Anadolu Efes Istanbul assumed full control of its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs duel by routing visiting Real Madrid 91-68 on Thursday at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall to take a 2-0 lead in their their-best-of-five series.

Efes roars in taking 2-0 series lead

Anadolu Efes Istanbul assumed full control of its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs duel by routing visiting Real Madrid 91-68 on Thursday at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall to take a 2-0 lead in their their-best-of-five series. Efes outscored Real in all four quarters, getting at least 21 in each quarter and twice holding the visitors to 13. Vasilije Micic scored 23 points on near-perfect shooting to lead the Efes attack, Shane Larkin added 21 points and 5 assists and Rodrigue Beaubois contributed 11 points and 6 assists. Real, which was without star center Walter Tavares, was led by Trey Thompkins's 17 points. Rudy Fernandez added 11 points and Nicolas Laprovittola delivered 10 assists in defeat.



Thompkins opened the scoring with a jumper before Larkin broke the ice for Efes with a free throw. Thompkins remained hot with a triple and a baseline jumper, but Efes matched him shot for shot with the score at 7-7. Efes started to pull away with a Krunoslav Simon jumper and a Larkin layup. Back-to-back threes by Micic and Larkin capped a 10-1 run that made it 20-10. Fernandez gave the visitors a lift off the bench, but a jumper by Simon made it 22-13 after 10 minutes. Real's offense found a spark as Alex Tyus and Usman Garuba fed each other for dunks, however, Efes continued to cruise and a jumper by Beaubois made it 31-19 before Real called timeout. The teams kept trading points with the margin remaining in the 10-point range. Beaubois's jumper beat the halftime buzzer to give his team a 44-32 lead at the break.



Catch up on Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Real Madrid extended highlights from Quarter-finals of the 2020/21 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, April 22, 2021

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Real Madrid Extended Highlights - Quarter-finals - April 22, 2021

Efes extended the lead through baskets by Larkin and Beaubois. A basket-plus-foul by the former made it 50-33. Felipe Reyes banked in a shot for Real's first basket of the half – nearly 4 minutes into the third quarter. Back-to-back threes by Micic and Sertac Sanli pushed the margin into the 20s. Reyes and Fernandez provided Real resistance, but free throws by Larkin ended the third quarter with the hosts leading 65-45. Tristan Vukcevic dunked for his first EuroLeague points, but Efes kept scoring and Micic pushed the hosts ahead 71-47 with a finger roll. The lead peaked at 87-60 on a deep three by Micic in the closing minutes as Efes claimed another convincing win to improve to 2-0 in the series.



# Changes in the starting 5s
Only Nicolas Laprovittola and Jeffery Taylor have started both of the first two games of the series for Real Madrid. Alex Tyus, who did not play at all in Game 1, was joined by Trey Thompkins and Usman Garuba as the newcomers to the Real lineup. They replaced Alberto Abaldes, rookie Tristan Vukcevic and the injured Walter Tavares. Efes's only change in the lineup was opening with Shane Larkin in place of Rodrigue Beaubois.

# Pivotal player
Vasilije Micic led the Efes attack with 23 points on near-perfect shooting. He made 4 of 5 two-pointers and was perfect in 5 tries from behind the arc. He added 4 rebounds and 3 assists in compiling a performance index rating of 26. Micic bounced back after going for just 7 points on 1-of-9 shooting in Game 1.

# Telling numbers
Efes took fewer three-pointers than Real and made three times as many shots from downtown! Efes connected on 12 of 20 threes (60%) while Real struggled and connected on only 4 of 25 (16%).

# Oldest to score
Real veteran Felipe Reyes netted a season-high 6 points in becoming the oldest player to score in a EuroLeague game. Reyes, the competition's all-time leading offensive rebounder, was 41 years, 1 month and 6 days old on the night of this game.

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Vasilije Micic scored 23 points on near-perfect shooting to lead the Efes attack and Shane Larkin added 21 points and 5 assists.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Real Madrid (2021-04-22T17:00:00.000Z)

CSKA Moscow trailed by 2 points entering the fourth quarter, but then assumed total control with fervent defense to mow down Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 92-76 in the opener of their best-of-five Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs series on Wednesday at Megasport Arena in the Russian capital. 

CSKA pulled away late to beat Fenerbahce

CSKA Moscow trailed by 2 points entering the fourth quarter, but then assumed total control with fervent defense to mow down Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 92-76 in the opener of their best-of-five Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs series on Wednesday at Megasport Arena in the Russian capital. The hosts allowed just 10 points in the fourth quarter, during which they shot 6 for 11 from behind the arc to pull away. Will Clyburn scored 20 points and dished 5 assists and Daniel Hackett also had 20 points for the winners. Johannes Voigtmann tallied 12 points and 10 rebounds for CSKA. Nando De Colo paced Fenerbahce with 27 points against his former team, but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Lorenzo Brown added 12 points and Kyle O'Quinn and Marko Guduric netted 11 each in defeat.



Michael Eric scored half of CSKA's points as the hosts jumped out to an 8-2 lead. De Colo helped trim the deficit and O'Quinn's jumper gave Fenerbahce its first lead. A reverse layup by De Colo capped a 0-9 run to make it 8-11. CSKA moved in front on a Semen Antonov triple, but Fenerbahce turned to De Colo again and he had 2 steals and 4 points in a 0-8 surge to make it 15-21. Iffe Lundberg came alive for CSKA and Janis Strelnieks added a three-pointer as the hosts finished the first quarter on a 13-2 tear to lead 28-23. Clyburn heated up with 6 points in the first 2 minutes of the second quarter before Voigtmann banked in a triple for a double-digit lead. Strenieks's second three made it 40-27. Tarik Biberovic scored 5 quick points to keep Fenerbahce in the picture. De Colo scored on the break and from the line before Biberovic brought the visitors within 45-42. Hackett got going with a three and free throws before Ivan Ukhov ended the half with a triple for a 53-44 CSKA advantage.



Catch up on CSKA Moscow v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul highlights from Quarter-finals of the 2020/21 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, April 21, 2021

CSKA Moscow v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul Highlights - Quarter-finals - April 21, 2021

O'Quinn came out strong for the second half with a pair of long jumpers. De Colo and Guduric sandwiched threes around a Hackett triple. Brown's steal and fastbreak slam made it 58-56. Brown completed the comeback with a reverse layup that tied the game at 64-64 with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. De Colo made a jumper in the lane to give Fenerbahce its first lead since the first quarter, 64-66. Antonov opened the fourth quarter with a three that gave CKSA the lead. O'Quinn briefly had Fenerbahce back in front, but a three by Ukhov stretched the difference to 72-68. After back-to-back threes by Antonov and Hackett, CSKA had Fenerbahce on the ropes at 78-70 with less than 6 minutes to go. A timeout by Fenerbahce changed little as Hackett made a three, collected a steal and fed Clyburn for a basket-plus-foul that capped a 12-0 run for an 84-70 cushion. A three by Brown was matched by Voigtmann as CSKA cruised to victory. A layup by Toko Shengelia gave CSKA its biggest lead, 92-73, with 1 minute remaining to wrap up the win.



# Decisive run
Kyle O'Quinn scored twice on the offensive glass early in the fourth quarter. The first basket gave Fenerbahce a 1-point lead and – after CSKA regained the lead – the second closed the gap to 72-70. Semen Antonov hit a three-pointer on the next possession, Will Clyburn blocked a Lorenzo Brown shot from behind and Daniel Hackett connected from deep to trigger a 12-0 run that put the game on ice.

# Telling numbers
CSKA outshot Fenerbahce, controlled the rebounds and blocked 7 shots. CSKA made 60.6% of its two-pointers, 46.7% of its threes and 83.3% of its free throws while holding Fenerbahce to 52.6% on twos, 41.2% on threes and 78.9% on free throws. CSKA's 32 rebounds were 11 more than the visitors and it had 13 second-chance points and allowed just 5.

# De Colo adds to legacy
Nando De Colo moved past Paulius Jankunas of Zalgiris Kaunas into second place for career performance index rating points. His 27 gave De Colo 3,999. Vassilis Spanoulis of Olympiacos Piraeus is the all-time leader with 4,183. De Colo's 27 points also eclipsed the Fenerbahce playoff record for scoring. That record was shared by Bogdan Bogdanovic and Ali Muhammed.

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CSKA pulls away late to beat Fenerbahce

CSKA Moscow v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2021-04-21T17:00:00.000Z)

In its first-ever Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs showdown, Zenit St Petersburg left no doubt about its power and sent a message that echoed all around the continent by downing FC Barcelona 74-76 at Palau Blaugrana in Game 1 of their best-of-five series on Wednesday. 

Zenit upsets Barcelona in Game 1

In its first-ever Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs showdown, Zenit St Petersburg left no doubt about its power and sent a message that echoed all around the continent by downing FC Barcelona 74-76 at Palau Blaugrana in Game 1 of their best-of-five series on Wednesday. Barcelona hosts Game 2 on Friday. Kevin Pangos led the winners with 19 points and 9 assists, Will Thomas added 12 points and K.C. Rivers scored 11 for Zenit, which was without injured swingman Mateusz Ponitka. Brandon Davies led Barcelona with 18 points, Cory Higgins scored 15, Kyle Kuric 12 and Nikola Mirotic 10. Billy Baron and an outstanding Pangos helped Zenit get a 34-48 margin at the break. Davies put Barcelona ahead, 72-71, but Rivers hit a big three-pointer and Pangos added a left-handed floater to make sure Zenit got the victory, becoming the first eighth-seeded team to win Game 1 of a EuroLeague Playoffs series.



Nick Calathes got Barcelona going with a driving layup and Mirotic struck from downtown but Pangos and Arturas Gudaitis soon gave Zenit its first lead, 5-7. Higgins and Austin Hollins traded close baskets and Gudaitis scored in the paint for a 7-11 Zenit edge. Higgins hit a jumper and Pau Gasol added a triple but Thomas kept the guests ahead, 12-15. Pangos insisted from beyond the arc but Davies and Alex Abrines fueled a 9-0 run that put the hosts in charge, 21-18. Gudaitis and Khvostov tied the game, 21-21, after 10 minutes. Alex Poythress scored twice down low early in the second quarter, making Barcelona call timeout at 21-25. Kuric stepped up with a three-point play but Andrey Zubkov sank a jumper and Hollins struck from beyond the arc for a 24-30 score. Pangos took over with a three-point play, found Baron for back-to-back triples and hit his own shot from downtown to boost Zenit's margin to 28-42. Thomas followed a layup with a turnaround jumper and Zubkov added a floater but Higgins and Davies kept the hosts within 34-48 at halftime.



Catch up on FC Barcelona v Zenit St Petersburg highlights from Quarter-finals of the 2020/21 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, April 21, 2021

FC Barcelona v Zenit St Petersburg Highlights - Quarter-finals - April 21, 2021

Higgins sank a step-back jumper soon after the break and Calathes gave Barcelona hope at 38-48. Rivers answered with a layup-plus-foul but Davies followed a jump hook with a put-back basket and Calathes added a floater for a 44-53 Barcelona deficit. Victor Claver ignited his team's bench with a three-point play and Mirotic's backdoor layup made it a four-point game, 49-53. Calathes downed another floater but Tarik Black gave Zenit fresh air at 51-56. Rivers followed a triple with a wild jumper but Mirotic kept the hosts within 54-61 after 30 minutes. Kuric buried a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter, matched Thomas's step-back jumper with a floater and added a backdoor layup for a 61-63 Barcelona deficit. Hollins answered from beyond the arc, Adam Hanga and Zubkov exchanged baskets and Davies made it 66-68 with 3 minutes left. Higgins banked in a running shot in transition, but Pangos did better with a triple. Davies answered from downtown and split free throws to complete Barcelona's comeback, 72-71, with 1:09 to go. After Rivers buried a huge three-pointer, Davies tied it with a put-back slam. Pangos answered with a floater for a 74-76 Zenit lead with 10.7 seconds remaining. Higgins missed and Barcelona fouled Black, who missed both attempts with 1.8 seconds to go. Barcelona could not get a shot up on time, allowing Zenit to celebrate a historic win.



# Pivotal performer
Kevin Pangos dominated the game tempo and hit the go-ahead shot, a left-handed floater in the lane that eventually fixed the final score. He finished the game with 19 points on 3-of-3 two-pointers and 4-of-6 three-pointers, plus 3 rebounds, 9 assists and 7 fouls drawn for a PIR of 33. No other Zenit player had a PIR higher than 11.

# Game-changing moment
Barcelona completed its comeback, 72-71, in the next-to-last minute. Zenit used a long possession that K.C. Rivers capped with a wild three-pointer. Brandon Davies dunked at the other end but Kevin Pangos answered with a floater, putting Zenit ahead for good, 74-76, with 10.7 seconds left. A defensive stop allowed the guests to seal the outcome.

# Stellar stat
Barcelona only had 11 turnovers, but Zenit collected 8 steals. Almost every time the hosts turned the ball over, it ended up in Zenit's hands. On the other hand, Zenit had 10 turnovers but Barcelona only collected 1 steal.

# Did you know?
Since the playoffs format returned to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague in 2005, this was Barcelona's second home loss in Game 1. Its previous home loss in Game 1 of the playoffs came against Tau Ceramica (currently TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz) in 2009, 75-84. Barcelona, however, made it to the Final Four that season, downing Baskonia 3-2 in the playoffs.

Pangos-2-006433.jpg

FC Barcelona v Zenit St Petersburg (2021-04-21T19:00:00.000Z)

Zenit St Petersburg announced on Tuesday evening, the day before its first ever Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs appearance, that it has signed Coach Xavi Pascual to a three-year extension. Pascual, 48, joined Zenit in February 2020, replacing Joan Plaza, and has led the club to the playoffs, after finishing the regular season with a 20-14 record. Pascual also guided Zenit to a first-place fisnih in the VTB United League regular season for the first time with a 20-4 record.

Before joining Zent, Pascual coached Panathinaikos Athens where he led the Greens to Greek League titles in 2017 and 2018. He also lifted the Greek Cup trophy in 2017 and took Panathinaikos to the EuroLeague Playoffs in 2017 and 2018. Before that, Pascual spent over a decade with FC Barcelona during which he coached its second team, became the team's assistant coach and was promoted to head coach in 2008. He led Barcelona to five Final Four appearances from 2009 to 2014 and captured the Turkish trophy in 2010. By doing so, he became the first Spanish coach in 30 years to win the EuroLeague and was named the 2009-10 Alexander Gomelskiy Coach of the Year. Pascual also helped Barcelona to four Spanish League and three Spanish Copa del Rey titles. He also coached Gava, Santfeliuenc, Olesa and Aracena in Spain. Pascual has a 72.3% winning record in the EuroLeague, leading Barcelona, Panathinaikos and Zenit to 227 wins in 314 games.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ru" dir="ltr">👣 Кто-то сомневался? <a href="https://t.co/6FkhPSkzhJ">pic.twitter.com/6FkhPSkzhJ</a></p>&mdash; Basketball club Zenit (@zenitbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/zenitbasket/status/1384563614829400066?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Zenit extends Coach Pascual for 3 more years

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The Crossover with Joe Arlauckas returns with the second part of a special podcast with three well-respected general managers from Turkish Airlines EuroLeague clubs who share their experiences and behind-the-scenes insights. Maurizio Gherardini of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, Christos Stavropoulos of AX Armani Exchange Milan and Paulius Motiejunas of Zalgiris Kaunas chatted with Arlauckas in this two-part panel discussion that touches on a wide range of topics. Part 1 was released on April 14.

The friendships and common ground that the three GMs share was clear during the episode, in which they discussed hiring coaches and signing players as well as dealing with the other end, firing or replacing them. coaching and releasing players.

Motiejunas spoke about the coaching situation at Zalgiris the past few seasons with Sarunas Jasikevicius growing in stature and the growing fear that he may not be able to keep him, which eventually proved to be the case last summer. He needed some encouragement in his coaching search and found guidance from his mentor, Gherardini.

[1:17:25] "To replace a guy like Saras, it's impossible. We want to have a Lithuanian mentality and I started with Lithuanian coaches. Of course, not a lot were available. But then I spoke to Maurizio as well. I'm like, what can I do to replace a guy like that? Someone to fill his shoes, it's impossible," Motiejunas said. "And I still remember to this day. He's like, 'Think outside the box.' Such a simple thing helped have the balls to take a risk and go talk to the coaches who are not well known in Europe."

One part of the general manager job that many fans envy is the ability to sign players and build teams. However, the flip side of that is releasing players and when it comes to club legends, that situation becomes more complicated. Stavropoulos explained why that situation is even more difficult after this season.

[1:27:35] "I think the most important thing is to respect the player. It's very helpful to have a solid relationship with him and if the separation is coming, to come naturally," Stavropoulos said. "I think that right now it's difficult because we played without fans, with empty stands. For the players right now, without cheering from the fans, it's so tough for the players."

Naturally, no basketball podcast this season would be complete without bringing up COVID-19. All three agreed on the wide impact it has had not only on the sport, but also the people who make it happen: the players, coaches, fans and everyone else. Because of that, they are all quite pleased with the fact that we are now on the doorstep of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs after a successful regular season.

[1:37:30] "I think we need to be proud collectively of what we achieved. I think we achieved it also because clubs worked together to make things easier for everybody, traveling, connecting, playing games," said Gherardini. "I think EuroLeague and the clubs made the right adjustments. And I think as a league, we must be proud that we completed the regular season. When we started, we were all hoping we would get to this point… We kept our basketball product alive. And we kept it alive also for people to enjoy from home, which was not that easy to predict when we made those adjustments and started the league in October."

With a one-hour format of exclusive one-on-one interviews, The Crossover with Joe Arlauckas goes well beyond the playing court with each podcast to delve into the life experiences that have made his guests protagonists and legends of the EuroLeague. The Crossover debuted in 2018 and has featured such current stars as Toko Shengelia, Shane Larkin and Kyle Hines, coaching greats such as Ettore Messina, Pablo Laso and Zeljko Obradovic, and legends like Theo Papaloukas, Nikola Vujcic and Mike Batiste, among others. The first guests in Season 3 were FC Bayern Munich Coach Andrea Trinchieri, Zalgiris Kaunas star Marius Grigonis, Kostas Papanikolaou of Olympiacos Piraeus and CSKA Moscow assistant coach Darryl Middleton, Kevin Pangos of Zenit St Petersburg and Norris Cole of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.

The Crossover with Joe Arlauckas is available on Youtube, [iTunes](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-crossover-with-joe-arlauckas/id1440034922), [Audioboom](https://audioboom.com/channel/the-crossover-with-joe-arlauckas), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/6T1SYvGSpzyrYZpG9z2wjR), [Deezer](https://www.deezer.com/fr/show/65962), [RadioPublic](https://radiopublic.com/the-crossover-with-joe-arlauckas-6NkdjJ), [Google Podcasts](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdWRpb2Jvb20uY29tL2NoYW5uZWxzLzQ4ODM3OTkucnNz?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwiYzr_b78XtAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ), [TuneIn](https://tunein.com/podcasts/Sports--Recreation-Podcasts/The-Crossover-with-Joe-Arlauckas-p1174586/), [Stitcher](https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-crossover-with-joe-arlauckas), [CastBox](https://castbox.fm/channel/The-Crossover-with-Joe-Arlauckas-id1467328?country=gb), [iVoox](https://www.ivoox.com/podcast-the-crossover-with-joe-arlauckas_sq_f1629856_1.html) and other platforms.

Joe Arlauckas talks personnel decisions with Fenerbahce, Milan and Zalgiris bosses

The Crossover with GMs – Part 2 is live!

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Anadolu Efes Istanbul dominated the second half en route to a 90-63 rout of Real Madrid in Game 1 of their best-of-five Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs series on Tuesday night at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall. 

Efes dominates second half to beat Real

Anadolu Efes Istanbul dominated the second half en route to a 90-63 rout of Real Madrid in Game 1 of their best-of-five Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs series on Tuesday night at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall. The hosts doubled up the visitors 46-23 in the third and fourth quarters to take control of a game that had been even, 39-39, late in the second quarter. Rodrigue Beaubois paced the Efes attack with 19 points and Sertac Sanli shined with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. Shane Larkin contributed 14 points and 5 assists, Bryant Dunston added 11 points and Krunoslav Simon paired 10 points with 6 assists. Trey Thompkins led Real with 13 points and Walter Tavares posted 10 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.



Real Madrid won the opening tip and Nicolas Laprovittola went right inside to Tavares. Back-to-back threes by Laprovittola and Alberto Abalde caused the hosts to call an urgent timeout at 0-8. Sanli got Efes on the scoreboard with free throws and Larkin came off the bench to strike from downtown. Laprovittola extended the Real lead to 5-11 with a three-point play that also drew an early second foul from Vasilije Micic. Threes by Sertac Sanli and Simon bookended an 8-0 run that gave Efes its first lead, 15-14. The lead switched hands a few more times before the quarter finished at 20-18. Beaubois opened the second quarter with a triple and his layup soon made it 27-20. Back-to-back threes by Fabien Causeur and Rudy Fernandez trimmed the gap to 31-30. Micic heated up for Efes with a triple and 2 free throws. Laprovittola drained a three over Larkin to knot the game at 39-39. A three-pointer by Beaubois gave the hosts a 44-40 edge at the break.



Catch up on Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Real Madrid highlights from Quarter-finals of the 2020/21 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, April 20, 2021

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Real Madrid Highlights - Quarter-finals - April 20, 2021

Back-to-back threes by Simon and Sanli gave Efes the game's first double-digit lead early in the second half. Sanli contributed a three-point play on one end and a block on the other as Efes extended the lead to 53-42. Real missed 12 of its first 13 shots in the second half – including all 8 from behind the arc. In the meantime, Sanli remained hot for Efes in stretching the lead to 58-43. Real called timeout down 17 to try to reboot. A jumper by Thompkins and three by Sergio Llull gave Real hope before Dunston's put-back made it 64-50 at the end of the third quarter. Moerman heated up early in the fourth quarter and Beaubois's tip-in extended the margin into the 20s. The lead peaked at 85-58 on a James Anderson three with 4 minutes remaining and Efes coasted the rest of the way.



# By the numbers
Efes outrebounded Real 45-34, outscored the visitors from every range (51.4% 2FG, 38.9% 3FG, 92.3% FT% to 37.9 2FG, 30.3% 3FG, 68.8%) and committed only 9 turnovers to Real's 13.

# Second-half blues
Real Madrid's second-half point tally of 23 was the worst ever for the club in a playoff game and 1 off the club record-low in any playoff game. FC Barcelona held Real to 25 second-half points in a 68-61 victory in the opening game of their 2010 playoff series. Barcelona went on to with the title that season.

# Did you notice?
Tristan Vukcevic started for Real in what was his EuroLeague debut and contributed a lot of energy in the 6:31 he played in the first quarter. He finished the game with 2 rebounds and 1 block in 12:15 minutes. Since the EuroLeague adopted the current playoff structure in 2005, Vukcevic is the first player to make his EuroLeague debut in a playoff game.

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The hosts doubled up the visitors 46-23 in the third and fourth quarters. Rodrigue Beaubois paced the Efes attack with 19 points and Sertac Sanli shined with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul v Real Madrid (2021-04-20T17:00:00.000Z)

In scenes of incredible drama, AX Armani Exchange Milan launched the second-biggest comeback in the history of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs, defeating FC Bayern Munich 79-78 with a buzzer-beating game-winner from Zach LeDay.

LeDay caps comeback as Milan stuns Bayern

In scenes of incredible drama, AX Armani Exchange Milan launched the second-biggest comeback in the history of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs, defeating FC Bayern Munich 79-78 with a buzzer-beating game-winner from Zach LeDay. Playing in its first-ever playoff game, Bayern surged ahead with a 2-17 run early in the second quarter and led by 19 shortly before halftime. Milan rallied strongly after the break, eventually tying the game at 74-74 in the last minute. James Gist appeared to have given Bayern the win from the foul line with 1.2 seconds remaining, but Malcolm Delaney and LeDay teamed up for an alley-oop layup to take the win with the final play. LeDay led Milan with 17 points and 7 rebounds, while Sergio Rodriguez was also instrumental in the comeback with all his 13 points coming in the last 11 minutes. Kevin Punter scored 11 points and Delaney added 10 for Milan. DJ Seeley starred for Bayern with 23 points, while Wade Baldwin IV and JaJuan Johnson both scored 10.

Delaney opened the scoring with a trio of free throws, answered by Nick Weiler-Babb from deep and Baldwin with a transition layup and one for a 3-6 lead. Vladimir Micov hit a triple to bring Milan level, before a low-scoring phase of play as both teams struggled for offensive rhythm. Jalen Reynolds and Jeremy Evans traded inside blows, before a hook from Shavon Shields was bettered by a triple from Paul Zipser for a 12-13 lead. Zan Sisko’s floater was followed by Johnson’s buzzer-beating long two, making it 16-18 after 10 minutes. Reynolds threw down a big dunk and Seeley hit a pair of triples early in the second quarter, stretching the lead to 16-26. Punter and Johnson exchanged long twos, before Johnson’s tip-in and Seeley’s mid-range strike made it 18-32. Punter’s jumper-and-one revived the hosts, but Sisko landed another floater and Johnson struck twice more to keep Bayern moving, 21-40. After Shields drove to score in penetration, Seeley answered with a triple-and-one, making it 27-44 at the break.



Catch up on AX Armani Exchange Milan v Bayern Munich highlights from Quarter-finals of the 2020/21 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, April 20, 2021

AX Armani Exchange Milan v Bayern Munich Highlights - Quarter-finals - April 20, 2021

Punter opened the second half scoring from mid-range and Delaney’s three-point play pulled it back to 34-45. Johnson’s dunk settled Bayern, but Micov hit a triple and Kyle Hines scored inside to make it 39-47 after a 12-3 run. Sisko hit back with a three, which Delaney answered from deep. Punter’s driving score kept Milan hoping, but Seeley struck his fourth triple and Gist added a layup to give Bayern a 44-58 edge. Seeley scored 4 more points to keep Bayern fairly comfortable, 53-64, at the end of the third quarter. Rodriguez hit a step-back triple to start the fourth, but Vladimir Lucic answered with his first basket. Five fast points from Rodriguez and free throws from Luigi Datome made it 63-67. A huge dunk from LeDay made it a one-possession game, but Gist’s layup-and-one revived Bayern. Shields made a mid-range jumper, but Seeley responded from deep, sending Bayern ahead 67-73 with 4 minutes left. LeDay hit back with his own three-point play and Hines scored inside to make it 72-74 with 2 minutes remaining. LeDay netted under the basket for a 74-74 tie and Gist missed two free throws before Rodriguez hit a triple for a 77-74 lead. Free throws from Baldwin and Gist sent Bayern back in front, but LeDay had the final word of an incredible game.



# Milan mounts second-biggest comeback…
Milan’s comeback from 19 points down was the second-biggest in playoff history. The only bigger comeback was Partizan Belgrade overturning a 21-point margin against Maccabi Tel Aviv in March 2010.

# …as Bayern loses second-biggest lead
In contrast, the outcome also saw Bayern fall to defeat despite establishing the second-biggest halftime lead on the road in playoff history. The team’s 27-44 interval edge is only behind Olympiacos Piraeus's 32-50 halftime advantage at Asseco Prokom in April 2010.

# Hosts leave it late – very late
Bayern led from the last minute of the first quarter until the last minute of the game, when Sergio Rodriguez’s three-pointer sent Milan ahead, 77-74. Overall, Milan was only in front for 2 minutes 25 seconds of the whole game.

# Injury blow for Bayern
Another setback for Bayern was an injury blow for Nick Weiler-Babb, who landed badly on his right ankle midway through the second quarter and did not return.

Zach LeDay's tip-in on the buzzer lifted AX Armani Exchange Milan over FC Bayern Munich 79-78 to complete the second-biggest comeback in the history of the EuroLeague Playoffs.

AX Armani Exchange Milan v FC Bayern Munich (2021-04-20T18:45:00.000Z)

The Crossover has a different feel this time with host Joe Arlauckas welcoming a trio of well-respected general managers from Turkish Airlines EuroLeague clubs to tell of their experiences and behind-the-scenes insights. Maurizio Gherardini of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, Christos Stavropoulos of AX Armani Exchange Milan and Paulius Motiejunas of Zalgiris Kaunas share the microphone with Arlauckas in this two-part panel discussion that touches on a wide range of topics.

Naturally, one of the first topics to be broached was how they became basketball executives. While each took different paths to where they sit today, all came about their love of basketball as players in their youth.

[08:35] "I still believe I can be a player," Motiejunas joked, before explaining what really happened when he first started working for Zalgiris. "I was always thinking I'll finish school and then I can still turn pro or play semi-pro. When I started to work for the club, I remember to this day. I saw the first practice and I did not understand how the guys had so much strength, how fast they were. And it just hit me then and I'm like, 'Dude, you're not going to [play at] that level!"

A general manager's job encompasses many areas. Of course, most of the focus is on how well the team is playing. That said, there is a seemingly endless list of other responsibilities on a GM's desk at any time that can include player development, youth teams, business interests, logistics and many more items. However, as Stavropoulos explained, no two GMs have exactly the same job description.

[16:45] "I think it's probably different from club to club, depending on the internal structure of the organization," Stavropoulos said. "In our organization, Mr. Armani and the president, Mr. Dell'Orco, give us the freedom to decide. But even in the same country, every club has different needs. So the description of the GM role is different, it changes a lot from club to club."

The general manager with the most experience among the three is Gherardini, who harkened back to the start of his career to make a point about how GMs must work to help their players.

[35:10] "One of the most rewarding feelings I have today is when I talk to millennials or to young students and I try to tell them how my life as a GM was back then when [Joe was] playing. When I started, let's say, working for my basketball club, think about this: There was no computer, no cellphones," Gherardini said.

But as different as it was then, some things remain the same, he concluded: "The adjustment is needed anywhere, any time. It was needed 40 years ago, it is needed today."

In the second part of the discussion, coming soon, the GMs pick up on additional themes of their work like thinking out of the box, moving on when legendary coaches leave your team, dealing with star players nearing the ends of their careers, what they learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and the passion found in the EuroLeague.

With a one-hour format of exclusive one-on-one interviews, The Crossover with Joe Arlauckas goes well beyond the playing court with each podcast to delve into the life experiences that have made his guests protagonists and legends of the EuroLeague. The Crossover debuted in 2018 and has featured such current stars as Toko Shengelia, Shane Larkin and Kyle Hines, coaching greats such as Ettore Messina, Pablo Laso and Zeljko Obradovic, and legends like Theo Papaloukas, Nikola Vujcic and Mike Batiste, among others. The first guests in Season 3 were FC Bayern Munich Coach Andrea Trinchieri, Zalgiris Kaunas star Marius Grigonis, Kostas Papanikolaou of Olympiacos Piraeus and CSKA Moscow assistant coach Darryl Middleton, Kevin Pangos of Zenit St Petersburg and Norris Cole of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.

The Crossover with Joe Arlauckas is available on Youtube, [iTunes](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-crossover-with-joe-arlauckas/id1440034922), [Audioboom](https://audioboom.com/channel/the-crossover-with-joe-arlauckas), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/6T1SYvGSpzyrYZpG9z2wjR), [Deezer](https://www.deezer.com/fr/show/65962), [RadioPublic](https://radiopublic.com/the-crossover-with-joe-arlauckas-6NkdjJ), [Google Podcasts](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdWRpb2Jvb20uY29tL2NoYW5uZWxzLzQ4ODM3OTkucnNz?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwiYzr_b78XtAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ), [TuneIn](https://tunein.com/podcasts/Sports--Recreation-Podcasts/The-Crossover-with-Joe-Arlauckas-p1174586/), [Stitcher](https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-crossover-with-joe-arlauckas), [CastBox](https://castbox.fm/channel/The-Crossover-with-Joe-Arlauckas-id1467328?country=gb), [iVoox](https://www.ivoox.com/podcast-the-crossover-with-joe-arlauckas_sq_f1629856_1.html) and other platforms.

Joe Arlauckas talks to the team-builders at Fenerbahce, Milan and Zalgiris

The Crossover hosts a EuroLeague GMs panel discussion

Zenit St Petersburg soared into the playoffs with the highest scoring total of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season in a resounding 112-83 home win against visiting Panathinaikos OPAP Athens on Monday. 

 Pangos, Zenit soar into eighth place!

Zenit St Petersburg soared into the playoffs with the highest scoring total of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season in a resounding 112-83 home win against visiting Panathinaikos OPAP Athens on Monday. Zenit finished the regular season with a 20-14 record to make the playoffs in eighth place, one victory ahead of Valencia Basket, which would have gone to the playoffs in a tiebreaker had Zenit lost. Zenit will face first-place FC Barcelona in the best-of-five playoffs starting April 21. Zenit scored the game's first 11 points, and though Panathinaikos got as close as 49-45 shortly after halftime, the lead was never really challenged and the hosts took off from there for leads as high as 29 points. Kevin Pangos set Zenit's club scoring mark with 33 points, 7-for-14 three-point shooting, and dished 11 assists. Will Thomas didn't miss a shot on his way to 18 points, while Billy Baron scored 12, Arturas Gudaitis and Mateusz Ponitka 11 each. Panathinaikos, which fell to 11-22 and still has one game remaining, got 20 points from Nemanja Nedovic, 16 from Ioannis Papapetrou and 10 from Aaron White.


Pangos sandwiched 2 triples around one by Austin Hollins as Zenit rocketed to an 11-0 start. Papapetrou responded with the next 5 points for Panathinaikos, but Hollins went deep again to make it 14-5. Nedovic and Konstantinos Mitoglou scored for the visitors at 16-9 before Thomas dunked in a miss for Zenit. Mitoglou's put-back, Papapetrou's layup and Georgios Papagiannis's free throw soon had the visitors within 18-14. Pangos answered with another triple before his unsportsmanlike foul turned into a four-point possession that Zach Auguste finished for Panathinaikos. Auguste and Lefteris Bochoridis drew the Greens within 23-22 before Pangos capped the quarter with his fourth triple already for a 26-22 Zenit lead. Baron hit his trademark triple and scored 3 more points the hard way to lift the difference to 32-24 early in the second quarter. Howard Sant Roos hit from deep for Panathinaikos shortly before Papagiannis tipped in a miss to make it 34-31. Thomas hit a triple and Gudaitis a layup out of a Zenit timeout but White and Nedovic matched them at 39-36. Thomas, Gudaitis and Ponitka combined for 5 points in a row before Papapetrou beat the halftime buzzer as Zenit held a 47-40 advantage after 20 minutes.

Catch up on Zenit St Petersburg vs Panathinaikos OPAP Athens from Round 6 of the 2020/21 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, April 12, 2021

Zenit St Petersburg vs Panathinaikos OPAP Athens Highlights - Round 6 - April 12, 2021

Ponitka drove for a layup and Nedovic hit a triple to start the second-half scoring before Mitoglou's tough inside basket made it 49-45. Pangos drilled another three-pointer that both Mitoglou and Thomas matched. Gudaitis tacked on free throws, Pangos dropped a jumper and Thomas scored again for a 61-48 edge. Papapetrou revived the Greens from the arc, but both Pangos and Baron doubled him with 2 triples each as the lead soared to 76-60 after three quarters. Pangos fed Alex Poythress for a dunk on the way to a high lead of 83-63 early in the fourth quarter. Panathinaikos soon scored 6 unanswered points to close within 84-72 with 7 minutes left but Pangos returned with his seventh triple and a layup to make it 94-76 and end all doubt about Zenit's next stop, the playoffs!

### Pivotal performer

Pangos set personal highs and Zenit club records in the EuroLeague with 33 points and a performance index rating of 41. His scoring surpassed the previous mark of 28 by Austin Hollins and his PIR the 32 by Will Thomas, both last season. Pangos also matched the Zenit record with his 7 three-pointers in 12 tries, which he shares now with Hollins and teammate K.C. Rivers. Finally, he dished 11 of his team's 23 assists, personally matching the total for the whole Panathinaikos team.

### Pascual's playoffs touch

By reaching the playoffs with Zenit, head coach Xavi Pascual continues his unbroken streak of qualifying to the post-season in every full season he has coached any EuroLeague team. He did so eight times with FC Barcelona, the team he will face in the playoffs starting next week. He did so with Panathinaikos once, in 2017-18, and now with Zenit, for a total of 10 playoffs appearances in 10 full seasons. He also took over two teams in mid-season, Barcelona in 2007-08 and Panathinaikos in the 2016-17 season, and pushed them to the playoffs. That makes Pascual 12 for 12 in playing the postseason when he has finished the EuroLeague Regular Season with his teams.

### Zenit to face Barcelona in playoffs

Zenit's 20-14 final regular season record is the same as both Real Madrid and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. Since Real was 4-0 in games between them, Fenerbahce 2-2 and Zenit 0-4, they occupy the sixth, seventh and eighth places, respectively. That sends Zenit forward to face first-place Barcelona in the playoffs. A native of Barcelona, Zenit head coach Pascual coached his hometown team for nine-plus seasons from early 2008 until 2016, highlighted by winning the EuroLeague title in 2011. Zenit star point guard Kevin Pangos spent the last two seasons with Barcelona, although he did not appear at all in the last one due to injury.

### Baron's record shooting

After hitting 3 shots from downtown on Monday, Zenit marksman Billy Baron has now made three-pointers in 24 consecutive games, tying the all-time in-season EuroLeague record held by four other players: Trajan Langdon of CSKA Moscow (2005-06), Justin Dentmon of Zalgiris Kaunas (2013-14), Milos Teodosic of CSKA (2014-15) and Scottie Wilbekin of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv over the first 24 games of this season. If he plays and hits from the arc in Game 1 of the playoffs, Baron will break the record. If not, his teammate Kevin Pangos, who took his own streak of made three-pointers to 23 games on Monday, could do so by Game 2 of the playoffs against his old team, Barcelona.


Zenit St Petersburg soared into the playoffs with the highest scoring total of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season in a resounding 112-83 home win against visiting Panathinaikos OPAP Athens on Monday. 