The teams have now bigger motivation at this stage of Regular Season. Every game can be crucial and decide about teams’ position at the end of Regular Season. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.
The most surprising game was another loss of top-ranked Greek Olympiacos (22-9) on the court of fifteenth ranked French ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne Basket on Tuesday night. Visitors were defeated by ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne Basket 81-70. ASVEL made 20-of-21 free shots (95.2 percent) during the game. It was a great evening for point guard Theo Maledon (192-2001) who led his team to a victory scoring 23 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists (made all of his nine free throws !!!). Guard Nando De Colo (196-1987) helped adding 18 points (made all of his eight free throws). At the losing side Bulgarian forward Aleksandar Vezenkov (204-1995) responded with a double-double by scoring 25 points and 10 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. ASVEL maintains fifteenth place with 12-19 record. Olympiacos at the other side still keep top position with nine games lost. ASVEL are looking forward to face higher ranked Zalgiris (#13) in Kaunas in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Olympiacos will play at home against Monaco (#4) having rather not much hope for a victory.
Very significant was German Bayern’s (#6) just 1-point road victory against 8th ranked Spanish Barca 102-101. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of FC Barcelona. It was an exceptional evening for American guard Carsen Edwards (183-1998, college: Purdue) who led the winners and scored 23 points and 5 assists. Nick Weiler-Babb accounted for 16 points (perfect from the field making all seven shots !!!). Bayern Muenchen’s coach allowed to play the deep bench players in such tough game. Center Willy Hernangomez (210-1994) came up with a double-double by scoring 13 points and 14 rebounds for FC Barcelona in the defeat. Defending German champion (18-13) moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Crvena zvezda. Barca at the other side dropped to the seventh position with 14 games lost. They share it with 3 other teams. Bayern will play against Partizan (#11) in Beograd in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Barca will play on the road against Milano (#12) and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Seventh-ranked French Paris Basket (17-14) gave a tough game to second ranked Turkish Fenerbahce (21-10) in Istanbul on Tuesday. Fenerbahce managed to secure only one-point victory 101-100. However their fans expected much easier game. Marko Guduric fired 25 points for the winners. TJ Shorts produced a double-double by scoring 19 points and 10 assists for lost side. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. Defending Turkish champion maintains second place with 21-10 record behind leader Olympiacos. Loser Paris Basket keep the seventh position with 14 games lost. They share it with 3 other teams. Fenerbahce will meet at home Baskonia (#14) in the next round which should be an easy win for them. Paris will play against Panathinaikos (#3) in Athens and hope to secure a win.
There were no shocking results in the rest of the games of round 31: Zalgiris lost to Monaco on the opponent’s court 86-96. Partizan managed to outperform ALBA in a home game 85-71. Milano recorded a loss to Real Madrid on the road 96-89. Anadolu Efes defeated Baskonia on its own court 92-76. Virtus were smashed by Crvena zvezda in Beograd 88-52. M.Tel-Aviv lost to Greek defending champion Panathinaikos at home 92-99.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 26 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists by Kendrick Nunn of Panathinaikos.
Fenerbahce – Paris 101-100
Seventh-ranked French Paris Basket (17-14) gave a tough game to second ranked Turkish Fenerbahce (21-10) in Istanbul on Tuesday. Fenerbahce managed to secure only one-point victory 101-100. However their fans expected much easier game. Serbian swingman Marko Guduric (196-1995) fired 25 points for the winners. American guard Errick McCollum (188-1988, college: Goshen) chipped in 18 points and 5 rebounds. American-North Macedonian point guard TJ Shorts (175-1997, college: UC Davis) produced a double-double by scoring 19 points and 10 assists and Algerian-French guard Nadir Hifi (188-2002) added 19 points and 5 rebounds respectively for lost side. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. Defending Turkish champion maintains second place with 21-10 record behind leader Olympiacos. Loser Paris Basket keep the seventh position with 14 games lost. They share it with 3 other teams. Fenerbahce will meet at home Baskonia (#14) in the next round which should be an easy win for them. Paris will play against Panathinaikos (#3) in Athens and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Paris: N.Hifi 19+5reb+3ast, T.Shorts 19+2reb+10ast, M.Jantunen 14+8reb+1ast, Y.Ouattara 13+2reb, K.Hayes 12+5reb, S.Herrera 11
Fenerbahce: M.Guduric 25+2reb+2ast, N.Hayes-Davis 19+3reb+1ast, E.McCollum 18+5reb+2ast, T.Biberovic 14+2reb+4ast, W.Baldwin IV 8+1reb+5ast, D.Pierre 7+4reb+2ast
gschID: 1178700
Monaco – Zalgiris 96-86
Very expected game when 13th ranked Lithuanian Zalgiris (14-17) were defeated on the road by fourth ranked French Monaco (19-12) 96-86 on Tuesday. Monaco dominated down low during the game scoring 50 of its points in the paint compared to Zalgiris‘ 28 and made 31-of-37 free shots (83.8 percent) during the game. American point guard Mike James (185-1990, college: Lamar) fired 22 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. Guard Elie Okobo (191-1997) chipped in 21 points. Four Monaco players scored in double figures. French point guard Sylvain Francisco (185-1997) produced 19 points and 5 assists and Canadian-Lithuanian swingman Ignas Brazdeikis (201-1999, college: Michigan) added 17 points and 7 rebounds respectively for lost side. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Defending French champion maintains fourth place with 19-12 record. Loser Zalgiris keep the thirteenth position with 17 games lost. Monaco will meet league’s leader Olympiacos in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Zalgiris will play against ASVEL (#15) in Villeurbanne and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Zalgiris: S.Francisco 19+2reb+5ast, I.Brazdeikis 17+7reb+1ast, A.Smailagic 15+3reb+1ast, I.Wong 10+1reb+1ast, E.Ulanovas 8+3reb+2ast, D.Sirvydis 7+3reb+1ast
Monaco: M.James 22+8reb+3ast, E.Okobo 21+4reb+3ast, D.Theis 16+9reb+1ast, J.Blossomgame 15+10reb, M.Jaiteh 7+2reb, M.Strazel 6+1ast
gschID: 1178701
Barca – Bayern 101-102
Very significant was German Bayern’s (#6) just 1-point road victory against 8th ranked Spanish Barca 102-101. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of FC Barcelona. It was an exceptional evening for American guard Carsen Edwards (183-1998, college: Purdue) who led the winners and scored 23 points and 5 assists. American-German guard Nick Weiler-Babb (196-1995, college: Iowa St.) accounted for 16 points (perfect from the field making all seven shots !!!) for the winning side. Five Bayern Muenchen players scored in double figures. Bayern Muenchen’s coach allowed to play the deep bench players in such tough game. Center Willy Hernangomez (210-1994) came up with a double-double by scoring 13 points and 14 rebounds and American Jabari Parker (203-1995, college: Duke) added 23 points respectively for FC Barcelona in the defeat. Defending German champion (18-13) moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Crvena zvezda. Barca at the other side dropped to the seventh position with 14 games lost. They share it with 3 other teams. Bayern will play against Partizan (#11) in Beograd in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Barca will play on the road against Milano (#12) and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Barca: J.Parker 23+3reb+1ast, K.Punter 20+4ast, W.Hernangomez 13+14reb, C.Metu 11+1reb, J.Anderson 10+1reb+1ast, J.Parra 8+4reb+2ast
Bayern: C.Edwards 23+1reb+5ast, E.Harris 17+3reb, N.Weiler-Babb 16+4reb+3ast, S.Napier 13+2ast, D.Brankovic 12+3reb, V.Lucic 8+4reb+1ast
gschID: 1178702
ASVEL – Olympiacos 81-70
The most surprising game was another loss of top-ranked Greek Olympiacos (22-9) on the court of fifteenth ranked French ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne Basket on Tuesday night. Visitors were defeated by ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne Basket 81-70. ASVEL made 20-of-21 free shots (95.2 percent) during the game. It was a great evening for point guard Theo Maledon (192-2001) who led his team to a victory scoring 23 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists (made all of his nine free throws !!!). Guard Nando De Colo (196-1987) helped adding 18 points (made all of his eight free throws). At the losing side Bulgarian forward Aleksandar Vezenkov (204-1995) responded with a double-double by scoring 25 points and 10 rebounds and French swingman Evan Fournier (198-1992) scored 25 points. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. ASVEL maintains fifteenth place with 12-19 record. Olympiacos at the other side still keep top position with nine games lost. ASVEL are looking forward to face higher ranked Zalgiris (#13) in Kaunas in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Olympiacos will play at home against Monaco (#4) having rather not much hope for a victory.
Top scorers:
Olympiacos: E.Fournier 25+2reb+3ast, A.Vezenkov 25+10reb+1ast, N.Williams-Goss 5+1reb+2ast, S.Lee 4+3reb+4ast, T.Dorsey 4+3reb+2ast, K.Papanikolaou 3+5reb+2ast
ASVEL: T.Maledon 23+5reb+5ast, N.De Colo 18+2reb, N.Sako 9+7reb+1ast, D.Lighty 8+4reb, A.Roberson 7+6reb+2ast, M.Ajinca 6+2reb
gschID: 1178703
Partizan – ALBA 85-71
Very predictable result in Beograd where twelfth ranked Serbian Partizan (16-15) defeated bottom-ranked German ALBA Berlin (5-26) 85-71 on Tuesday. Partizan looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Partizan made 7 blocks. South Sudanese point guard Carlik Jones (185-1997, college: Louisville) fired 15 points and 9 assists for the winners. American-Ugandan center Brandon Davies (208-1991, college: BYU) chipped in 22 points (on 9-of-10 shooting from the field). Icelandic guard Martin Hermannsson (190-1994, college: LIU Brooklyn) produced 4 points and 13 assists and American Matt Thomas (195-1994, college: Iowa St.) added 16 points respectively for lost side. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Partizan moved-up to eleventh place, which they share with Milano. Loser ALBA Berlin stay dead last with 26 lost games. Partizan will meet higher ranked Bayern (#6) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. ALBA will play against Virtus (#17) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
ALBA: M.Thomas 16+3reb, Y.Wetzell 12+3reb+3ast, G.Procida 10+2reb+1ast, D.McCormack 8+2reb, R.Baker 8+2reb, M.Spagnolo 6+2reb+3ast
Partizan: B.Davies 22+2reb+1ast, C.Jones 15+3reb+9ast, I.Bonga 14+6reb+2ast, S.Brown 8+7reb+5ast, I.Mike 7+4reb+1ast, V.Marinkovic 7+2reb+1ast
gschID: 1178704
Real Madrid – Milano 96-89
Everything could happen at the game between two tied teams. Both tenth ranked Spanish Real Madrid and 11th ranked Italian Armani Milano had identical 16-14 record. This time Real Madrid used a home court advantage and won against the opponent from Milano 96-89 on Tuesday night. They outrebounded Milano 36-23 including 26 on the defensive glass. Bosnian swingman Dzanan Musa (205-1999) fired 21 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Cape Verdean-Spanish center Walter Tavares (220-1992) chipped in 19 points and 7 rebounds (perfect from the field making all eight shots !!!). Spanish Nikola Mirotic (208-1991) produced 14 points and 5 assists and French swingman Fabien Causeur (196-1987) added 13 points respectively for lost side. Four Milano players scored in double figures. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Real Madrid have a solid series of three victories in a row. Defending Spanish champion (17-14) moved-up to seventh place, which they share with 3 other teams. Defending Italian champion Milano keeps the eleventh position with 15 games lost. They share it with Partizan. Real Madrid will meet higher ranked Crvena zvezda (#5) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Milano will play against Barca (#9) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Milano: Z.LeDay 15+1reb+2ast, N.Mirotic 14+4reb+5ast, S.Shields 13+3reb+3ast, F.Causeur 13+4reb+3ast, A.Brooks 9+2reb+2ast, G.Caruso 7+2reb+2ast
Real Madrid: D.Musa 21+5reb+3ast, W.Tavares 19+7reb+1ast, U.Garuba 11+2reb+1ast, F.Campazzo 11+6reb+6ast, A.Feliz 9+4reb+1ast, S.Llull 8+3reb+4ast
gschID: 1178705
Anadolu Efes – Baskonia 92-76
Everything went according to plan in Istanbul where tenth ranked Turkish Efes (17-14) beat 14th ranked Spanish Baskonia (13-18) 92-76 on Wednesday. Anadolu Efes outrebounded Baskonia 37-26 including a 17-6 advantage in offensive rebounds. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Anadolu Efes made 7 blocks. American swingman Elijah Bryant (196-1995, college: BYU, agency: Pensack Sports) fired 11 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists for the winners. American-Turkish guard Shane Larkin (182-1992, college: Miami, FL) chipped in 16 points and 4 assists. Four Efes players scored in double figures. American guard Trent Forrest (194-1998, college: FSU) produced 17 points, 7 assists and 4 steals and American-Puerto Rican point guard Markus Howard (179-1999, college: Marquette) added 15 points and 5 assists (perfect from the field making all eight shots !!!) respectively for lost side. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Efes have an impressive series of five victories in a row. Anadolu Efes moved-up to seventh place, which they share with 3 other teams. Loser Baskonia keeps the fourteenth position with 18 games lost. Anadolu Efes will meet at home M.Tel-Aviv (#16) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Baskonia will play against the league’s second-placed Fenerbahce having rather not much hope for a victory.
Top scorers:
Baskonia: T.Forrest 17+2reb+7ast, M.Howard 15+4reb+5ast, K.Diop 10+4reb, N.Rogkavopoulos 10+2reb, T.Luwawu-Cabarrot 9+6reb+3ast, T.Sedekerskis 8+5reb
Anadolu Efes: R.Beaubois 18+2reb, S.Larkin 16+1reb+4ast, E.Bryant 11+6reb+8ast, V.Poirier 10+6reb+3ast, D.Oturu 8+6reb, P.Dozier Jr 7+1reb+2ast
gschID: 1178706
Crvena zvezda – Virtus BO 88-52
There was no surprise in Beograd where 17th ranked Italian Virtus Bologna (7-24) was outplayed by sixth ranked Serbian Crvena zvezda (18-13) 88-52 on Wednesday. Crvena zvezda outrebounded Virtus 38-27 including 26 on the defensive glass. Crvena zvezda looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists. Center Filip Petrusev (211-2000, college: Gonzaga) fired 16 points and 6 assists for the winners. Forward Dejan Davidovac (203-1995) chipped in 17 points (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field). Georgian Tornike Shengelia (206-1991, agency: Octagon Europe) produced 13 points and American forward Will Clyburn (201-1990, college: Iowa St.) added 12 points and 5 rebounds respectively for lost side. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Defending Serbian champion moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Bayern. Virtus lost ninth consecutive game. They keep the seventeenth position with 24 games lost. Crvena zvezda will meet at home Real Madrid (#8) in the next round. Virtus will play against ALBA (#18) in Berlin and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Virtus BO: T.Shengelia 13+3reb+3ast, W.Clyburn 12+5reb+2ast, N.Akele 8+3reb, M.Morgan 5, I.Cordinier 4+2reb+4ast, A.Pajola 3+3reb+4ast
Crvena zvezda: D.Davidovac 17+3reb, F.Petrusev 16+4reb+6ast, C.Miller-McIntyre 11+6reb+2ast, I.Canaan 9+1reb+1ast, Y.Dos Santos 7+4reb+5ast, N.Nedovic 7+4reb+1ast
gschID: 1178707
M.Tel-Aviv – Panathinaikos 92-99
No shocking result in a game in Tel Aviv where third ranked Greek Panathinaikos (20-11) won against 16th ranked Israeli Maccabi Tel-Aviv (10-21) 99-92 on Wednesday. Panathinaikos made 24-of-31 free shots (77.4 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. American Kendrick Nunn (194-1995, college: Oakland) fired 26 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists for the winners (made all of his seven free throws). Spanish Juancho Hernangomez (206-1995) chipped in 18 points and 8 rebounds. American Levi Randolph (198-1992, college: Alabama, agency: Slash Sports) produced 21 points and 6 rebounds (made all of his eight free throws) and American-Israeli Jake Cohen (210-1990, college: Davidson) added 15 points and 6 rebounds respectively for lost side. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Defending Greek champion maintains third place with 20-11 record having just two points less than leader Olympiacos. Defending Israeli champion M.Tel-Aviv keeps the sixteenth position with 21 games lost. Panathinaikos will meet at home Paris (#7) in the next round. M.Tel-Aviv will play against Anadolu Efes (#10) in Istanbul and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
M.Tel-Aviv: L.Randolph 21+6reb+1ast, J.Cohen 15+6reb+1ast, R.Sorkin 12+4reb+1ast, T.Williams 11+7reb+3ast, T.Blatt 11+2reb+4ast, J.DiBartolomeo 10+3reb+2ast
Panathinaikos: K.Nunn 26+5reb+8ast, J.Hernangomez 18+8reb+2ast, L.Brown 14+2reb+2ast, W.Gabriel 13+3reb+1ast, K.Mitoglou 12+5reb+2ast, K.Sloukas 9+1reb+2ast
gschID: 1178708
