Hapoel and Dubai both grabbed victories in their EuroLeague debuts on Tuesday
Game Center: Zalgiris, Valencia triumph on the road; Fener starts with a win
Article
18 Mins read
Wednesday, October 1
AS Monaco 84-89 Zalgiris Kaunas
Zalgiris send a message that echoed all around the EuroLeague by downing last season's finalist Monaco 84-89 at Salle Gaston Medecin on Wednesday. Moses Wright led the winners with 21 points on 8-of-8 shooting and a PIR of 28. Nigel Williams-Goss added 14 points, Maodo Lo had 11 while Laurynas Birutis got 10 for Zalgiris. Mike James led Monaco with 24 points. Daniel Theis added 17, Nikola Mirotic 16 and Alpha Diallo 10.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 96-77 Paris Basketball
Fenerbahce, the defending EuroLeague champions, kicked off the new season in style with a convincing 96-77 victory over Paris on Wednesday night. The hosts controlled the game for most of the evening, and after Paris briefly took the lead, Fenerbahce used a strong finish to the third quarter to pull away for good. Devon Hall led the charge for Fenerbahce, scoring a career-high 22 points while matching his personal best with a stellar 5-of-6 performance from beyond the arc. Talen Horton-Tucker contributed 20 points, with 19 coming in the second half, while Wade Baldwin rounded out the effort with a double-double of 10 points and 10 assists. Paris’s Nadir Hifi was a standout performer, scoring 23 points and hitting 5-of-7 from three-point range. Justin Robinson added 17 points in the losing effort.
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 77-80 Valencia Basket
Valencia marked its return to the EuroLeague after a one-year hiatus with a 77-80 win away at ASVEL on Wednesday night. In a tight, back-and-forth clash, the two teams exchanged leads throughout the game. Valencia sealed the outcome in the closing stages after its defense managed to hold ASVEL to just 2 points in the last two and a half minutes. Darius Thompson paced the Spanish side with 15 points, with Matt Costello scoring 13 and grabbing 10 rebounds. Omari Moore also recorded a double-double of 12 points and 10 assists, which he paired with 8 rebounds in a complete outing. Nate Reuvers also registered double digits in scoring by netting 13, 9 of which came in the first quarter. Nando De Colo led all scorers with 17 points, Glynn Watson bagged 14 and Bastien Vautier added 12 for the hosts.
Tuesday, September 30
Dubai Basketball 89-76 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade
Dubai made its EuroLeague debut a memorable one, beating visiting Partizan 89-76 on Tuesday night at Coca-Cola Arena. Dubai opened the game by making its first 7 three-point tries and trailed for only one possession in the third quarter en route to a historic victory. The winners had five scorers in double figures, led by Davis Bertans who netted 20 points on 5-for-7 three-point shooting. Dzanan Musa scored 19, Mfioundu Kabengele added 15 points, Filip Petrusev collected 14 points and 8 rebounds, while Dwayne Bacon finished with 11 points. Tyrique Jones tallied 13 points and 6 rebounds for Partizan, Dylan Osetkowski scored 12, Jabari Parker 11 and Shake Milton 10 in a losing effort.
Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv 103-87 FC Barcelona
Hapoel recorded its first-ever EuroLeague win right away by downing Barcelona 103-87 in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Tuesday. Antonio Blakeney led the winners with 20 points off the bench, Vasilije Micic and Dan Oturu each scored 18, Chris Jones had 12 and Elijah Bryant netted 11 for Hapoel. Will Clyburn led Barca with 23 points and Jan Vesely and Kevin Punter each added 13 for the visitors.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 85-78 Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv
Efes kicked off the 2025-26 EuroLeague season with an 85-78 victory over Maccabi at MORACA in Podgorica, Montenegro. An entertaining back-and-forth clash saw the hosts trail 75-76 with 04:10 to go, but Rolands Smits stepped up with 7 straight points in the closing stages to clinch it for the Turkish side. Smits and Jordan Loyd led all scorers with 16 points each. Shane Larkin scored 14, with Ercan Osmani and Nick Weiler-Babb netting 12 each. For the visitors, Jaylen Hoard and Roman Sorkin bagged 15 points apiece in a losing effort.
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 82-92 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Milan made a perfect start to the new EuroLeague season with an impressive 84-92 win at Crvena Zvezda after leading for the lion’s share of the contest at Belgrade Arena. Zach LeDay led Milan’s charge with a game-high 21 points and 5 rebounds while Shavon Shields scored 8 of his 13 points in the first quarter, as the visitors carved out a slender 20-22 at the end of the opening period. Big man Josh Nebo chipped in with 12 points and five boards and Marko Guduric netted 10 points against his former club, nine of them from downtown as he made some clutch shots which kept Milan in the driving seat when Zvezda closed in on the visiting team. At the other end, Jordan Nwora stood out with 19 points while Tyson Carter added 16 and Ebuka Izundu amassed 14, but Zvezda’s new arrivals received preciously little support from the Serbian team’s stalwarts as the hosts shot a miserable 6 of 19 from three-point range.
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens 87-79 FC Bayern Munich
Panathinaikos started its quest towards playing the EuroLeague Final Four at home in May by fighting off Bayern 87-79 thanks to an outstanding showing by star guard Kendrick Nunn. Last season’s MVP poured in 21 points with 10 assists as Panathinaikos remained perfect at home against Bayern at 9-0 and now 12-5 all-time with six straight wins. Panathinaikos took control of the game in the third quarter and kept Bayern at bay the rest of the way. Nikos Ragkavopoulos scored 15 points and Omer Yurtseven picked up 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks, while TJ Shorts went scoreless in 10 minutes played. Isiaha Mike and Xavier Rathan-Mayes both set career highs with 18 points each and Wenyen Gabriel had 13 points against his former team.
Virtus Bologna 74-68 Real Madrid
Virtus started the new season in style by defeating Real Madrid 74-68 at the Paladozza on Tuesday. Carsen Edwards led the winners with 14 points, Saliou Niang added 12 in his first game in the competition while Luca Vildoza scored 11 for Virtus. Mario Hezonja paced Real with 14 points and Gabriel Deck added 12. Virtus put an end to a five-game losing streak against Los Blancos.