Euroleague champions Panathinaikos got their campaign off to a winning start as they defeated Unicaja Malaga 98-77 in Athens.
In a close first half of play, the Greeks stepped up a gear in the third, winning it 25-12 as the visitors had no offensive answer to Pana’s stifling defence.
Seven Panathinaikos players reached double figures, led by reigning Euroleague MVP Dimitris Diamantidis, who got 17 points followed by Romain Sato, who bagged 16.
Malaga were led by Kristaps Valters and Hrvoje Peric, who each got 13 points off the bench.
In another game where the third period decided the game, Anadolu Efes won away from home, defeating Partizan 84-73.
A 48-45 lead at the half ballooned to a 68-51 advantage as Efes won the third quarter 20-6 to claim their first win of the Euroleague season.
Tarence Kinsey paced the victors with 18 points while Dusko Savanovic buried three triples on his way to 17 points. Nikola Pekovic led all scorers with 21 for Partizan.
Real Madrid made light work of Belgacom Spirou in Charleroi, winning 100-76. Rudy Fernandez and Felipe Reyes both got 19 points, as they picked apart the Belgian qualifiers winning all four quarters.
Demond Mallet led all scorers in vain for Spirou with 27 points.
In the other games, the 2010 Euroleague champions Barcelona defeated Union Olimpija 86-64 as their new signing Marcelinho Huertas impressed with 17 points and eight assists. Eurobasket 2011 MVP Juan Carlos Navarro was held to just nine points.
Emporio Armani Milan defeated Maccabi Electra in Italy 89-82 behind 25 points from Malik Hairston and Brose Baskets crushed KK Zagreb 96-65, Anthony Tucker led the way with 20 points for the victors.
