Virtus Bologna vs Fenerbahce: Virtus hands Fenerbahce their fourth straight loss.

Thanks to a great 27-20 run in the fourth quarter, Virtus Bologna got the 92-88 win over Fenerbahce in a buzzing Segafredo Arena. This is the fourth consecutive EuroLeague loss for the Turkish team.

The team’s captain Marco Belinelli fired up in the fourth quarter, ending with 18 points off the bench.

Alessandro Pajola was also essential, scoring two late clutch free throws, having 10 assists and 3 steals. Starting for the first time in this EuroLeague Regular Season, their fellow countrymen Nico Mannion scored 13 points.

Despite losing the clash under the rim, since Fenerbahce grabbed way more rebounds (37 vs 20) than Virtus, Mam Jaiteh had a great night with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Kyle Weems followed with 12 points, shooting 4/5 from beyond the arc.

Johnathan Motley had another monstrous night. The former Lokomotiv Kuban center went near his second double-double of the season with 26 points and 8 rebounds, shooting 11/14 from two.

The other newcomer of the summer Scottie Wilbekin followed with 12 points, being perfect at the charity stripe (4/4) but struggling from three (2/7). Nick Calathes added 12 points and 6 assists, but with 5 turnovers.

After losing against Baskonia, Virtus Bologna bounced back thanks to high-effective shooting percentages: 59.5% inside the area, 54.5% from deep, and 92.3% at the line. They also shared the ball better than Fenerbahce, with 26 assists against 15.

Sergio Scariolo didn’t have key elements, as Daniel Hackett, Semi Ojeleye and Isaia Cordinier joined Awudu Abass as injured players. Jordan Mickey (11 p) returned to the court.

Dimitris Itoudis, instead, had to do without Nemanja Bjelica once again, while Kostas Antetokounmpo (8 p) made his 2022-23 EuroLeague debut to replace Tonye Jekiri.

Alba Berlin vs ASVEL: Finnaly a win for ASVEL.

After 12 straight losses, Alba Berlin finally felt the sweet taste of victory as they beat LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 91-79 in Round 16 of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague.

Jaleen Smith led the way for the winning side with 21 points and six rebounds.

Johannes Thiemann followed him with 14 points, while Ben Lammers went near a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Maodo Lo added 12 points as well, while Louis Olinde scored 10.

Charles Kahudi was the top scorer for Asvel with 14 points, Alex Tyus added 13 with nine rebounds, Retin Obasohan had 12, and Nando De Kolo had 10 points.

Asvel had a 12-point lead after the first 10 minutes (27-15). They stayed in front in the second period, but Alba showed signs of improvement and trimmed the deficit to just two points with a couple of powerful runs.

After going back and forth in the third period, Alba took control with an 8-0 run in the final moments. That gave wings to the German champions, who continued dominating, and soon in the final quarter, they grabbed a 15-point lead. Asvel tried to come back, but Alba stayed in front and won.

Panathinaikos vs Olympiacos: Olympiacos extends winning streak.

Visiting OAKA Altion, Olympiacos blew out Panathinaikos, 95-71, in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague edition of the derby of the eternal enemies Friday.

Setting the pace with 11 points in the first quarter, Moustapha Fall ended up with 19 points, a new season-high. The towering center also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five of his side’s 28 assists en route to a PIR of 33. 

Isaiah Canaan chipped in 17 points, including six in the last ten minutes. Captain Kostas Papanikolaou packed 13 points, and Kostas Sloukas and Joel Bolomboy with 11 points each shaped the remaining double-digit scoring showings.

The lead changed 12 times in the first quarter of the Regular Season Round 16 contest but the Reds sprinting to a 23-point advantage was the first sign of the win. The deficit was reduced to 14 points, but settling well over 20 points late in the third period closed the deal.

The tenth win in a row opposite the Athens archrival across all competitions, the third in the 2022-23 season, improved the EuroLeague W-L tally to 10-6, including 5-3 on the road. Overcoming the absence of EuroLeague PIR leader Sasha Vezenkov (thigh), the team coached by Giorgos Bartzokas snapped a two-game losing streak.

An uninspiring performance for the team coached by Dejan Radonjic drew up the fourth straight loss and a 6-10 record.

Crvena Zvezda vs Barcelona: Crazy atmosphere in Belgrade

It was an epic basketball spectacle in the Pionir arena in round 16 of the EuroLeague. The official number was around 7.000 spectators, but it looked more like 10.000 crazy fans were in the stand hoping for a New Year’s miracle. Crvena Zvezda was on the verge of an incredible victory, but Nikola Mirotic had other plans. He hit an incredible three-pointer in the last second to force OT where Barcelona shined and outplayed Crvena Zvezda 99-94.

Tomas Satoransky scored 19 points and added 10 assists.

But the hero was Nikola Mirotic with 12 points.

Two names stood out for the home team. Filip Petrusev and Nemanja Nedovic both had 24 points.

Things got a lot worse before they got good for a while. Luca Lildoza, Zvezda’s best player injured his hamstring, the fans were hopeful at first. Still, when the Argentinian returned from the locker room in street clothes, it was evident that Zvezda would have to fight without him till the end. And fight they did!

Zvezda had a 17-0 run that helped turn a 19-34 deficit into a 40-36 lead behind Holland, Nedovic, and Petrusev, who combined to score 15 of those 17 points. However, Nicolas Laprovittola made sure that Barca took the lead into halftime (43-40). But the home time was on fire, expectedly Filip Petrusev, playing behind incredible fans, Zvezda had a seven-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

The game was far from over. Cory Higgins hit a three that cut Zvezda’s lead down to 73-71. It all came down to the last minute when Sertac Sanli hit a three that tied the game 79-79. Nemanja Nedovic then hit two free throws with 35 seconds left on the clock (81-79). It looked like Zvezda is heading to an incredible victory but you can never count out Nikola Mirotic. Barcelona’s veteran hit an incredible three-pointer that forced OT.

Sarunas Jasikevicius was ejected in the first minute of OT, but Zvezda had no gas left in the tank, while Higgins hit all the big shots to stun the home team.

Tags: Euroleague, Zvezda, Barcelona, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Virtus, Fenerbahce, Alba, ASVEL.