By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Both Barcelona and Olympiacos were the favorites against Alba and Unicaja Malaga but they suffered before getting their wins. Barca needed overtime over Alba Berlin (92-82) and Olympiacos prevailed over Unicaja by five points (77-72).
For the Reds the win in their 500th game in European competitions was a must and also that was the game in which Vasilis Spanoulis became the third all time leader in assists in the modern Euroleague era. He also had a double double (18 p., 10 as.) being the most decisive player of the game as Unicaja had the lead in the first half and Olympiacos got back in the game in the second half.
Barcelona underestimated Alba which was playing without injured Hammonds and McLean and after getting a 58-42 lead in the third quarter, believed that the game was over. Still the Germans proved their character, they got back in the game and tied it (77-77). However they didn’t have the manpower to stay competitive in overtime. Justin Doellman with 17 points was the top scorer of the winners.