By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Zalgiris Kaunas registered the first big upset on the season by beating Anadolu Efes in Istanbul (65-62), while Crvena Zvezda once more proved that in Kombank Arena the Serbs are dominating, this time against Valencia with a great win (76-63).
In Istanbul, after a close game from the first until the last minute, the Lithuanians edged Efes despite 22 points by Nenad Krstic. Arturas Milaknis (14 p.) and Edgaras Ulanovas (19 p., 7 r.) were the heroes of the night for the winners. The best Efes could do was make it a two points game with 45 seconds to go after a lay up by Cedi Osman. In the next possesion Ulanovas (photo) was called for an offensive foul, Efes had the chance to tie the game or take the lead, but a turnover by Draper and two free throws again by Ulanovas (64-60) with 12 seconds before the final buzzer sealed the outcome.
The story was different in Belgrade, as Crvena Zvezda didn’t let any chance to Valencia from the start. With the duo of Marcus Williams (14 p., 8 as.) and Boban Marjanovic (16 p., 9 r., 3 as.) being unstoppable, the hosts had the lead from the first quarter and never lost it. The biggest point difference was 25 points (69-44) in favor of Zvezda at the start of the last period. The return of Bojan Dubljevic didn’t chance the fate of Valencia, which has a bad 0-3 record.