Top 16 Round 10: CSKA and Navarro celebrate! Top 16 Round 10 began with five Thursday games and finished with several happy teams. The happiest among them was CSKA Moscow, which became the first team to clinch a playoff berth from Group F. The group’s other winners also had plenty to smile about. In addition to two Top 16 Round 10 games decided by just 2 points, there was also an individual performance for the ages in a losing effort. Friday saw two more games come down to the last shot as Frgiskos Alvertis making his coaching debut a successful one. And the Euroleague saluted Juan Carlos Navarro as he became the competition’s career leader in games and minutes played as Barcelona clinched home-court advantage in the playoffs. Group E: FC Barcelona defeated two-time defending champions Olympiacos Piraeus 70-58 at Palau Blaugrana to lock up home-court advantage for the playoffs. Barcelona improved to 10-0, registered its 22nd consecutive Top 16 win and its 30th straight Top 16 home triumph - both all-time Euroleague records. It was a special night for Juan Carlos Navarro, who became the all-time Euroleague leader in games played (253, surpassing Theo Papaloukas, who attended the game) and minutes played (6,564, beating J.R. Holden). Brad Oleson paced the winners with 15 points off the bench and Ante Tomic tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds. Fragiskos Alvertis made a successful and a dramatic coaching debut as Panathinaikos Athens pulled out a 60-65 overtime road win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Jonas Maciulis sent the game into overtime with a tough triple, his only of the game, with 13 seconds left in regulation, and Antonis Fotsis had a three-pointer and a basket-plus-free throws in the extra session, putting Panathinaikos in front for good. Fotsis finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds and Stephane Lasme collected 11 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks for the winners. Thursday, despite a herculean effort by center Tibor Pleiss, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan downed Laboral Kutxa Vitoria 65-83 on the road for the team’s fourth consecutive victory. Pleiss led Vitoria with Euroleague career-highs of 30 points and 13 rebounds and almost single-handedly kept his team in it for stretches, but Milan was too strong. Curtis Jerrells led the winners with 17 points. A 13-1 fourth quarter run made the difference as Fenerbahce Ulker beat Unicaja Malaga 69-67 at Ulker Sports Arena. Fener led much of the way, but Unicaja took over late in the third quarter and led by as many as 8 after a Ryan Toolson triple early in the fourth. However Nemanja Bjelica and Luka Zoric stepped up when needed most and Bo McCalebb free throws and a Linas Kleiza slam in the final half minute sealed the outcome. Bjelica finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Group F: CSKA Moscow routed Partizan NIS Belgrade 84-52 to avenge its lone loss of the Top 16 and storm into the playoffs. A 16-0 second-quarter run put the game out of reach and CSKA coasted the rest of the way. Vitaly Fridzon and Sasha Kaun led a balanced CSKA attack with 13 points apiece and Victor Khryapa contributed 11 points, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. All 12 CSKA players in uniform scored and nine different players dished at least 1 assist. Bayern Munich bested Real Madrid 85-83 and thus denied Los Blancos a chance to clinch a playoff berth at Audi Dome. Nihad Djedovic scored 21 and Malcolm Delaney recorded 20 points and 6 assists to pace the winners. Madrid can reach the playoffs as soon as next week with a win. The game seemed to be in Madrid’s hands when a 15-2 second-quarter run gave the visitors a 34-42 halftime lead. However Munich never quit and behind Malcolm rallied back twice. The game was still tied, 79-79, with 71 seconds to go, but Yassin Idbihi scored a crucial tip in and Delanay and Bryce Taylor made big free throws to help ice the win. Another team closing in on a playoff berth, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv defeated Zalgiris Kaunas 77-67 at Nokia Arena. David Blu hit a pair of triples in the final minute of the second quarter, and Maccabi kept the visitors scoreless for five minutes at the start of the third, putting together a 15-2 run for 47-33 lead. The visitors never came closer than 6 points the rest of the way. Tyrese Rice finished with 19 points and 6 assists for the winners. On Friday, Carlos Arroyo scored the go-ahead layup with 17.7 seconds remaining – the last of six fourth-quarter lead changes – and the visitors defended strong on the final possession as Galatasaray Liv Hospital edged Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 66-67 on the road. The result leaves the two teams tied for fifth place in Group F with 4-6 records, trailing Munich by one win for fourth place. Arroyo, whose three-pointer earlier in the quarter had also put his team in front, finished with 14 points. Manuchar Markoishvili – in his first game back from an Achilles tendon injury in October – led the visitors with 19 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 23:53:15 +0000