By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
It was a thrilling Thursday night in Euroleague despite the fact that in many games at least one of the opponents was indifferent. For example in Tel Aviv, nothing changed in Group D after the 78-71 win of Maccabi over Lietuvos Rytas. There was a similar case in Greece, however unbeaten Olympiacos mounted once again a miracle come back and got the win over Siena (78-73). The Italians played without Daniel Hackett (hip injury) and are still on the race for a Top16 ticket in Group C, as they just need a win next week Unicaja in Florence.
The Spaniards showcased their character in the 77-72 win over Bayern Munich, however they haven’t yet secured their qualification. In Kaunas, Zalgiris made one more step towards Top16 by beating Anadolu Efes 65-63, despite trying to commit suicide and scoring just 3 points (!) in the last quarter, but nothing is yet guaranteed for them in Group B.
One game that was important in the final standings of Group A was the duel in Moscow with CSKA beating Barcelona 79-65 and getting the tie breaker advantage against the Catalans. That can be said also for Crvena Zvezda‘s win over Laboral Kutxa (81-65). The Serbs don’t have any chance of advancing, but after this result Panathinaikos can claim the third place of Group D standings.
However the upset of the night, Partizan beating Fenerbahce/ Ulker (79-77) in Istanbul may have some significance, as the Serbs stayed alive in the race against Nanterre for the fourth spot of Group C. The hosts missed three shots which could have send the game in overtime.