EuroLeague Weekly Dose: Week 5

  • Last Updated on November 3, 2025 11:11 am by André Lemos | Published: November 3, 2025

    The Games of week 5:

    Valencia vs Fenerbahçe

    Roig Arena was loud, bright and buzzing as Valencia hosted the defending champions, Fenerbahçe, in a matchup between two teams entering with identical 3-3 records. But from the jump, there was nothing identical about how they played.

    Valencia came out flying, attacking every switch Fenerbahçe threw their way with crisp ghost screens that opened wide driving lanes. The pace was breathtaking, a blur of orange jerseys running, cutting, and sharing the ball, and within minutes the home side was up 14–6. Fenerbahçe’s defense looked a step slow and their offense was a one-man show, with Wade Baldwin IV trying to drag them forward while everything else sputtered. When Darius Thompson drilled a three, Valencia’s fourth already, to push the lead to 19–10, Sarunas Jasikevicius had seen enough and called time. But the timeout changed nothing. Valencia went on an 8–3 run right after, finishing the quarter up 27–13 behind superior shooting (5-of-10 from three versus Fener’s 1-of-5) and a pounding on the boards (13–6).

    Quarter two brought more of the same. Valencia opened with a 6–0 burst in less than two minutes, and the Roig Arena crowd could sense something brewing. Credit to Isaac Nogues, who played limited minutes but brought elite on-ball defense and energy, the type of small detail that sparks a team. If he ever adds a consistent jumper, he could be one of those quietly indispensable EuroLeague role players. Meanwhile, Fenerbahçe unraveled. Poor body language, offensive fouls born out of frustration, technicals, it was a meltdown in slow motion. Valencia just kept punishing mismatches, hunting Bacot Jr. in space and stretching the lead to 21 with under four minutes in the half. Saras had to burn another timeout and this one helped at least steady the bleeding, closing the half on a 14–7 run. Still, 10 turnovers and 2-of-9 shooting from deep told the story: Fenerbahçe trailed 51–35 and it could’ve been worse.

    Fenerbahçe came out of the break with renewed defensive fire, communicating better and playing with more purpose. But Valencia’s offense is relentless, constant motion, constant pressure. You might slow them for a possession or two, maybe a minute, but not for long stretches. Eventually, the pace cracked Fener again. Valencia took the third quarter 25–21 and stretched the margin to 20 (76–56), turning what should’ve been a grind into another statement of superiority.

    To their credit, the champions still had one last swing left. Biberovic exploded to start the fourth with a personal 6–0 run, and suddenly there was a flicker of life. Valencia lost their rhythm, milking the clock too early and struggling to find clean looks, going more than four minutes without a field goal. Biberovic caught fire, dropping 16 points in the quarter alone, but it was too late. Even after winning the frame, Fenerbahçe never got close enough to make it uncomfortable. Valencia coasted home 94–79 in a game that they controlled from wire to wire.

    The locals won this one with glass work and precision. Kameron Taylor led the way with 17 points and 6 rebounds, and three more players joined him in double figures. For Fenerbahçe, Biberovic’s late surge and solid outings from Talen Horton-Tucker and Baldwin weren’t enough.

    The champions left the floor frustrated, while Valencia walked off looking every bit like a team that knows who it is: fast, fearless and just maybe a little bit special.

     

    Virtus vs Zalgiris

    Zalgiris came into this one like a team that knew exactly what was at stake, and how to seize it. You could feel the urgency from the opening tip, the kind that hums through an arena before the scoreboard even catches up. Seven minutes in, it was 17–2. The Kaunas crowd was roaring, Virtus looked stunned and it already felt like the game was being played at only one team’s tempo.

    From the very beginning, Zalgiris had a plan and it was as clear as it was effective: contain Carsen Edwards. The assignment fell to Francisco and he put on a defensive clinic, shadowing Edwards everywhere, contesting every jumper, making him work for air. By the end of the quarter, Edwards hadn’t scored and Francisco looked like he could’ve run another full game. On the other end, Zalgiris went to work with their bigger wings, hunting Edwards in mismatches and pounding the interior. Tubelis feasted early, drawing contact and finishing plays, and once Virtus began to collapse inside, the perimeter opened wide. Syrvidis hit two straight threes as Zalgiris went 4-of-6 from deep in the first, running Virtus off the floor in transition and looking every bit like a team that had found its rhythm and joy. Things were going so fast that Dusko Ivanovic had to yank Smailagic after just two minutes, the message was clear: find someone who could actually run with these guys.

    Virtus finally showed some fight in the second quarter. They started 15–8, trimming the gap to seven and, for the first time, looking like they might get their footing. Francisco, electric in the first, began forcing plays and those poor decisions spread like a bad cold. Rookie Brandon Taylor stepped into the spotlight, hitting back-to-back threes, a small miracle considering he’d never scored more than three points in a EuroLeague game, and suddenly Virtus was within striking distance. Carsen Edwards finally got on the board 17 minutes in, but that was as far as the comeback went. Zalgiris’ versatile wings reasserted control, smothering Virtus on defense and rebuilding a double-digit lead before halftime.

    The subplot of the night, Smailagic’s return to Kaunas, added extra spice. The boos rained down, and he answered by helping Virtus on both ends of the court and being particularly effective stretching the floor.

    By the third, Virtus’ defensive structure started to crumble. You could see the confusion, miscommunications, switches that came half a second too late, rotations that never finished. Mathew Morgan tried to play savior, finally giving Edwards some much-needed scoring support, trimming the deficit to six. But Francisco wasn’t having it. He took back control of the game with a blend of poise and fire, scoring when he needed to, creating when the moment called for it and orchestrating the offense like a maestro who knows every note by heart.

    Virtus’ late scoring made the box score look kinder than it should have, but anyone watching knew the truth, Zalgiris dominated from tip to buzzer. Even without NWG, out with injury, they still had a guard who could set the tone, control pace, and close the game. Francisco was that guy, the heartbeat of the win and the clear player of the round.

    Zalgiris didn’t just win, they imposed their will. Virtus was left chasing shadows, out-hustled, out-thought and out-executed. If you wanted to see how urgency looks when channeled into beautiful basketball, Kaunas gave you the blueprint.

     

    Monaco vs Olympiacos

    This one started like a Monaco highlight reel and an Olympiacos blooper tape spliced together. Three minutes in, the scoreboard read 8–1 and the early energy in the Salle Gaston Médecin was all red and white, Monaco’s red and white, that is. Olympiacos looked flat, coughing up turnovers and struggling to organize anything that resembled coherent offense, while Monaco came out pressing full court, Strazel harassing the ball like a mosquito you can’t swat away. Every screen was hedged hard, every post-up met with firm resistance. Even when Olympiacos tried to go to Vezenkov on the block, Monaco’s smaller guards: Strazel and Mike James, held their ground with those strong, low bases, forcing him deeper and deeper under the rim.

    Eventually, though, Olympiacos did what veteran teams do, they steadied the ship. Bartzokas adjusted, taking out Walkup to inject some spacing and rolling out a bigger lineup to better match Monaco’s length. Slowly, they crept back in, closing the first quarter on a high. Up by one with 30 seconds left, Vezenkov capped the period with his first three of the night, fittingly, the first made three for either side, a smooth pull-up from the top of the key that gave the Greeks a 4-point edge after 10 minutes of chaotic basketball.

    The second quarter was a series of mini runs, momentum bouncing between teams like a pinball. Olympiacos opened strong, building a 6–7 point cushion, their best stretch so far, but the tempo and composure that carried them there soon evaporated. A few rushed decisions, a few lazy passes, and suddenly Monaco was back in business. Donta Hall, interestingly, spent time as an offensive hub at the top of the key, a bit of a Fall tribute act, looking for cutters and trying to facilitate. The problem: he’s not Fall and that creative load doesn’t fit him. Even as a screener, the rhythm felt off, the actions too labored for Olympiacos’ usual precision. Neither team could buy a jumper, just four total made threes in the entire first half and the scoreboard reflected the grind: 38–37 Olympiacos at the break.

    Then the tone flipped. Monaco came out of halftime attacking everything. They got aggressive going downhill, putting pressure on the refs and the defense alike, and Coach Spanoulis’ technical foul only added fuel to that fire, the kind that turns into free throws and fast breaks. Mike James, already cooking with 16 points, leaned into full Mike James mode: isolation daggers, step-backs off staggers, impossible heat-checks that suddenly looked routine. The sequence that defined the night came midway through the third: Olympiacos threw away a lazy pass, Mike grabbed it, raced upcourt, pulled a wild transition three that rimmed out… and Strazel came flying in for the offensive rebound. Every Olympiacos player froze, ball-watching, as Diallo slipped behind them for the put-back. The nearest person reacting in red wasn’t a defender, it was Bartzokas, sprinting down the sideline to call timeout. That was the heart of a 9–0 Monaco run and the turning point.

    And just when you thought emotions couldn’t boil any higher, they did. Strazel and Dorsey got tangled up after the whistle, chests bumped, words exchanged and Dorsey shoved Strazel with the ball still in his hands. Unsportsmanlike foul, more Monaco points and more unraveling from Olympiacos. The discipline was gone: silly fouls, wild reaches, frustration boiling over. Monaco’s lead ballooned into double digits for the first time. To his credit, Dorsey used that same fire to claw them back, drilling two clutch shots to close the third and trimming the gap to four.

    By then, though, the math wasn’t pretty. Monaco was 6-for-18 from deep; Olympiacos, just 3-for-18. At one point in the half, Monaco hit 6 of 9 from outside, the kind of swing that changes everything.

    In the fourth, Olympiacos tried to slow it down, put Walkup back in to manage tempo, but it just made them predictable. Their turnovers (13) piled up against Monaco’s discipline (only 6 at the midway point of the quarter) and every mistake felt like a small dagger. The sequence that sealed it: Monaco’s 18th assist, a simple yet beautiful set, Mike James parked in the corner, Okobo and Mirotic screening for each other, Mirotic popping to Mike’s side, drawing both defenders… and leaving James all alone for a dagger three. Classic misdirection, executed with calm.

    Dorsey, again, refused to quit, leading a 10–2 burst that gave Olympiacos one last pulse, but it wasn’t enough. Hayes’ activity down the stretch, sprinting the floor, switching everything, making Milutinov work, made the difference forcing Olympiacos to lose their defensive anchor and their composure.

    When the dust settled, Monaco had the cleaner game, fewer mistakes, better ball movement, sharper reads. Olympiacos showed flashes, but their inconsistency still defines them. Without Dorsey’s personal heroics, this one might’ve turned ugly. Monaco, meanwhile, just looked like a team that knew who they were and who wasn’t going to beat them that night.

     

    Key Performances of the Past Week:

    Tornike Shengelia vs Partizan

    Every once in a while, EuroLeague gives us a performance that feels less like a box score and more like a statement. Last week it came from youth, from a kid breaking through. This week? It came from experience, from a man who’s been carving up defenses for over a decade. Tornike Shengelia reminded everyone why he’s still one of the most complete forwards in Europe.

    Against Partizan, the Georgian veteran was everywhere. He dropped 24 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, handed out 5 assists and swiped 4 steals, basically filling every column on the stat sheet with his fingerprints. But the number that really tells the story isn’t any of those. It’s +22. In 29:45 of action, Barcelona outscored Partizan by twenty-two points with Shengelia on the floor and lost the ten minutes he sat by twenty. That’s the kind of gravitational pull you can’t fake.

    It wasn’t just the scoring, though he hit big shots and made defenders look like they were stuck in slow motion, it was the control. The reads. The physicality that comes with knowing how to use your body, not just having one. He directed traffic like a point forward, found cutters in tight spaces and bullied mismatches with that quiet, methodical relentlessness that has defined his career.

    At 34, Shengelia might not jump as high or run as fast as he once did, but nights like this prove that wisdom and versatility still win games. He’s seen every coverage, solved every defensive riddle and against Partizan, he turned that experience into dominance.

    There are stars who flash for a moment and then there are pros who just keep delivering. Shengelia, once again, showed he belongs firmly in that second category.

     

    Standings Watch:

    Crvena Zvezda is at the top of the standings.
    Read that again. Crvena Zvezda, the same team that looked utterly lost through the first two rounds, the same team that couldn’t string together a defensive stop or a coherent offensive possession, now sits atop the EuroLeague mountain.

    What changed? Everything, really. A coaching switch flipped the script and suddenly this team looks like it knows exactly who it is. The defense, once a mess of late rotations and soft coverages, has transformed into a wall, the second-best defensive rating in the entire competition. The offense? Not exactly high-octane, but it’s found a rhythm, a pace that suits the roster’s balance and allows their guards to dictate tempo instead of chase it. And just like that, six straight wins later, Zvezda has gone from punchline to powerhouse.

    The latest addition of Jared Butler feels less like a panic move and more like a precise tweak. Another guard presence, another creator who actually fits the team’s new identity, one built on poise, control and playing both sides of the floor.

    Now the only question left is how far this goes. Is this version of Crvena Zvezda here to stay, a legitimate contender ready to fight for Final Four dreams? Or, like Icarus, will they fly too close to the sun, feel the heat, and see their wings melt away? Either way, after that miserable start, this turnaround already feels like one of the stories of the EuroLeague season.

     

    Week 6 Games to Watch:

    Dubai vs Hapoel

    Circle this one. Dubai vs Hapoel, the EuroLeague’s battle of the newcomers, two debutants who’ve decided that “rookie season” doesn’t have to mean “take your lumps.”

    Hapoel has been one of the revelations of the early campaign, sitting at the top of the standings behind a flamethrower of an offense. Their spacing, their confidence, that relentless three-point barrage, it’s been the league’s version of a neon sign flashing we belong here. They’re one of just three teams at the summit and they’ve earned it with discipline and rhythm on both ends.

    Dubai, meanwhile, started hot before an injury to Dzanan Musa threw a wrench into the rotation. Still, their frontcourt duo, Filip Petrusev and Mfiondu Kabengele, has been a nightmare for opponents. They’re physical, active and relentless on the glass, the kind of bigs who make you rethink whether you really want to drive into the paint.

    This first-ever clash between these two sides isn’t just a matchup of expansion teams, it’s a statement game. Dubai wants to show their early success wasn’t a mirage in the desert; Hapoel wants to keep proving they’re not just hot, they’re for real. Two upstarts, one stage and forty minutes to say we’re here to stay.

    Crvena Zvezda vs Panathinaikos

    Crvena Zvezda have completely flipped the script after a brutal start to the season. What once looked like a team struggling to find its rhythm now sits comfortably at the top of the standings and doing it with confidence and swagger. The defense has tightened, the ball movement is sharper and the addition of Jared Butler has added exactly the kind of guard play and scoring punch they were missing. He’s made them not just better, but more fun, a word rarely associated with this kind of grind-it-out defensive juggernaut.

    On the other side, Panathinaikos enter this one in a real bind. No centers. None. Coach Ataman will have to get creative, going small and leaning on Mitoglu, Juancho Hernangómez and Samodurov to hold the fort inside. It’s an experiment that might work in spurts, especially with their offensive versatility, but it’s also a dangerous one against a Zvezda team that punishes mismatches and dominates the physical battles.

    This game is the perfect cocktail of intrigue: a surging Zvezda, a shorthanded Panathinaikos forced to improvise and two passionate fanbases that live and die with every possession. Expect noise, chaos and a little bit of basketball madness, exactly what EuroLeague nights are made of.

    Barcelona vs Real Madrid

    You can change the sport, the arena, or even the rules, but when these two meet, it’s always a classic. Whether it’s football, basketball, or even a pickup game of cards, every Barça–Madrid clash feels like it carries the weight of history. Pride, prestige and bragging rights, they’re all on the line.

    This time, the stakes are different but no less fascinating. Both teams have been inconsistent, sitting in the 8th and 9th spots in the standings, still trying to find rhythm in a season that hasn’t yet gone as planned. Real Madrid, though, comes in riding a wave after a dominant 26-point win over Fenerbahçe.

    Barcelona, meanwhile, arrives just as motivated, if not more. Their dramatic win over Partizan, capped by a Clyburn buzzer-beater after trailing by six in the final minute, was one of those moments that can shift a team’s belief overnight. Add that to a perfect double-header week and suddenly this Barça team feels like it’s regaining its bite.

    So here we are again: the Spanish classic, another chapter in a rivalry that refuses to lose its fire. Two proud clubs, one court and at least forty minutes that will feel like a heavyweight title fight, because, well, in Spain, it always is.

    Zalgiris vs Valencia

    Zalgiris vs Valencia might not make the casual fan’s pulse jump off the page like a Madrid–Barça showdown, but for anyone who actually watches the EuroLeague, this is the kind of game you circle in red ink. Not the biggest names, sure, but both teams have been playing absolutely stellar basketball, and that’s exactly why this is must-see TV.

    These two couldn’t be more different in personality. Valencia wants to run, pace, spacing, ball movement and finding early offense before the defense even realizes what hit it. Zalgiris, on the other hand, is deliberate and surgical, like a chess master who enjoys watching opponents squirm as they try to guess what’s coming next. Their guards orchestrate everything, breaking you down piece by piece in the half court until a high-percentage look materializes from the chaos.

    And this one matters. Zalgiris walks in looking to defend their top spot, while Valencia, just one win away from the summit, wants to crash the party and remind everyone they belong among the elite. Style clash, standings implications and two teams that refuse to back down. It’s brains versus tempo, calculation versus chaos and it’s exactly the kind of EuroLeague basketball that hooks you for all forty minutes.

     

    What’s at Stake:

    Baskonia’s season finally has a pulse. After a brutal start that left them buried at the bottom of the table, the Basque club came out of the double week with not one, but two statement wins: against Dubai and Anadolu Efes, no less. Two opponents loaded with talent, two teams with playoff aspirations, and Baskonia just walked right through both of them.

    The catalyst? Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot, he was the main man offensively: 25 points against Dubai, 20 more against Efes, but this was far from a solo act. For the first time all season, this felt like a team performance and the defense, yes, that long-missing defense, finally made its presence felt. Holding Dubai to 85 and Efes to 75 points marked Baskonia’s two best defensive outings of the year, a sign that something might be starting to click.

    Now the question that lingers: is it too late? In a season as wild and balanced as this one, a play-in push isn’t out of the question. If this version of Baskonia, the one that defends, runs, and shares the load, is here to stay, then maybe, just maybe, their EuroLeague story is far from over.

     

    EuroLeague Headlines:

    Alarm bells in Athens. Panathinaikos just got hit with another center injury, this time Omar Yurtseven with a grade-2 adductor strain, expected to be out around three weeks. That joins Lessort and Holmes on the sidelines, leaving the Greek giants paper-thin at the 5.

    Lessort’s comeback is looming, but after such a long hiatus, easing him in will be the name of the game. That likely means Panathinaikos is going shopping for a center who can give them playable minutes. The real question: can they pull it off before Wednesday’s game? If not, it’s Mitoglou and Juancho at center. Mitoglou has some experience there, but Juancho? Absolutely not a 5. The floor will be tilted and opponents will know exactly where to attack.

    This isn’t just bad luck, it’s a potential tactical nightmare for a team that’s trying to stay competitive in a tight EuroLeague season. How Panathinaikos navigates this could define the next few weeks of their campaign.

     

    This article was written by the European Hoops team: Tiago Cordeiro, João Caeiro and André Lemos. Make sure you give us a follow on Twitter at @EthosEuroleague!

    November 3, 2025, 11:11 am