Reds on the right course

By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net

It’s the end of Top16 first round and it’s time to separate the boys from the men, even if by now the results and the standings speak on their own. In group E Real Madrid and Anadolu Efes share the top with a 6-1 record, CSKA Moscow follows with 5-2, in the fourth place there is Panathinaikos (4-3), hunted by Zalgiris Kaunas (3-4) and Unicaja Malaga (3-4), while Alba Berlin (1-6) and Brose Baskets (0-7) have minimum chances of qualification to the play offs.

In group F Barcelona and Siena are leading with a 6-1 record, Caja Laboral, Olympiacos and Khimki are tied (4-3) in the third place, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Fenerbahce/ Ulker are two wins behing (2-5) and Besiktas is still left without a win (0-7).

Eurohoops MVP

Jamon Gordon

He hasn’t the highest ranking this week, but he was the most important player in the 74-72 win of Anadolu Efes over Real Madrid. He was on the court for 32 minutes, he had the ball in his hand, dished 5 assists, scored 16 points and got also four rebounds. Gordon at this point seems to be the key of Efes success, providing defense, good decision making and being also the glue of his team.

Best five

1. Vassilis Spanoulis: He scored 19 points, dished 9 assists but the most important number of his game against Khimki is that he made zero turnovers in a game where the Reds tied the Euroleague record with just 3 turnovers
2. Matt Janning: He was the wildcard in Siena’s win over Caja Laboral with 16 points on 4/5 three pointers.  If he continues like that, then the Italian champions can be more than dangerous
3. Jamon Gordon: He is Efes’ best kept secret…
4. Bojan Bogdanovic: He is playing high quality basketball the last couple of weeks and he is carrying Fenerbahce/ Ulker offensively. He did that with 25 points in the 78-72 win against Besiktas
5. Sasha Kaun: As coach Messina said, “he was like Bill Russell”, in the win over Panathinaikos, which translates to 13 points on 100% accuracy, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 steals

The best losing performance: Anton Gavel

He did the best he could by scoring 25 points, he was almost the hero of the night, but his foul in the final buzzer against Marco Popovic gave the overtime win to Zalgiris and one more heart breaking defeat to Brose Baskets. Still Gavel is one of Brose Baskets’ standouts this season and he deserves all the praise, even if that praise would be even bigger in case of a win.

The biggest win: Αnadolu Efes

Real Madrid was unbeaten until the Spaniards visited Istanbul. Anadolu Efes has a history of underachieving in Euroleague, but this time things can be different and the win over Real is a good indication about that. It goes without saying that Efes is the most solid Turkish team this season and if it gets home court advantage in the play offs, a possible scenario, then it can travel to London.

The barnburner: Unicaja Malaga

Unicaja has to thank God for Marcus Williams. The Spaniards almost lost to Alba, but a three pointer by the American guard saved the day and gave an important win to coach Repesa’s team. After this result Unicaja is still on the play offs race and didn’t throw away the bonus of its road win in Moscow against CSKA.

The disappointment: Maccabi Tel Aviv

The home game against Barcelona was probably the last chance for Maccabi to prove that it still is a part of Euroleague’s elite. That’s why the Israelis gave a big fight in order to steal a lost game, in the end they didn’t make it and with just a 2-5 record, play offs seem to be too far away.

The underachiever: Caja Laboral

There’s no shame in losing on the road to Siena, but after being one of the hottest teams in Europe, Caja lost its fire. At least that’s the story after a 4-3 record in Top16 and two home defeats by Barcelona and Khimki. The Basques still have to play on the road against the Catalans, the Russians and Olympiacos and the odds at this point are not in favor of them.

The last word: Kyle Hines

This guy is really durable. Last Sunday he got hit on the head by a flare and on Friday he was doing damage in the paint of Khimki against Davis and Loncar, finishing the game with 19 points and 7 rebounds and being the only productive big man of Olympiacos. Just respect…

Euroleague 2012-2013 – Top16, 7th Day