Βy Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
With three games left in regular season, we don’t have yet a clear picture of the Top16 landscape. So far only CSKA (7-0) in Group B, Barcelona (7-0), Fenerbahce/ Ulker (5-2) and Panathinaikos (5-2) in Group C and Olympiacos (6-1) in Group D have qualified to the second phase and only Sassari (1-6) in Group A has been already eliminated.
In Group A anything goes between Real (5-2), Efes (5-2), Zalgiris (4-3), Unics (3-4) and Nizhny (3-4). In Group B Unicaja (4-3), Maccabi (4-3), Alba (3-4) have the advantage, but Cedevita still hopes (2-5) and even Limoges (1-6) has a chance. In Group C EA7 Milano (2-5), Bayern Munich (1-6) and Turow (1-6) are fighting for the last spot and in Group D the race is close between Crvena Zvezda (4-3), Galatasaray (3-4), Laboral Kutxa (3-4), Neptunas Klaipeda (3-4) and Valencia (2-5). So let’s get to what happened on the courts of the 7th gameday.
MVP
In the biggest win of the season so far for Unics, he was devastating on the court with 23 points on 9/12 shots, five of them threes, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 4 turnovers in 28 minutes of action. What makes this performance even more admirable is the stage, Madrid against Real, in a do or die game for the Russians. Jerrells was just excellent.
Best five
- Curtis Jerrells: He was unstoppable.
- Reggie Redding: The leader of Alba Berlin delivered, having 17 points on 8/13 shots, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 turnovers and one block in the win over Unicaja. And above anything else, he also made the winning shot on the buzzer.
- Sonny Weems: In what was a demonstration of power, CSKA didn’t face any problem in Tel Aviv and he had 18 points on 7/12 shots, 3 rebounds, one assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and a block.
- Davis Bertans: He had 17 points and a crucial presence in the third quarter when Laboral Kutxa sealed the win over Olympiacos and became the first team to score 25.000 points in Euroleague. When his shots connect, his team usually wins.
- Boban Marjanovic: He continues an excellent season so far after producing one more double double with 24 points on 11/13 shots, 12 rebounds and 3 assists. The old school center of Zvezda is a unique case.
Best losing performance: Vasilis Spanoulis
He couldn’t celebrate but he scored 27 points on the way to becoming the fourth leading scorer in Euroleague’s all time list. Olympiacos had a bad defensive game, however Spanoulis once again produced, having in total 2.522 career points.
Biggest win: Unics Kazan
After a disappointing start, Unics needed a big win in order to turn things around and that could be it. It’s not easy to beat Real, specially on Madrid and with a double digits point difference. Yet the final score was 85-75 for the Russians who played for the first time as a unit. This game can be considered a sign for things to come and we also have to make a special mention to the big game of D’Or Fisher who proved to be an one man front line.
The underachiever: Maccabi Tel Aviv
The champions have their issues, their share of bad luck after Pnini’s injury and one year ago they were pretty much in the same spot. Still, there are more expectations when you have won the title and losing without a fight to CSKA Moscow at home, scoring just 61 points is not a pretty sight.
The disappointment: Bayern Munich
For the second straight week Bayern is the disappointment. Of course you have to give credit to Panathinaikos, but Bayern was trailing in what was a do or die game with 22 points in the 25th minute and couldn’t get back into the game until the end. Even the fact that Bo McCalebb was the top scorer of the Germans in such a difficult road game can’t be considered a plus. On the contrary it’s a source of concern when a player, even of this caliber, who is part of the team just for ten days, is the one who can make some kind of difference.
Τhe survivors: Cedevita – Valencia
With both teams having just one win before this week’s games, it was evident that they couldn’t afford any more missteps. And they didn’t. Both Cedevita against Limoges and Valencia over Galatasaray took advantage of their home gyms, they now got a 2-5 record and they live to fight an other day.
The come back: Zalgiris Kaunas
After scoring just 23 points in the first half, they let Nizhny score 18 points in the second. Zalgiris Kaunas is by far the biggest surprise of the season and despite having a very limited roster with questionable quality, somehow they find ways to win. After a 4-3 record and two wins over Nizhny they are more than close to a Top16 ticket.
The last word: Green unfair
As you can see in the video from Berlin and as it happened in all the gyms of Euroleague and Eurocup the games started with a moment of silence in the memory of murdered Crvena Zvezda fan Marko Ivkovic. However there was a notable exception. In Athens, during this moment, some fans of Panathinaikos decided to chant against Olympiacos while most others urged them to stop. Unfortunatelly some things never change…
Euroleague 2014-2015 – 7th Day
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Cedevita Zagreb |
Limoges |
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F.C. Barcelona |
EA7 Milano |
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Valencia |
Galatasaray MP |
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Nizhny Novgorod |
Zalgiris |
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Dinamo Sassari |
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Panathinaikos |
FC Bayern |
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Alba Berlin |
Unicaja Malaga |
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Laboral Kutxa |
Olympiacos |
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UNICS Kazan |
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Maccabi Tel Aviv |
CSKA Moscow |
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Crvena Zvezda T. |
Neptunas |
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PGE Turow |