Round 9: Comebacks and Victories in the EuroLeague

The EuroLeague in its ninth round offered a lineup full of decisive matches that marked the competitive pulse of the season. Teams like Dubai sought to recover from previous setbacks, while others tried to consolidate their aspirations in the continental competition.

Dubai and Efes dominate in their respective arenas

The Dubai team, led by Xavi Pascual, sealed its recovery after the defeat against Paris by defeating Hapoel Tel Aviv 97-83 at the Coca-Cola Arena. The Emirati team took control from the second quarter and never relinquished the initiative at any moment during the match. Filip Petrusev was the top scorer with 20 points in less than 17 minutes of play, demonstrating his effectiveness at both ends. Elie Okobo added 18 points and five assists, while Dwayne Bacon contributed 17 points. McKinley Wright rounded out the attack with 12 points. On the Hapoel side, Vasilije Micic returned with 15 points and seven assists, joined by Dan Oturu with 14 points. Ish Wainright and Antonio Blakeney each contributed 11 points. A negative aspect for Hapoel was the injury to Thomas Satoransky, who suffered a hard fall towards the end of the third quarter and had to leave the court on a stretcher. Both teams finished with an identical record of 6 wins and 3 losses.

Anadolu Efes also showcased its potential by defeating Panathinaikos 83-68, in a match where the Turks dominated the first three quarters. Efes went into halftime with a 45-37 lead and faced the final period with a favorable score of 61-51. Panathinaikos attempted a comeback led by Mathias Lessort, cutting it down to 66-65 with a powerful dunk by Guerschon Yabusele, but Cameron Payne led a decisive 14-0 response in less than three minutes that sealed the game. Collin Malcolm and Bruno Fernando each scored 15 points for Efes, while Payne added 14 points and eight assists. Dario Saric recorded 11 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists, and Jordan Loyd contributed 10 points. Kendrick Nunn was the top scorer for Panathinaikos with 17 points, followed by Nigel Hayes-Davis with 11 points and five rebounds. This victory placed the Turks at a 4-5 record and inflicted the second defeat of the season on the Greek team.

Valanciunas shines in Lithuania; Zalgiris halts Partizan

Jonas Valanciunas had a memorable performance for Zalgiris Kaunas, registering 16 points, eight rebounds, and a rating of 25, his highest since returning to the Lithuanian team. The home team defeated Partizan 87-80 in a match where the Lithuanians controlled most of the playing time. Carsen Edwards led the local scoring with 17 points, while Azuolas Tubelis contributed 11. Zalgiris went into halftime with a 44-40 lead and extended the difference to 16 points at the start of the final quarter. Partizan attempted a comeback led by Nikola Tanaskovic and Luka Vildoza; additionally, five consecutive points from Ethan Thompson allowed the visitors to close the gap to 77-73 with 3:47 to go. However, the Serbian team wasted crucial opportunities, and Edwards made key free throws that secured the victory. Tanaskovic finished with 19 points, Thompson added 15, and Vildoza scored 14.

Olympiacos and ASVEL perform at home; Besiktas stages epic comeback

Olympiacos overcame their injury problems to defeat Olimpia Milan 84-78 in Piraeus. Codi Miller-McIntyre led the locals with 24 points, while Sasha Vezenkov added 23 points. RJ Cole was the top scorer for Milan with 17 points, followed by Moses Wright with 16 and Marko Guduric with 14. ASVEL, for its part, completed a successful double game week by defeating Baskonia 94-79 at home, following their previous victory against Partizan. TyTy Washington led TJ Parker's team with 21 points, Patty Mills added 20, and Hugo Besson scored 10. Kenneth Faried recorded 17 points and eight rebounds for Baskonia, while Marcio Santos contributed 13 points and five rebounds. Kobi Simmons scored 12 points for the visitors.

The most dramatic moment of the round came in Bologna, where Besiktas Istanbul overcame a 13-point deficit in the last four minutes to defeat Virtus Bologna 103-101 on the road. Lonnie Walker IV was the absolute protagonist with 30 points, hitting 7 of 11 attempts from beyond the arc, as well as dishing out five assists and achieving a rating of 36. Virtus was leading 97-84 with 3:47 to go, but Besiktas staged a movie-like comeback. Walker's seventh three-pointer brought the visitors closer to 101-100 with 40 seconds left. Soon after, Conor Morgan grabbed the rebound after a missed three-pointer by Marcus Carr and scored the game-winning basket, another three-pointer, with 20 seconds to go. Scottie Wilbekin added 16 points for Besiktas, while David DeJulius and Wenyen Gabriel each scored 11. Morgan finished with 10 points and four assists. For Virtus, Derrick Alston Jr. led the team with 19 points, followed by Trent Frazier with 15 and Wendell Moore with 13.

Other results from the ninth round

The round included other matches that completed the schedule: Crvena Zvezda defeated Bayern Munich 103-73, Maccabi Tel Aviv fell to Paris 94-99, Real Madrid defeated Fenerbahce 95-76, and Barcelona beat Valencia 98-94. These results continued to shape the standings in a competition where multiple teams are vying to consolidate their options.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Jornada 9: remontadas y victorias en la Euroliga