Jonah Bolden and Ryan Broekhoff yet to taste defeat
Following a competitive round 2 of competition, Jonah Bolden and Ryan Broekhoff's teams remain unbeaten in the EuroLeague and EuroCup competitions.
Thanks to an amazing contribution from their bench, Maccabi Tel Aviv accounted for Baskonia 74-68 to improve to 2-0 to open the EuroLeague season.
Norris Cole (25 points and 5 assists) and DeShaun Thomas (17 points) made significant contributions towards Maccabi's 53 bench points as the Israeli side managed to consign Baskonia to a win-less 0-2 record. It was Maccabi's superior rebounding (42-31) and 53.4% shooting from the field that helped them earn a win in what proved to be a highly entertaining game [video highlights]. Forward Jonah Bolden played sparingly in the contest, stepping onto court for 10 minutes in which he added 1 point, 1 rebound and 2 steal. Rodrigue Beaubois led Baskonia with 22 points.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul have been consigned to a tough 0-2 start following a 71-78 road loss to Valencia. Efes started slowly, but were able to chip away at the margin to keep it close by the first break. While they would put together their best in the second term, Valencia would finish stronger to come away with the win. The Spaniard's connected on 10-of-21 from three-point territory as Efes only managed a paltry 3-of-16 [video highlights].
Brock Motum came off the bench to contribute 9 points on 4-of-6 shooting with 2 rebounds in 14 minutes. His side's scoring was paced by Vladimir Stimac's 22 points, while Errick McCollum gathered 20.
Efes will be taking on Turkish rivals Fenerbahce Istanbul next week as they look to register their first win, while Maccabi hosts Greek giants Olympiacos Piraeus.
Lokomotiv Kuban maintained its unbeaten start to their EuroCup campaign following a convincing 75-59 home win against ALBA Berlin in round 2 of EuroCup.
The home side did not have it all going their way early however, with Berlin opening up a 4 point lead at the end of the first term. Chris Babb and Pavel Antipov were integral in an 8-0 run in the second period, and from there Lokomotiv never trailed again. Ryan Broekhoff stepped up after half time with a big triple to keep his side ahead in the run home. The Australian Olympian would finish with 7 points including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc in 22 minutes off the bench.
Babb was the leading scorer with 20 points, while Joe Ragland added 18 for the winners who forced their opponents into 16 turnovers and shot 45% from downtown compared to just 20% from their German opponent [video highlights].
In a contest featuring Australian's on both rosters, Lietuvos Rytas came from behind in the last quarter to overrun Partizan Belgrade and record an important 80-91 road victory [video highlights]. Trailing for most of the game, Rytas launched a final quarter assault behind Loukas Mavrokefalidis (26 points) and Jimmy Baron's (11 points) hot shooting. Rokas Giedraitis led all scorers for Rytas with 28 points. Ben Madgen did not suit up for the winners, while Tom Wilson has yet to step onto the floor for Partizan. Rytas improved to 1-1, while Partizan have yet to register a win.
Next week Rytas hosts the undefeated Lokomotiv, while Partizan travels to Spain to take on Bilbao Basket.