By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
With one week left in the regular season and three more teams, Khimki Moscow Region, Cedevita and Panathinaikos, securing Top16 spots, Real Madrid is the talk of the day.
The champs bounced back with a big win against Bayern Munich and they are ready for the next step and the second phase of the competition. Τhe four Top16 spots in Group B and Group C are already decided as you can see in the standings, in Group D Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv and Dogus Darussafaka Istanbul will fight in the game between them for the last open spot and in Group A four teams are fighting for two spots as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Crvena Zvezda are tied at 4-5 and SIG Strasbourg follows at 3-6.
MVP
Sometimes just the numbers are telling the whole story. So it’s 22 points, 8/10 field goals, 9 rebounds, 6 steals, 4 assists, 3 blocks and just two turnovers. It was one of the most dominant performances in the history of Euroleague and the definition of an MVP game on the night Real Madrid needed the big win in order to make a decisive Top16 step. He was almost perfect.
Best Five
- Thomas Heurtel: He had an amazing game with 25 points on 9/11 field goals, 4/4 free throws and 9 assists. Yes he also had five turnovers, but it’s just a sidenote on the comeback win of Anadolu Efes over Laboral Kutxa.
- Jamar Smith: Even if Unicaja Malaga beat a team, Sassari, which hasn’t yet registered a win, Smith had an exceptional night with 20 points on 8/10 field goals with 4/5 threes. He reminded us all that he is a great shooter.
- Ryan Broekhoff: He stole the show in the road win over Karsiyaka with 26 points on 7/10 threes. His Euroleague career high may be just a preview from what Lokomotiv Kuban can expect from him in Top16.
- Tyler Honeycutt: A double double with 15 points – even with 1/6 threes – and 19 rebounds just can’t be ignored! Add also 4 assists, 2 blocks and no turnover as Khimki secured a spot to Top16 with a win over Strasbourg.
- Gustavo Ayon: An amazing all around performance.
The best losing performance: Ante Tomic
Justin Carter of Karsiyaka had also a great game with 25 points, Miro Bilan had 23 points and 6 assists, but Tomic registered a record which was not enough for Barcelona against Zalgiris Kaunas. The Croatian center had 28 points on 11/11 shots – that’s the Euroleague record – and 6/7 free throws. He also had 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assists and 1 turnover. It’s just odd that his team couldn’t translate those numbers into a win as Zalgiris got a moral boost and became the only team which has beaten Barca on the road.
Coach of the week: Zan Tabak
Finally Maccabi Tel Aviv played defense and that pushed the team to the win over Brose Baskets. You can argue that with the season on the line, the Israelis didn’t have any other choice. Still the credit belongs also to coach Tabak who is trying to save the “Team of the people” from Eurocup. He will need a big win next week against Dogus Darussafaka in order to do so and it will not be easy. However, for now he can smile.
Biggest win: Real Madrid
The 22-1 run at the start of the second half on the road against Bayern Munich was a great reminder for who are the defending champions. Real Madrid flirted with disaster during most of the regular season, they have their defensive woes, their injury problems, however they are still the team to beat. Top16 is expected to be a quite different story and what doesn’t kill you, it’s bound to make you stronger.
The Top16 members: Panathinaikos, Khimki
Both needed to get the job done against teams which in theory were weaker and they did just that. Of course Panathinaikos demolished Zielona Gora at home by 30 points and Khimki until the fourth quarter was in trouble at Strasbourg. Still the result is what counts at the end and those two teams can finally relax one week before the end.
The sweetest defeat: Cedevita Zagreb
Losing by three points (85-82) was just like a win for Cedevita Zagreb. This result was enough for the Croatian champs in order to seal their Top16 ticket. EA7 Milano needed a win with more than nine points in order to stay alive and it’s kind of ironic that the Euroleague season of coach Jasmin Repesa ended by Cedevita, the team which he help to became one of the dominant clubs in the Adriatic.
The dissapointment: Dinamo Sassari
On paper Sassari isn’t such a bad team and in most of their Euroleague games they didn’t give up, even if they have said goodbye to Top16 a long time ago. Still the bottom line remains that the Italians with one game remaining in the regular season, they are the only team without a win yet…
The last word: Walk the line
This piece of wood doesn’t mean much to most, but it’s a piece of history. Back in 1993, when Olympiacos was still a powerhouse in the making, star forward Zarko Paspalj stepped on this line of Beaublanc, the Reds missed a crucial possession and Limoges qualified to the Final Four. The event was held at Piraeus in the home court of Olympiacos and Limoges became the first and only French team to win the Euroleague, beating Tony Kukoc and Benetton Treviso in the final.
After 23 years the Greeks returned to Limoges as three-times European champions, they won for the first time ever their old nemesis on the road and Ioannis Papapetrou stepped on the same line…