By Aris Barkas/ barkas@Eurohoops.net
After nine weeks of action in Top16, the race of the play offs is just heating up and even teams which have pride as the main motive can do damage as Unicaja and Ryan Toolson proved. After a week of road wins Real Madrid sits on top of Group E (8-1), followed by Barcelona and Maccabi Tel Aviv (6-3). Panathinaikos is fourth (5-4), Alba Berlin is just behind the Greeks (4-5), Zalgiris is left at 3-6 and the duo of Galatasaray and Crvena Zvezda is tied at two wins (2-7),
In Group F Olympiacos leads (8-1), followed closely by CSKA Moscow and Fenerbahce (7-2), while Laboral Kutxa and Anadolu Efes at tied at the fourt place (4-5). Milano, Nizhny and Unicaja at two wins behind (2-7). So here’s what happened this week.
MVP
He had 25 points and he decided the game with buzzer beater three pointer. Toolson had a night which is the definition of MVP material. Even if Unicaja had just two wins, there’s pride in the team that leads the standings of Liga Endesa and that was proven on the court against Efes, which tries to secure a spot in the play offs.
Best five
- Reggie Redding: He took the game in his shoulders with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, as Alba prevailed over Zalgiris Kaunas in his best Euroleague night.
- Ryan Toolson: A great shot which will be remembered.
- Rudy Fernandez: He had 17 points on 5/7 threes and in total 6/8 shots on Real Madrid‘s win over Galatasaray. The February MVP is still hot.
- Nemanja Bjelica: He had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assist as he is getting week by week the most crucial player of Fenerbahce/ Ulker’s roster. His presence is key to the 6 wins streak of the Turks.
- Boban Marjanovic: Once more he stole the thunder of Marcus Williams who was a true leader. But Marjanovic numbers can’t be denied as he had 19 points and 17 rebounds against the front line of the champs.
Best losing performance: Darius Adams
Laboral Kutxa lost the big chance for an upset against CSKA Moscow, but Adams was more than great. He scored 31 points on 11/18 shots, he had also four rebounds and he was the man who kept the hosts into the game, having a career night in Euroleague.
Biggest win: Barcelona
A road win at OAKA is never easy, even if the Catalans in recent games have found the way to beat the Greens. Still the bottom line is that this win gave Barcelona the second place of the group standings over Maccabi Tel Aviv and Panathinaikos. Coach Pascual and his players hold their luck on their hands and they are back on track to get the home court advantage in the play offs.
The record: Real Madrid
On the day of the clubs’ birthday not only Real Madrid got an easy win in Istanbul over troubled Galatasaray but also registered a new Top16 record with 18 threes made on the road. Not a bad way to celebrate as the team of coach Laso remains on top of its group.
The underachiever: EA7 Milano
In theory getting to play Olympiacos with Printezis being the only power forward available can give you hope for an upset. Still the Italians champions lost one more home game and they are already thinking about the last goal which is left for them, the Italian league title.
The dissapointment: Galatasaray
Losing to Real Madrid is nothing to be ashamed off. Losing without a real fight at home by any team is not pretty. However this is not for the coach or the players to blame. The well documentent financial issues of the basketball section are putting an end to the Euroleague ambitions of the club for this season.
The last word: Together again
It lasted only 10 seconds and it was a footnote in the hard fought game of Vitoria, but Andrei Kirilenko and Victor Khryapa played together again. CSKA survived a scare by Laboral Kutxa and the “army team” in the most crucial stage of the season after the addition of AK-47 seems to be at full strengh.
| Galatasaray MP | 71 – 107 | Real Madrid |
| EA7 Milano | 74 – 83 | Olympiacos |
| Unicaja Malaga | 93 – 90 | Anadolu Efes |
| Panathinaikos | 77 – 81 | F.C. Barcelona |
| Laboral Kutxa | 74 – 81 | CSKA Moscow |
| Crvena Zvezda T. | 89 – 76 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| Alba Berlin | 80 – 72 | Zalgiris |
| Fenerbahce | 92 – 79 | Nizhny Novgorod |