This week's games bring exciting clashes over three days
Game Center: Virtus wins at home; Fener, Paris, Oly triumph on the road
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Friday, October 24
Anadolu Efes Istanbul 69-79 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
Fenerbahce claimed local bragging rights with a battling 69-79 victory over Efes on Friday night. Efes raced to a first quarter double-digit lead through outstanding long-range shooting, but Fenerbahce soon tightened its defense and went ahead by halftime, 43-44. A low-scoring third quarter saw the teams head into the final period tied up, 58-58, before the visiting team gradually took control to take the victory with relative comfort.
Scottie Wilbekin and Devon Hall led the scoring for the victors with 12 points apiece, while Wade Baldwin directed the offense with 10 points and 8 assists, and Bonzie Colson added 10 points. Nick Weiler-Babb paced Efes with 17 points, while Shane Larkin posted 13 points and 9 assists, and Isaia Cordinier scored 10. Fenerbahce improves to 3-3 after winning two straight, while Efes drops to 2-4 following consecutive losses.
Virtus Bologna 92-74 Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens
Virtus remained undefeated at home in the 2025-26 EuroLeague by topping Panathinaikos 92-75 at the PalaDozza in Round 6 on Friday. Both teams now have a 4-2 record in the standings.
Carsen Edwards led the winners with 22 points. Matt Morgan added 15, Alen Smailagic had 14 while Alessandro Pajola had career highs of 10 rebounds and 7 assists for Virtus. Kendrick Nunn paced Panathinaikos with 19 points. TJ Shorts had 15 while Cedi Osman added 14 for the Greens. Edwards, Smailagic and Morgan combined for 29 first-half points to help Virtus get a 48-35 win at halftime. The hosts ended up winning all four quarters to seal a no-doubt-about-it victory.
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 83-101 Paris Basketball
Paris improved to 4-2 after an impressive 83-101 win at Partizan, which dropped 3-3 after its first home defeat of the season. Among a pack of performers, Nadir Hifi stood out for Paris with 21 points, 6 boards and 4 assists, Sebastian Herrera added 17 points and Yakuba Ouattara chipped in with 14. Sterling Brown paced Partizan on 25 points and Duane Washington amassed 16.
The first quarter was played at frantic pace and Hifi stood out as he pierced through Partizan’s defense almost at will, netting 10 points shooting 4 of 4 from the floor while Partizan relied on Washington who sank a treble of three-pointers for 9 points with the score tied 26-26 after the opening 10 minutes. Both teams beefed up on the defensive end in the second and baskets were more difficult to come by, with Partizan thriving on offensive boards while Paris benefited from fast breaks as the visitors carved out a 46-48 at halftime. With Partizan’s offense grinding to a screeching halt early in the second half as Washington started to struggle, Paris pulled away to 51-66 late in the third quarter and led 60-71 ahead of the final 10 minutes. Paris stayed in cruise control throughout the fourth quarter and subdued a normally fervent Belgrade to close out the game in style.
FC Bayern Munich 71-96 Olympiacos Piraeus
Olympiacos improved its record to 4-2 by crushing Bayern 71-96 at SAP Garden on Friday night. Andreas Obst hit the ground with 7 straight points, but Tyler Dorsey responded with 9 points of his own, as Olympiacos took a 15-23 lead after 10 minutes. The Reds established a double-digit cushion in the second quarter and maintained it throughout, despite Bayern’s attempts to come back in the second half.
Dorsey led all scorers with 19 points and Sasha Vezenkov ended the game with 18. Donta Hall stood out off the bench with 11 points and 8 rebounds. Obst bagged 15 points but Bayern recorded its second straight loss, with the hosts dropping to 2-4.
Thursday, October 23
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 85-79 Dubai Basketball
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne snapped a three-game losing run by rallying to beat Dubai Basketball 85-79 on Thursday evening at LDLC ARENA. A tight first half saw the two teams head into the second tied at 44. Dubai opened the third quarter with a rare 2-10 run before taking a 59-68 lead into the fourth, but ASVEL bounced back and outscored the visitors 26-11 in the closing quarter to complete the comeback. The French side improved its record to 2-4, with Dubai dropping to 3-3.
Nando De Colo turned back the clock, ending the game on 24 points – 6 of which were scored in crunch time. His backcourt partner, Glynn Watson, also came to the fore by bagging 21 points with the two guards dishing 5 assists each. Dubai’s usual suspects stood out on the other end, as Dwayne Bacon netted 22 and Mfiondu Kabengele added 20, with Filip Petrusev completing a double-double of 13 points and 10 assists.
Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv 85-77 AS Monaco
Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv stayed atop the standings by downing AS Monaco 85-77. The hosts made a fast start as Vasilije Micic and Dan Oturu both scored 7 points in the first 5 minutes and Hapoel led 44-34 at the break. Monaco started the second half with a 0-9 run as Daniel Theis netted 8 points in 3 minutes, and the visitors moved ahead late in the third, 62-63. But then Johnathan Motley took over, scoring 11 points in 5 minutes to guide Hapoel to a message-sending victory.
Micic led all scorers with 22 points, with Motley adding 17. Elijah Bryant did a bit of everything with 6 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, Collin Malcolm and Oturu both scored 11 points and Antonio Blakeney added 10. Mike James paced Monaco with 20 points, Elie Okobo threatened a double-double with 12 points and 8 assists on his 28th birthday, and Theis also scored 12. Hapoel improves to 5-1, while Monaco drops to parity at 3-3.
FC Barcelona 73-88 Zalgiris Kaunas
Zalgiris returned to winning ways in the EuroLeagueby downing FC Barcelona 73-88 at Palau Blaugrana in Round 6 on Thursday. Zalgiris improved to 4-2 in the standings while Barca dropped to 3-3.
Zalgiris led from tip to buzzer, pulling away to 39-53 at halftime, boosting its margin to 54-76 after 30 minutes and sealing the outcome long before the final buzzer.
Maodo Lo led the winners with 20 points on 5-of-5 three-point shooting. Deividas Sirvydis and Sylvain Francisco each added 14 while Moses Wright had 10 for Zalgiris. Joel Parra led Barca with 17 points off the bench. Toko Shengelia added 13 while Tomas Satoransky had 11 for the hosts.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 100-103 Valencia Basket
Jean Montero’s three-pointer with 43 seconds to go was enough to give Valencia a 100-103 win at Milan on Thursday night. Valencia leaned on a barrage of three-pointers and was up by 22 points with 14 minutes to go, but Milan came all the way back and tied the game at 100-100 thanks to the combined efforts of Leandro Bolmaro and Armoni Brooks. In the end, though, Montero’s triple and Darius Thompson’s block on Shavon Shields with 3 seconds remaining saw Valencia walk away with the dub.
Montero led Valencia in scoring with 18 points, followed by Thompson with 16, Omari Moore and Jaime Pradilla with 13 apiece, and Brancou Badio with 11. Bolmaro poured in a career-high 31 points for Milan, which also had Brooks (16 points), Pippo Ricci (13), Shields (11) and Quinn Ellis (10) finish in double figures. Valencia improved to 3-3 with this win while Milan dropped to 2-4.
Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 90-72 Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Crvena Zvezda rolled on to its fourth successive EuroLeague win and improved to 4-2 after a 90-72 home defeat of Baskonia, which remained rooted to the bottom of the standings with a 0-6 record. Codi Miller-McIntyre paced Zvezda on 20 points while Jordan Nwora added 19 and 7 rebounds. Chima Moneke posted 12 points and 8 boards against his former club while Nikola Kalinic chipped in with 12 points. At the other end, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot stood out for Baskonia on 24 points and Hamidou Diallo netted 12 for the visitors.
Zvezda got off to a fast and furious start, taking an early 7-2 lead before Baskonia responded with a fierce Diallo dunk, setting the stage for a high-tempo first quarter with Zvezda thriving from long range. The hosts edged ahead 21-20 after the opening 10 minutes as Nwora bagged 8 points and Miller-McIntyre added 6 against his former club. Battling Baskonia found another gear in the second quarter and turned the tide to lead 28-34, nailing a barrage of open shots from downtown to carve out a 40-43 advantage at halftime. Zvezda turned the defensive screw early in the third quarter and then went on a 17-2 run to take a 64-52 lead, mixing fast breaks with long range shots to jump into the driver’s seat in front of its fervent home crowd. Having led 72-58 ahead of the final 10 minutes, Zvezda stayed in control throughout the fourth quarter and ran out a well-deserved winner of an electrifying contest.
Wednesday, October 22
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv 92-91 Real Madrid
Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv held on for a thrilling 92-91 victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, Serbia, behind a game-winning three-pointer by Tamir Blatt with 4.3 seconds left. Mario Hezonja had a last-second shot to win it for Madrid, but missed.
Lonnie Walker, who set a club record with 20 points in the second quarter, finished with a career-high 27 for Maccabi, which improved to 2-4 with the victory. Roman Sorkin posted 21 points and 6 rebounds, Oshae Brissett scored 18 and Blatt totaled 12 points and 9 assists.
Hezonja paced Madrid with 24 points and 9 rebounds. Trey Lyles added 16 points, Facu Campazzo had 14 with 5 assists and Usman Garuba scored 12. The result left Madrid winless on the road this season and 3-3 overall.