FC Barcelona and Real Madrid share the first place in the standings after the end of Round 11 in the EuroLeague.
The Catalans dominated ASVEL Villeurbanne from start to finish and cruised to an easy road win (60-80). ASVEL has now lost three straight games and dropped to 6-5.
Meanwhile, the visitors have now won two straight, which enabled them to join the “Whites”, who rallied past Crvena Zvezda (79-67) on Thursday and extended their winning streak to four games.
FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are now tied on top with a 9-2 record, however several teams are just one or two wins away. In Saint Petersburg, Zenit closed the game vs Armani on a 12-4 run and clinched a big home win (74-70).
The Russians have now won five straight, whereas the Italians are on a two-game losing streak. Both teams have identical records (8-3).
Olympiacos was unstoppable in the opening quarter vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv, led by 27 (35-8) points and cruised to an easy home win over the Israelis (90-73). The “Reds” comfortably retained their lead in the rest of the game and bounced back from their road loss to Anadolu Efes. Both teams now are at 7-4 in the standings.
Efes maintained its momentum in the EuroLeague and extended its winning streak to three games. The defending champions crushed Monaco at home (98-77) and maintained a playoff push, whereas the visitors have now lost two straight. Both teams now have a 5-6 record.
UNICS Kazan continued its impressive run and defeated ALBA Berlin at home to reach the playoff zone (85-71). The Russians trailed by as many as 18 in the contest, but outscored the Germans 45-23 in the second half to seal the deal. UNICS has now won five of its last six games and is at 6-5. On the contrary, ALBA dropped to 3-8.
Zalgiris Kaunas completed the double-round week in the best way possible. The Lithuanians protected their home court for a second straight time and clinched an easy home win over Fenerbahce (86-75). The hosts endured the comeback of Fenerbahce and sealed the victory in the fourth quarter. They have now won two straight, however they are still on the bottom of the standings (2-9).
For their part, Fenerbahce continued its free fall and remained three wins away from the playoff zone (3-8). The Turks have won only once in their last seven EuroLeague games.
CSKA Moscow returned to the winning track, thanks to its 74-80 victory over Baskonia at Fernando Buesa Arena. The Muscovites climbed to 6-5, but have lost four of their last six games. Similarly, the Basques have dropped five of their last six and are at 4-7.