EuroLeague Round 11 opened up with two big games as Real Madrid prevailed over Crvena Zvezda at home for the first time in four years.
In Munich, Bayern was able to slip past Panathinaikos and register its fifth win in the last seven EuroLeague games. The German club came back from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to get an important win.
Bayern Munich claims second consecutive victory in EuroLeague’s double week
FC Bayern Munich add another important victory to its winning column on Thursday. The German Cup winners made a 9-point deficit comeback to win their fifth game after 11 EuroLeague contests.
With All-EuroLeague forward Vladimir Lucic hampered by foul trouble and held scoreless for the first three quarters, Darrun Hilliard took charge.
Hilliard was coming from his worst game in an FC Bayern Munich uniform with two points and a PIR of minus-6 in his team’s victory over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul Tuesday.
The American guard led all scorers with 20 points with just two missed shots. He also set the stage for Lucic’s go-ahead three-pointer during the closing minutes of the game.
“It’s never easy to play two games like that, essentially back-to-back. The EuroLeague is a tough league. Pana has a great team,” Hilliard said after the contest.
Their record may not show it, but they’re a great team, great players, well-coached and they fought today. It was a tough win for us. It took us a while, but Luc [Lucic] came in big for us and pulled it out. So it’s all good.”
Real Madrid wins in front of its fans against Crvena Zvezda after four years
Real Madrid has been unsuccessful at home against Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade in the last four years. More specifically, the visiting team left with a road victory in the last five games these teams had played in the EuroLeague.
The Serbian club beat Real in Madrid 77-79 on January 18, 2021, and 83-87 during the 2017-18 season. In the same manner, the “Whites” had defeated Zvezda in the last three trips to Belgrade: 67-73 last season, 60-75 the previous one and 79-82 on March 30, 2018.
The last home win had taken place almost four years ago, when the Real outscored Zvezda 98-68. In that game, Sergio Llull recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists to lead the Spanish giants.
This season, Real managed to pull a win in front of its fans for the first time in four years. Walter Tavares led his team in scoring with 15 points.
“I think we respected the game in the third quarter, we know every team in the EuroLeague is a great team. We did better in the third quarter and that’s what helped us win the game,” Walter Tavares said after Madrid’s big win.
“For sure I think we deserve to be there [ at the top of the standings], we work hard, we work for the position, so we gotta keep working because we still have a lot of games to go.”
