By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The second week of Euroleague’s Top16 was completed with Real Madrid staying the only unbeaten team this season, but getting tested by Galatasaray, Panathinaikos getting an important road win in Vitoria, an equally important result for Barcelona in Istanbul against Fenerbahce and of course, defending back to back champions Olympiacos losing to EA7 Milano. After two gamedays, Barcelona and Panathinaikos are leading (2-0) the standings in Group E, followed by Laboral Kutxa, EA7 Milano, Unicaja Malaga and Olympiacos (1-1), while Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahce/ Ulker are still at 0-2. In Group F, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow and Maccabi Tel Aviv are at 2-0, while Galatasaray, Zalgiris Kaunas, Lokomotiv Kuban and Partizan are still searching their first win (0-2).
MVP
When you see a scorer heating up, it’s a thing of beauty. Unless, of course, he is your opponent. Langford started the game against Olympiacos with 2/3 three pointers and finished it with 29 points on 9/13 shots, 5/6 threes, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 4 turnovers. A pure scorer, he was the leader in the 81-51 triumph of EA7 Milano.
Best five
- Marcelinho Huertas: We have been critical of him, however in Navarro’s absence he was excellent with 23 points, 7 assists and 4 steals leading Barcelona in the road win over Fenerbahce (76-73).
- Keith Langford: He was a cold heart sniper…
- Devin Smith: Yes, Sofo with 22 points in 15 minutes exploded in offense, but Smith’s all around game with 15 points, 12 rebounds, no turnovers and 2 blocks deserves praise in the 85-75 win of Maccabi over Lokomotiv Kuban.
- John Bryant: He was just a click better than Deon Thomas with 16 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover and a block in the 71-65 win of perfect Bayern over Partizan.
- Stephan Lasme: He was a force in the paint with 20 points on 8/9 shots in 19 minutes of action. He also provided his usual defense in the important 72-64 win of Panathinaikos on the road over Laboral Kutxa.
Best losing performance: Zoran Erceg
For the first time this season Real Madrid felt pressure at home, but got the 89-84 win over Galatasaray. One of the main reasons for that, was Erceg‘s performance who had 24 points on 4/8 threes, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and no turnovers. It was a great game against a great opponent. Also the 77-62 win of CSKA Moscow was easy, however Justin Dentmon οf Zalgiris returned to form after a mediocre start in Top16. The American guard had 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, but it was not enough.
The biggest win: Barcelona
The Catalans are still trying to find their identity, Maciej Lampe was not used by coach Pascual not even for a second, Juan Carlos Navarro didn’t played because of an injury, however they found the way to beat Fenerbahce/ Ulker in Istanbul (76-73). As usual the answer for Pascual was defense with Kostas Papanikolaou making the life of Bogdanovic hard and suddenly Barca with a 2-0 start is already thinking the home court advantage in the play offs.
The upset: EA7 Milano
It’s not only the fact that the Italians ended the 11-0 streak of Olympiacos in Euroleague. The final score (81-51) was more than impressive and the legend of the “Red shoes” in Milan – the team wore red “All Stars” during the sixties – can live again in the day of the 78th birthday of the club. This result is a tremendous psychological boost for coach Banchi’s team and a wake up call for the champions.
The underachiever: Anadolu Efes
Anadolu Efes had a tone of chances to send the game against Unicaja at least in overtime. However, the Turkish team fell at home and despite a coaching change and the addition of a center, started Top16 with a 0-2 record. There’s still time for a come back, but this 74-72 defeat can be more than crucial in the final standings for the two teams that entered Top16 in the last gameday and will have to fight probably until the very end for a place in the play offs.
The disappointment: Olympiacos
The champions not only lost, but they repeated their worst offensive performance in Europe’s top competitions, which dates back to 1979 and a 95-51 defeat by Maccabi Tel Aviv. Want any other explanation?
The last word: Guy Pnini
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_LGcVLHqw8
The quality of the video is bad, but still what Guy Pnini did to Aleks Maric is unacceptable. Euroleague has changed its bylaws about such kind of incidents, so the only question at this point should be the exact punishment which he will receive.