Opening week in the 2011-12 Turkish Airlines Euroleague had something for everyone, put particularly for fans of a couple new teams in the competition. Two of the four clubs making their Euroleague debuts this season were able to get victories as the week ended with
Bizkaia Bilbao running over Olympiacos 76-61 behind 22 points from Marco Banic in that city's first taste of the best club competition under international rules. Earlier in the week, it was
Galatasaray Medical Park edging Asseco Prokom Gdynia 72-76 on the road as Jaka Lakovic fired in 6-of-7 three-pointers for 21 points in the team's first Euroleague game ever. Galatasaray was part of another trend in Week 1, that of road winners, seven in all. Among those other road warriors,
Real Madrid downed Belgacom Spirou 76-100 behind 19 points each from Rudy Fernandez and Felipe Reyes, taking revenge for last season's loss in the Spiroudome, when the Whites were limited to 49 points.
Anadolu Efes blasted past Partizan mt:s 73-84 in Belgrade as Tarence Kinsey and Dusko Savanovic combined for 35 points.
FC Barcelona Regal thrashed Union Olimpija 64-86 away in Slovenia as Marcelinho Huertas had 17 points and 8 assists.
Montepaschi Siena topped Unics 71-79 in Kazan, Russia behind 17 points from Bo McCalebb.
Caja Laboral downed Fenerbahce Ulker 66-69 in Istanbul with Mirza Teletovic firing in 23 points. And
CSKA Moscow beat Zalgiris 74-87 as Andrei Kirilenko shined with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Among just five home winners, reigning champ
Panathinaikos stopped Unicaja 98-77 as MVP Dimitris Diamantidis led 7 Green players in double digits with 17 points.
Brose Baskets blasted newcomer KK Zagreb 96-65 as PJ Tucker had 20 points. Two more home triumphs came Italy, where
EA7 Milano bested Maccabi Electra 89-82 behind 25 points and 6 assists from Malik Hairston, while
Bennet Cantu topped Sluc Nancy 80-69 for its first Euroleague victory in almost 18 years. A great Euroleague opening week has ended, but the best news is that the season has just started!