 The 2004-05 Euroleague Basketball regular season was an intense one, with as many as five teams qualifying for the Top 16 in the final date. CSKA Moscow dominated Group C, becoming the first Euroleague team to finish the regular season unbeaten with 14-0, six wins away from Panathinaikos and Benetton. Climamio and Efes Pilsen tied for first place in Group A, each with a 12-2 record. Even when Climamio won Group A due to its tie-break advantage, both teams earned top-seeded rights in the Top 16 draw. Defending champion Maccabi Elite won Group B with a 10-3 record. Among those last-minute qualifiers were Ulker, Zalgiris, AEK, Montepaschi Siena and Scavolini Pesaro, the best sixth-ranked team in the competition. Charles Smith of Scavolini was the regular season top scorer (22.3 ppg.), Tanoka Beard of Zalgiris its best rebounder (11 rpg.) while Mire Chatman of Pau-Orthez led this phase in assists (6.2 apg.).
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REGULAR SEASON GAME 1 |
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The 2004-05 Euroleague Basketball season kicked off the opening game in Kaunas, Lithuania. Reigning champion Maccabi Tel Aviv began up its title defense with a strong 75-102 road win over Zalgiris behind 24 points from Yaniv Green. Cibona upset Real Madrid 69-70 in the Spanish capital on a game-winning layup by Andrija Zizic.
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REGULAR SEASON GAME 2 |
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CSKA Moscow took the big game in Group C by topping Panathinaikos 73-85 in Athens. Antonio Granger paced the winners with 18 points. Maccabi battled hard to edge Montepaschi Siena 93-88 in Group B, while Climamio became the only undefeated team in Group A with a resounding 92-71 home win against Efes Pilsen. Milos Vujanic led Climamio with 18 points.
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REGULAR SEASON GAME 3 |
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Only four teams - Climamio Bologna, Winterthur FCB, Maccabi Elite and CSKA Moscow - were undefeated after 3 regular season games. CSKA edged Tau Ceramica 88-83 with 23 points from Marcus Brown. Maccabi rallied in the fourth quarter to top Adecco Asvel 80-85 behind 33 points from an unstoppable Anthony Parker.
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REGULAR SEASON GAME 4 |
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Maccabi shattered yet another Euroleague record for most points in a game by thrashing Scavolini Pesaro 123-73 at home. Maceo Baston led 7 Maccabi players in double digits with 25 points. CSKA Moscow edged Ulker 82-87 with 18 points from J.R. Holden while Climamio bested Partizan 103-91 to lead their respective regular season groups.
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REGULAR SEASON GAME 5 |
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Climamio Bologna, CSKA Moscow and Maccabi Elite stayed undefeated and leading their respective regular season groups. Maccabi edged AEK 110-113 in yet another high-scoring affair. Sarunas Jasikevicius led the winners with 22 points. CSKA thrashed Pau-Orthez 80-60 while Climamio topped Cibona 99-88 behind 19 points from Milos Vujanic.
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REGULAR SEASON GAME 6 |
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It was a historical round for Turkish basketball, as Efes Pilsen overwhelmed Olympiacos 59-110 on the road with 25 points from Will Solomon. Meanwhile, Ulker edged Panathinaikos 66-64 at home. Cibona VIP topped Partizan PMB 78-81 at Pionir Arena. Vladimir Krstic and Branimir Longin stepped up in crunch time for Cibona.
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REGULAR SEASON GAME 7 |
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CSKA Moscow stayed as the only undefeated team in the competition with a 86-82 home win against the Opel Skyliners. Antonio Granger led the winners with 18 points but Chris Williams stole the show with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 9 steals for the Skyliners. Maccabi thrashed Winterthur FC Barcelona 84-59 at home with 20 points from Maceo Baston.
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REGULAR SEASON GAME 8 |
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CSKA Moscow steamrolled out of 2004 still holding the Euroleague's only undefeated record after stopping Benetton 72-80 on the road in a Group C clash in Treviso. Zalgiris took revenge of its historical 2004 Top 16 loss by edging Maccabi 102-104 in Tel Aviv. Robert Pack led the winners with 26 points and 5 assists.
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REGULAR SEASON GAME 9 |
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The biggest thriller in 2005 came in France, where Pau-Orthez topped Ulker 82-80 on a buzzer-beating reverse layup by Julius Nwosu. CSKA was the first team to reach the Top 16 by beating Panathinaikos 75-72 at home behind 20 points from Demos Dikoudis. Jesus Lazaro landed a three-pointer with 6 seconds left to make Unicaja beat Tau Ceramica 78-76 in Group C.
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REGULAR SEASON GAME 10 |
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Three more teams - Climamio and Efes Pilsen in Group A, Maccabi in Group B - mathematically reached the Top 16. Efes made it despite a 82-72 road loss against Cibona VIP. Climamio beat Adecco Estudiantes 84-78 in Bologna on Gianluca Basile's late heroics while Maccabi thrashed Adecco Asvel 89-69 with 17 points each from Nikola Vujcic and Anthony Parker.
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REGULAR SEASON GAME 11 |
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Prokom Trefl cemented its status as a playoff contender by topping Olympiacos 77-72 at home in Group A with 18 points from Goran Jagodnik. CSKA bested Tau Ceramica 81-85 in Vitoria to stay undefeated after 10 games while Panathinaikos topped Benetton Treviso 80-71 behind 16 points from Mike Batiste.
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REGULAR SEASON GAME 12 |
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Four teams - Benetton in Group C, Cibona, Real Madrid and Prokom in Group A - reached the Top 16. Prokom edged Adecco Estudiantes 78-74 to become the first Polish team to make it to the Top 16. Montepaschi upset Winterthur FCB 58-70 while Benetton edged Ulker 62-69 with 21 points from signature guard Massimo Bulleri.
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REGULAR SEASON GAME 13 |
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Tau Ceramica joined the Top 16 qualifiers by beating the Opel Skyliners 90-69 in Vitoria. CSKA stayed undefeated after 13 games while Climamio and Efes Pilsen keep fighting for first place in Group A. Maccabi Elite topped Union Olimpija 95-82 behind 22 points from Anthony Parker. At least 3 Top 16 spots were up for grabs in Group B.
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REGULAR SEASON GAME 14 |
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Zalgiris, AEK, Montepaschi, Scavolini Pesaro and Unicaja were the last Top 16 qualifiers in an intense regular season finale. In a pivotal game, Scavolini defeated Montepaschi 83-69 behind 20 points form Charles Smith to reach the Top 16 as the best sixth-ranked team - denying Unicaja the chance to stay alive in the competition.
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