By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The home court advantage proved to be huge in this Turkish Airlines EuroLeague round, as you can see in the results, and that means the balance in the standings remained pretty much the same. AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan and Anadolu Efes continue their great start, Fenerbahce remains in the third place, while Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow remain unbeaten. And that happened because a former star of “Los Blancos” had a huge game for the “Army Team”.
MVP
CSKA Moscow needed a leader and “El Chacho” played his role to perfection. He scored 24 points, he also dished six assists and had two rebounds, two steals and one block. The most important thing, however, is that on a game decided on overtime he made all the big plays.
BEST FIVE
- Sergio Rodriguez: He was the star in an amazing game.
- Alexey Shved: He was spectacular once more with 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, as Khimki Moscow Region beat Buducnost VOLI with ease.
- Vladimir Micov: He set the tone early with 22 points and was the best among equals in Milano‘s win over Kirolbet Baskonia.
- Anthony Randolph: He had a big double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds as Real Madrid, without Sergio Llull, managed to get the win over Herbalife Gran Canaria.
- Bryant Dunston: On the game that he made history, climbing to the second spot of the All-Time blockers list, he had 14 points, five rebounds and two blocks in the win over Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv.
Coach of the round: Xavi Pascual
Despite the fact that Panathinaikos still has issues, specially on the center position, once more Xavi Pascual beat his former team. The Catalan coach has build a solid unit for Panathinaikos and the Greens will make one more run towards the Final Four. Their strength is their gameplan and the work of Pascual who is currently in his third season in Athens.
Last word: Red road warriors
Olympiacos was the only team that got the road win in this round and Bayern Munich were the only hosts that were defeated. Still, sports are sometime more than winning or losing and the following photograph demonstrates it beyond any doubt.
From one champ to another (via @olympiacosbc) pic.twitter.com/KJQ86sXR7g
— Eurohoops.net (@Eurohoopsnet) November 20, 2018