The Games of week 6:
Baskonia vs Virtus Bologna
Sometimes, even before the ball goes up, a basketball game reminds you that it’s more than just a sport. At Buesa Arena, before Baskonia and Virtus Bologna tipped off, players from both sides came together at half court, holding a banner that read “Forza Achi.” It was a tribute to Achille Polonara, a player who’s worn both jerseys and is now fighting cancer once again. The crowd rose, applauded, and for a brief moment, rivalry faded into something bigger. Then the ball went up and Baskonia came out like a team on a mission.
From the opening possession, the Basques played with energy, clarity, and purpose. They blitzed Virtus 11–2 out of the gate, attacking mismatches, pushing the tempo, and moving the ball with intent. On the defensive end, Rafa Villar, getting the start and the Carsen Edwards assignment, was a spark plug, forcing Dusko Ivanovic to burn a timeout just 3½ minutes in. Virtus clawed back through their bench, Niang and Diouf brought some much-needed toughness, and Morgan chipped in six of the team’s first 10 points, but Baskonia’s shot-making and glass dominance (11–3 in total rebounds, including four on the offensive glass) kept them firmly in control, 23–14 after one. Six of 11 from two, three of five from deep, and nearly every possession humming, this was the Baskonia that had been missing earlier in the year.
Virtus started the second quarter with a punch, a quick 5–0 run, but Baskonia absorbed it and threw a heavier counterpunch, 7–2 of their own. The ball zipped from side to side, everyone touching it, everyone contributing. Edwards finally found some rhythm, dropping seven straight points, and Diouf flashed impressive short-roll passing, dishing out three assists. Still, Virtus couldn’t get stops. Baskonia went into halftime up 12, 46–34, with only one unassisted field goal in the entire half, a masterclass in collective offense.
Dusko adjusted at the break, rolling with Niang at the 5, and Virtus again came out strong with a 7–2 burst. But Marco Galbiati trusted his bench to settle things, and once again, the group responded, fast decisions, crisp cuts, the kind of offense that bends defenses without ever forcing the issue. Virtus made another push, trimming the lead to four with just over three minutes left in the third, but Baskonia answered with a 7–0 run to close the quarter, heading into the final frame up 65–57.
From there, the Buesa crowd took over. Nowell hit a pull-up three to push the lead to 16, and even when Virtus strung together a couple of threes to get it back to 10, the energy in the arena never wavered. TLC, because of course it was him, buried a dagger three with three minutes left, sealing the deal before the final buzzer made it official: Baskonia 87, Virtus 76.
Virtus’ road woes continue, their defense springing leaks everywhere (an ugly 129.9 defensive rating on the night). Niang was their lone constant, finishing with 18 and 12, but the rest of the team never quite matched Baskonia’s rhythm.
For the Basques, it’s now three straight wins, not just wins, but team wins. TLC led with 16, but this was a “we’re all in this together” kind of performance, the type of complete effort that can quietly turn a season around. The best teams find their flow, and for Baskonia, it finally feels like the music’s back on.
Barcelona vs Rel Madrid
There’s something almost cinematic about Real Madrid and Barcelona tipping off in a packed Palau Blaugrana. The tension is thick before the ball even goes up. And then, bang, Facundo Campazzo opens the night with a one-footed, bank-shot three like it’s a horse trick shot contest. That was the tone-setter. Madrid didn’t blink, didn’t wait. They roared out 9–2 in the first four minutes, pounding the ball inside to Walter Tavares and Trey Lyles, running that clean inside-out rhythm that immediately brought back memories of the Yabusele days.
Barcelona tried to answer in kind,Toko Shengelia working on the block, trying to get his looks, but Lyles’ size and mobility were too much. Jan Vesely gave them a pulse, hitting those silky midrange jumpers (3-of-4 early), but Lyles was everywhere: seven points in his first El Clásico, playing like he’d been doing this for years. A timeout didn’t cool Madrid off. Campazzo came out and splashed back-to-back threes, and suddenly the rhythm belonged entirely to the visiting side.
Barça wasn’t playing poorly, 60% shooting in the first quarter would normally mean good things, but Madrid was in flamethrower mode, hitting 71% from deep. The difference was in creation: Barcelona depended on their guards to manufacture everything, while Madrid could create from every position. Every catch was a threat. Every cut had intent. When the horn sounded to end the first quarter, Okeke banked in a half-court three, increasing the Madrid lead to 34–24. The benches told the story early, Madrid’s reserves had already poured in 10 points; Barça’s had just three.
That gap in depth? It only got louder as the game went on. When Barça’s best five were on the floor, Vesely, Clyburn, Punter, Toko and Satoransky, they could go toe-to-toe with Madrid. That lineup had everything: stretch, shot creation, playmaking, toughness. But as soon as the rotations hit, the cracks showed.
Still, Vesely kept them alive. He went 5-for-6 from the field, and a flurry of threes from the home team cut the Madrid lead to single digits midway through the second quarter. Real got sloppy, five turnovers in that period alone and the crowd started to hum again. But Madrid closed the half with veteran poise, switching into a 3-2 zone that forced two rushed possessions and a scoreless Barça stretch. Halftime: 58–48 Madrid. Lyles had 16, Vesely 13, and one worrying stat lingered for Los Blancos: they were the lowest second-half scoring team in the EuroLeague at just 36.8 points per game.
For a few moments, it looked like that curse might creep in again. The third quarter began messy, turnovers on each team’s opening possession, but Madrid steadied through Theo Maledon, whose pace and decisiveness gave them a fresh offensive burst. Lyles? Still cooking. He and Maledon built the lead back to 16 as Madrid hit an absurd 11-of-16 from deep. The rebound numbers were starting to feel cruel: Madrid 27, Barça 15, including eight offensive boards. Their bench scoring? 35–12 by the end of the third.
By the fourth, it was mostly academic. Barcelona could only trade threes to stay afloat, shooting them well (over 50%), but relying entirely on perimeter offense while losing the rebounding battle 36–21 is basketball’s version of trying to win a fistfight with one hand tied. Punter led a valiant mini-run, a 10–4 burst that cut the margin to 10, but Madrid’s composure and depth held.
Barcelona did keep turnovers under control, which is something, but the lack of interior aggression killed them. They passed around the arc, waiting for something to appear that never did. Madrid’s length on the wings just smothered them. On the other end, Madrid got whatever they wanted at the rim.
There were still things for Scariolo to grimace about, 17 turnovers are 17 too many, but when you shoot 58% from three and dominate the glass, it’s easier to sleep at night. Alex Len, in his debut, looked understandably lost in the system, four minutes of visible confusion both offensively and defensively, but that’s to be expected. Scariolo’s schemes are a Rubik’s Cube even for veterans.
The headline of the night, though, belonged to Trey Lyles. Twenty-nine points. Efficient, poised, patient. The kind of “Vezenkov-type” game that unfolds naturally: no forcing, no demanding the ball, just letting it come to him and making it look easy. Madrid may have already found their new Yabusele, and if Len eventually becomes their Poirier, this team’s depth might border on unfair.
And just when the night felt like it could settle, the real off-court bomb dropped: Joan Peñarroya was fired. The whispers around Palau already had a name: Xavi Pascual, possibly next in line.
Classic El Clásico. High-level basketball, a touch of chaos and a reminder that in Spain, drama doesn’t end at the buzzer.
Paris vs Bayern
In Paris, the lights were bright, the tempo was frantic, and the chess match started the second the ball went up. Two teams, equal in the standings, opposite in temperament, walked into the French capital for a game that promised pace versus precision, chaos versus control.
From the jump, Paris tried to dictate the terms of engagement. Full-court pressure, aggressive traps, bodies flying around, it was their signature brand of high-speed basketball. But Bayern refused to be sped up. Gordon Herbert’s squad operated like a team wearing noise-canceling headphones: unbothered, unhurried. They controlled rhythm beautifully, picking their spots to run and carving up Paris’ aggression in the half court with smart spacing and ball movement. When the quarter ended 22–19 Bayern, it already felt like a small victory for their game plan.
The second quarter was the Spencer Dinwiddie Show. For a few shining minutes, he looked like a man who finally found the EuroLeague groove. Dinwiddie was slicing through the defense like a surgeon, touching the paint, creating for others, and then casually stepping back for a three that pushed Bayern’s lead into double digits and forced a Paris timeout. Paris, meanwhile, couldn’t buy a bucket early in the quarter. Three long minutes without a single point, and their defense wasn’t doing much better. Bayern, a team not exactly known for their offensive fireworks, dropped 53 in the first half on dazzling efficiency: 9-of-17 inside, 9-of-16 from deep. Paris hit just 3-of-12 from beyond the arc, a stat that practically wrote the halftime score by itself, 53–42 Bayern.
But whatever Francesco Tabellini said at halftime, it worked. Paris came out swinging, ripping off an 11–4 run in three minutes. They played faster, tougher, smarter. Bayern looked rattled for the first time all night. Herbert’s timeout didn’t help, Paris tied the game and were a single possession from taking the lead before Gabriel decided to make a statement. A monster block that sent the ball flying and the momentum with it. Bayern turned that play into a 5–0 run, forcing Tabellini to huddle his team again.
Paris, to their credit, didn’t wilt. They regrouped and hit Bayern right back, ending the third quarter on a wave of energy and confidence. They led 68–64 after holding Bayern to just 11 points in the frame and forcing seven turnovers. From 53 in the first half to 11 in one quarter, that’s a defensive revival.
But Bayern didn’t make the trip to Paris to leave empty-handed. Two minutes into the fourth, they were back in front with a 5–0 spurt and had the locals on their heels. Paris suddenly couldn’t get anything going again, seven minutes into the quarter and they’d scored just four points, all from the free throw line. Their first field goal came with only two minutes left. Still, they kept the fight alive. Andres Herrera buried a three to cut it to two, but Dinwiddie immediately silenced the crowd with a three of his own. Then, as if trying to one-up each other, Herrera answered again. With under a minute to play, the ball found its way into T.J. Robinson’s hands, game on the line, with the arena buzzing. His three rimmed out, and Vladimir Lucic sprinted the other way to punctuate the night with a dunk. Bayern escaped, 86–82.
The numbers told the story as much as the game did. Bayern shot 44.4% from deep; Paris only 26.7%. The Germans hit twice as many threes and that’s a margin that’s hard to overcome, no matter how electric the pace.
Dinwiddie was the engine, the difference-maker, the grown-up in the room. Xavier Rathan-Mayes came alive in the fourth with 16 points, backed by three other double-digit scorers, but it was Spencer’s fingerprints all over the win. Paris got the fireworks from their usual suspects: Robinson with 22, Hifi with 21, but it wasn’t enough to stop the skid.
If this was a glimpse of what Dinwiddie can become in EuroLeague, a steady hand in the chaos, dictating the terms, it might’ve been the most important win of Bayern’s season so far. Paris played their way. Bayern won theirs.
Key Performances of the Past Week:
Mike James
Mike James, did you really think we’d forgotten? Nights like this are why he’s still the most feared scorer in the EuroLeague jungle. Against Maccabi, he put on another masterclass, the kind of performance that reminds everyone why his name sits at the top of the all-time scoring list. Thirty-four points, each one dripping with the swagger and shotmaking that has defined his career. There were those pull-up midrange daggers that seem to defy balance and physics, the off-the-dribble threes that make defenders shake their heads, and the tough finishes at the rim where touch meets toughness.
But this wasn’t just a solo act. James orchestrated the entire Monaco offense with the kind of control that only comes from years of walking the tightrope between chaos and genius. He didn’t just score, he dismantled Maccabi’s defense piece by piece, drawing help, reading rotations, and then delivering pinpoint passes that turned possessions into poetry. Seven assists, six rebounds, and more than a few moments where it felt like he was playing the game in slow motion while everyone else was stuck in fast-forward.
Every time Maccabi thought they’d forced him into a bad shot, the ball found the bottom of the net anyway. Every time they sent help, James made the right read. This was vintage Mike James, but also something more: a reminder that he’s not just chasing numbers or living off reputation. He’s still evolving, still dictating games, still the heartbeat of Monaco basketball. Nights like this don’t just pad his legend, they reaffirm it. Mike James isn’t done, not even close.
Standings Watch:
Paris Basketball’s free fall continues, and it’s starting to feel like more than just a rough patch. Not long ago they were flirting with the top of the EuroLeague table, their pace and energy giving teams nightmares. Now they’ve dropped three straight and find themselves staring up at the play-in line, searching for answers on both ends.
Defensively, they’re still hanging their hat on that end, a top-five unit by most measures, but the cracks are beginning to show. The real problem, though, lives on the other side of the floor. Paris’ offense has gone flat, ranking among the EuroLeague’s bottom five. When Hifi and Robinson get cooking, things look fine, but too often it’s just those two trying to drag possessions into something productive while everyone else watches.
Inside scoring? Almost nonexistent. The numbers tell the story: Paris takes fewer shots at the rim than anyone in the league, only 8.8 percent of their attempts coming within arm’s reach of the basket. And when they do get there, they’re not exactly cashing in, sitting in the bottom four in points per shot at the rim. That’s not a stylistic quirk anymore, it’s a red flag.
This offense has become too one-dimensional, too reliant on guards creating magic against set defenses. Without an inside threat to balance things out, even great defense can’t bail them out night after night. If Paris doesn’t fix that imbalance soon, their slide down the standings might not stop at the play-in line, it might keep going.
Week 7 Games to Watch:
Olympiacos vs Zalgiris
The Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus is ready for a battle that feels like it carries more weight than just one game in the standings. Olympiacos, back in rhythm after two straight wins, welcomes one of the EuroLeague’s early leaders, Zalgiris, in a matchup that could shape the playoff race months down the line.
Zalgiris arrives in Greece brimming with confidence and armed with the EuroLeague’s October MVP, the heartbeat of a team that’s been playing fearless, connected basketball. But history hasn’t exactly been their friend in this rivalry. The Lithuanian club has dropped five straight to Olympiacos, and this arena has been particularly cruel to them.
Olympiacos, on the other hand, looks like a team rediscovering its identity. They’re defending with intensity, moving the ball with that trademark flow, and getting back to the kind of disciplined, physical play that made them perennial contenders. With their home crowd behind them, they’ll look to turn this into another statement night.
It’s confidence versus history, form versus familiarity. Zalgiris wants to prove the past doesn’t define them; Olympiacos wants to remind everyone that in Piraeus, they still set the tone.
Real Madrid vs Panathinaikos
This game is European basketball royalty in action. Real, with the most EuroLeague titles in history and Panathinaikos, sitting third on that list, meet again for another classic clash.
Los Blancos haven’t lost at home this season. There’s a rhythm to Madrid at the WiZink Center, precise, disciplined, and tough to break. Panathinaikos, meanwhile, arrive aiming to be the first team to crack that home invincibility. They aren’t in peak form and have injury issues, but Ataman’s squads never show up just to participate; they play to win.
Add to that the standings context, both teams tied and you have stakes that are immediate and intense. Every possession matters, every matchup is magnified and only one team will leave with the win. This is a game you cannot miss.
What’s at Stake:
What’s at stake is survival for Partizan, Efes and Dubai. These are three teams that entered the season with big expectations and now all three find themselves in the bottom six, already two wins shy of a Play-In spot. It’s not a death sentence, yet, but every win counts, a lifeline to break the cycle and climb out of this early-season trap.
EuroLeague Headlines:
Biggest news from the EuroLeague this week? Sylvain Francisco is the October MVP, and honestly, it’s hard to argue. The French guard has been an absolute force for Zalgiris, putting up 14.9 points and 6.8 assists per game while shooting 54.1% from two and 40.4% from three. Those numbers already tell a story, but the advanced stats make it even clearer.
His usage rate is high at 31.3%, yet he’s producing 1.053 points per possession and he’s not just a perimeter guy. 10.3% of his shots are at the rim, where he’s finishing at an insane 1.67 points per shot. Defensively, he’s just as impactful. With Francisco on the floor, Zalgiris is posting what would be the best defensive rating in the league, hands down. And yes, the eye test matches the stats, he makes the right play at the right time, every time.
The big question now: can he keep this up? If Francisco maintains this level, we might be looking at a very special season for Zalgiris.
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!
