Group E; CSKA Moscow 96 Anadolu Efes 68, GS Medical Park 78 Olympiacos 77
Group F; Real Madrid 69 Montepaschi Siena 88, Gescrap BB 85 Unicaja 70
Group G; Fenerbahce Ulker 65 Emporio Armani 63, Panathinaikos 83 Unics 89
Group H; Bennet Cantu 79 Zalgiris Kaunas 78, Maccabi Electra 57 FC Barcelona Regal 71
CSKA Moscow extended its unbeaten Euroleague run to eight matches with an emphatic 96-68 victory over Anadolu Efes in the Russian capital. Efes kept in touch for one quarter before Nenad Krstic began to dominate with an 18-2 second quarter run that took his side to a 12 point half-time lead. Milos Teodosic and Viktor Khryapa took control in the third quarter with a 16-2 blitz as the visitors slumped to 1-1 in Group E.
The other match in the group produced a classic as Galatasaray Medical Park registered its first-ever Top 16 win by edging Olympiacos BC Pireaus 78-77 in overtime at Abdi Ipecki Sports Hall in Istanbul. Galatasaray are now 1-1 in Group E while Olympiacos are 0-2. A jumper by Gordon and free throws by Lakovic gave Galatasaray a 69-66 edge but Sloukas buried a 14-meter shot from beyond midcourt to tie the game up at 69-69. Gordon had 6 points in overtime, including the go-ahead shot with just 27 seconds left. Montepaschi Siena stunned Real Madrid 88-69 in the Spanish capital in Group F. Montepaschi are now 2-0 and the only undefeated team in the group. In the same group, Gescrap BB registered its first ever Top 16 victory by defeating Unicaja 85-70 at Bilbao Arena. The result puts Gescrap into a tie for second place in Group F with Real Madrid.
Fenerbahce Ulker took a narrow lead into the fourth quarter and just held on to beat EA7 Emporio Milan 65-63 in Istanbul. The victory gave the hosts a first win in Group G, while Milan dropped to 0-2. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 17 points for Fenerbachce, while Roko Ukic returned from injury to score 16 and Marko Tomas added 8. Unics Kazan moved into contention for the Euroleague Playoffs by defeating the defending champion Panathinaikos 89-83 in Athens and moving to the top of Group G. It was a fifth win on the road out of six this season for Unics, while Panathinaikos dropped into a 1-1 tie for second place with Fenerbahce Ulker.
Bennet Cantu recovered from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to snatch victory over Zalgiris Kaunas 79-78 in Group H. The game was decided when Georgi Shermadini went to the line with only 3.2 seconds left and the score tied. He made the first, missed the second intentionally and Zalgiris’s desperation heave at the buzzer failed. FC Barcelona Regal defeated Maccabi Electra 71-57 at Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv. It was Barcelona’s fifth win in a row over Maccabi and put it in pole position in Group H with a 2-0 record.
The Top 16 matches continue until March 1st with the top two teams from each group reaching the quarter-finals. With the opening two games completed, the competition is hotting up. Now is the time to reserve your ticket for the Final Four with Ticket2final and your face value ticket is guaranteed!