Just before it meets Maccabi Tel Aviv next Tuesday, Monaco maintained a perfect record in the Euroleague this evening (Thursday) when it beat Andolo Eps 92:95 after overtime and a great basketball drama. At the same time, Barcelona defeated Real Madrid in the Clasico, after a tremendous comeback by the Blancos in the fourth quarter was not enough. In other games, Panathinaikos beat Red Star and Virtus Bologna beat Bayern Munich.
Monaco – Andolo Zero 92:95 after overtime
Both teams came after victories in the opening round and provided us with a fine basketball battle lasting 45 minutes, at the end of which the French went up 0:2. The European champions led in the first quarter, but an excellent second quarter by the locals brought them down to the break with a small advantage of 35:36. The Turks regained the lead towards the last quarter, but the swing continued and the advantage moved from side to side.
Monaco still had a chance to decide at the end of the legal time, but it failed and won only after extra time, when on Tuesday it will reach Eliyahu and try to remain perfect against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Mike James excelled with 19 points, while Alfa Diallo provided 15 and Adrian Muerman contributed 14 against the former. For the Turks, Will Claiborne’s monstrous night with 27 points was not enough, and Vasilia Micic scored 20.
Barcelona – Real Madrid 73:75
Already in the second round we got the Clasico, when the Catalans came to a second home game after the loss to Olympiakos. This time Sharonas Sisikvicius’ players came out with the upper hand, but it wasn’t easy at all as the Blancos came back with a tremendous fourth quarter and forced a tight game that wasn’t enough in the end. The two teams are tied 1:1 when Barca will play against Bayern in Munich, while Real will host Olympiakos.
As mentioned, the Whites were completely out of the game for three quarters, but 12:21 in the last quarter erased a double-digit deficit, but the comeback ended in a close loss 75:73. Sartach Shanli led the scorers of the winner with 14 points, when the pair of Czechs who arrived in the summer, Jan Wesley (13) and Tomas Saturnski (12), excelled. On the other hand, Gabriel Dak led the loser with 21 points.
The Red Star – Panathinaikos 77:75
After losses in the opening round, both teams were looking for a first victory in the factory and finally, after a drama at the end, the Greeks came out with the upper hand. First quarter of 18:24 Red responded with 14:24 Green in the second quarter and Pau led 38:42 at the break, in the second half the Red Star took control of things and towards the end already opened a small gap, but Panathinaikos showed character and won.
Pau’s Lithuanian duo, Marius Grigonis (17 points) and Arturos Goudaitis (12) excelled, with ex-Maccabi Tel Aviv Derrick Williams contributing 8, as did Andrew Andrews, ex-Maccabi Haifa, who also scored 8. Ben Bentil stood out for the loser with 18 , when the Serbs now went to a “Spanish week” against Basconia and Real Madrid away. Panathinaikos will play next week against Tamir Blatt and Yuval Sussman’s Elba Berlin.
Virtus Bologna – Bayern Munich 63:66
As befits all the evening’s games, the battle in Italy also ended in drama when the Germans finally went down to a negative 2:0 balance and the Italians recorded their first victory of the season in the factory. Virtus completely dominated the first quarter, but Bayern refused to give up and came back every time and even managed to take a temporary lead. In the final minutes, the Bavarians forced a close game, which was not enough. Where Lundberg led the winner with 13 points, Nick Weiler-Babb contributed 16 on the other hand.