With four games already played, the sixth round of the EuroLeague kicked off today, Thursday (10/15).
The action continues tomorrow, Friday (10/16), with Panathinaikos hosting Hapoel Tel Aviv at 9:15 p.m. and Olympiacos Piraeus facing Barcelona on the road at 9:30 p.m.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Fenerbahce “wiped out” Partizan and continued its impressive run
Fenerbahce celebrated its fifth victory in this year’s EuroLeague, defeating Partizan 74-65 in Istanbul, in the competition’s sixth round. Sarunas Jasikevicius’s team dramatically stepped up its performance in the third quarter and laid the groundwork for its victory, with the Serbs falling to a 3-3 record.
Partizan got off to a better start and managed to dictate the pace in the first quarter, taking a 19-12 lead. Fenerbahçe struggled to find solutions on offense, with the two teams presenting a very different picture at the start of the game.
In the second quarter, however, the home team improved its defense and began to limit the offensive output of Joan Penaroya’s squad. The game remained close, with Fenerbahçe managing to turn the tide and head into halftime with a 25-28 lead.
Fenerbahçe stepped on the gas in the third quarter and, with an impressive 34-16 run, pulled away by double digits, turning the 25-28 halftime score into 59-44. Savon Shields provided key solutions on offense, while Talen Horton-Tucker contributed both in scoring and playmaking, with the home team dominating during this stretch.
Partizan tried to mount a comeback in the final quarter and narrowed the gap, but Fenerbahçe maintained control and did not allow the visitors to pose a serious threat. Despite the efforts of Joan Penaroya’s players, the Turkish team managed its lead and secured a 74-65 victory.
Savon Shields led the winners with 17 points, while Talen Horton-Tucker and Wade Baldwin added 14 and 11 points, respectively. For Partizan, Ethan Thompson scored 13 points, while Lamar Stevens and Kevarius Hayes each added 12.
Quarter scores: 19-12, 25-28, 59-44, 74-65.
Dubai BC made things harder than they needed to be, but came away with the win in Milan
Dubai BC came close to turning a game that seemed to be under its control into a thriller. Xavi Pascual’s team dominated for three quarters in Milan, building a lead that reached 20 points and closing out the third quarter up by 15 (83-68).
Armani, however, did not give up. With a sustained comeback in the fourth quarter, they capitalized on the visitors’ lapse in concentration and turned the game into a true nail-biter. They came within a hair’s breadth of a comeback, but Dubai BC kept its composure on the final possessions and came away with a valuable road win.
The standout player for the winners was Dwayne Bacon, who finished the game with 29 points, with Jaron Blossomgame contributing 14 points and Emfiondu Kampengele adding 18.
For Armani, Garrison Matthews scored 21 points, while Moses Wright added 16, though they were unable to prevent the loss.
As a result, Dubai BC improved its record to 4-2, continuing its strong run in the EuroLeague, while Armani Milan fell to 1-5, raising serious concerns about its performance and results.
Quarter scores: 23-29, 49-56, 68-83, 97-101
Big road win for Maccabi in Valencia
Maccabi, with many different standout players, also pulled off a road win at the Roig Arena, dropping Valencia to 4-2 while improving their own record to 2-4. Jimmy Clark had a great game with 17 points, Sorokin with 16, and Brissett with 14, while for Valencia, Brooks and Korbalan each scored 14 points. The game was essentially decided by the Israelis’ 14-of-24 three-pointers, which psychologically deflated the Bats whenever they tried to take the lead—a lead they held for most of the game. On the other hand, with 11 out of 38 three-pointers, the Spanish team couldn’t have had better luck.
Maccabi came out strong, with the first quarter seeing the lead change hands several times until the 6-minute mark. From that point on, after the home team took an 18-17 lead, a 14-2 run—lasting until the final minute of the quarter— Katas’s team built a lead of as many as 11 points (20-31), with 5-of-6 three-pointers and Mandar scoring 9 points, before a three-pointer by Puerto made it 23-31, which was also the score at the end of the first quarter.
Sorkin, with his second three-pointer of the game, gave Maccabi a 12-point lead at 38-26, but the Spaniards responded with a 14-2 run of their own, led by Gonzalo Corbalán, as well as Rivero, bringing the score to 40-40 at the 17-minute mark, while Albert’s team had managed to rest some of its key players. So, in the final four minutes, with Mirotić taking the lead, Valencia took a 47-45 lead, but Colson made it 48-50 to close out the first half.
In the third quarter, Maccabi, thanks to its accuracy from beyond the 6.75-meter line, built up small leads to stay ahead, with Brissett providing solutions, but a three-pointer by Mirotić cut Valencia’s deficit to 63-64 shortly after the midway point of the third quarter. Maccabi attempted to extend the lead and did so to +5, but a 6-0 run by Valencia brought the score to 72-71, with the home team taking the lead thanks to free throws by Korbalán and two baskets by Puerto and Brooks.
The two teams traded baskets, with the score tied repeatedly, Cardenas stepped up with two consecutive baskets, but Sorokin was having a great game and hit a three-pointer to give Maccabi a one-point lead at 82-83, with 3:28 left in the game. Mirotić ties the game with a free throw; the visitors turn the ball over, and Korbalán, stepping on the line, puts the home team up 85–83. But Colson, with a big three-pointer, gave Maccabi the lead again at 85-86; they never looked back, and with five straight points from Clark, they reached 85-91 with 31 seconds left and essentially secured their second win. Brooks cut the lead to 88–91, though he missed a three-pointer at the buzzer and, in doing so, also lost the chance to send the game into overtime.
Quarter scores: 23-31, 48-50, 72-71, 88-91.
Real Madrid, led by a “hot-shooting” Felis, secured their third consecutive victory
With an outstanding Felis from beyond the 6.75-meter line, Real Madrid defeated Villeurbanne 111-92 in Madrid in the sixth round of the EuroLeague, securing their third consecutive victory.
Okechukwu took control early in the game and put the “Merengues” up 7-3. Prosinda led a 7-0 run by the Madrid team to make it 14-7 for Pedro Martínez’s squad, and Felis extended the lead to 19-11. Villeurbanne responded with a 4-0 run to make it 19-15, but consecutive three-pointers by the Spaniards kept them up by 8 until the French went on an 8-0 run from beyond the arc and Tavares made it 27-25 at the end of the first quarter.
Jackson’s three-pointer made it 27–28 at the start of the second quarter, and the lead changed hands several times over the next few minutes. Prosida’s three-pointer maintained the 11-time European champions’ 3-point lead. Malendon led a 6-0 run to make it 43-35, and another 7-0 run pushed the score to 50-38 for the home team. Felis’s back-to-back three-pointers gave the “Merenches” a 15-point lead, but a 5-0 run by Lyon cut the lead to 58-48 before Felis hit another three-pointer to make it 61-48 at halftime.
Real Madrid shot 15-for-21 on two-pointers, 10-for-19 on three-pointers, grabbed 17 rebounds, and dished out 16 assists.
Villeurbanne shot 10-for-17 from the field, 7-for-14 from three-point range, 7-for-8 from the free-throw line, and had 11 rebounds and 15 assists.
Louvavou-Kambaro’s three-pointer at the start of the game made it 64-48, but Besson and Bolomboy went on a 7-0 run of their own to make it 64-57. Real Madrid responded with a 4-0 run of their own to extend their lead to +11, but Villeurbanne’s 5-0 run cut the deficit to -6. At that point, Kyle and Fozzo-Dada went on a 9-0 run to make it 77-71. Malendon took matters into his own hands and, with a 5-0 run, helped push the score to 77-71 at the end of the third quarter.
Another three-pointer by Felis at the start of the fourth quarter put the Madrid team up 80-71, but Villeurbanne went on a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 80-75. Martínez’s players found ways to penetrate the French paint and maintained a lead ranging from +5 to +7, but another three-pointer by Felis (7/8) sparked a 5-0 run to make it 89-79, and Okech’s three-pointer extended the lead to +11. Felix continued the “storm” to extend the lead to +12 and then +15, with Abalde now taking over the scoring duties. Pradilla made it 109-92 for the final score of 111-92.
Results and schedule:
Thursday, October 15
- Fenerbahçe-Partizan 74-65
- Valencia vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv 88-91
- Armani Milan vs. Dubai BC 97-101
- Real Madrid vs. Villeurbanne 111-92
Friday, October 16
- 8:00 p.m. Zalgiris vs. Efes
- 8:00 p.m. Besiktas vs. Bayern
- 9:00 p.m. Red Star-Paris
- 9:15 p.m. Panathinaikos vs. Hapoel Tel Aviv
- 9:30 p.m. Virtus vs. Baskonia
- 9:30 p.m. Barcelona vs. Olympiacos
*photo source: KYPE
