By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Two games decided in the last shot, two shows from two Euroleague contenders and some outstanding individual performances. The second gameday of Euroleague’s regular season has completed and here’s what we will remember. Before our awards and special mentions we have to point out that in Group A Real Madrid and Anadolu Efes are at 2-0, in Group B CSKA Moscow and Unicaja Malaga are still unbeaten, in Group C Fenerbahce/ Ulker and Barcelona are still perfect and in Group D only Olympiacos is at the top with a 2-0 record.
ΜVP
If he had played like that in last season’s Final Four, then Maccabi Tel Aviv may not have been the Euroleague champion. Still in the “rematch” he was more than impressive. Despite shooting 1/5 threes, he finished the game with double double (13 p., 11 r.), four assists and a steal. He managed to do all that in 24 minutes of action, being on the verge of the double double from the first half (9p., 9 r.).
Best Five
- Andrew Goudelock: He scored 27 points, 9 of them in the last 180 seconds of the game, saving Fenerbahce/ Ulker on the road when Turow pushed as much as it could for an upset. He is clutch.
- Alex Abrines: In the absence of Juan Carlos Navarro he did his best impression yet of his team’s superstar by scoring 21 points on 23 minutes, making 5/5 threes on the way to the unexpectedly easy win of Barcelona at Milan.
- Deivydas Gailus: On the first ever win of Neptunas in Euroleague, the Lithuanian sharp shooter was great with 19 points on 7/11 shots and he also added 7 rebounds and 2 assists.
- Andrey Vorontsevich: In a roster full of top talent, he stole the show.
- Dusko Savanovic: In the win over Panathinaikos he had 20 points on 5/7 threes, some of the biggest shots of the game and added also 6 rebounds. He went to Μunich in order to be a leader and that’s exactly what he was. That’s why we have him in our best five instead of a center.
Best losing performance: Damian Kulig
Keith Langford once again did his duty, scoring 23 points for Unics and in a big game against Real Madrid, but this week a new name was noticed for the first time in Euroleague. Damian Kulig of Turow had 23 points and 8 rebounds against Fenerbahce/ Ulker, trying to mount a come back and almost making it a reality. The fact that Turow plays in a very hard group, gives him motive to put even more effort on the floor.
The biggest win: Barcelona
Nothing can be compared this week with the message send by Barcelona. Despite missing Navarro, the Catalans beat on the road one of the best teams of the league, EA7 Milano, which have reached the top8 last season. Yes, Barcelona after 2010 can’t produce its best basketball during the Final Fours, but without a doubt the unit of coach Pascual is the most consistent team in recent seasons.
The disappointment: Maccabi Tel Aviv
There’s no shame in losing to CSKA Moscow, but the champs couldn’t be competitive in any part of the game. Yes, Devin Smith and Alex Tyus are big absences, however the same can be said on the other side for Nando De Colo and Viktor Khryapa. It’s clear that this version of Maccabi is quite different from last year’s team and it remains to be seen if the Israelis can transform into something better as time goes by, like they did last season.
The underachiever: Fenerbahce/ Ulker
Yes, Goudelock saved the day, but once more the Turkish side couldn’t control a game which in theory was easy. They started with a 30-15 lead in the first quarter, kept a double digits lead for most of the second and third quarter, but let Turow get within five with three minutes left. The demands from Fenerbahce/ Ulker are more than high this season and the game in Poland proved that there’s still much work to do.
Βuzzer beaters: Real Madrid – Unicaja Malaga
Sergio Llull and Kostas Vasileiadis deserve a special mention as they both kept Real Madrid and Unicaja Malaga respectively unbeaten. Both made the last shot at the buzzer, both decided the outcome in big games by “killing” Unics Kazan and Alba Berlin.
The last word: Marko Tomas
He was once hailed as the biggest talent of Croatia. He never lived up to the hype in a career plagued by injuries. He missed most of last season due to an ACL rapture and after making his return to Euroleague last week, he was injured on Tuesday. He is expected to miss next month, this time because of a hamstring injury in his right leg. Every athlete needs a little bit of luck and Tomas can’t catch a break. Without him and without also injured Roko Ukic, Cedevita lost to Limoges. We can only wish both of them a speedy recovery.
Euroleague 2014-2015 – 2nd Day
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Laboral Kutxa |
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UNICS Kazan |
Real Madrid |
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Unicaja Malaga |
Alba Berlin |
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Banco di Sardegna Sassari |
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Limoges |
Cedevita Zagreb |
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Nizhny Novgorod |
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EA7 Milano |
F.C. Barcelona |
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Galatasaray MP |
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FC Bayern |
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PGE Turow |
Fenerbahce |
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Neptunas |
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CSKA Moscow |
Maccabi Tel Aviv |