There was little drama in the opening week of the Euroleague season with the favorites winning just about every game and only two teams losing at home. Here a group-by-group breakdown:
Group A: Olympiacos, Unicaja Win, Cibona Knock Off Maccabi
A tough Group A saw Josh Childress make a strong Euroleague debut with team-highs of 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots as Olympiacos cruised to an 83-69 victory at Air Avellino. The Greek powerhouse proved too deep for Avellino as five player scored in double figures, including three reserves. Cibona finalized an emotional night by holding off the 2008 runners-up Maccabi Tel Aviv 81-79 at home thanks to 23 points from Davor Kus and 20 by Rawle Marshall. The Croatian side paid tribute to the late legendary Drazen Petrovic, playing in the arena named after him on what would have been his 44th birthday. Four players scored in double figures as a balanced Unicaja beat Le Mans 84-79 with Boniface Ndong leading the way with 14 points off the bench.
Group B: Barcelona, Panathinaikos, Montepaschi Siena Cruise to Wins
There was no surprise in Group B where Final Four contenders Barcelona thrashed Nancy on the road 82-54, allowing just 19 points in the second half while former Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova paced Barca with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Panathinaikos got a balanced effort in pounding Zalgiris 78-51 at home with do-it-all guard Dimitris Diamantidis leading the way with 15 points. The three-time semifinalist Montepaschi Siena meanwhile struggled to put away Asseco Prokom, winning 80-71 at home. Ksistof Lavrinovic collected 13 points and 13 rebounds to pace the Italians.
Group C: Tau, Joventut and Alba Berlin All Victorious At Home
In Group C, Tau Ceramica - semifinalist the past four seasons - opened the Euroleague competition on Monday in fine fashion with an 80-70 victory over Fenerbahce. Igor Rakocevic had 24 points while Will McDonald (18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 steals) and Pete Mickael (15 points and eight rebounds) both had strong games as well. DKV Joventut put Union Olimpija away late in winning going away 81-64. Nana Mensah-Bonsu had 14 points and nine rebounds while three Joventut players tallied 11 points. The Spanish side is still without the emerging superstar Ricky Rubio - out after hand surgery. And record German champions Alba Berlin made a triumphant return to the Euroleague by beating Lottomatica Roma 68-63 at the site of the 2009 Final Four. Immanuel McElroy scored 17 points as Berlin overcame just two points from star Julius Jenkins. Roma's highly-acclaimed youngster, the high school-straight-to-Europe star Brandon Jennings tallied nine points on three three-pointers in his Euroleague debut.
Group D: CSKA Moscow, Real Madrid and Efes Pilsen All Defend Home Court
All three teams in Group D also defended their home court. The reigning champion CSKA Moscow started strong its campaign to repeat the title by thrashing AJ Milano 90-64 with Trajan Langdon leading five players in double figures with 18 points. Real Madrid had little trouble with Panionios, winning 87-66 as Quinton Hosley tallied 17 points to lead eight players with at least six points. And Efes Pilsen staved off a great comeback by Partizan to win 61-60. Efes Pilsen led by 12 points after three periods but saw the game tied with two minutes left. But Milos Vujanic hit a big three-pointer late to seal the win. Vujanic led all scorers with 17 points.
