By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Barcelona and Maccabi Tel Aviv are the big winners of Thursday night in Euroleague’s Top16, as they both won on the road and are perfect after three weeks in the second phase of the competition.
In Piraeus, Barcelona was ready for a real fight and with a great third quarter in which Juan Carlos Navarro dominated the Catalans got a 55-48 lead. Olympiacos wasn’t ready to surrender, the Reds cut the lead of the guests to two points (66-64) with 3.47 minutes to go, but Navarro answered with a three and the hosts couldn’t get closer until the final 81-72 win of Barca. “La Bomba” had a great game with 21 points, while Spanoulis and Printezis had 17 points each.
In Kaunas, Maccabi Tel Aviv got to a 3-0 start in Top16 by being the best team in the closing minutes. Devin Smith (15 p., 8 r.) and Tyrese Rice (20 p.) were the key for the win with the help of Yogev Ohayon who dished 11 assists, registering a personal best. Zalgiris got one more great game by Justin Dentmon (21 p., 10 as.) but it was not enough. The hosts were leading 71-70 with five minutes to go, but Maccabi finished the game with a 17-7 run (87-78).
Last but not least, in Istanbul Lokomotiv Kuban got an important one point win (63-62) over Galatasaray as Derrick Brown scored 16 points and Mantas Kalnietis scored the three pointer that decided the game. Carlos Arroyo who had 19 points tried to beat the beazer and win the game for Galatasaray but couldn’t.