CSKA Moscow won Group B and improved to 9-0 after a comfortable 91-75 victory over the holders Panathinaikos.
After a close first half, which Panathinaikos shaded 49-47, the hosts then pulled away with a 28-14 third quarter to lead 75-63. The turning point of that third period being a 14-0 run, as the Greeks crumbled and put CSKA in the driving seat.
Nenad Krstic, led CSKA Moscow with a 17 point, 12 rebound double-double. Russian internationals Viktor Khryapa and Aleksey Shved both added 16 points as well for the victors.
Panathinaikos were led by Ian Vougioukas, as he came off the bench to drop 17 points.
After the game, CSKA coach Jonas Kazlauskas paid tribute to the fans inside the Universal Sports Hall in Moscow for their support throughout the game.
“I am very satisfied with our team and I am thankful to the fans for the tremendous support, which become an important factor for our success,” Kazlauskas said.
Elsewhere, in what turned out to be a night of blowouts, Galatasaray advanced to the Top 16 with an 80-59 success over Union Olimpija.
Playing against his home-town club, Jaka Lakovic led the Turks with 16 points as Galatasaray held the Slovenian side to just nine points in the third period, whilst scoring 20 themselves.
Deon Thompson led all scorers with 21 points for Union Olimpija.
Joel Freeland led the way with 17 points as Unicaja Malaga secured their seventh straight Top 16 place with a 82-67 win at KK Zagreb.
Freeland also added eight rebounds to his tally, as he was supported by Luka Zoric’s 16 points and eight boards. Krunoslav Simon led Zagreb with 16, as his side drop to 2-7.
Emporio Armani Milano kept their hopes of a Top 16 place alive with a comfortable 88-53 home win over Belgacom Spirou.
Leon Radosevic led the Italians with 17 points as they never looked in any real danger against a poor Spirou side who were already eliminated from the Euroleague.
The Belgian side were led by Jiri Welsch and Andre Riddick, who both hit 12 points.
Partizan were soundly beaten away to Real Madrid, 101-83 which means that their game next week to Emporio Armani Milano is a winner-take-all encounter, with Partizan needing to either win, or lose by no more than three points to qualify for the Top 16.
Milano need to win by four points or more to advance.
Real Madrid, who were already through on the night, were led by Jaycee Carroll, who hit 22 points.
Caja Laboral were easy 90-55 winners over SLUC Nancy, who haven’t recovered from Nicolas Batum’s departure following the end of the NBA lcokout.
Mirza Teletovic was once again in sublime form, as he hit 22 points to lead the Spanish side.
