By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The second return of Zeljko Obradovic to Athens turned out to be a nightmare for Fenerbahce/ Ulker, as Panathinaikos toyed with the Turks. In Berlin, the defending champs Maccabi Tel Aviv prevailed easily over Alba and in Madrid, Real stepped over Nizhny.
At OAKA, Panathinaikos was devastating on the way to a big win (91-73). In the first 28 minutes of the game the hosts shot with an uncanny 87% in threes (14/16), they had a 80-55 lead one minute later and Fenerbahce/ Ulker couldn’t react. A.J. Slaughter had 23 points οn 7/10 three pointers as the Greens started the game with a 31-19 first quarter lead and never looked back. Ιn total Panathinaikos made 18 threes, tying the second best performance in Euroleague’s history.
This was also the night during which Dimitris Diamantidis became the first player in Euroleague history who reached the 1.000 assists milestone, having in total 1.009 in his career by dishing 10 in the game. It was the first defeat for Fenerbahce/ Ulker in Euroleague this season, as Obradovic‘s players had just 4/21 threes and above everything else, couldn’t defend the Greens. Zoc didn’t hide his anger in the press conference: “It’s my responsibility, I have chosen those players and this is my work. I have to change some things. If it’s possible or not, the future will tell. The fans of my team set a new record for the season tickets at the preseason. They follow us and they are really care about the team. What can i say to them now”? I want to thank the people of Panathinaikos for the way they treated me also today. It’s something special for me to be haere and I feel shame for the image of my team”.
At the O2 Arena of Berlin, Maccabi Tel Aviv played for the first time this season without any injuries and the end result was an easy 84-69 win. The champs dictated their tempo via defense as the hosts shot with 50% in two pointers, but just with 13% (3/23) in threes. On the contrary Maccabi was right on target with Brian Randle scoring 25 points on 8/9 shots and four more players, Smith, Pargo, Pnini and Tyus, scored in double digits.
The situation was quite similar in Madrid, with Real getting also the easy win over Nizhny Novgorod (112-83). What will be remembered from this game will be the show of Jaycee Carroll who scored 28 points just in 17,5 minutes on 7/8 threes. Ιn total, he finished the game with 32 points on 7/9 threes, tying the best individual offensive performance of any Real Madrid player since 2000. The Russians, playing without injured Tarence Kinsey knew from the start that their chances for something good were really slim.