that kind of cohesion remains in place on Friday, Fenerbahce could become another big-name scalp for Messina’s men.

Game Videos

With 58 points before halftime, the visitors set a new club standard 

Record-setting offense propelled Milan to a statement win 

AS Monaco v EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (2024-03-20T18:00:00.000Z)

Olimpia Milano secured a vital 80-98 win at AS Monaco Basket in Round 30 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.

Olimpia Milano triumphs 80-98 at Monaco Basket

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Stefano Tonut of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan looks to keep the ball away from Mike James of AS Monaco in Round 30 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

The Italian squad kept their Play-In Showdown hopes alive and snapped Monaco's eight-game winning streak 

Milan triumphs 80-98 at Monaco

Fenerbahçe Beko Istanbul made a statement by beating Barça Basket 88-74 in Round 30 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.

Fenerbahçe overpowers Barcelona, 88-74

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Nigel Hayes-Davis of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul pokes his tongue out during his team's win against FC Barcelona in Round 30 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

After leading by as many as 25, the home team had to hold off a late rally before securing the win

Fenerbahce overpowers Barcelona, 88-74

He overtook his former Panathinaikos teammate Dimitris Diamantidis

Nick Calathes is the EuroLeague’s new all-time leader in steals

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul guard [Nick Calathes](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nick-calathes/001932/) has written his name further into the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague history books by overtaking Dimitris Diamantidis to become [the all-time leader in steals](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/expanded/?size=25&viewType=traditional&statisticMode=accumulated&seasonMode=All&sortDirection=descending&statistic=steals).

Calathes came into Round 30 of the 2023-24 season with 434 steals to his name in 346 appearances, tied with Panathinaikos Athens legend Diamantidis who had the same 434 in 278 games. Following 2 steals at home against FC Barcelona in Round 30, the 35-year-old surpassed Diamantidis to go first all-time.

Of those 436 steals to date for Calathes, 298 came in 211 games in his first eight EuroLeague seasons, in two stints with Panathinaikos, from 2009 to 2012 and then from 2015 to 2020. During his time in Athens, Calathes had four straight seasons in which he grabbed at least 49 steals. He posted 54 in 27 games in 2015-16, 49 in 33 games in 2016-17, 54 in 31 games in 2017-18, and a career-best 57 in 33 games in 2018-19.

The veteran point guard then recorded 69 steals in 70 games across two seasons with Barcelona, where he played between 2020 and 2022, before having 69 so far with Fenerbahce, his home since the summer of 2022. Last season, the 2022-23 campaign, his first at Fenerbahce, Calathes had 42 steals, surpassing the 40-steal mark for the first time since 2018-19.

Nick Calathes steals through the years

The man who Calathes has surpassed, Diamantidis, played alongside the current Fenerbahce playmaker for four years at Panathinaikos, as they were together from 2009 to 2012 and then again for the Greek legend’s final season, 2015-16. The post-Diamantidis years at OAKA saw Calathes take the reins at Panathinaikos, and he’s now taken the torch from his ex-teammate when it comes to leading the way in steals.

In addition to now being first all-time in steals, [Calathes is also the all-time leader in assists](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/expanded/?size=25&viewType=traditional&statisticMode=accumulated&seasonMode=All&sortDirection=descending&statistic=assistances), having dished 2,030  in what are now 347 games. Calathes has a 189-assist lead over Real Madrid guard Sergio Rodriguez in second place.

Congratulations for making even more history in the EuroLeague, Nick!

He overtook his former Panathinaikos teammate Dimitris Diamantidis.