By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
In a busy Tuesday to start Round 23 of the 2025-26 EuroLeague Regular Season, Olympiacos survived a rocky second half and moved to 14-8 with a 100-93 victory versus Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv in the Peace and Friendship Stadium. Sasha Vezenkov stood out with 28 points, including 6/8 three-pointers. With 1:35 left and with a safe 10-point cushion for the hosts, Nikola Milutinov left due to a head injury and is considered questionable to play in the Round 14 fixture opposite Anadolu Efes in Turkcell Basketball Development Center on Thursday.
A clutch triple by Chris Jones with 24.4 seconds on the clock kept Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv on top of the standings, creating a two-possession advantage en route to a comeback win, 71-66, over Anadolu Efes in Sofia’s Arena 8888. The visitors led most of the way and peaked at ten points in the third period, but eventually fell to a seventh loss in a row.
Starting the week half a game behind Hapoel, AS Monaco was forced to a 15-8 record after an overtime loss, 100-96, to Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet in Salle Gaston Medecin. Powered by Ebuka Izundu’s 22-point, 12-rebound double-double, the Belgrade outfit improved to 13-10, despite mishandling an 18-point lead in Salle Gaston Medecin.
Zalgiris was on the way to a comfortable win, 96-77, over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, when captain Edgaras Ulanovas suffered a knee injury early in the fourth quarter at Astroballe. With Nigel Williams-Goss (calf) already out, the 34-year-old forward is questionable for Thursday against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in Allianz Cloud.
EuroLeague Round 23
Olympiacos – Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv 100-93
Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv – Anadolu Efes 71-66
AS Monaco – Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet 96-100 OT (90-90)
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne – Zalgiris 77-96
Panathinaikos Aktor – Kosner Baskonia 93-74
FC Bayern Munich – Partizan Mozzart Bet (20:30 CET)
Valencia – Paris (20:30 CET)
FC Barcelona – Dubai (20:30 CET)
Real Madrid – EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (20:45 CET)
Virtus Bologna – Fenerbahce Beko (21/1)