Basketball-Euroleague giants suffer as Russians have their day

By Zoran Milosavljevic BELGRADE, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Nine-times Euroleague winners Real Madrid and the premier club basketball competition's six-time champions Panathinaikos were stung by unheralded Russian rivals in the season's opening round on Friday. Holders Real, who have won a record number of titles, were beaten 84-70 at Khimki while Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar enjoyed an 81-70 home victory over Panathinaikos. An expensively-assembled Fenerbahce Istanbul nearly suffered the same fate but ground out a 74-67 success against less fancied Bayern Munich after winning the final quarter 22-8. Having seen traditional rivals Barcelona stunned at Turkish debutants Karsiyaka Izmir on Thursday, Real must have been aware of the banana skin they faced on the outskirts of Moscow. They trailed Khimki form the start and were undone by a flowing effort in which five home players ended in double scoring digits, led by forward Marko Todorovic who finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. It was a second successive defeat for an ageing Real who were beaten 88-82 at home by Valencia in their Spanish league opener on Sunday. "We are going through a difficult time early in the season," Real playmaker Sergio Rodriguez told www.euroleague.net. "Obviously we were not ready for this game and we have to work hard in order to improve." Panathinaikos, whose new Serbian coach Aleksandar Djordjevic signed three compatriots during the off-season, were just as ineffective in their defeat by Krasnodar. Americans Chris Singleton (16 points) and Malcolm Delaney (14) propelled the home side, who nailed eight three-pointers from 17 attempts and collected 16 rebounds more than their rivals. Serbia centre Miroslav Raduljica led Panathinaikos with 15 points but his countrymen Ognjen Kuzmic and Sasha Pavlovic added only six between them as the visitors committed 15 turnovers. "I congratulate Lokomotiv on a great win but we shouldn't allow opponents to out-rebound us like that," said Djordjevic, who performs a dual role because he also coaches Serbia. "Our hands were down when they hit some crunch shots. We are a team with a lot of experience and cannot make such mistakes." Fenerbahce trailed by up to 15 points in the opening three quarters but turned the tide with ironclad defence in the final 10 minutes in Istanbul. Italy forward Luigi Datome led the Turkish side with 15 points, Greece guard Kostas Sloukas chipped in with 13 and Czech centre Jan Vesely added 11, forcing Bayern into submission. (Editing by Ken Ferris)