The current Euroleague champions and runaway Liga Endesa leaders have progressed to the quarter-finals but only just.
Barcelona defeated already eliminated Zalgiris 66-59 in a Group F clash in Kaunas to advance to the Playoffs but they were made to sweat by the Lithuanian side.
Trailing 34-28 at half-time, Zalgiris were in control and Barcelona were reeling. However Tomas Satoransky and Pau Ribas rescued the Catalan giants in the third, giving them a 49-48 lead heading into the final quarter and from there, Barca put on the defensive clamps, and gradually pulled away from the hosts to qualify.
“First of all we are happy for this win because it‘s very important for us and now we clinched a spot in the Playoffs,” Barca coach Xavi Pascual said. “This game wasn‘t very good for us. We made a lot of turnovers. In the first half we made 11, but in the second half we showed balanced defence and offence and took a victory at the end of the game.”
Pau Ribas returned from injury to lead the winners with 14 points, all in the second half. Joey Dorsey added 12 and 13 rebounds, while Juan Carlos Navarro had 10 points for Barcelona who finish the Top 16 with an 8-4 record. Zalgiris’ Euroleague season ends for another year with a 2-12 mark.
Reigning Euroleague champions Real Madrid were also on the verge of elimination but, like Barcelona, they advanced to the last eight after beating Khimki 83-70 in the Spanish capital.
Both teams concluded their Top 16 campaign with 7-7 records, but the result clinched a spot in the Playoffs for the holders at the expense of Khimki because of the head-to-head results in the Top 16.
Jaycee Carroll led Real Madrid with 23 points, which included five triples and Felipe Reyes added 18.
“We had home losses, some painful ones in the final seconds, but the team stayed very focused and we managed to stay alive before the last game,” Real Madrid coach Pablo Laso said. “We played at home against a good team that also tried to qualify, and I think we played a good game.
“The first twenty minutes were amazing basketball. People will say there was no defence, but that’s just saying; it was amazing. Both teams moved the ball great and we saw incredible basketball. Both teams paid the physical effort in the second half, which is logical, because the first half was outstanding. We were able to adjust some things we prepared, especially on defence, and it worked well for us.”
The results in Group F also ended Brose Baskets Euroleague season but they ended it with a bang as they ousted already qualified Laboral Kutxa 89-69 in Bamberg.
Bamberg end with a 7-7 mark in Group F, but they also needed losses from Barcelona, Real Madrid and CSKA Moscow in order to advance to the playoffs, but coach Andrea Trinchieri’s men learned early in the second quarter of this contest they have no chance to go through when Barcelona beat Zalgiris.
On the other hand, Laboral dropped to 9-5 and as a second-place team from Group F, will hold home court advantage in the Playoffs.
Daniel Theis finished with a career-high 21 points for the German side.
There was one Group E encounter with Anadolu Efes ending their Euroleague season, by beating Panathinaikos 91-86 in Istanbul.
Despite the result, Panathinaikos were already through to the quarter-finals, whereas Anadolu Efes were eliminated last week.
Dario Sari led Anadolu Efes with 15 points.
