Basketball Strasbourg maul Fenerbahce as Olympiakos slip up

By Zoran Milosavljevic BELGRADE, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Euroleague also-rans Strasbourg produced the shock of round two after an effervescent performance gave them a 91-70 win over an expensively assembled Fenerbahce Istanbul on Friday. Spaniards Laboral Kutxa Vitoria enjoyed a 96-89 overtime home victory against Olympiakos Piraeus, the winners of three titles, while twice former champions Barcelona scraped a 78-72 win over Poles Stelmet Zielona Gora. Playing for only their third time in Europe's premier club basketball competition, Strasbourg treated their fans to a memorable performance. Fenerbahce, who reached the Final Four last season after several years of heavy investment, were second-best in every department against their unheralded rivals. American forward Kyle Weems scored a Euroleague career high of 22 points as the home side, roared on by a galvanised crowd, fired on all cylinders. Livewire playmaker Rodrigue Beaubois added 14 points, with Strasbourg hitting 11 three-pointers from 21 attempts and collecting 11 rebounds more than Fenerbahce. Greece centre Ioannis Bourousis sank his former club Olympiakos, racking up 28 points and 12 rebounds for a fired up Laboral Kutxa. The lead changed hands throughout the see-saw contest before the home side pulled away in the additional five minutes. "We knew that Olympiakos are a tough team who never give up but we had enough energy to see this through and come out on top," Laboral Kutxa's Croatian coach Velimir Perasovic told Euroleague television. Barcelona survived a scare against Zielona Gora, clawing victory from the jaws of defeat in the last three minutes. The Spanish giants forced a final twist with a 10-1 run, with Jamaican centre Samardo Samuels pouring in 23 points in the Blaugrana Arena. Elsewhere among other standout results, six-time winners CSKA Moscow strolled to a 107-78 defeat of Italians Dinamo Sassari and fellow Russians Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar snatched a 76-74 success at 1999 champions Zalgiris Kaunas of Lithuania. (Editing by Mark Meadows)