By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Time is running out in Top16 and things are getting really wild. Like a win of Panathinaikos over Real Madrid and a thriller with Laboral Kutxa smiling in the end over Olympiacos. Expect a big finish and here’s the situation in the two groups.
In Group E, Real Madrid (9-2) and Barcelona (8-3) have qualified, Maccabi Tel Aviv follows (7-4), Panathinaikos is fourth (6-5), Alba Berlin (5-6) is hunting the Greeks, Zalgiris Kaunas still has hopes (4-7), the same can’t be really said for Crvena Zvezda (3-8) and of course not for Galatasaray (2-9).
In Group F Fenerbahce/ Ulker (9-2) and CSKA Moscow (9-2) have qualified, Olympiacos is the next in line (8-3), Anadolu Efes and Laboral Kutxa are tied (5-6) in the fourth place, EA7 Milano and Nizhny Novgorod (3-8) with three wins have only mathematical hopes and Unicaja Malaga is last (2-9). So here’s what happened.
MVP
He missed only one free throw (7/7 FG, 7/8 FT) and led Panathinaikos to the big win over Real Madrid with 22 points. He is expected to be the future of the Greens and against the best team of the group he proved that he has the skills. The question about him is still his consistency, but time is on his side.
Best five
- Milos Teodosic: On the day of his birthday he had one more big game with 25 points on 8/10 shots and 8 assists as CSKA beat Unicaja. He is on fire all season long and his duo with Nando De Colo is the best in the league.
- Nikos Pappas: He exploded the right moment.
- Βogdan Bogdanovic: It was like his Partizan days! He had 25 points as Fenerbahce/ Ulker is still the top team of its group and the best is yet to come.
- Devin Smith: As Milos stole the thunder of Jeremy Pargo, the other star of Maccabi must be a part of our best five. He had 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 4 turnovers in the win over feisty Zalgiris.
- Milko Bjelica: He is the “other” Bjelica but don’t underestimate him. In 21 minutes of action he had 15 points and he was the top scorer of Efes in the crucial win over Nizhny Novgorod.
Best losing performance: Boban Marjanovic
Marjanovic is having a break out season and once again he proved it with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists against Barcelona. Yes, he couldn’t lead Crvena Zvezda to the win, however against Ante Tomic who is also having a great season, he more than held his ground. There are rumors about Marjanovic being the possible replacement of Tomic, if he leaves for the NBA, and if that game was a try out, he passed the test with ease.
Biggest win: Panathinaikos
Everyone expected from Panathinaikos to fight with pride. Few expected a big – and easy in the end – win over Real Madrid. The Greens needed not only the result but also the confidence boost as they are still fighting for a place in the play offs, but are in a much better place than Alba Berlin.
The “almost” upset: Crvena Zvezda
The Serbs tried their best against Barcelona, they created trouble, but in the end couldn’t complete the upset. Still the progress of Zvezda is evident and you can argue that the team achieved its goals in the top European league for this season, even if during regular season they seemed already ready for something bigger.
The fighters: Nizhny Novgorod
The Russians are more than resilient, once more despite their injuries they didn’t give up and Efes had to work in order to get the win. Nizhny is probably the most pleasant surprise in a season which many “underdogs” which are creating some buzz, like Zvezda and Zalgiris. What remains to be seen is what the future of the club will be.
Two times: Laboral Kutxa
Olympiacos and Laboral Kutxa have a long history in Euroleague. And despite the obvious difference of quality between them this season, Olympiacos lost twice in Vitoria. Even with Spanoulis absent, what counts in the end of the day is the result and the hosts have one, or maybe two, reasons to smile.
The last word: Shame
What happened in O2 Arena – as Alba Berlin put it in its official press release – was something that didn’t happened before in German basketball during the last 40 years. The mysterious banner fight between the fans of Galatasaray and Alba which resulted into 35.000 euros damages – according to today’s announcement by O2 Arena – is something that never happened before in the modern era of Euroleague and it’s one more black mark in a season that is turning to be a nightmare for Galatasaray.
Euroleague 2014-2015 – 21st Day
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Panathinaikos |
Real Madrid |
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Fenerbahce |
EA7 Milano |
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Laboral Kutxa |
Olympiacos |
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Alba Berlin |
Galatasaray MP |
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Unicaja Malaga |
CSKA Moscow |
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Maccabi Tel Aviv |
Zalgiris |
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Nizhny Novgorod |
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Crvena Zvezda T. |
F.C. Barcelona |