 Inspired Marinkovic finally flourished on the big stage 

Vanja Marinkovic has always been one of those familiar role players producing back-row contributions for club and country, but on Friday he stole the show with the performance of a lifetime as Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz mauled Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 92-69 at home in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

 

Marinkovic finished the game with a triple career high of 35 points, 6 three-pointers made and a performance index rating of 29, carrying his team to a lifeline win that left the Spanish side in contention to snatch a playoff berth.

 

The 26-year old from Belgrade, who joined Baskonia from Spanish league rivals Valencia in 2021, usually comes off the bench. This time, he made the most of a rare opportunity as a starter, firing his team into an early lead on the back of 8 points in the first quarter.

Vanja Marinkovic highlights vs. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, 03/31/2023

Vanja Marinkovic drops 35 against Fenerbahce

Baskonia struggled in the second quarter and early in the third as it fell behind 42-51 before Marinkovic ignited the rip-roaring comeback with 23 second-half points, including 17 in the fourth quarter.

Most of those long-range efforts were contested, with defenders in his face, but the Serbian showed a vast array of talents in what was surely the most impressive performance of his career. Having also sank 6 of 9 shots from two-point territory, Marinkovic buried all 5 of his free throws and drew praise from Baskonia head coach Joan Penarroya as well as his teammate Rokas Giedraitis.

"Vanja had an amazing game," said Penarroya, while Marinkovic himself made it clear in a post-game interview just how much he enjoyed himself.

"It's a really big win for us. We played an amazing second half, we showed up and changed our mindset," he said. "That's how we need to play. I really enjoyed it. I am happy for my performance but above all I am happy for the win."

Asked what was the key to Baskonia’s victory, Giedraitis said: "Vanja. He made it an amazing party. In the second half, it was also our energy and the rebounds, we stopped their offense."

Fenerbahce was short-handed but it is difficult to explain how the visitors fell apart so easily after Baskonia had swung the momentum, as the Turkish team's backcourt got swept away by the opposition.

It happened despite a limited contribution by Baskonia's influential point guard Markus Howard, who picked up a knock late in the first quarter and endured a third successive tough night, shooting 0 of 9 from the floor with all of his 5 points coming from the foul line.

Game Videos

Apart from Marinkovic's heroics, the ever-reliable trio of Darius Thompson, Daulton Hommes and Giedraitis combined for 37 points, while towering center Maik Kotsar did his bit with 8 points and 6 rebounds.

 

As Penarroya pointed out, ironclad defense was the key to Baskonia's comeback, as the hosts contained Fenerbahce with aggressive half-court pressure that limited the visitors to just 25 points in the second half.

 

"A big game and a great opponent," said the coach. "We improved our defense in the second half and after we were 11 points down, the famous Baskonia character came to the fore. I am proud of the players and the fans. We'll enjoy the victory tonight and then we'll look forward to the upcoming games."

Game News

Inspired Marinkovic finally flourished on the big stage

Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2023-03-31T18:30:00.000Z)

An outstanding individual performance in a winning effort has seen [Thomas Walkup](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/thomas-walkup/008855/) of Olympiacos Piraeus earn MVP honors in Round 32 of the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season. Walkup led Olympiacos to an 81-73 home victory against archrival Panathinaikos Athens, amassing a PIR of 32. He finished the game with 11 points on 2-of-3 two-pointers, 1-of-2 three-pointers and 4-of-4 free throws. Walkup added 7 rebounds, a career-high 13 assists, 4 steals and 6 fouls drawn.

[Vanja Marinkovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/vanja-marinkovic/004761/) of Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and [Mathias Lessort](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mathias-lessort/003842/) of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade recorded the joint second-highest PIR in Round 32 with 29. Marinkovic led Baskonia to a 92-69 home win against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul with a career-best 35 points on 6-of-9 two-pointers, 6-of-9 three-pointers and 5-of-5 free throws. He also had 1 rebound, 1 assist and 3 fouls drawn. Lessort helped Partizan down Real Madrid 104-90 in the Serbian capital. He amassed 16 points on 7-of-9 two-pointers, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 6 fouls drawn. [Tarik Black](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/tarik-black/008991/) of Olympiacos (27 PIR) and [Ante Zizic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/ante-zizic/004554/) of Anadolu Efes Istanbul (26) complete the top individual performances in Round 32.

An outstanding individual performance in a winning effort has seen Thomas Walkup of Olympiacos Piraeus earn MVP honors in Round 32 of the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Thomas Walkup | Round 32 MVP | 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Round 32 MVP: Thomas Walkup, Olympiacos Piraeus

[Vanja Marinkovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/vanja-marinkovic/004761/) of Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz was this round's top scorer, getting 35 points in his team's 92-69 home win against Fenerbahce. [Sasha Vezenkov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/sasha-vezenkov/003469/) of Olympiacos Piraeus is the competition's top scorer at 17.5 points per game.

[Matt Costello](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/matthew-costello/010444/), also of Baskonia, pulled down 12 rebounds, more than anyone in this round. [Mathias Lessort](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mathias-lessort/003842/) of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade leads all rebounders at 7.2 per night.

Costello was also first in blocks in this round, recording 3. [Walter Tavares](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/) of Real Madrid is first overall at 2.2 per game.

Round 32 MVP [Thomas Walkup](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/thomas-walkup/008855/) of Olympiacos dished a career-high 13 assists to lead Olympiacos to an 81-73 home victory against archrival Panathinaikos Athens. [Darius Thompson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/darius-thompson/011078/) of Baskonia is this season's assist leader, dishing 6.5 per game.

Walkup, [Arnas Butkevicius](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/arnas-butkevicius/002676/) of Zalgiris Kaunas and [Arturas Gudaitis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/arturas-gudaitis/003120/) of Panathinaikos each collected 4 steals in this round. Walkup is also first overall at 1.9 steals per game.

Walkup (11 points, 13 rebounds), [Rokas Giedraitis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/rokas-giedraitis/006436/) of Baskonia (12 points, 10 rebounds) and [Elijah Bryant](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/elijah-bryant/009846/) of Anadolu Efes Istanbul (13 points, 11 rebounds) each recorded a double-double in Round 32. 

Round 32 individual highs: Vanja Marinkovic, Baskonia, 35 points

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 32nd winner in the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge, powered by Ardu Prime! Vladimir Vicentic beat everyone else in Round 32 as his team 'SAD SMO SAMI JA I DANTE' had a whopping Fantasy Challenge score of 237.00

 

Vladimir used the following lineup: Mathias Lessort (team captain), Dante Exum and Kevin Punter of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, Thomas Walkup of Olympiacos Piraeus and Rokas Giedraitis of Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, all as starters. Elijah Bryant of Anadolu Efes Istanbul was his sixth man.

 

The bench featured Vanja Marinkovic of Baskonia, Ben Bentil and Hassan Martin of Crvena Zvezda Meridian Bet Belgrade and Maodo Lo of ALBA Berlin. His coach was Kazys Maksvytis of Zalgiris Kaunas.

 

The prize for finishing first in Round 32 is a free subscription to EuroLeague TV for the 2023-24 season!

 

Christos Anatolitis stays atop the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge overall standings. Christos leads everyone else with a score of 5,517.5 fantasy points.

 

Trades are now open for Round 33. Remember, three trades are allowed before each round until the end of the regular season, and you can also trade your head coach.

 

The first games in Round 33 are Zalgiris vs. Efes and Zvezda vs. Olympiacos, scheduled on Thursday, April 6 at 19:00 CET, making that the next round's deadline for trades.

 

Try to improve your teams and challenge for more prizes at the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge, powered by Ardu Prime!

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge: Round 32 winner!

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade flexed its muscles on offense on Friday night as it romped to a 104-90 win over Real Madrid at Stark Arena. Coach Zeljko Obradovic used 11 different players, each of whom scored at least 2 points, while six of them reached double figures in the dominant victory.

Partizan leaned on a balanced offense to defeat Real Madrid

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade flexed its muscles on offense on Friday night as it romped to a 104-90 win over Real Madrid at Stark Arena. Coach Zeljko Obradovic used 11 different players, each of whom scored at least 2 points, while six of them reached double figures in the dominant victory.

"It is the nicest thing for a coach when he looks at the stats and sees how balanced the scoring is," Obradovic said after the game.

Kevin Punter and Mathias Lessort scored 16 points apiece, and Dante Exum had 15 on 5-for-8 shooting from the field. James Nunnally added 14 and Ioannis Papapetrou scored 10, with the two combining to shoot 9-for-11 on two-pointers without even attempting a shot from behind the arc. Alen Smailagic poured in 11 points in nine minutes to complete the group of six players in double digits.

"It is proof that we wanted to play as a team, and we did that tonight in most of the situations," Obradovic pointed out.

His Partizan team is now just one win away – or one Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz or Zalgiris Kaunas loss away – from reaching the playoffs.

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade v Real Madrid (2023-03-31T18:30:00.000Z)

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 60-76 at the Astroballe in Round 32 on Friday. A vast second-half difference on the scoreboard allowed Zvezda to win its third game in a row and condemn ASVEL to an 11th straight defeat.

Zvezda's second-half defense swallowed up ASVEL

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 60-76 at the Astroballe in Round 32 on Friday. A vast second-half difference on the scoreboard allowed Zvezda to win its third game in a row and condemn ASVEL to an 11th straight defeat.

Zvezda trailed 42-37 at halftime and, up to that point, ASVEL had shot the ball really well from two-point range, making 12 of its 19 shots inside the arc (63.2% 2FG). ASVEL buried all 12 of its free-throw attempts, yet it struggled from deep, downing just 2-of-10 three-pointers (20% 3FG). Zvezda didn't have its best shooting first half either (52.9% 2FG, 35.7% 3FG), and it was outrbounded 19-12.

Things were very different after the break, however. Zvezda only allowed ASVEL to score 18 points after the break. The hosts hit just 3-of-13 two-point shots (23.1% 2FG), 2-of-13 three-pointers (15.4% 3FG) and 6-of-8 free throws (75% FT). Zvezda changed its mentality under the boards, outrebounding ASVEL 13-26. Zvezda shot the ball steadily throughout the game (51.3% 2FG, 38.5% 3FG), and its second-half defense suffocated ASVEL in its final home game of the 2022-23 EuroLeague Regular Season.

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (2023-03-31T19:00:00.000Z)

Olympiacos Piraeus achieved an unusual feat in Friday’s Greek Derby triumph against Panathinaikos Athens. The Reds made just 3 three-pointers, shooting at 17% from beyond the arc (3-of-17), and they also missed 10 free throws (24-of-34, 70%), yet they still won the game.

Olympiacos overcame shooting woes to defeat Panathinaikos

Olympiacos Piraeus achieved an unusual feat in Friday’s Greek Derby triumph against Panathinaikos Athens. The Reds made just 3 three-pointers, shooting at 17% from beyond the arc (3-of-17), and they also missed 10 free throws (24-of-34, 70%), yet they still won the game.

The shooting from long range was particularly troublesome, with Georgios Bartzokas’s team missing its first 12 attempts from three-point range before Kostas Papanikolaou finally drained one from beyond the arc with less than four minutes to go in the third quarter.

But it certainly helped that the only other 2 triples for Olympiacos came at key moments late in the game, with Sasha Vezenkov hitting from deep to make it 71-67 with 3:36 to play, and then Thomas Walkup nailing a corner three for a 78-72 cushion with 75 seconds left.

And Walkup’s overall performance was a major reason why the Reds were able to survive their shooting woes. The point guard set a new career high by dishing 13 assists, ensuring his team was highly efficient from two-point range (24-of-35, 68%), while he also added 11 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals for a PIR of 32, another personal best.

Once again, Olympiacos provided another reminder to the rest of the EuroLeague that it is a force to reckoned with, as it can even win games when points are hard to come by. That's a scary prospect with the playoffs just around the corner.

Olympiacos Piraeus v Panathinaikos Athens (2023-03-31T18:30:00.000Z)

Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz produced one of the most remarkable second-half comebacks in the club’s Turkish Airlines EuroLeague history on Friday night, as it beat Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 92-69 at Buesa Arena after trailing by 9 points early in the third quarter.

Shooting, rebounds carried Baskonia past Fenerbahce

Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz produced one of the most remarkable second-half comebacks in the club’s Turkish Airlines EuroLeague history on Friday night, as it beat Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 92-69 at Buesa Arena after trailing by 9 points early in the third quarter.

The result left Baskonia (17-15) in the hunt for a playoff spot while Fenerbahce (18-14) missed a chance to seal its own postseason berth with two games to spare.

Apart from an inspired performance from player of the game Vanja Marinkovic, who scored a career-high 35 points, of which 23 came in the second half, the home side thrived on good three-point shooting (12-of-26) and a jaw-dropping 44 rebounds, with 16 coming on the offensive end.

Fenerbahce went a disappointing 4-of-17 on its shots from beyond the arc and grabbed 28 boards, having been blown away in the second half after leading throughout almost the entire first two quarters.

In addition, Baskonia nailed all 28 of its free throws, whereas Fenerbahce was 15-of-22 from the foul line.

The poor display after the break left Fenerbahce head coach Dimitris Itoudis disappointed, and he acknowledged that his side basically threw in the towel after Baskonia had turned the game on its head.

“The fourth quarter left a bitter taste because we looked like we gave up, and we don’t have that right as a team or as individuals,” Coach Itoudis said during his post-game press conference. “Now, we have to turn the page. It didn’t help that we were shorthanded, but we have to give our all in our next game against Efes."

Heading into Friday’s Greek Derby with Panathinaikos Athens, league leader Olympiacos Piraeus had cause for concern that controlling the paint might prove difficult. After all, big man Moustapha Fall – who bagged 19 points and 9 rebounds when the Reds won in Athens in December – was suffering from flu symptoms and it was unclear how much of a role he’d be able to play in Round 32.
Indeed, Fall was only able to make a modest contribution, providing a solid but unspectacular 8 points and 4 rebounds. But that didn’t matter, thanks to an outstanding performance from the man who alternated with Fall at the 5: Tarik Black.

Tarik Black became the Greek Derby hero

Heading into Friday’s Greek Derby with Panathinaikos Athens, league leader Olympiacos Piraeus had cause for concern that controlling the paint might prove difficult. After all, big man Moustapha Fall – who bagged 19 points and 9 rebounds when the Reds won in Athens in December – was suffering from flu symptoms and it was unclear how much of a role he’d be able to play in Round 32.

Indeed, Fall was only able to make a modest contribution, providing a solid but unspectacular 8 points and 4 rebounds. But that didn’t matter, thanks to an outstanding performance from the man who alternated with Fall at the 5: Tarik Black.

The multi-club veteran, who is in his first season with Olympiacos, sparked his team in the second quarter when he embarked on a personal 9-0 run in the space of just 81 seconds, also adding a steal and a blocked shot to almost single-handedly keep his team competitive during a strong phase of the game for Panathinaikos.

The best plays of Olympiacos Piraeus center Tarik Black in his 21-point display against Panathinaikos Athens in Round 32 of the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Tarik Black's best plays vs. Panathinaikos

He returned to the fore early in the fourth quarter, which started with the Greens mounting a 0-8 run but then saw Black break that momentum with a battling three-point play. And just to finish things off, Black turned a slender lead into a dominant position in the final stages, netting 3 more baskets in the final two and a half minutes, including – fittingly – another three-point play for the final score of the game.

Black ended the night with 21 points, by far his best yet in an Olympiacos uniform, as he brought to an end a 15-game run of only scoring in single digits. In fact, it was his second-best scoring performance in 76 appearances in the competition, only beaten by the 23 points he scored for Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in April 2019. Black's display in the Greek Derby once again underlined the Reds' incredible strength in depth.