The three unbeaten sides in this season’s Euroleague all booked their places in the Top 16 with wins in week six.
The team of the Euroleague so far Fenerbahce led from start to finish as they dispatched of Budivelnik Kiev 84-68 in Istanbul, heading to a 6-0 record in Group A.
Bojan Bogdanovic was inspired once more for the Turks as he led the victors with 20 points and it was he that fronted a 14-0 run in the second quarter to help the hosts pull away.
“I think we played an excellent game, especially in the first half tonight,” Fenerbahce coach Zeljko Obradovic said. “The key to us winning the game was resistance in defence and the good job in offence in the second period. We changed the destiny of the game in the second quarter. Our aggressiveness in defence and the excellent performance in offence made the difference.”
Dainius Selenga had 16 points for Kiev as they slip to 1-5 and last place in Group A.
Four fourth quarter three-pointers from Vassilis Spanoulis propelled Olympiacos to an 82-74 road win at Unicaja Malaga as they remained undefeated after six games in Group C.
Trailing 65-62 after three quarters, Malaga looked to have the edge to start the final period but Spanoulis, the reigning Euroleague MVP showed his credentials to the 7,000-plus crowd inside the Martin Carpena Arena with a final blitz. He finished with a game-high 21 points.
Nik Caner-Medley and Rafael Hettsheimer led Unicaja with 11 points each.
Real Madrid comfortably beat Zalgiris in the Spanish capital 95-67 to book their place in the Top 16 along with Fenerbahce and Olympiacos.
The Liga Endesa side have had no such problems in Group B as they hit 6-0 and they faced no real test against the Lithuanian champions.
Nikola Mirotic led Madrid with 17 points.
Elsewhere in the Euroleague, last season’ Eurocup champions Lokomotiv Kuban have continued their good start with a 79-72 win over Red Star Belgrade in Group D.
The win gives them a 5-1 record and top spot in the group while the Serbians dropped to 2-4.
Derrick Brown led Kuban with 16 points.
“This is a hugely important win for our Top 16 hopes,” said Kuban coach Evgeny Pashutin. “I can say that this victory is a big step forward for the whole club. My guys felt the significance of the game and came out very focused. “
Marko Simonovic led Red Star with 12.
While Real Madrid are easing to top spot in Group B, the other games saw Strasbourg pick up their first win by beating Brose Baskets 83-72 in France.
Ricardo Greer stepped up to bag 21 points for the winners.
“We are very happy to win the first one in that manner. I am a little disappointed because I thought we could win by more points,” admitted Strasbourg coach Vincent Collet.
EA7 Milano came back from a 14-point deficit to beat Anadolu Efes 77-73, thanks in part to a 17-0 run that spanned the third and fourth quarter.
Keith Langford had 22 points to lead Milano, including 15 in the final period of play as they improve to 4-2. Efes drop to 3-3.
