By Fatih Erel

ISTANBUL

The 11th round of the 2018-19 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague regular season began on Thursday.

In the first match, Turkey's Darussafaka Tekfen was defeated by Israel's Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv 71-73 in Istanbul.

On Friday, last year’s EuroLeague finalist Fenerbahce will play against Greece's Panathinaikos in Athens while Turkey's Anadolu Efes will face Spain's Real Madrid in Istanbul.

EuroLeague competitions bring Europe's top basketball clubs together.

Sixteen teams are competing this season -- four Spanish, three Turkish, two Russian, and two Greek teams, and one team each from Germany, Italy, Israel, Lithuania, and Montenegro.

Turkey is represented in the tournament with Anadolu Efes, Fenerbahce, and Darussafaka.