The quarter-final line-up for the Euroleague has been set after a thrilling final night of Top 16 action.
In Group E, CSKA Moscow finished top of the group after they edged Panathinaikos 69-63 at the OAKA.
Viktor Khryapa led the victors with 13 points in a physical encounter where the Greens led 50-47 heading into the fourth quarter but crumbled when it mattered, allowing CSKA to play their style of basketball that they were seemingly unable to do for the majority of the contest and come away with the win.
“It was a playoff game, very tough and difficult for both teams,” CSKA Moscow coach Ettore Messina said. “It is not easy to win here, but I am happy because we pressed our opponents in defense and played good in offense. We committed a lot of turnovers, but on the other hand we dished 19 assists.”
Michael Bramos led all scorers in vein for Panathinaikos, who finish in fourth place in the group.
Real Madrid finished second in Group E thanks to a 86-66 success over Anadolu Efes in the Spanish capital.
A strong first quarter showing from the Liga Endesa side paved the way for a comfortable win. Sergio Llull led five Madrid players in double figures with 16 points.
Jordan Farmar had 11 points for Anadolu Efes, who finish third.
Elsewhere in Group E, Alba Berlin signed off from this season’s Euroleague with a 68-55 road win at Unicaja Malaga. Jekel Foster led the German side with 13 points while Luka Zoric and Txemi Urtasun both led Malaga with 12 points.
Zalgiris gave their loyal following a victory in their final Euroleague game b condemning Brose Baskets to 0-14 with a 90-81 win in Kaunas.
Ksistof Lavrinovic led Zalgiris with 20 points with Anton Gavel equaling that for Brose Baskets.
In Group F, Barcelona were going to finish top, no matter what happened but they still began the road to the quarter-finals with a 74-71 win over Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv.
Despite the loss, the Israeli side have finished third in the group with an 8-6 record.
Alejandro Abrines led the Catalan side with 21 points in 21 minutes with Devin Smith and Ricky Hickman each scoring 16 for Maccabi.
Kostas Papanikolaou led Olympiacos to second place in Group F and at the same time, eliminated BC Khimki by defeating them 79-70.
Papanikolaou had 21 points as the reigning Euroleague champions held off a few challenges from their Russian counterparts to grab the win.
“It was a very crucial and an extremely difficult game, because Khimki has the best frontline and the best creator in the Euroleague,” Olympiacos coach Georgios Bartzokas said.
“They are very good in the post up play, while Zoran Planinic dished 13 assists in the game we played there, but tonight he had only four. We fought for fourty minutes, we outrebounded them and that was a main factor to win the game.“
James Augustine had 19 points to lead Khimki.
Perhaps the most crucial scoreline of the night though went the way of Caja Laboral, who defeated Montepaschi Siena 76-64 in front of 15,000 fans at the Fernando Buesa Arena.
This result sends the Spanish side through and Montepaschi Siena out. 27 points from Maciej Lampe sealed the deal with Bobby Brown’s 24 points unable to help the Italians.
“The team seized the opportunity, we did what we had to do, leaving Siena chanceless and waiting for the other results in Barcelona and Moscow,” said Caja Laboral’s Andres Nocioni.
“It’s a great feeling. This is why I came back to Europe after two seasons in the NBA with few chances to play. I prepared myself for this for a long time, waiting for the opportunity of joining a winning team and doing things like this.”
Friday: Besiktas end on a high
Besiktas ended their Euroleague season with an 80-73 success over Fenerbahce at the Abdi Ipecki Arena.
A Daniel Ewing free throw in the final seconds relegated Fenerbahce to bottom spot in Group F as both teams ended with 2-12 records but Besiktas finished with the head-to-head advantage.
Ewing led Besiktas with 17 points.
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Quarter-Finals
CSKA Moscow vs Caja Laboral
Olympiacos vs Anadolu Efes
Barcelona vs Panthinaikos
Real Madrid vs Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
