By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Brace yourselves for the finish! After 13 Top16 gamedays we know the four teams advancing to the play offs from group E, but we don’t know their final standings. And in group F, we have Barcelona, as always, on the top, but just behind the Catalans five teams are still fighting for three spots, after Siena losing at home to Barca, while Olympiacos and Caja Laboral got important and almost marginal road wins.
The standings in group E are CSKA Moscow (10-3), Real Madrid (9-4), Panathinaikos (9-4) and Anadolu Efes (9-4), the four play offs team, followed by Unicaja Malaga (7-6), Zalgiris Kaunas (5-8), Alba Berlin (3-10) and Brose Baskets (0-13).
In group F, Barcelona still is the boss (12-1), while Maccabi Tel Aviv (8-5), Olympiacos (8-5), Khimki (7-6), Siena (7-6) and Caja Laboral (7-6) can be in the quarterfinals. Only Fenerbahce/ Ulker (2-11) and Besiktas (1-12) are out.
Eurohoops MVP
He had one of the best games of this season with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, proving that he can be used also as a point guard. Unicaja beat Anadolu Efes, but missed the play offs after the win of Panathinaikos in Bamberg. Williams, however, after this performance beyond any doubt can be considered a big crunch time performer in Europe and if he wants to build an illustrious career in the old continent, he has the tools to do it. One more time, he is ours MVP.
Best five
- Milos Teodosic: In the win over Real Madrid he had one more mature game with 17 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds and he even tried to defend
- Marcus Williams: He beat – with the help of Zoric – Anadolu Efes in Istanbul
- Jonas Maciulis: Panathinaikos needed the win over Brose Baskets in order to seal its place in the play offs and the Lithuanian forward delivered with 24 points and 6/7 threes
- Andres Nocioni: He was the leader Caja Laboral needed in Moscow and had 24 points, 4/7 threes and 6 rebounds in the win against Khimki
- Nate Jawai: With Ante Tomic missing along with Navarro and Mickael, the other center of Barcelona took the opportunity to shine with 22 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in the win against Siena
Best losing performance: Rudy Fernandez
The former NBAr was the player that tried until the end to keep Real Madrid close and he had 24 points on 6/8 threes, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. In other words, it was a usual night for him, but not for many of his teammates, as CSKA Moscow prevailed over the Spaniards and put them in trouble. Τhey have to beat Anadolu Efes in their last game in order to get the home court advantage, provided that CSKA can if not win, then lose by less than 16 points to Panathinaikos.
The biggest win: CSKA Moscow
Before the 12th gameday CSKA Moscow was in danger. With Unicaja being hot, the players of coach Messina had to win in Malaga in order to stay on play offs course and then they had to beat Real Madrid for the home court advantage. They did both and also covered the points difference from their overtime defeat in Madrid with their 81-72 win. Yes, they are the favorites to go all the way, specially after Pete Mickael’s health problems.
The upset: Caja Laboral
Khimki had lost just one game at home this season, against defending champions Olympiacos and had beaten Caja Laboral in Vitoria. However the Basques are refusing to die, they got the road win in Moscow and next week they are hosting Siena, so they can make the play offs. That’s the team that was sixth in the standings with a 6-6 before the start of the 13th gameday. As for the Russians, they have to beat Olympiacos in Piraeus in order to be in the play offs.
The underachiever: Anadolu Efes
Efes had to beat Unicaja in order to take one more step towards the home court advantage. Unicaja traveled to Istanbul without Krunoslav Simon and Earl Calloway. Efes didn’t had any injury. It was considered the favorite, but the Spaniards got the win, that was meaningless for them after the result of Panathinaikos in Germany. Can Efes make up for this? Yes, if they beat on the road Real Madrid next week.
The disappointment: Besiktas
It’s one thing to lose and an other to get humiliated. Maccabi Tel Aviv wanted to teach a lesson to Besiktas and they did (101-58). As coach Blatt said: “After the previous game with Besiktas, Coach Kunter said that they played poorly and that we weren’t a strong team. We showed that maybe we’re not as strong as in past years, but we’re still strong enough to rout them”. You can understand the moral of the story, as the final margin of victory, 43 points, was the largest ever in a Top16 game.
The last word: Zalgiris Kaunas
During the regular season Zalgiris was the pleasant surprise of Euroleague, the work of coach Plaza was considered an prime example across Europe and when Jaaber entered the picture, Zalgiris seemed destined for greatness. Jaaber left the team on January, then Romanov stepped out as president and the debts of the club are 7,2 euros. Against Alba Berlin, Zalgiris played with 11 players and of course lost 77-55. The question now is if the team can hold up for the VTB league and Lithuanian league play offs.
Euroleague 2012-2013 – Top16 13th Day
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Siena |
F.C. Barcelona |
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Khimki |
Caja Laboral |
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Olympiacos |
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Alba Berlin |
Zalgiris |
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CSKA Moscow |
Real Madrid |
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Anadolu Efes |
Unicaja Malaga |
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Brose Baskets |
Panathinaikos |
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Maccabi Tel Aviv |
Besiktas |