EuroLeague's beat: Okobo's solo performance, Barca's first taste of defeat and clutch Sloukas / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Panagiotis Moschandreou, Seffi Magriso - Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images | BasketNews illustration Credit Panagiotis Moschandreou, Seffi Magriso - Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images | BasketNews illustration

BasketNews continues the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague beat edition. Here, you’ll be able to find all the info you need about what happened in the latest EuroLeague round.

Bayern’s winning streak, killer instincts from Kostas Sloukas, unconquerable Tel Aviv, poor-looking Baskonia, Okobo’s rules, and magical Monaco’s comeback - all of that and more in EuroLeague’s Round 7 beat.

Euroleague’s beat Round 7

ON FIRE. After starting the season with four losses in a row, it appears that FC Bayern Munich found their rhythm, and after 82-69 victory in Berlin against ALBA, the Bavarians got their third win on the trot.

UGLY. “It was an ugly game,” Andrea Trinchieri admitted after the game. “It’s always like that in back-to-backs. You are drained from the first game. You have to travel and play - for both teams. So you need to win a game like it’s wrestling in the mud. You’re heavy, and you’re slow. But we found a way to be better in transition, we found a way to find the hot players.”

HOT PLAYERS. Bayern finished the game with a 20-9 run. Nick Weiler-Babb scored 10 of those, while Corey Walden added 6 points.

ZERO FRIENDSHIP. Although the game between Olympiacos Piraeus and Fenerbahce BEKO Istanbul was played in Peace and Friendship Stadium, Kostas Sloukas showed zero friendship to his former team.

Greek guard hit a mid-range jumper over Jan Vesely with 2 seconds remaining and secured a victory for Panathinaikos – 67-65.

CURSED. Four of five Fenerbahce losses came with less than 4 points. Not much to add here.

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS. Despite another heartbreaking defeat, Fenerbahce have even more problems. Sasa Djordjevic revealed that Dyshawn Pierre’s situation isn’t looking good.

“I am worried about Dyshawn Pierre’s injury,” Djordjevic said. “We could have won the game, we played with heart. Jan (Vesely) played great defense against Sloukas in the last possession.”

FIRST. There are no more undefeated teams in the 2021-22 EuroLeague season. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv beat FC Barcelona 85-68 and handed the first loss to the Catalans.

The Blaugranas lost their first game of the season after an incredible 13-0 run since the Spanish Supercup.

DROUGHT. Tel Aviv remains a cursed place for Barca. The Spanish champions didn’t win in Israel since 2016.

DOMINANCE. AX Armani Exchange recovered from defeat against Bayern in fashion. The Italian club won the first quarter 24-6 and comfortably beat Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade (79-62).

WELCOME TO THE CLUB. It was a special contest for Kyle Hines, who reached another milestone, becoming just the fifth player to grab at least 1500 rebounds for his career.

Only Paulius Jankunas (1975 TRB), Felipe Reyes (1801 TRB), Ioannis Bourousis (1604 TRB), and Ante Tomic (1545 TRB) grabbed more boards than Hines.

THREE-POINTERS’ RAINFALL. Zenit Saint Petersburg poured in 14 treys, as they crushed Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. Dimitry Kulagin led the route with 4 threes, while Jordan Loyd hit 3 shots from behind the arc.

TOOTHLESS OFFENSE. Baskonia did not score the basket for over six minutes, letting their opponents arrange a 24-0 run. The same scenario occurred on Wednesday’s game against UNICS Kazan. At that time, the Basques did not score a single point for 7 minutes and lost the stretch 18-0.

“It was a very bad double-round week for us,” said Dusko Ivanovic after a heavy defeat versus Zenit.

SPANISH RECOVERY.After suffering two defeats against Turkish powerhouses, Fenerbahce and Anadolu Efes, UNICS made up for the losses over Spanish teams. First, they beat Baskonia, and yesterday UNICS took down Real Madrid.

PRIME VORONTSEVICH. Andrey Voronstevich helped to prevail the Royal club and was one of the top scorers/performers again, posting 13 points (3/4 2PT, 2/4 3PT, 1/2 FT), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover, and 12 PIR.

Against Baskonia, the 34-year-old veteran accumulated 14 points (1/3 2PT, 4/6 3PT, 0/2 FT), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 drawn fouls, and 21 PIR.

LOCKDOWN DEFENSE. UNICS only allowed Real to score seven points in the fourth quarter.

“To win against Real Madrid, you need to play really, really good defense. We made a great defense, especially in the first and last quarters. To keep Madrid on 11 or 7 points in one period is very difficult,” commented Velimir Perasovic post-game.

CHAMPIONS. Anadolu Efes Istanbul dismantled Zalgiris Kaunas, winning a game by 34 points margin (94-60).

After the duel, Ergin Ataman admitted that performance reminded him of same-old Efes: “We played with big energy and self-confidence. We shared the ball, we played great basketball. We played like champions. We remembered that we were champions.”

BIG MEN MASTERY. Efes were led by centers. Tibor Pleiss finished with 17 points (6/9 2PT, 1/1 3PT, 2/2 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 block, and 21 PIR. Filip Petrusev added 14 points (7/9 2PT, 0/1 3PT), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 20 PIR.

WORST START.Zalgiris tied their worst-ever start in the EuroLeague. The 0-7 opening is their worst start since the 2008-09 season.

“I must say I’m sorry to the fans. This is not Zalgiris. This is not me. As a coach, I always take responsibility. But today, Efes was on another planet,” Jure Zdovc spoke after the big blow.

SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCE. Elie Okobo put on a show against Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, registering 35 points (8/12 2PT, 5/7 3PT, 4/4 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers, 5 drawn fouls, and 37 PIR.

“My teammates give me confidence every day,” Okobo happily said post-game. “I am working on my game. They trust me – the coaching staff, too. Coach challenges me on the defensive end every day. My teammates make fun of me sometimes when I get a little lazy.”

HOMEBOY. Kostas Antetokounmpo had his career night, playing in Athens - city of birth. The 23-year-old posted 12 points (6/7 2PT), 6 rebounds, and 20 PIR.

“Kostas is a great kid, first of all. He comes from a great family. My brother knows his brother, and that’s why we had the chance to get Kostas,” said TJ Parker.

The French coach went on to say that the Greek forward-center is “a young player and he has to learn a lot of things. The G League and college basketball are not the same as European basketball.

When he played for Greece last summer, you could see he’s got something. He works every day, we push him. He’s learning quick, and he’s a great asset of the team.”

GAME TURNAROUND OF THE SEASON? AS Monaco came back to the game from minus 21 and managed to get a comfortable victory over CSKA Moscow, having plus 17 at the final whistle. It’s a massive 38 points’ turnaround.

“The third quarter was really amazing - and the fourth. We played a different defense and got more confidence in our offense. We really started to play great. I’m happy, I’m really happy,” told Zvezdan Mitrovic after the splendid match.

FORMER TEAM.Mike James competed against his former squad and contributed to the win, accumulating 10 points (4/8 2PT, 0/4 3PT, 2/4 FT), 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals, 4 drawn fouls, and 14 PIR.

“We needed a win for sure,” Mike James said after beating his ex-team. “We lost a tough one to Barcelona at home. We wanted to come out here and fight. They’re obviously a great team. They have Final Four aspirations. It was good to get a win and protect our home court.”

HYPE. Donta Hall led Monaco with 17 points (8/9 2PT, 1/1 FT), 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, and 26 PIR.

“Glory to God and a shout-out to my mom,” Hall was emotional after the game. “I talked to her for a while before the game. I knew I had to bring the energy, with a broken nose too. Either way, broken nose or not, I’m coming.”

SOLID DEBUT.Dwayne Bacon made a strong EuroLeague debut, ending with 11 points (2/3 2PT, 2/3 3PT, 1/2 FT), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 11 PIR.

Top Plays of Round 7

Records of Round 7

PIR Elie Okobo

Elie Okobo (37)

Points Elie Okobo

Elie Okobo (35)

Rebounds Tonye Jekiri

Tonye Jekiri, Donta Hall (10 each)

Assists Marco Spissu

Marco Spissu (9)

Steals John Brown

John Brown, Mike James (5 each)

Blocks Alex Poythress

Alex Poythress (4)

3-pointers made Elie Okobo Elie Okobo (5)

Results of Round 7

ALBA Berlin FC Bayern Munich 69-82 Olympiakos Piraeus Fenerbahce Istanbul 67-65 Maccabi Tel Aviv FC Barcelona 85-68 AX Armani Exchange Milan Crvena Zvezda Belgrade 79-62 UNICS Kazan Real Madrid 65-58 Zenit Saint Petersburg Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 83-54 Anadolu Efes Istanbul Zalgiris Kaunas 94-60 Monaco Basket CSKA Moscow 97-80 Panathinaikos Athens LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 70-84

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