Barça, Valencia, and Madrid triumph; Baskonia faces its ninth defeat in a row

Round 11 transformed the competitive landscape of the EuroLeague. Panathinaikos, which had been leading alone, succumbed at home to Barça, allowing four teams to equal the top position with a record of 8-3. Among the new co-leaders are two Spanish teams: Valencia Basket and Barça. Further back, five teams hover around 7-4, led by Real Madrid. At the bottom of the table, Baskonia and Milano remain trapped with only one win throughout the competition.

Barça comes back from the brink in Athens

The most memorable victory of the round came from the hands of Barça at the Telekom Center. The Blaugrana, deprived of Kevin Punter, Tosan Evbuomwan, and Yoan Makoundou, found themselves in a desperate position at the end of the third quarter, trailing 57-43 against Željko Obradović's Panathinaikos. However, the team led by Aleksander Sekulić executed a dream final quarter, winning it 17-33 and securing a decisive comeback of 14 points.

Justin Robinson was the architect of this feat. The American point guard scored the last 13 points for his team, with the crucial three-pointer coming just 4.4 seconds from the end. Robinson finished with 24 points, demonstrating leadership ability in critical moments. This defeat marks the third loss for Panathinaikos in the competition, with the second on their home ground in Athens, eroding their initial lead in the standings.

Valencia and Real Madrid maintain winning streaks

Valencia Basket continued its victorious path by surpassing the hundred-point mark for the fifth time this season. The Taronges defeated Bayern Munich 102-87 in a match where they led from the first quarter, with a partial score of 29-19 that laid the foundation for the triumph. TJ Shorts, who received the October MVP award moments before the match, was pivotal with 14 points and 10 assists. Ibon Navarro's team withstood the German reaction after halftime and sealed the victory with a final quarter of 29-22. Andreas Obst contributed 22 points for a Bayern team that falls to 3-8.

Despite having five absentees on their roster —including Facundo Campazzo—, Real Madrid showcased an offensive power demonstration against Crvena Zvezda. The Whites scored 105 points in a decisive victory (105-84) against the best defense in the competition. A devastating first quarter of 38-20 left the Serbian team without answers, allowing the lead to reach 31 points. Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot contributed 22 points, while Gabriele Procida added 19.

Baskonia sinks in Belgrade; Partizan imposes its law

Kosner Baskonia suffered its ninth consecutive defeat after falling in Belgrade to Joan Peñarroya's Partizan 80-66. The Basque team repeated the pattern of its recent losses: competing for three quarters and collapsing in the last. When Chris Duarte hit a three-pointer to make it 65-63, Partizan responded with a 9-0 run that definitively closed the game. The last quarter ended 15-6 in favor of the Serbians. Tonye Jekiri, returning after almost a month out, recorded 17 points and a valuation of 25. Velimir Perasović's team lost 17 balls, a figure that reflects the offensive difficulties they are facing.

Other notable results from the round

Olympiacos crushed Xavi Pascual's Dubai in a match where the third quarter proved decisive. The Greeks won 101-72, inflicting the first away loss on the Emirati team. A partial score of 31-13 in the third quarter allowed the lead to reach 32 points. Evan Fournier was the top scorer with 28 points and five three-pointers, while Sasha Vezenkov, with 20 points, surpassed Vassilis Spanoulis as the all-time top scorer for Olympiacos in the EuroLeague. Dwayne Bacon contributed 20 for Dubai.

In the duel between Spanish coaches, Pablo Laso's Anadolu Efes triumphed over Àlex Mumbrú's Virtus Bologna 103-91. Efes reached halftime with 60 points (60-43), but Bruno Fernando's calf injury allowed Virtus to close the gap to eight points by the end of the third quarter. Jordan Loyd closed the match with two consecutive three-pointers in the final quarter, finishing with 22 points. Collin Malcolm contributed 20.

Žalgiris secured its fifth consecutive victory by winning in Assago 83-86 against Olimpia Milano. Jonas Valančiūnas was spectacular: 17 points, 20 rebounds, and a valuation of 36 in just 25 minutes. The Lithuanians managed to lead by 17, but turnovers in the final stretch allowed Giampaolo Ricci to have a chance to force overtime with a three-pointer that did not fall. It was Luca Banchi's debut on the Milano bench, which has now accumulated nine consecutive losses.

Paris Basketball achieved its first victory against Fenerbahçe after an exciting overtime (111-109). The Parisians thus secured their first EuroLeague win against Šarūnas Jasikevičius's team, following seven previous losses. Eight Paris players scored over ten points, with Frank Ntilikina leading with 22. Talen Horton-Tucker recorded a double-double with 32 points and 10 rebounds, but Fenerbahçe lost 20 balls and fell short by two points. This marks Paris's fourth consecutive victory.

Maccabi Tel Aviv won its first game in its new home in Cyprus by defeating Hapoel in the Tel Aviv derby 80-73, breaking a four-game losing streak. Hapoel took the lead in the third quarter and even got within one point (74-73) with 24 seconds left, but Yam Madar did not miss from the free-throw line in the final seconds. Bonzie Colson and Jimmy Clark III each scored 14 points.

Beşiktaş closed the round with a victory at the LDLC Arena in Lyon by 91-95. Tony Parker's ASVEL was leading by ten in the third quarter and tied at 86 in the last, but Beşiktaş made three-pointers in the final minutes. The decisive one came from Scottie Wilbekin seven seconds from the end. Tremont Waters scored 26 points for ASVEL, while Wilbekin contributed 16.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Barça, Valencia y Madrid triunfan; Baskonia encadena su novena derrota