On the heels of a loaning one veteran away this week, Anadolu Efes Istanbul announced Friday that it had lost another to a long-term injury. On Friday, a day after loaning point guard Vlado Ilievski to Eurocup contender Lokomotiv Kuban of Russia, Efes announced that center Ermal Kuqo would be out two months after undergoing surgery for an unspecified injury. Kuqo (2.07 meters, 31 years old) had been averaging 5.2 points in just 9 minutes per Euroleague game this season. Kugo was one of just 11 players to see court time for Efes in the first three Top 16 games. The last window for signing and registering Euroleague players this season comes next week before Game 4 of the Top 16.

One of the central figures in what is shaping up to be a season for the record books for CSKA Moscow is center Nenad Krstic. The big man added to his stellar campaign this week by picking up Top 16, Week 3 bwin MVP honors and thus joining teammate Andrei Kirilenko among only three players to claim that title twice this season.

As confirmed by the club, CSKA Moscow forward Viktor Khryapa will be out for approximately one month, due to a dislocation on his index finger. Khryapa is expected to be back in March, which means that he will miss the rest of the Top 16. Khryapa has been one of the main pillars of the great CSKA performance this season, which keeps the team still unbeaten. In 12 Turkish Airlines Euroleague games, Khryapa has averaged 9.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists. The player will undergo further medical tests to conclude his diagnosis with more detail.