Virtus Bologna vs Alba Berlin: Alba Berlin’s losing streak extends.
After losing four consecutive EuroLeague games, Virtus Bologna got back on the winning side against ALBA Berlin, beating the German team 85-76.
Despite grabbing fewer rebounds than the opponents (31 vs 24), the home side counted on the contribution of its bigs. Mam Jaiteh and Ismael Bako combined for 23 of their team’s points.
Milos Teodosic created magic, ending the game with 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists. A lot of his magical passes got wasted as well. Kyle Weems added 16 points, his EuroLeague season-high.
ALBA Berlin tried to reduce the gap between the third and fourth quarters with Christ Koumadje (11 p, 5 r) stepping up under the basket, but it wasn’t enough.
Luke Sikma added 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Jaleen Smith scored 14.
In his second game back in Italy after leaving Fortitudo Bologna in the summer, Gabriele Procida had 5 points in under 8 minutes on the court.
During the game, Jordan Mickey suffered a left shoulder contusion and he will be evaluated in the next few hours.
Sergio Scariolo didn’t have Semi Ojeleye, who will miss four weeks of action after suffering an injury on the road against Olympiacos, and Awudu Abass, who is recovering from a knee injury.
Israel Gonzalez didn’t have Marcus Eriksson, who is out indefinitely due to a leg injury. Koumadje, Procida, and Olinde came back after missing Round 12 due to illness.
This was a night of first times: the first-ever EuroLeague game played was in the Virtus Segafredo Arena, after that the black-and-white team started the Regular Season in PalaDozza and the first-ever EuroLeague matchup between the two teams.
While the Italian team broke its losing streak, the yellow-and-blue side can’t still find a victory. They haven’t won a EuroLeague game since October 19: from there, they are 0-10.
AS Monaco vs Barcelona: Barcelona forced Monaco to register its lowest-scoring game this season.
Barcelona put on a brilliant and very physical defensive performance for the vast majority of the game to beat AS Monaco 69 – 63 on the road and return to wins after setbacks on both domestic and EuroLeague level. This result created a tie at 9-4 between the two teams.
Nikola Mirotic scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Barcelona. He was the only player of the Blaugrana in double figures and hit the buzzer-beating 3-pointer to bring his team up 29 – 34.
Sarunas Jasikevicius’ players had managed to shut down most of Monaco’s weapons, containing Mike James and Elie Okobo in particular. The former was limited to four points on 1-8 shots at halftime before finishing with 16 on 6-17 while the French guard finished with just five points, shooting 1-7 from the field.
Barcelona proceeded to also pump up its offense after the break to grab an 18-point advantage, 40 – 58, with 10 minutes remaining. James picked up his game and tried to push his team to a comeback with eight consecutive points in the fourth period but the only thing the hosts managed was cutting their deficit to single digits in the last minutes.
Adrien Moerman scored 12 and Donta Hall had 11 for Monaco that was visibly affected by the absence of starting combo guard Jordan Loyd. Cory Higgins pitched in nine points for Barcelona while Nicolas Laprovittola had eight assists (plus seven turnovers) to go with his seven points.
Baskonia vs Anadolu Efes: With their third victory in a row, Baskonia stopped Anadolu Efes at five straight wins
Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz took an 83-78 win at Sinan Erdem Dome against Anadolu Efes thanks to a crazy shot from Rokas Giedraitis in the dying moments.
The Lithuanian had to shoot with the clock running down. He was going away from the basket and, with a one-legged fadeaway from beyond the arch, managed to put the ball through the rim for a five-point lead with 18 seconds to go. Efes couldn’t respond, so Baskonia got a third win in a row, ending the defending champions winning streak of five games.
The Vitoria team’s hero ended the match with 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists for a PIR of 18, making him the most valuable player of the winning side.
Marcus Howard was the top scorer of the Spanish team with 19 points, while Vanja Marinkovic erupted with an 18-point performance.
Vasilije Micic led the Turkish side with 17 points, Amath M’Baye followed him with 16, Will Clyburn added 15, and Rodrigue Beaubois had 10 points.
Anadolu Efes had a 46:36 lead at half-time thanks to a solid second-quarter performance, as they even led with plus 15. The guests responded well after the brake and turned the score around with a 12-2 run in the final minutes of the third period.
Ergin Ataman’s team came back and grabbed a 73-72 lead, but Baskonia answered with an 11-3 run, capped with Giedraitis’ three-pointer, and finally crushed their opponents’ spirit.
I am (5,8”, PG, 18) currently playing in Macedonia for KK Kumanovo with aspirations to play college or professional basketball around the world. I love writing basketball articles not only to improve my English but also increase my knowledge in world of basketball!