After two perfect starts in the Euroleague Basketball Group D, Efes Pilsen failed to make it three wins in a row last Wednesday night when it fell 69-78 to Greek side Panionios On Telecoms at İstanbul’s Abdi İpekçi Sports Arena.

Kerem Gönlüm led Efes with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds. Milos Vujanic scored 11 and Preston Shumpert and Bootsy Thornton each added 10 for Efes against the Greeks last week -- but it was not enough to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Efes Pilsen faces an even tougher challenge and needs to exert more effort when it takes on undefeated and upbeat group leader CSKA Moscow in the cold Russian capital this evening. As the most dominant team of the decade in European basketball and the defending Euroleague champion, CSKA Moscow is the team to beat in Group D.

Last Thursday, CSKA won the battle of wills to edge out Real Madrid 54-58 in the Spanish capital; Zoran Planinic scored 13 points for the Russians, Ramunas Siskauskas 11 and Terence Morris nine. These are the players Efes should keep a close eye on this evening in order to obtain a good result.

In domestic action, CSKA put both feet in the next round of the Russian Cup by simply overwhelming SibirTelekom Novosybirsk 113-48 at home on Saturday. CSKA led 38-25 at halftime but used a rain shower of three-pointers to boost its margin to 82-32 after 30 minutes, enough to seal the outcome of the series. This proves, without doubt, that CSKA is always a formidable foe at home as well as in Europe.

Efes warmed up for the Moscow game this evening by beating Beşiktaş Cola Turka 71-53, its third straight domestic league victory, in an İstanbul derby at the Ayhan Şahenk Sports Arena on Saturday. Efes Pilsen’s defense was at its best against Cola Turka and Efes will need that kind of rock-solid defense this evening to keep the sharp-shooting Russians at bay.

Other Euroleague matchups today are: SLUC Nancy vs. Zalgiris in Group B and Tau Ceramica vs. Lottomatica in Group C.

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