By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
It was Euroleague action at its finest! The 9th round of Top16 started on Wednesday and ended on Friday with a bang with big games from start to finish and a birthday party in Istanbul.
As you can see in the standings, nothing changed drastically, with Panathinaikos getting the biggest advantage this week and climbing in the third place of its group, while in the “Group of death” Khimki Moscow (5-4), Real Madrid (5-4), Barcelona (4-5) and Olympiacos (4-5) will fight until the end for two spots. Anadolu Efes (3-6) and Brose Baskets (3-6) lost crucial ground this week, while CSKA Moscow (7-2), Laboral Kutxa (6-3) and Lokomotiv Kuban (7-2) are making playoffs plans. And of course that applies to Fenerbahce (8-1), which brings us to our MVP.
MVP
Luigi Datome
He gave an amazing show against Crvena Zvezda, turning the game around together with Bogdanovic in the third quarter and finishing it in style. Datome is a gifted shooter, he proved it with 27 points on 11/17 shots, but he can do also much more on the court. It was obvious in this game in which he had also 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks. And Fenerbahce still has the best record in Euroleague Top16 with 8 wins.
Best five
- Nick Calathes: One more double double for the Greek-American guard who finished the game with 10 points and 10 assists, along with 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 turnovers in the road win of Panathinaikos over Unicaja Malaga, as the “Shamrock” is reaching for the playoffs.
- Malcolm Delaney: The leader of Lokomotiv Kuban had one more great game in the road win over Anadolu Efes. He finished the night with 19 points, 7/7 free throws, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 4 turnovers.
- Gigi Datome: He is also called “Jesus” for obvious reasons and he almost walked on the water of Bosphorus.
- Paulius Jankunas: On the way to history, as he became the 3rd rebounder in the all time Euroleague list, the captain of Zalgiris Kaunas with 17 points and 13 rebounds led his team in its second Top16 win, this time over Brose Baskets.
- Kyle Hines: As CSKA Moscow got the big road win over Real Madrid, he reminded to all what made him great. He had 16 crucial points on 7/9 FG and 2/2 FT, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover and tones of energy!
Best losing performance: Nikos Zisis
Jacob Pullen was also great in the defeat of Cedevita by Dogus Darussafaka with 26 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, but Zisis almost led Brose Bamberg to the win against Zalgiris Kaunas in a game decided in the last shot. Even if the Greek guard missed a crucial lay up, he had a career best night with 25 points on 9/14 FG, 4 assists and 2 rebounds on the way to a 35 ranking.
Coach of the week: Giorgos Bartzokas
It’s not a secret any more that Lokomotiv is one of the most impressive surprises of the season, playing great basketball and winning. Bartzokas has forged a great relationship with his players and the fact that he beat on the road his predecessor on Olympiacos‘ bench, none other than legendary Dusan Ivkovic, gives him our coach of the week distiction.
Biggest win: CSKA Moscow
They say that the season for CSKA starts at the Final Four, but that’s unfair. Specially when the top title contenders beat the defending champs on the road. It was a very hard game, more than tense with a few bad calls and in the end the “army team” got the win which will probably keep them at the top of the group standings until the end of Top16. Can it get bigger than that?
The transformer: Khimki
In the crucial home game against Barcelona, one week after the Catalans’ great game against Olympiacos, Khimki prevailed and they did it not because of the offensive talent of their players, but thanks to their defense. Keeping Barcelona to 61 points was the key and that’s how Khimki got the win, by forcing 18 turnovers.
Τhe survivor: Olympiacos
The Reds are in a very tight spot and that didn’t really change after their win over Laboral Kutxa. Still this result can be the start of something bigger. With the old guard of Spanoulis and Printezis once more leading the way, Olympiacos will fight, as usual, until the bitter end and you should expect a thriller in the “Group of death”.
The dissapointment: Anadolu Efes
Losing to Lokomotiv Kuban is not the issue here. On paper Efes has a Final Four capable roster, but the end result and the basketball produced by the team is underwelming at best. Efes can still squize its way to the playoffs, but has to do much better on the court and time is running out.
The last word: Happy birthday
Obradovic could run for mayor in Athens and win and it’s obvious that the same applies in Istanbul. Born on the 9th of March 1960, he started the celebrations five days earlier at the arena with the fans who worship him.