By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
In what proved to be a Top16 night to remember, Real Madrid (9-2) got revenge from CSKA Moscow (9-2) but not necessarily the top spot in Group F and in Group E Panathinaikos beat Fenerbahce in a crucial game which was also the apotheosis of Zeljko Obradovic in Athens.
In Madrid, a close game in the first half turned out to be a personal show by Rudy Fernandez who scored 28 points and just couldn’t be stopped. The same goes to Sonny Weems who also had 28 points for CSKA, however he didn’t had the supporting cast of Rudy and the absence of injured Milos Teodosic proved to be a major problem for the guests. The final 83-79 score produces a total tie between the two teams and the top spot of Group F will be decided by their total goal average.
In Athens, 20.000 Panathinaikos fans welcomed back their icon, Zeljko Obradovic, however on the court the situation was much different. Mike Bramos scored 23 points on 7/8 three pointers, the Greens (6-5) produced their signature defense and thanks to a good third quarter prevailed over Fenerbahce (5-6) with a score (76-67) that gives them the advantage in case of a tie with the Turks.
In Kaunas, Lokomotiv Kuban (5-6) played with fire against Zalgiris (1-10) which had just 10 players in its roster and in the end got a narrow 86-85 win after Euroleague legend Sarunas Jasikevicius missed the last shot of the game. The situation was similar in Belgrade, but the underdog, Partizan (3-8), found the way to upset Maccabi Tel Aviv (7-4) with a 72-70 win. The Israelis had the chance to send the game in overtime, but Guy Pnini missed the last shot.