Βy Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The race for the play offs is not even in the middle yet and still anything goes. However, Siena and Real Madrid after the 5th Top16 gameday can feel a little bit safer than the rest. The two teams remained unbeaten in group F and group E respectively.
Also in group E, CSKA Moscow and Anadolu Efes are sharing the 2nd and 3rd place with a 4-1 record, Panathinaikos is 4th with a 3-2, followed by Unicaja (2-3), Zalgiris Kaunas (1-4), Alba Berlin (1-4) and Brose Baskets (0-5). In group F, Caja Laboral and Barcelona are tied (4-1), Khimki is 4th (3-2) and then comes Olympiacos (2-3), Maccabi Tel Aviv (1-4), Fenerbahce/ Ulker (1-4) and Besiktas (0-5).
Εurohoops ΜVP
The former NBA player after two seasons in Russia and in China was added in Unicaja‘s roster in order to lead the Spanish club to greatness. Until this Friday he had good numbers but not a really great game. All this changed against CSKA at Moscow. Williams torched the Russians with 28 points on 6/12 three pointers, 4 assists and 3 rebounds in the 94-81 road win of Unicaja. Well done sir.
Best five
- Vassilis Spanoulis: Olympiacos beat Maccabi Tel Aviv on the road by a point (78-77), Spanoulis made the last bucket of the game and also had 24 points, 4 assists and only 1 turnover in 34 minutes.
- Marcus Williams: He was the best in the biggest win of Unicaja so far in the season.
- Bojan Bogdanovic: The Nets draftee was the best player in the 85-82 Fener‘s win over Khimki, scoring 26 points on 7/14 shots and 10/10 free throws.
- Pete Mickeal: There are rumors about him, being a target of Oklahoma City Thunder and if the win of Barcelona against Caja Laboral can be considered an indication, he is ready to cross the Atlantic. He had 23 points on 10/11 two pointers, 5 rebounds and 1 steal
- Felipe Reyes: He had “just” 13 points, but he was the top scorer of both teams in Real Madrid‘s win in Athens against Panathinaikos. Real remained the only unbeaten team in group E and Reyes was a big reason for that
Best losing performance: Macej Lampe
Lampe (21 p., 11 r., 3 as.), Nenad Krstic (23 p., 6 reb.) and Zoran Planinic (25 p., 6 r., 6 as.) had big games, but Caja Laboral, CSKA and Khimki respectively lost . It was not their fault and we pick Lampe as the best of the bunch, because he was the only one with a double double.
Τhe biggest win: Barcelona
Playing against an unbeaten team in Top16, the Catalans got the win and now are tied with their opponent on the second place of their group’s standings. Barcelona did it on the road against Caja Laboral which had a streak of 17 wins before Thursday. It’s a game that could be the key in the final standings of group F and the team of coach Pascual has now the advantage.
Τhe upset: Unicaja Malaga
A road win at Moscow against CSKA is the definition of “upset” in Europe and Malaga did just that with a 94-81 triumph. However, this is a game that in the long run may not have any serious consequences, at least for CSKA. On the contrary it gives one more reason for coach Messina to push his players to the direction he wants them to go.
The underachiever: Maccabi Tel Aviv
It was a game that was decided in the last seconds, but Olympiacos got the win in Tel Aviv that doesn’t help the position of coach Blatt’s team on the standings. Maccabi has just one win after five Top16 games and the Israelis have a lot of ground to cover in order to get to the play offs. There’s still time, but it’s a very difficult situation.
The disappointment: Brose Baskets
If there was one game in which Brose Baskets could be considered even the favorite for a road win it was the one in Berlin. Alba prevailed 82-63, no one could contain Nihad Dedovic and the German champions are stuck on the bottom of group E without a win so far. Next week they play in Athens and then they host Zalgiris, so they may have to forget their play offs dreams really soon.
Τhe last word: Siena
Undefeated Real was among the favorites to be a Euroleague contender even before the start of the season. Siena is a very different story. The team was rebuilded almost from scratch, Luca Banchi had to be promoted to head coach and nobody expected them to have a 5-0 start in Top16. But guess what? They just did, by beating Besiktas 63-57.
Euroleague 2012-2013 – Top16 5th Day
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Panathinaikos |
Real Madrid |
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CSKA Moscow |
Unicaja Malaga |
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Siena |
Besiktas Milangaz |
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Zalgiris |
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Caja Laboral |
F.C. Barcelona |
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Maccabi Tel Aviv |
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Alba Berlin |
Brose Baskets |
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Fenerbahce |
Khimki |