Unicaja Malaga produced a strong fourth quarter to beat CSKA Moscow 86-78 in Group D of the Euroleague.
The win improves Unicaja to 5-0 as they are now the lone unbeaten side in the Euroleague with CSKA dropping to 4-1.
Edwin Jackson led the victors with 24 points, including six three-pointers and Mindaugas Kuzminskas added 22.
“Of course, we are happy to win on this court,” Kuzminskas said. “I never did it before in the Euroleague. I beat CSKA once in the VTB, but never in the Euroleague. And right now, after the first round, we are undefeated and excited for that.
“But it’s just the first round and we have lots of things to do. So we are excited, but you know we are not going to stop here.”
Brose Baskets continued their good form in this season’s Euroleague with a solid 90-73 road win to Dinamo Sassari in the second Group D game.
Nicolo Melli, playing in his native Italy, but as a visiting player, scored 26 points, pulled down eight rebounds and dished four assists to lead Bamberg as they move to 3-2 in the pool, while Sassari remains the only winless side in the competition.
MarQuez Haynes and Christian Eyenga scored 14 points each for Sassari.
There was an upset in Group A as Strasbourg defeated Euroleague champions Real Madrid 93-86 in France.
The Liga Endesa side responded to Strasbourg’s quick start with a 16-0 run to take a 25-24 first quarter lead, but the hosts rallied back and then they made their move in the third, going to the races with a game-changing 13-0 burst to tie a double-digit lead heading into the last period.
From there, the result and the Strasbourg celebrations were never in doubt.
Veteran Louis Campbell paced the team with 23 points on 4/5 three-point shooting. Swedish international Jeffery Taylor led Real with 21 points as both sides go to 2-3.
“This victory is a team victory,” Campbell said afterwards. “We’ve had exceptional energy and determination. The energy the guys had was phenomenal. It was a big opportunity tonight and we did not want to pass it up.”
Gigi Datome starred for Fenerbahce as they edged a stubborn Khimki side 88-83 at the Ulker Sports Arena.
Datome had 19 points as Fenerbahce improves to 4-1, which is good for top spot in Group A. Khimki, paced by Alexey Shved’s 19 drops to 3-2.
After starting at 0-2, Cedevita Zagreb moves to 3-2 in Group B after they ousted Laboral Kutxa 76-67 in the Croatian capital.
Jacob Pullen posted a career-high 26 points with Miro Bilan adding a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Laboral Kutxa, led by Jaka Blazic’s 20 points are also at 3-2.
Pinar Karisyaka Izmir collected its second win in Group C after downing Stelmet Zielona Gora 77-66 in Turkey.
Colton Iverson paced the winners with 15 points with Can Altintig supporting with 13 as Izmir goes to 2-3, while the visiting Poles drop to 1-4.
The other game in Group C saw Panathinaikos breeze past Zalgiris 91-56 in Athens to snap a two-game losing streak.
Miroslav Raduljica’s 18 points paced five players in double figures for Panathinaikos, as both sides go to 2-3 records following this result.
