By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Bobby Brown’s record performance overshadowed everything else on the 2nd gameday of Euroleague’s Top16. The leader of Siena was just unstoppable and his team’s win in Istanbul complicated things in group F, where Khimki, Caja Laboral and the Italians have a 2-0 record, Barcelona and Olympiacos are one step behind (1-1), while Fenerbahce/ Ulker, Besiktas and Maccabi Tel Aviv still search their first win (0-2). In group E Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow remained undefeated (2-0), Unicaja, Anadolu Efes, Panathinaikos and Zalgiris Kaunas are at 1-1 and the two German teams, Alba Berlin and Brose Baskets have a 0-2 record.
Eurohoops ΜVP
In modern European basketball a pure scorer is considered a guy that can score over 20 points. Bobby Brown was in the court for 39 minutes and exploded for 41 points on 12/18 shots and 7 assists in the 98-92 win of Siena at the home of Fenerbahce. He had 50 ranking, the 6th best in Euroleague’s history and became only the fourth player who scored 41 points in a modern Euroleague game after the late Alfonso Ford, Latvian Kaspars Kambala and Italian Carlton Myers. Respect…
Best five
- Bobby Brown: A night to remember…
- Vasilis Spanoulis: The leader of the champs is always a safe choice. He had 18 points in 24 minutes of action in the 77-64 win of the Reds over Besiktas in Piraeus.
- Nemanja Bjelica: He has the body to play in the post, but he is more efficient in the perimeter, as he scored 17 points on 5/8 three pointers in Caja Laboral’s road win against Maccabi Tel Aviv (71-70).
- Nikola Mirotic: In 22 minutes of action he had 19 points (7/10 s.) and 8 rebounds in the relatively easy road win of Real Madrid over Brose Baskets (82-67).
- Nenad Krstic: He was used just for 19 minutes and he had 15 points (3/4 2p., 9/10 1p.), 3 rebounds and one assists. He was simply above the competition in the 75-57 win of CSKA Moscow against Alba in Berlin.
The best losing performance: Bojan Bodganovic
The Croatian sharp shooter remained in the shadow of Bobby Brown but he did the best he could with 31 points on 10/14 shots and 7/10 free throws. In a roster full of stars the 23 years old player who was drafted by Miami and his rights ended up to the Nets, proved his talents beyond any doubt. However it was not enough for Fenerbahce, which was defeated at home by Siena (98-92).
The biggest win: Siena
The Italians started the season after their American tour with a 0-3 record. That’s old news and the biggest proof was the road win in Istanbul. It was a game with a special significance since the opponent was Siena’s former coach Simone Pianigiani and the team’s former stars, Bo McCalebb, David Andersen and Romain Sato. Under former assistant Luca Banchi the Italian champs are turning again into a elite team.
The upset: Khimki
The Russians remained unbeaten at home and they did it against Barcelona. Sure, Juan Carlos Navarro was missing, still Barcelona can’t be considered anything else than the favorite almost in every game and Khimki had a history of underachieving. Clearly, that’s not the case anymore as its 78-65 win proves.
The underachiever: Panathinaikos
The excuse of a missing star applies also to Panathinaikos. The Greens played without Dimitris Diamantidis and Anadolu Efes is a good team, specially at home. The odd thing about this game was that Panathinaikos couldn’t keep up with the hosts for the bulk of the game and the final score (78-64) is almost flattering for the Greeks.
The last word: Zalgiris Kaunas
The 75-63 win of the Lithuanians against Unicaja Malaga was one more testament to the work of coach Joan Plaza. The prevailing basketball style in Baltic calls for uptempo basketball and focus on the offense. Plaza managed to create a hybrid that puts also emphasis on the defense and that’s a winning combination.
Euroleague 2012-2013 – Top16 2nd Day
|
Zalgiris |
Unicaja Malaga |
|
|
Fenerbahce |
Siena |
|
|
Besiktas Milangaz |
||
|
Alba Berlin |
CSKA Moscow |
|
|
Khimki |
F.C. Barcelona |
|
|
Maccabi Tel Aviv |
Caja Laboral |
|
|
Brose Baskets |
Real Madrid |
|
|
Panathinaikos |