By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Several EuroLeague teams continued their preparations for the 2026-27 season on Friday, with action taking place in Athens, Belgrade and Moscow.
Partizan suffered a dramatic 100-99 loss to PAOK in the opening game of the Pavlos Giannakopoulos Tournament.
The Belgrade team led 99-95 in the closing stages, but Cedi Osman made two free throws before Marcus Foster capitalized on a turnover and scored the winning basket at the buzzer.
Osman led PAOK with 27 points, while Foster added 25, including seven three-pointers. Kevarrius Hayes paced Partizan with 18 points, followed by Nikola Tanaskovic with 16, Carlik Jones with 14 and Ethan Thompson with 13.
Panathinaikos celebrated Zeljko Obradovic’s emotional return to the Telekom Center Athens with a commanding 90-69 victory over JL Bourg.
The Greens built a 51-31 halftime lead and never looked back in front of approximately 14,000 fans. Sylvain Francisco recorded 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Mathias Lessort contributed 15 points and seven boards.
Panathinaikos will face PAOK in the final, while Partizan and Bourg will meet in the third-place game.
Crvena Zvezda completed its preseason schedule with a 91-87 victory over Aris, avenging its heavy defeat to the same opponent in Cyprus.
Aris entered the final minute ahead 84-83, but Zvezda found the decisive response to secure the win. Jordan Nwora led Ibon Navarro’s team with 25 points, while Chima Moneke added 15 and Tyson Carter scored 10.
Nenad Dimitrijevic paced Aris with 16 points, followed by Vassilis Toliopoulos with 14 and Naz Mitrou-Long with 13.
Anadolu Efes opened its VTB United League SuperCup campaign with an emphatic 100-76 victory over Zenit Saint Petersburg in Moscow.
Pablo Laso’s team led 42-32 at halftime before pulling away after the break. Former Partizan center Bruno Fernando finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, Mike James added 13, while Jordan Loyd and Dario Saric scored 12 apiece.
Stanley Iroegbu led Zenit with 17 points, Andrey Martyuk had 15 and Aleksandr Shcherbenev contributed 11.
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