Besiktas dealt a blow to Montepaschi Siena’s hopes of reaching the Euroleague last eight as they picked up a surprise 72-70 win in Istanbul.
A lay-up by Tutku Acik with 0.6 seconds remaining secured the victory, which gave last season’s Eurochallenge winners their first Top 16 win this season, but despite already being eliminated, they inflicted a third straight defeat on the Italian giants as they go from near certainties to now preparing for battle to advance from Group F as they drop to 7-5.
Acik led Besiktas’ scoring with 17 points.
“We wanted to win today,” stated Besiktas coach Erman Kunter. “This was our first Top 16 win. We prepared well for the game with the goal of winning.”
Bobby Brown led Montepaschi with 19 points.
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Despite a late fightback, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Olympiacos 73-67 in Greece.
The Israeli side led from start to finish and enjoyed a 41-23 lead at the half. But the reigning Euroleague champions put up a brave comeback to narrow the gap to seven after three quarters but unfortunately it wasn’t enough.
David Logan had 20 points to lead the winners as they are now in a four-way tie for second place in Group F with Olympaicos, Khimki and Montepaschi Siena; all have 7-5 records.
Vassilis Spanoulis had 19 points for the Reds.
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Khimki were a little more comfortable as they defeated eliminated Fenerbahce 99-76 in Moscow.
23 points and seven assists from Pettori Kopponen helped Khimki on their way as they came back from a poor first quarter to seal an easy win.
Bo McCalebb had 18 points for the Istanbul side.
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