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.