Laboral Kutxa edged Galatasaray 91-90 thanks to a Colton Iverson bucket with 2.9 seconds left as Group D in the Euroleague saw the best of the action to conclude week three.
The game featured 24 lead changes and 13 ties overall, in what was easily the game of the season so far. Vitoria, who have struggled domestically so far this season improve to 2-1 in the Euroleague, while Galatasaray drop to 1-2.
And the Turkish side’s record after three games is harsh on them, especially in this closely-fought contest that saw them lead 80-72 with three minutes left, only for the Liga Endesa to hit back with a 10-0 run, leading to a 19-10 finish, which sealed the game. Iverson and Thomas Heurtel both led the winners with 17 points each. On his debut for Baskonia, Sasha Vujacic hit 14 points, off the bench.
“It was a big win for us, we needed it,” Iverson said afterwards. “We know we must take the games at home and we did it, we came out and fought hard and we know that’s the way. Anytime you win a game like this, coming from behind, makes you better later on over the year.
“It was very important for our confidence to win like we did, absolutely. It’s my first year playing Euroleague, and I see every team has very good competitors, coaches prepare the games very well, it is definitely a bigger stage.”
“I think that the fact we were able to come back when we were six points behind, with three minutes left, is a very important thing for us, and also a useful thing for the games we will face next,” Labroal Kutxa coach Marco Crespi added.
“This is something that must give confidence to the team. I congratulated the players for the good job they did tonight. But we need to start the games with more energy, I don’t think it’s because of attitude, but we must achieve that to gain confidence.”
Zoran Erceg led all scorers with 24 points for Galatasaray.
The other Group D clash saw Olympiacos prevail 85-81 away to Neptunas, but the Greek giants needed overtime to eventually see-off the well-drilled Lithuanian debutants.
Olympiacos remain unbeaten in the group at 3-0, while Neptunas drops to 1-2. The game was tied at the end of regulation at 76-76. Mustafa Shakur had the opportunity to possibly send the game into double overtime with 5.1 seconds left, but his game-tying free throw hit the back of the rim and bounced out, sparing possible Olympiacos blushes.
“Every game in the Euroleague is difficult, especially on the road,” said Vassilis Spanoulis, who had a career 34 points in the win.
“We are proving things in the beginning of the season, trying to find our roles and chemistry. We are working hard to be better and better in the next games. We have some good and bad moments. We have to play well all 40 minutes.”
“Our team lost and I’m very upset, even though we played against a powerful opponent,” Neptunas coach Kazys Maksvytis said. “Our turnovers at the end of the game resulted in a defeat. We showed a strong desire to win the game, but Vassilis Spanoulis showed his class.”
Deividas Gailius led Klaipeda with 16 points.
CSKA Moscow just about got the better of Cedevita Zagreb 76-72 on the road, but they had to come from behind to get the job done.
The Russian giants remain undefeated in Group B after three games but were made to work hard as the Croatian side, with Roko Leni-Ukic back from injury led for the majority of the first half and stages of the third. But Milos Teodosic hit four three-pointers in the final quarter as CSKA grabbed the win.
Teodosic and Nando De Colo, another returnee from injury led CSKA with 14 points each.
Unicaja Malaga secured a 75-69 home success over Limoges in the other Group B encounter, as the Spaniards also stay at 3-0, while Limoges drops to 1-2.
In what was their first meeting since the Korac Cup Finals of 2000, Fran Vazquez led the winners with 13 points. Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Vladimir Golubovic each added 11 for Unicaja. Jamar Smith led Limoges with 14 points.
“We played as a team tonight, with strong defence against a difficult team,” Vazquez said. “We beat ALBA in the final minutes and tonight we had a 15-point lead and they rallied.
“The most important thing is that we won and that is very important. We are 3-0 and now face the toughest teams in the group, Maccabi and CSKA, which will be tough games.”
EA7 Milano notched up their first win of the Euroleague with an 81-74 away win against Bayern Munich in Group C. With the hosts up 59-56 after the third quarter, it was a matter of who would finish strong in the fourth. But Milano started their push in the opening stages of the quarter and never looked back – outscoring Bayern 25-15 in the final ten minutes – and dropping Munich to 1-2.
Joe Ragland and Daniel Hackett led the way with 16 points each for Milano. German international Heiko Schaffartzik had 15 for Bayern.
Barcelona had no such trouble at home to PGE Turow, winning 86-67 and improving to 3-0 in Group C.
A close first quarter continued until the final minutes of the second, when a 7-2 Barcelona finish to the half gave them a 49-37 lead and from there, they never looked back.
Justin Doellman scored all of his 20 points in the first half and added 8 rebounds to lead the winners, while Damian Kulig led Turow with 19, as they are still without a win.
