10-FENERBAHCE ULKER ISTANBUL (TURKEY)
The turkish are closed to the Top16 with this key win past the french champions Chorale Roanne. Right now the Boscia Tanjevic’s yellow-blues need one more victory to secure the next Euroleague stage. Next week they will face Brose Baskets Bamberg, theoretically an easy game.
9-MONTEPASCHI SIENA (ITALY)
Without two key players like Lavrinovic and Kaukenas, Montepaschi Siena roll over Tau Ceramica Vitoria, with a strong team win. All the starting five scored in double figures. All the italians are crazy for this winning machine, still undefeated in the Italian League (18-0).
8-OLYMPIACOS PIRAEUS (GREECE)
“Continuity” is the word, in Piraeus. That’s what Pinhas Gershon was looking for his team. Olympiacos edged the strongest Euroleague team of last month, Cska Moskow, a healthy 71-67 win who put the greeks at second place of Group A, tied with other four teams.
7-MACCABI ELITE TEL AVIV (ISRAEL)
Maccabi in the Top16. Despite the Bynum’s troubles with justice (arrested last week in alleged hit and run), last night Maccabi at Yad Eliyahu had a strong win on Unicaja Malaga, one of the real contenders of Final Four. And now Maccabi seems to be the same.
6-ZALGIRIS KAUNAS (LITHUANIA)
Fifth consecutive win for the Green lithuanians,week after week big steps to the Top16. Zalgiris Kaunas won in Slovenia over Union Olimpija Ljublijana, with a solid team performance and with a great (as usual) Marcus Brown.
5-AXA FC BARCELONA (SPAIN)
They could win. They were at their own Palau, and they’ve been closed to beat Pana. Grimau missed a free throw on 55-56 with 8 seconds left, Basile grabbed rebound and tried a three pointer off balanced. No basket. Panathinaikos won, but Barcelona fought ’til last second.
4-REAL MADRID (SPAIN)
Le Merengues reach the big rivals Barcelona at second place of Group C, behind Panathinaikos. Real Madrid won in Serbia, edging Partizan Igokea on the tough Pionir field, in Belgrade. A strong game in the paint from Reyes and Papadopoulos secure the W for the Plaza’s spanish.
3-CSKA MOSKOW (RUSSIA)
Fighting and trying to win ’til the end, a loss in Piraeus could happens, also for Cska Moskow. Olympiacos had a great night, and the russians done their best. Cska has to learn about this kind of losses, and Messina knows it very well.
2-PANATHINAIKOS ATHENS (GREECE)
The first team to reach ten wins in the Euroleague, Panathinaikos grab a tough win at Palau Blaugrana in Catalunya, over Axa Fc Barcelona. A 55-56 tight victory with big defense and character, the classic Obradovic trade-mark.
1-LIETUVOS RYTAS VILNIUS (LITHUANIA)
Amazing Lietuvos, that’s all we have to say about this team. Rallying from 54-64 with four minutes in the fourth quarter in Thessaloniki, the lithuanians posted a 18-5 partial in the crunch time, winning 72-69 the game over Aris TT Bank, beeing once again the Group B leaders.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
CHRIS WARREN (CIBONA ZAGREB)
Chris Warren is hot. After the last week performance (29 points), this week Warren drove Cibona to a big win in Milan over Armani Jeans. 27 points (9/16 from the field) and 10 rebounds for the former University of South Carolina.
KOSTAS TSARTSARIS (PANATHINAIKOS)
In a game with 111 total points, the guy who scores 20 points is the man. Always dangerous from the arc and in the paint, Tsartsaris scored 20 points with 8 rebounds and with 5/9 from the three points line. Panathinaikos has a strong and deep bench.
LOREN WOODS (EFES PILSEN)
A powerful doble-double for the former Wake Forest and Arizona, 16 points (4/6 from the field and 8/10 free throws) and 18 rebounds (10 offensive) in the last night Efes Pilsen Istanbul win. Loren Woods is the Euroleague Week 11 MVP.
DANIELE VECCHI
