Reds rule the roost in the Euroleague

Olympiakos scored a hard-fought home win against Anadolu Efes on Friday to continue as joint leader of the Euroleague along with Real Madrid, while Panathinaikos worked well at Baskonia but could not overcome its host.

Olympiakos beat Efes 76-70 to claim its second win over Turkish opposition within three nights.

The Reds were on top throughout the game at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus and defended their first-half lead (41-31) to finish the game with relative ease.

Sasha Vezenkov had an outstanding game for Olympiakos with 23 points, including four triples, but perhaps the biggest gain for the Greek champion was Michalis Lountzis, scorer of 13 points on the night.

The Reds now have 16 wins from 23 games and are looking good for a top-four finish, if not for the regular season crown too.

Panathinaikos, on the other hand, suffered one more loss in Spain, this time at Baskonia, going down 95-90 after a decent showing that once again did not translate into a result.

Baskonia’s second quarter (partial score 31-15) sufficed for the Basques to beat Panathinaikos, in a game where the Greens shone in offense but suffered in defense.

With 19 points from Derrick Williams and 16 each from Paris Lee, Giorgos Papagiannis and Dwayne Bacon, the Greens had plenty of options for scoring, but their defense let them down.

Panathinaikos therefore remains 15th with an 8-15 record.