By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The first of nine fixtures was held in Coca-Cola Arena, with Olympiacos dropping a five-game EuroLeague streak on an overtime loss, 108-98, to Dubai. The Reds went from digging their way out of a 15-point hole and forcing five extra minutes behind a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Evan Fournier to conceding the last 13 points in overtime. Paving the way for the team coached by Jurica Golemac, Dwayne Bacon and Mfiondu Kabengele shared a game-high 21 points, with the latter also grabbing 14 rebounds.
In Istanbul’s Turkcell Basketball Development Center, Anadolu Efes bounced back from nine consecutive losses with a convincing win, 107-90, over Valencia, but Rolands Smits sustained a hamstring injury late in the third quarter, possibly adding to a long list of unavailable players for head coach Pablo Laso, including Shane Larkin and Isaia Cordinier. Ercan Osmani registered a team-high 20 points, with the game-high 30 points belonging to the Taronges’ Nate Reuvers.
Shortly before tipoff in Belgrade Arena, with Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv facing Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet, the Israeli side confirmed a knee injury for Tomer Ginat and set re-evaluation for next week, with Elijah Bryant and Tyler Ennis already out.
Round 26
Dubai – Olympiacos 108-98 OT (95-95)
Anadolu Efes – Valencia 107-90
Zalgiris – AS Monaco (19:00 CET)
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet – Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv (20:00 CET)
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv – Partizan Mozzart Bet (20:05 CET)
Panathinaikos Aktor – Real Madrid (20:15 CET)
FC Bayern Munich – Paris (20:30 CET)
FC Barcelona – Fenerbahce Beko (20:30 CET)
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan – Kosner Baskonia (20:30 CET)
Virtus Bologna – LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (4/2)