By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With two weeks left in Top16, five teams have already qualified in the play offs, one of them has secured the home court advantage and three tickers are still open. It’s cruntch time folks and here’s how things are.
In Group E, Real Madrid (10-2) will finish on the two top spots no matter what, Barcelona (9-3) is also play offs bound and after them, there’s a battle going on. Maccabi Tel Aviv and Panathinaikos are tied (7-5), followed by Alba Berlin (6-6) which is still in the race. Zalgiris Kaunas (4-8), Crvena Zvezda (3-9) and Galatasaray (2-10) are out.
In Goup F, Fenerbahce and CSKA Moscow are tied at 10-2, Olympiacos is one step behind (9-3) but all of them have qualified. For the fourth place, Anadolu Efes (5-7), Laboral Kutxa (5-7) and also EA7 Milano (4-8) are the contenders, while Nizhny Novgorod (3-9) and Unicaja Malaga (2-10) are out.
MVP
He scored 29 points in total, 26 in the first three quarters, 11/19 shots, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. The captain of Milano shined against Laboral Kutxa and makes you forget that he is still 22 years old. So far the season of his team has been mediocre at best. Still Gentile, even if his game has some obvious flaws, is a great offensive talent, and the Houston Rockets who are constantly flirting with him, know it.
Best five
- Reggie Redding: He was close to a triple double (8 p., 7 r., 11 as. 2 st.) leading Alba to the win over Crvena Zvezda and the Germans still hope for the play offs.
- Andrew Goudelock: He is one of the most gifted scorers of Euroleague and proved it again with 22 points on 9/13 shots as Fenerbahce got the win over Unicaja and remains on top of the group.
- Alessandro Gentile: He was more just great.
- Giorgos Printezis: Olympiacos needed every help, missing Spanoulis, Sloukas and Petway, and Printezis responded with a double double (15 p., 12 r.) in the must win game over Anadolu Efes.
- Felipe Reyes: It was his best night, but he was one of Madrid’s leaders again in the win over Maccabi with 16 points on 10/12 FT, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Best losing performance: Boban Marjanovic
Any way you put it, you can’t deny that Marjanovic‘s break out season is more than impressive. One more double double on the road (27 p., 9/12 FG, 9/11 FT, 10 r.) and despite Crvena Zvezda’s defeat, he is already one of the hottest names of the upcoming summer.
Biggest win: Olympiacos
Without the best two creators of the team, Spanoulis and Sloukas, and a key front line player, Brent Petway, the Reds knew that losing to Anadolu Efes would mean losing also the home court advantage in the play offs and even putting their qualification chances in danger. Playing against Dusan Ivkovic, the coach who shaped much of Olympiacos history, the Greeks proved that they are still one of the most resilient teams of the league, young gun Ioannis Papapetrou had a break out game and the best is yet to come.
Τhe fighters: Galatasaray
Galatasaray had to fight for its pride, since the play offs train was already missed, and they did exactly that. Panathinaikos got the win in Istanbul, thanks to 1/4 free throws by Justin Carter and Patrick Young in the last 12 seconds. Still, you can’t but admire a team which used seven players and found the way to be more than competitive. In a season that’s a roller coaster for the basketball section of the club, the fans could smile after this game, even in defeat.
Τhe underachiever: Maccabi Tel Aviv
The defeat in Madrid is not an issue. The problem is that two key players from last season’s championship team, Alex Tyus and Sofoklis Schortsanitis, played just 10 minutes each and had a very slim contribution. Sofo had four quick fouls, but Tyus only one. At this point Maccabi just can’t afford to not get them involved.
The unlucky: Laboral Kutxa, Fenerbahce/ Ulker
The Spaniards were defeated, the Turks got the win, but they both lost two key players, Davis Bertans and Ricky Hickman. In both cases the timing is the worst possible, since at this point transfers are not allowed in Euroleague. Laboral Kutxa will have to fight for the play offs and Fenerbache/ Ulker for the final four and the title, missing two imporant weapons.
Last word: The gold tactic board
Stratos Perperoglou and also Dusan Ivkovic were the guests of honor in the game of Olympiacos and the gift by the Reds to the legendary coach was one of a kind. Who else deserves a golden tactic board?
Euroleague 2014-2015 – 22th Day
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Galatasaray MP |
Panathinaikos |
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Nizhny Novgorod |
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Maccabi Tel Aviv |
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EA7 Milano |
Laboral Kutxa |
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Fenerbahce |
Unicaja Malaga |
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Olympiacos |
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Alba Berlin |
Crvena Zvezda T. |
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F.C. Barcelona |