A look at the quarter-finals of the Euroleague as all eight sides have now faced each other.
CSKA ease to victory (CSKA Moscow lead 1-0)
CSKA Moscow opened their Euroleague quarter-final series with an 89-78 win over Caja Laboral in the Russian capital.
The Russian champions dished out 25 assists, tied with the Euroleague Playoffs record as they looked in no real danger against the Spaniards. The two teams meet again on Friday with Vitoria looking to avoid going 2-0 down.
Sonny Weems led CSKA with 19 points with Milos Teodosic adding 17 points to go with five assists.
By half-time the game was never in doubt, the hosts moved the ball effortlessly, got good looks at the basket and made them count. They had built up a 50-35 lead by the time the half-time buzzer went and were able to move on to cruise control from there.
“It was difficult, physical game,” CSKA Moscow coach Ettore Messina said. “I think we played a very good first half. The team efficiency ranking says that we had a lot of great moments. But the opponents showed that they have energy and talent.
“We allowed 69 percent of two-point shots, which is unacceptable and tells us that we still have to change a lot. At the start of the first half there was a lot of contact and we weren’t calm enough. Still we managed to score when we needed to score and controlled the game until the very end.”
Fabien Causeur led the visitors with 17 points.
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Olympiacos edge Anadolu Efes (Olympiacos lead 1-0)
Euroleague champions Olympiacos defeated Anadolu Efes 67-62 in game one of their quarter-final series in a contest that didn’t feature a double digit lead.
A 7-0 run in the third, inspired by Georgios Printezis gave Olympiacos the lead for good – but Anadolu Efes refused to go away – and they made the last minute an uncomfortable one for the Greek side, but they held on.
Printezis led the Reds with a career-high 26 points. Kerem Golum led Anadolu Efes with 17.
Game two in Greece is on Friday.
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Madrid shutout Maccabi (Real Madrid led 1-0)
A devastating 24-4 second quarter ensured Real Madrid an easy 79-53 win over Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv.
The Israeli side enjoyed a 23-14 cushion after the first period but fell victim to a 24-1 run that sealed their fate. Madrid were comfortable from there.
Rudy Fernandez led the winners with 15 points and Nikola Mirotic added 14 but it was the performance of Sergio Rodriguez that stood out, as the Spanish international got 10 points and dished out 10 assists.
They meet again on Friday night.
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