EuroLeague top photos of the week

Khalifa Diop of Baskonia and Carsen Edwards of Bayern leap for a rebound

Moustapha Fall of Olympiacos emotes as he dunks against Crvena Zvezda

Bruno Fernando of Real Madrid denies ASVEL's Nando De Colo

Dario Brizuela of FC Barcelona dribbles between Zalgiris's Bryant Dunston and Dovydas Giedraitis

Yanni Wetzell of ALBA Berlin dunks at Panathinaikos 

Nikola Milutinov of Olympiacos extends to block the shot of Zvezda's Milos Teodosic

T.J. Shorts of Paris extends to corral a rebound against Milan

Johannes Voigtmann of Bayern and Baskonia's Khalifa Diop vie for a rebound

Wenyen Gabriel of Panathinaikos dunks against ALBA Berlin in Round 30

Darius Thompson of Efes and Partizan's Brandon Davies wrestle for the ball

Look back at all the action from Round 30 of the regular season by checking out the best photos of the week! 

Top 10 photos of the week: Round 30

Euroleague Basketball is now accepting applications for volunteers at the 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 

Become a volunteer at the 2025 EuroLeague Final Four!

Have you always wanted to experience a world-class sporting event from the inside? To be behind the scenes and become a part of the spectacle? Here is your chance!

Euroleague Basketball is now accepting applications for volunteers at the 2025 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. There are many positions available for volunteers in a wide array of fields, including Media, Competition, Ceremonies, Corporate Social Responsibility, FanZone and the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague, among others. The full list of functions can be found [here](https://sway.cloud.microsoft/GM0PVtcsro8elSLq).

Volunteers will have the opportunity to learn how to use basketball to achieve social impact in our communities through the One Team program while filling an important role at Europe’s premier basketball event.

To become a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four volunteer, applicants must fill out the following registration form before April 4, 2025.

Don't miss this opportunity to be a part of an amazing experience. Click [here](https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=m52J-WoQQkaxN4bpglT5smgyUhU7GptPvdcqcwf2Am1UQTZPRFNZTDZIUU9PMjlXTkJDRVMzNzNMMyQlQCN0PWcu&route=shorturl) to apply!

Take advantage of this incredible experience by joining us in Abu Dhabi

A wonderful performance by Paris Basketball star TJ Shorts has seen him take home Round 30 MVP honors.

 

Shorts finished with a 24-point, 10-assist double-double – his fourth double-double of the season – as Paris beat EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 92-79. His 24 points came courtesy of 8-of-15 two-pointers, 1-of-2 threes and 5-of-7 free throws, while he also amassed 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block – his second block this season – and 7 fouls drawn en route to a 37 PIR, the most of any player in this round and his third-highest index rating in the 2024-25 campaign. 

Round 30 MVP: TJ Shorts, Paris Basketball

A wonderful performance by Paris Basketball star [TJ Shorts](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tj-shorts/012608/) has seen him take home Round 30 MVP honors.

 

Shorts finished with a 24-point, 10-assist double-double – his fourth double-double of the season – as Paris beat EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 92-79. His 24 points came courtesy of 8-of-15 two-pointers, 1-of-2 threes and 5-of-7 free throws, while he also amassed 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block – his second block this season – and 7 fouls drawn en route to a 37 PIR, the most of any player in this round and his third-highest index rating in the 2024-25 campaign. Having previously been the MVP of the Round in Rounds 5 and 10, this is the third occasion that the EuroLeague rookie has secured this honor.

The next-best PIR belonged to LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne’s [Theo Maledon](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/theo-maledon/007027/), who had a 35 index rating as his team fell to an 81-70 defeat at Real Madrid. Maledon posted 25 points on 4-of-6 two-pointers, 2-of-4 triples and 11-of-11 free throws, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 8 fouls drawn. With those 11 free throws, Maledon has now set the record for the most free throws made in a single EuroLeague season, having converted 182 in 29 games, beating the 178 made by Real Madrid’s Dzanan Musa in 41 appearances in the 2022-23 season.

Third place is shared by two players this week, as Real Madrid’s [Walter Tavares](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/) and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade’s [Rokas Giedraitis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/rokas-giedraitis/006436/) both recorded a 28 PIR, a season high in the case of Giedraitis. Tavares amassed 23 points on 9-of-12 twos and 5-of-5 free throws, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 4 fouls drawn in *Los Blancos’* aforementioned 81-70 victory over ASVEL, while Giedraitis finished with 20 points on 6-of-7 triples and 2-of-2 free throws, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 fouls drawn as Crvena Zvezda stunned league leader Olympiacos Piraeus by stealing a 73-81 win.

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens guard [Jerian Grant](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jerian-grant/011204/) completes the list of best performers in Round 30 with a PIR of 27, which came in his team’s 91-81 triumph over ALBA Berlin. Grant ended his night with totals of 19 points on 3-of-5 two-pointers, 1-of-2 three-pointers and 10-of-10 free throws, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 7 fouls drawn and zero turnovers.

 

### Individual highs: Will Clyburn, Virtus, 5 steals

 

[Mike James](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/mike-james/005985/) of AS Monaco led all scorers in Round 30 with 29 points. [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/) of Panathinaikos and [Sasha Vezenkov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sasha-vezenkov/003469/) of Olympiacos Piraeus are tied atop the scoring charts with 20.0 points per game.

 

[Ante Zizic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/ante-zizic/004554/) of Virtus Segafredo Bologna had 12 rebounds, more than any other player in this round. Crvena Zvezda center [Joel Bolomboy](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/joel-bolomboy/009035/) remains the league leader with 8.3 rebounds per game.

 

This round’s MVP, Shorts, and [Trent Forrest](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/trent-forrest/013367/) of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz both dished a round-high 10 assists. Shorts is the new assists leader with 7.1 dimes per game.

 

Virtus forward [Will Clyburn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/will-clyburn/004888/) led all players with 5 steals in Round 30. [Nick Weiler-Babb](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nick-weiler-babb/010391/) of FC Bayern Munich leads the way in steals with 1.6 per game.

 

[Wenyen Gabriel](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/wenyen-gabriel/013383/) of Panathinaikos had 4 blocks, the most in this round. Tavares (1.37 bpg.) is the competition's top shot blocker, enjoying a small lead over [Georgios Papagiannis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/georgios-papagiannis/005844/) of Monaco (1.36 bpg.).

 

Five players had double-doubles in Round 30: Shorts (24 points, 10 assists), Forrest (14 points, 10 assists), Zizic (11 points, 12 rebounds), Crvena Zvezda’s [Codi Miller-McIntyre](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/codi-miller-mcintyre/009048/) (15 points, 11 rebounds), and Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv’s [Trevion Williams](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/trevion-williams/012604/) (10 points, 10 rebounds).

This is the third time the EuroLeague rookie has been the MVP of the Round

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge Round 30 winner

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 30th winner in this season's [EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/)! Kwstas Hasiotis beat everyone else in Round 30 with his team 'KOB BC RISKY', which had a Fantasy Challenge score of 223.60.

The winning team had the following starting lineup: Paris Basketball's TJ Shorts as team captain, then Roman Sorkin of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, Donta Hall of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, and FC Barcelona duo of Chimezie Metu and Dario Brizuela. His sixth man was FC Bayern Munich's Johannes Voigtmann. The rest of the bench consisted of Paris Basketball's Yakuba Ouattara, Shavon Shields of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, Jerian Grant of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens and Barcelona's Justin Anderson. His team's head coach was Tiago Splitter of Paris.

The prize for finishing first in Round 30 is a free VIP Euroleague TV subscription for the 2025-26 season!

Marko Djukic and his team 'Kughat' remains the leader of the [EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/) overall standings with 5,081.34 points.

Trades are now open for Round 31. Remember, four trades are allowed before each round until the end of the regular season. You can either trade up to four players, or a head coach and three players.

The first game in Round 31 tips off already on Tuesday, March 25, as Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul hosts Paris Basketball at 18:45 CET. That game marks the next round's deadline.

Make new teams now or improve your existing ones and try to become our next round winner!

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge offers weekly prizes to the top team manager. 

Anadolu Efes recorded its fourth win in a row in the EuroLeague by demolishing KK Partizan 65-97 in Round 30, a victory that has seen Luca Banchi's men move into the postseason places.

Efes rolls on under Luca Banchi and gets into postseason picture

[Anadolu Efes Istanbul](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/anadolu-efes-istanbul/ist/) showed in no uncertain terms that it means business in the home straight of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague regular season, romping away to [a 65-97 road demolition of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/dominant-efes-blows-away-partizan-65-97/) to squeeze into the top 10.

The result allowed Efes to climb three places up to ninth on a 16-14 record, while it also relegated Partizan to 12th at 15-15 after a third successive loss and the heaviest on its home court in the Serbian club’s EuroLeague history.

Efes, which looked unlikely to feature in the business end of Europe’s premier club competition before the February break, continued to thrive under Italian head coach [Luca Banchi](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/anadolu-efes-istanbul/ist/banchi-luca/?season=E2024) after the 59-year-old had endured a patchy start in Istanbul.

Glimpses of the Turkish side’s vast potential were made obvious by [the 110-66 home destruction of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/coach-banchi-celebrates-first-win-as-efes-thrashes-milan-110-66/), Banchi’s first win after opening with three defeats at the helm. Now that Efes has hit top gear, few would bet against the back-to-back EuroLeague winners in 2021 and 2022 making the playoffs this term.

Against Partizan, a pack of five players finished in double digits paced by [Darius Thompson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/darius-thompson/011078/), who sank 19 points after scoring his team’s opening eight and then poured 11 in the third quarter to effectively seal the game as a contest in front of 20,000 home fans.

Thompson personified the visiting team’s razor-sharp offense as he shot 5 of 5 from downtown and 2 of 3 from inside, although it was the ironclad defense which initially did the damage as Efes pulled away from 16-16 early in the game to a 37-69 lead late in the third quarter.    

“The end of the season is near and we are trying to get a playoff spot, so we’ve got to fight in every game and today we played well as a team,” Thompson said in his postgame comments. “We knew this was a hard place to play at so we just wanted to stay together and fight for every possession.”

Having expressed hope that [Rodrigue Beaubois](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/rodrigue-beaubois/006590/) and [Dan Oturu](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/dan-oturu/012788/) would recover swiftly from knocks and bruises they picked up in the grueling matchup, Banchi stressed it was all about staying consistent in the home stretch of the regular season.

“We are happy with the performance and for showing such character against a team like Partizan,” he said. “I am very proud but also a bit worried about the injuries we picked up. We wanted to have an intense game and the players responded well.

“We prepared and approached the game very well and were able to stay consistent throughout the 40 minutes. We built this win on solid defense and it was a promising performance which should help us push on through a very tough schedule in the final stage of the regular season.”

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">💪 “Play hard, play simple, play together!”<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhereIStand?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhereIStand</a> <a href="https://t.co/2d9oRAqp31">pic.twitter.com/2d9oRAqp31</a></p>&mdash; Anadolu Efes SK (@AnadoluEfesSK) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnadoluEfesSK/status/1903205988355756497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Partizan head coach [Zeljko Obradovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/partizan-mozzart-bet-belgrade/par/obradovic-zeljko/?season=E2024) cut a dejected figure at a loss of words to explain the horror show his players served up in a crunch game, when a win was so desperately needed to keep the club’s postseason ambitions on track.

“I take responsibility as the head coach and we must now turn our attention to the upcoming games,” Obradovic told the postgame press conference. “I’ve never been a defeatist in my entire career but this was a completely substandard performance which came in the midst of a tough stretch in all competitions.

“Credit to Efes as it’s a great team with one of the best rosters in the EuroLeague, while we committed an avalanche of mistakes. I can’t remember a performance worse than this one.”

Partizan will have a chance to make amends when it hosts the competition’s bottom team, ALBA Berlin, in Round 31 while Efes is looking forward to a home game against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in its bid to keep up the good work.

Game News

The Turkish side stretched its fine run of form to five wins out of six with a magnificent display against Partizan

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade v Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2025-03-21T19:45:00.000Z)

Thanks in large part to Dario Brizuela and Justin Anderson, two players who have become irreplaceable for FC Barcelona, the Spanish club now sits in fifth place in the EuroLeague standings.

Barcelona 'trending in the right direction', climbing the standings after Zalgiris win

[FC Barcelona](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fc-barcelona/bar/) had to fight hard on Friday night but it controlled everything on the floor in the last three quarters [to beat Zalgiris Kaunas 82-70](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/barcelona-wins-third-straight-gets-past-zalgiris-82-70/). 

Neither team had good shooting percentages and Barcelona, a team that came into the game as the best scoring team in the league with 87.6 points per game, did not score more than 23 points in any quarter.

“It’s two teams fighting in March, it’s not going to be easy,” Barcelona forward [Justin Anderson](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/justin-anderson/012795/) said during a courtside interview with EuroLeague TV after the game.

But once Barcelona took the lead thanks to a 9-0 run bridging the first and second quarters, it never relinquished it.

“It’s four weeks to go and every game needs to be played 100% physical and 100% mental,” commented coach [Joan Penarroya](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fc-barcelona/bar/penarroya-joan/) after the big win. “I think we deserved the win tonight.”

And while Penarroya, like most of his colleagues, does not want to comment on his team’s playoff chance, it is a fact that with four games to go in the regular season, this win catapulted Barcelona into fifth place in the standings.

Admittedly, it’s a four-team tie at 17-13 record, which means Barcelona has the same number of wins as its next opponent, eighth-placed [FC Bayern Munich](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/fc-bayern-munich/mun/). But it is also just a win away from fourth place.

“What’s the most important is our next game here at home. Nothing else matters,” Anderson added. “One game at the time. And this team is trending in the right direction.”

With three wins in a row and a 3-1 record after the February break, Barcelona certainly seems to be where it wants to be. [Kevin Punter](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/kevin-punter/009862/), [Jabari Parker](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jabari-parker/012745/), [Chimezie Metu](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/chimezie-metu/013379/) and [Tomas Satoransky](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/tomas-satoransky/002939/) are carrying the biggest load, expectedly, but [Dario Brizuela](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/dario-brizuela/009992/) and Anderson have become irreplaceable pieces.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="cs" dir="ltr">M𝐁P (Mamba Brizuela Player) <a href="https://t.co/qbnoaBNGjB">pic.twitter.com/qbnoaBNGjB</a></p>&mdash; Barça Basket (@FCBbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBbasket/status/1903203428177711284?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Brizuela led Barca with 20 points, scoring eight in the final quarter, as the hosts never allowed Zalgiris to get closer than six points.

“I am just happy to help my team in the situation we are missing players,” Brizuela commented modestly after the win.

Meanwhile, Anderson played more than 30 minutes for just the second time this season, his first in the EuroLeague, and was his team’s second-best scorer on the night with 16 points.

Despite the season-ending injuries to [Nico Laprovittola](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/nicolas-laprovittola/006435/) and [Juan Nunez](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/juan-nunez/010106/), and the extended absence of [Jan Vesely](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jan-vesely/000925/), it feels as though Barcelona is exactly where it wanted to be all along. And it keeps playing winning basketball in the month of March.

Thanks to its Round 30 victory, the Blaugrana are now in fifth place

Barcelona 'trending in the right direction', climbing the standings

FC Barcelona v Zalgiris Kaunas (2025-03-21T19:30:00.000Z)

Trailing 69-77 to ALBA Berlin with six minutes to go, Panathinaikos BC put together a 21-0 run as it came away with a 91-81 victory.

Panathinaikos leaned on its defense to mount late charge against ALBA

When [Will McDowell-White](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/will-mcdowell-white/008062/) hit a three-pointer that set a game-high eight-point lead, 69-77, in [ALBA Berlin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/alba-berlin/ber/)'s favor with 6 minutes to go against [Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/panathinaikos-aktor-athens/pan/), there was some concern inside OAKA. After all, the visitors were looking like they might get their second win in a row and second since coach [Pedro Calles](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/alba-berlin/ber/calles-pedro/?season=E2024) took over for the German powerhouse.

“It was a strange game,” Panathinaikos boss [Ergin Ataman](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/panathinaikos-aktor-athens/pan/ataman-ergin/?season=E2024) stated right after the final buzzer. “Because we seriously risked losing the game. Offensively it was a terrible day for us, we scored only 4 three-pointers on 20 attempts."

Aware that its offense was not firing on all cylinders against a team that had nothing to lose, Panathinaikos decided to shift things around. Ataman brought February MVP [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/) and [Kostas Sloukas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/kostas-sloukas/001926/) to the bench and went with a defensive-minded lineup containing [Lorenzo Brown](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/lorenzo-brown/009622/), [Panagiotis Kalaitzakis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/panagiotis-kalaitzakis/011209/), [Jerian Grant](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jerian-grant/011204/), [Juancho Hernangomez](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/juancho-hernangomez/012712/) and [Wenyen Gabriel](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/wenyen-gabriel/013383/).

And, with this configuration, the Greens came back to life.

“We made some shots, we dug in deep for some turnovers and, you know, this was a must-win for us,” Gabriel explained. “I think it showed a lot about our character and \[that we\] understand that this game meant a lot to us. We played well at the end of the game. We're a good team, that's what good teams to do.”

Ataman’s changes to the rotation turned into a 21-0 run in less than 6 minutes totally turned the tables. The visitors’ offense was totally shut down [as ALBA lost 91-81](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/news/panathinaikos-comes-back-to-beat-alba-91-81/), having had just one field goal and a couple of free throws, which came in the last 30 seconds of the game.

“We managed the last five or six minutes well,” Ataman celebrated. “I believe \[the key was to put together\] that defensive team. We kept out \[Kostas\] Sloukas and Kendrick Nunn and we played these minutes with \[Wenyen\] Gabriel, \[Panagiotis\] Kalaitsakis, \[Jerian\] Grant, Lorenzo Brown, all defensive players.

“And with this defense, we stole the ball, we made them find difficult shots and won the game. You cannot win all the games with your best scorers; sometimes you have to win them with your defensive players. We took the risk. We needed to play these changes in the last 5 or 6 minutes and we were successful."

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Consistently dominant, consistently… <a href="https://twitter.com/JerianGrant?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JerianGrant</a> 😤☘️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheGreens?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheGreens</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/paobcaktor?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#paobcaktor</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LiveTheGreenMagic?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LiveTheGreenMagic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Club1908?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Club1908</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OneClubOneApp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OneClubOneApp</a> <a href="https://t.co/v3LCKknAiP">pic.twitter.com/v3LCKknAiP</a></p>&mdash; Panathinaikos BC (@Paobcgr) <a href="https://twitter.com/Paobcgr/status/1903206216219738372?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

But the defensive effort would have been for nothing without offensive production, with [Jerian Grant](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/jerian-grant/011204/) – who heard his name chanted by the OAKA crowd – finishing as the team's top scorer with 19 points.

“It was special," he admitted when asked about the fans' chants. “Definitely it’s one of the most special nights of my life. To hear 20 000 people calling my name. It really gave us a lot of energy and, you know, when we hear those fans like that we really feel like we can't lose."

A 21-0 run in 5 minutes during the last period saw the Greens flip the script

Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens v ALBA Berlin (2025-03-21T19:15:00.000Z)

Anadolu Efes boosted its hopes of making the EuroLeague postseason with a crushing 65-97 road win over KK Partizan. Luca Banchi's men improved to 16-14, while Zeljko Obradovic's squad dropped to 15-15 after a third successive defeat.

Dominant Efes blows away Partizan, 65-97

Anadolu Efes Istanbul boosted its hopes of making the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague postseason with a crushing 65-97 road win over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade. Luca Banchi's men improved to 16-14, while Zeljko Obradovic's squad dropped to 15-15 after a third successive defeat.

Darius Thompson paced Efes on 19 points and Elijah Bryant added 18 for the visitors, who shot an impressive 25 of 33 (75.8 percent) from inside and 11 of 24 from downtown. Former Partizan player PJ Dozier chipped in with 13 points, Shane Larkin added 11 and Dan Oturu netted 10 for the visiting team.

Tyrique Jones, Frank Ntilikina and Isaac Bonga scored 11 points each for a disjointed Partizan, which has seriously derailed its postseason hopes after its heaviest home defeat in EuroLeague history, surpassing its 31-point loss to CSKA Moscow (55-86) in 2007.

Game Videos

Ironically, droves of CSKA fans joined their Partizan comrades ahead of Saturday’s football friendly between the two clubs which nurture brethren relations, but they had little to cheer about throughout a lop-sided contest with Efes taking it by the scruff of the neck early on.

Thompson sank the opening 8 points for Efes as the Turkish outfit raced into a 2-8 lead before Partizan hit back to level 16-16 thanks to 9 points from Tyrique Jones, but that was as good as it got for the home team.

Efes found another gear in the second quarter after taking the first 18-24 and simply shot the lights out as the backcourt trio of Thompson, Bryant and Larkin toyed with their rivals, silencing a raucous 20,000 crowd inside Belgrade Arena. 

The visitors were 33-54 up at halftime as Dozier also caught fire and then pressed on the gas even harder in the third quarter, as Efes carved out a 37-69 advantage with the home team looking lost at sea.

Sensing that an unspeakable debacle was on the cards, Partizan fans got behind their team in full force in the fourth quarter, making a valiant effort to help the Serbian side salvage some pride but to little effect.

Efes kept going at full throttle and wrapped up a memorable win, its third in a row and the fifth in the last six games, staying firmly on course to reach the business end of the competition after the Istanbul giant’s stretched its fine run of form under Coach Banchi.

The former champion produced a vintage performance to keep alive its postseason hopes

FC Barcelona continued its climb up the standings by downing the visiting Zalgiris Kaunas 82-70 on Friday night. It was Barcelona’s third consecutive win, which improved it to a 17-13 record, tied for the fifth best in the league. Zalgiris, meanwhile, dropped to 14-16 on the season.

Barcelona wins third straight, gets past Zalgiris, 82-70

FC Barcelona continued its climb up the standings by downing the visiting Zalgiris Kaunas 82-70 on Friday night. It was Barcelona’s third consecutive win, which improved it to a 17-13 record, tied for the fifth best in the league. Zalgiris, meanwhile, dropped to 14-16 on the season.

Barcelona grabbed the lead for good in the second quarter and extended it to double digits late in the third, then never allowed the visitors to get close again. Dario Brizuela led the way with 20 points. Justin Anderson had 16 points, Kevin Punter netted 14 and Chimezie Metu finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds in the win. Three Zalgiris players scored 13 points: Sylvain Francisco, Ignas Brazdeikis and Deividas Sirvydis.

The two teams traded blows from the early going, with Francisco scoring 5 points for the visitors and Anderson doing the same for the hosts, including a three-pointer. A three-point play from Brizuela made it 14-10, but Sirvydis nailed back-to-back triples to put Zalgiris ahead before a pair of baskets from Bryant Dunston opened a 14-20 lead. The visitors had a 16-20 advantage after 10 minutes.

Joel Parra opened the second quarter with a three-pointer and his basket from close range capped a 9-0 run to put the hosts 23-20 ahead. Edgaras Ulanovas ended the visitors’ drought, but Metu hit a pair of shots, and transition baskets from Satoransky and Brizuela opened a 31-24 lead. Sirvydis answered by hitting a long-range jumper, but the lead reached 8 points before Brazdeikis hit from short range and deep as Barcelona went into halftime with a 36-31 edge.

Anderson and Willy Hernangomez, who had a fast-break dunk, opened a 40-33 lead. Brazdeikis hit a triple for the visitors, but Jabari Parker nailed one for the hosts. Giedraitis and Francisco took it to the rim to cut the margin to 45-42. But Brizuela nailed a triple and added a short off-balance jumper, then Parra fought his way inside to open a 52-43 advantage. A triple from Anderson gave Barcelona the first double-digit lead of the night, 57-47, and the hosts led 59-51 after 30 minutes.

Smailagic opened the fourth quarter with a layup, but Anderson scored inside before Brizuela hit a wide-open three to open a 64-53 margin. Brazdeikis hit a long jumper, but Brizuela scored a mid-range shot, then a second-chance three-pointer to open 71-58. Isaiah Wong cut it back to single digits, but Metu scored twice more. Sirvydis kept Zalgiris hope alive with another triple, but Punter and Anderson made sure the visitors do not get closer than 9 points, closing out the game.

The Blaugrana also secured the head-to-head tiebreaker with this 12-point win