Zenit features two players who played for Zalgiris in the past: Arturas Gudaitis and Mindaugas Kuzminskas. 

Marquee matchup: Joffrey Lauvergne vs. Arturas Gudaitis

Zenit features two players who played for Zalgiris in the past: Arturas Gudaitis and Mindaugas Kuzminskas. Gudaitis played 27 EuroLeague games for the Lithuanian powerhouse from 2014 to 2015. He is a great finisher around the rim, who uses his body with great effectiveness and has good hands to execute in the paint. Gudaitis is also a very good rebounder, especially on the defensive end, and his battle against Joffrey Lauvergne should be one of the biggest keys to this game.

The Take: Zalgiris Kaunas vs. Zenit St Petersburg

This is what the Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul protagonists of the game had to say before the game.

Sasa Djordjevic: "We will try to put our game on the floor and try to avoid their transition game"

### SASA DJORDJEVIC, FENERBAHCE BEKO ISTANBUL HEAD COACH

"It will be a tough road trip. Some of our players come from injuries, like Guduric and Barthel. They will be on the roster, and we will try to put our game on the floor and try to avoid their transition game. They are good with the ball in their hands, and their other strength are offensive rebounds. They have experienced players who know how to show their best game at this level. We must be ready to respond to the atmosphere by putting in 40 minutes of intense and smart basketball."


### ACHILLE POLONARA, FENERBAHCE BEKO ISTANBUL CENTER

"We will face a tough team, athletic. They will play with a lot of fans and it will be tough. But we go there to win, because road wins are very important. We have to limit our turnovers and also their fastbreak because of their athleticism. They are good on offensive rebounds, so we will have to play a perfect game in order to win."


Panathinaikos OPAP Athens v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2021-10-07T18:00:00.000Z)

This is what the Panathinaikos OPAP Athens protagonists of the game had to say before the game.

Dmitris Priftis:  "The most important thing for us is to make the right decisions"

### DIMITRIS PRIFTIS, HEAD COACH PANATHINAIKOS OPAP ATHENS

"We had a very bad week and we have to find a way to react. We need to show more stability, because we have a lot of ups and downs in our performance, and this is our most important problem. Against Fenerbahce, the most important thing for us is to make the right decisions in the game and to be effective in long shots. Panathinaikos fans are positive, optimistic and supportive towards the team. Their presence on the stands is a big advantage for Panathinaikos."


### OKARO WHITE, PANATHINAIKOS OPAP ATHENS FORWARD

"We had a very difficult start in both the Euroleague and the Greek League. We must move forward. Fenerbahce is a tough and experienced team but we have to find a way to deal with it. We have to see how we can improve, work hard and then see who our opponent is."


Panathinaikos OPAP Athens and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul each have players eager to bounce back in Round 2 and that should make this game even more attractive.

Keys to victory: Panathinaikos OPAP Athens vs. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul each have players eager to bounce back in Round 2 and that should make this game even more attractive. In Monaco, Kendrick Perry and Nedovic were held scoreless, combining 17 missed shots and a PIR of -19. Both Nedovic and Perry are experienced and resilient players who know how to overcome the pressure of a poor performance. Fenerbahce's Nando De Colo had 7 points, 4 turnovers and a PIR of 5 against Zvezda, but he has the talent, know-how and leadership to do much better, especially in a tough road game like this one.

Panathinaikos powered the offensive glass well in Monaco for 17 boards and committed just 8 turnovers, but must improve its shot selection to challenge in this game. The Greens made 23 of 50 shots inside the arc (46.0%) and 4 of 20 from downtown (20.0%). Preventing Pierria Henry from speeding up the game tempo should be a priority for Panathinaikos, as well as not allowing Fenerbahce to connect with Jan Vesely and Devin Booker, who can play above the rim and also hit outside shots. Fenerbahce must run its offense through De Colo and Vesely, expecting Achille Polonara and DyShawn Pierre to find advantages at the forward spots. Fenerbahce was outrebounded 32-42 in Round 1, allowing 15 offensive boards. It must box out against a great rebounding team like the Greens and it is up to the whole team to do so.

Ioannis Papapetrou and DyShawnPierre led their respective teams in scoring in Round 1 and are expected to match up against each other this week. 

Marquee matchup: Ioannis Papapetrou vs. DyShawnPierre

Ioannis Papapetrou and DyShawnPierre led their respective teams in scoring in Round 1 and are expected to match up against each other this week. Papapetrou is an effective scorer, who can pull the trigger from downtown or use a first quick step to either hit mid-range jumpers with great accuracy or finish strong at the rim. At age 27, Papapetrou is in his ninth EuroLeague season and all the experience gained in previous years is paying off in terms of leadership and talent, optimizing his many resources on offense.

Papapetrou will not have it easy against Pierre, a very physical defensive forward who knows how to use his athleticism, quick feet and overall aggressiveness to shut down his opponents. Pierre is also a very good scorer who can hit from beyond the arc or use his explosiveness to attack the basket. Both Pierre and Papapetrou like to play hard, to expect a stellar matchup.

Pierre-010560.jpg

Marquee matchup: Ioannis Papapetrou vs. DyShawnPierre, Panathinaikos OPAP Athens vs. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (0-1) started the 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague campaign with a 75-63 road loss at the hands of AS Monaco and returns home to finally meet its fans at OAKA in what should be a very special showdown in the Greek capital. Ioannis Papapetrou led Panathinaikos in Monaco with 16 points, Daryl Macon added 13 and Georgios Papagiannis pulled down 11 rebounds for the Greens.

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (1-0) defeated Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 61-57 in Round 1 a hard-fought battle. DyShawn Pierre led Fenerbahce in scoring with 13 points and Devin Booker and Jan Vesely each scored 7 for the Turkish powerhouse. These teams have faced each other 30 times since the turn of the century. Panathinaikos leads Fenerbahce 16-14 and is 13-3 at home in those games. Last season, the Greens prevailed 82-68 in Athens behind 28 points from Nemanja Nedovic, who buried 7-of-12 shots from beyond the arc.

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul meet for Round 2 at OAKA in Athens.

The Take: Panathinaikos OPAP Athens vs. Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

The 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season already started and therefore the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge is underway.

Fantasy Challenge: A new leader for Round 2

The 2021-22 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season already started and therefore the [EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/home) is underway. Home-court advantage was definitely a factor in Round 1. Only one team, Zenit St Petersburg, was able to win on the road; it defeated UNICS Kazan in a thriller. AX Armani Exchange Milan bested CSKA Moscow, which lost Nikola Milutimov due to injury. Real Madrid topped defending champion Anadolu Efes Istanbul behind outstanding defense. AS Monaco, led by Mike James and Danilo Andjusic, had a pleasant EuroLeague debut, topping Panathinaikos OPAP Athens. FC Barcelona, Olympiacos Piraeus, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul also successfully defended their respective home courts in Round 1.

As for my team, Gancedato had a fairly average start in the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge. My starting five was pretty good, but my bench players, other than Youssoupha Fall of ASVEL, struggled a little bit. This is why I have decided to make my bench stronger by adding some players who did well in Round 1 - and who should keep their personal momentum going. I am also taking into account some of the injuries that took place in the last few days, especially one. ALBA lost Marcus Eriksson for several weeks - get well soon, Marcus! - and I have several ALBA perimeter players that I thought of selling, but won't now since they will see more playing time. Gancedato scored 134.05 points and ranks 4,520th overall in a league of 46,000 teams. Nobody said it was going to be easy.

Three trades are allowed per round plus the coach. I am happy with Zvezdan Mitrovic of Monaco. His team is playing well and returns to Kazan to face UNICS. In its last trip to Basket Hall Kazan, Monaco lifted the EuroCup trophy and that should inspire the Principality powerhouse to play another great game. I am selling Kyle Kuric of Barcelona because he didn't have a great score, even though a great shooter like him can step up anytime. I am also selling Marco Spissu of UNICS because he didn't see as much playing time as I expected and I believe I have better options at guard. And I am selling James because he plays against his former coach, Velimir Perasovic, who should probably have a specific game plan against him.

So I need to add three new players. One of them is Nikola Ivanovic of Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade, who had a sensational performance in his team's loss against Fenerbahce. He is ready to bounce back after a tough game (-3 PIR) in Adriatic League action against his previous team, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica. Ivanovic is not the kind of player who will play badly at home twice in a row. Speaking of Zvezda, Luka Mitrovic had a fantastic game against Buducnost and I am buying him at forward. Of course, I am getting Shane Larkin of Efes because his team plays at home against CSKA Moscow and comes off a loss. I expect Larkin to have a sensational game.

So Gancedato looks like this, after some minor changes, before Round 2:

**Shane Larkin, Anadolu Efes Istanbul -** He had the highest PIR in Round 1, 35, despite his team's loss. I believe Larkin should have yet another outstanding game against mighty CSKA.

**Nikola Ivanovic, Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade -** Yes, I am moving Ivanovic to the starting lineup. He played really well in Round 1 and Maccabi plays at a rhythm that suits him well.

**Ioannis Papapetrou, Panathinaikos OPAP Athens -** So far, I have blind confidence in his all-around skills. He is a good rebounder who doesn't make many mistakes. Perfect for this game.

**Sasha Vezenkov, Olympiacos Piraeus -** Vezenkov did what I expected and more, leading Olympiacos to its first win. A bigger opponent like Real Madrid presents a bigger challenge for him.

**Devin Booker, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul -** Without putting up big numbers, Booker tied for the fifth-best center in the game in Round 1. On a good night, his PIR should be much higher.

**Maodo Lo, ALBA Berlin -** Lo is now my sixth man. Without Eriksson, he should have even more opportunities to score. Lo has a bigger role this season and this is key in Fantasy.

**Luka Mitrovic, Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade -** Maik Zirbes is out due to COVID-19, so Mitrovic should see extended playing time. He comes off a strong performance (21 PIR) in the Adriatic League.

**Ognjen Jaramaz, FC Bayern Munich -** Honestly, I was thinking of releasing him, but he had a huge game in the German Cup (26 points on 6-of-6 triples) so I am keeping him one more week.

**Youssoupha Fall, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne -** Fall narrowly missed a double-double in Round 1, getting 12 points and 9 rebounds against Zalgiris Kaunas. ALBA has frontcourt injuries, too.

**Yovel Zoosman, ALBA Berlin -** Again, Eriksson is out, so someone has to play more minutes from now on. I trust that Zoosman should use the extended playing time to prove his great value.

That is all I have before Round 2. Good luck, Fantasy Challenge managers, and enjoy a new round of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games!



Donatas Motiejunas is back in the EuroLeague after nearly a decade abroad and he is healthier and stronger than ever before.

Donatas Motiejunas, Monaco: 'I chose the right team'

In the 2011-12 season, Donatas Motiejunas firmly established himself as one of Europe’s brightest young talents.

Over the course of 10 EuroLeague games with Polish club Asseco Prokom Gdynia, the then 20-year-old averaged an eye-catching 12.9 points and 7.9 rebounds. Notably, that was highlighted by the remarkable achievement of 21 rebounds – including a still-competition record of 18 defensive boards – during a home win over Union Olimpija Ljubljana.

At the end of that season, Motiejunas took the step of heading to the United States, where he made more than 250 appearances in the NBA before moving again to taste life in another new continent with spells at three clubs in China.

Now he is back in his native Europe, making his first EuroLeague appearance in nearly 10 years last week as he debuted with AS Monaco by providing a solid 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 blocked shot in the Round 1 victory over Panathinaikos OPAP Athens. And Motiejunas feels grateful to the team from the principality for giving him the chance to return home.

"I think I made the right decision, chose the right team and I’m really happy that Monaco came for me."

"Monaco showed a very big interest in me," he said. "They really wanted me and wanted to do the deal as fast as possible. I think I made the right decision, chose the right team and I’m really happy that Monaco came for me."

Motiejunas experienced ups and downs during his time away, suffering from back problems which significantly limited both his playing time and effectiveness over an extended period of his time in the United States. Those injury issues were eventually a key factor in his decision to move to China.

"After the injury, my confidence was really low. I felt no team would give me time to adjust, time to play, time to get my rhythm back," he explained. "In the NBA they don’t care; you’re just another person to the wheel. You get injured, no one cares. So going to China was a perfect situation where I got a lot of repetitions, a lot of time, a lot of games where I could really use the knowledge that I learned in the NBA and try to develop it on the court."

Even more significantly, the Lithuanian big man made a connection with fitness coach Virginijus Mikalauskas and made the decision to invest in his longer-term future by personally hiring his compatriot in the hope of ensuring his injury problems never resurfaced.

The results have been outstanding, as he attested: "My biggest improvement was the last four years in China since I hired my strength and conditioning coach who really looked after my body and got me as strong as I am without damaging me. His system, his understanding of basketball, of the human body…it’s phenomenal, and by hiring this person I feel like I took three or four steps forward with my body. We spend three or four months every year during the summer preparing for the season; that’s why in China I missed just a couple of games with really small injuries. My body is holding up like never before. I feel great. I really trust this person and in any job, trust is the most important thing. If you give all the power to a person who knows his job, he’s going to do it in the right way.

"He’s pretty well known in Lithuanian basketball. He’s been working with the national teams and was with the team that won the junior world championship. He has a lot of achievements, he’s been at different levels, coached different teams and working with this type of person I just come to practice and I know that I need to bring the work. I don’t need to be worried about what I’m going to do, what’s going to happen, I just know that I have to give 100% and all the strength and conditioning is set for me."

Having spent the last decade watching from afar – and keeping an especially close eye on his hometown team Zalgiris Kaunas – Motiejunas has been impressed by what he has seen in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. The competition is now very different from when Motiejunas last appeared, with the adoption of a true league format providing top-quality basketball every week. He believes those changes are for the better, and also points to off-the-court developments as major positives.

"The past nine years that I’ve watched the EuroLeague was a real improvement year by year"

"The game style I don’t think will ever change because we play differently to the NBA; we have more strategic games, it’s more a team basketball structure than individual play. But generally, EuroLeague has taken bigger steps towards the format of the NBA," he said. "The past nine years that I’ve watched the EuroLeague was a real improvement year by year, talking about more sponsorships, making it an independent league and going away from FIBA which I think for EuroLeague was a really good decision.

"They created their own thing and already had that reputation for years with that league, the strongest teams, best organizations. The development of a players’ association was also a big step for defending player rights, not just trusting arbitration, but now you have some other place you can call as a player and if there’s a problem, they can always help you. There are a lot of changes that made European basketball better."

European basketball is better, and Motiejunas believes he is also better. For sure, on the evidence of last week’s start to the season, he and AS Monaco are ready to make a major impact upon the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.