Janis Strelnieks nailed a go-ahead three-pointer with 4.7 seconds to give Brose Baskets a vital 72-71 win over Olympiacos in the Euroleague Top 16.
That game-winning three completed a dramatic comeback for the German side, who were five points down with under a minute to play when Nikos Zisis hit his only points of the game from deep leaving the Latvian international free to bury the game-clincher from the corner.
Both teams go to 4-6 in Group F, and are still out of the Playoff places, but still in contention. Brad Wanamaker and Leon Radosevic led the winners with 11 points each, while Georgics Printers led all scorers for Olympiacos with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
“They play very, very tough,” Strelnieks said. “That’s the adjustment we had to make. In the end, when you go off the court and you know that you beat them, that’s a very nice feeling. The game is over and now we have to recover and prepare for the next game.”
Laboral Kutxa responded to their first defeat in five last week with a 98-83 victory over Khimki in Baskonia to improve to 7-3 in the other game in Group F.
Ioannis Bourousis hit his tenth double-double this season for Laboral as his all-round display of 16 points, 13 rebounds along with six assists was pivotal in the victory. Darius Adams and Fabien Causer shined with 17 for the winners.
Alexey Shved led Khimki with 19 points as the Russian side go to 5-5.
FENERBAHCE CLAIM SPOT IN QUARTER-FINALS
Fenerbahce shut down Lokomotiv Kuban in the fourth quarter to seal a narrow 55-52 win in Krasnodar to claim the first quarter-final Playoff spot from Group E.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, who hit one of Fenerbahce’s go-ahead threes in the final period, led the winners with 17 points as they held Lokomotiv to just eight points in the final ten minutes. The hosts though did have an opportunity to take the game to overtime but Victor Claver’s potential buzzer-beating three missed the target.
Fenerbahce improved to 9-1 in Group E as they secure its second win over Lokomotiv in the Top 16. The Russian side drops to 7-3.
Unicaja Malaga snapped its six-game losing streak with a comfortable 91-78 victory over Cedevita Zagreb in a battle of the bottom two sides in Group E.
A 12-2 run that bridged the second and third quarters was enough for the Liga Endesa side but both sides’ hopes of a spot in the quarter-finals are still slim.
Nemanja Nedovic led the victors with 15 points.
