The Greek A1 basketball League could have three Euroleague Top 16 sides as the group stage draws to a conclusion next week.
Olympiakos had a stunning overtime away win against Turkish side Efes Pilsen, improving its record to 7-2 and almost eliminating the Turks.
Panathinakos are atop Group D along side Real Madrid with a 7-2 record after its 74-66 win over Polish side Asecco Prokom in Athens.
Finally, Maroussi kept alive its qualifcation hopes despite losing on the road to Caja Laboral who are in contention to take out top spot in Group C.
Efes Pilsen (TUR) 85 Olympiakos 93
A Group B thriller ensued as Olympiakos outgunned Efes Pilsen 85-93 in a memorable match on the road in Constantinople.
The win pushed Olympiakos a step closer to becoming group champions with a 7-2 record, while Efes dropped to 3-6 and must rely on other results to qualify for the Top 16.
Olympiakos dominated during most of the game and a 0-12 in the last period gave them the acendancy.
Heroics from Charles Smith brought Efes back into the tie as regulation time ended with the scores locked at 76-76.
In the extra session however, triples by new arrival Scoonie Penn and Josh Childress lifted the Reds to victory. The in-form Childress led all scorers with his 23 points, and 5 rebounds, Milos Teodosic added 17 and Linas Kleiza helped with 16 and 9 boards for the winners.
Olympiakos boss Panagiotis Giannakis was thrilled with the win, saying, “I think the fans enjoyed tonight’s game. Before the game, we knew that Efes Pilsen would put high pressure on us.
In the overtime we played smart and won the game. Next week I hope Efes beat Orleans and I hope they qualify.”
Panathinaikos 74 Aseco Prokom (POL) 66
Panathinaikos improved to 7-2 in Group D and kept alive its hopes of topping the Group after edging out Asecco Prokom Gdynia 74-66 in Athens.
Mike Batiste and Drew Nicholas paced the winners with 13 points apiece. Nikola Pekovic added 10 for PAO.
Batiste allowed PAO to get an early 16-6 lead but Woods and Ewing allowed Prokom to get within 23-18 after 10 minutes.
A big dunk by Batiste boosted the Greens’ lead to 28-18 but Ewing and an unstoppable Burrell made Prokom get its first lead, 36-28, seconds before halftime.
PAO trailed throughout the third quarter but a three-point play by Vassilis Spanoulis helped the Greens to regain the lead, 51-50, after 30 minutes.
It all came down to the final 3 minutes, as free throws by Jan Jagla got Prokom within 66-62.
Batiste and Sarunas Jasikevicius allowed Panathinaikos to seal the outcome down the stretch.
PAO’s Greek American guard Nick Calathes told Euroleague.net of his side’s focus after the big match.
“It doesn’t mean you have to face Euroleague contenders to play seriously. We try to play with motivation and seriously against all the opponents and that’s what we tried to accomplish tonight against Prokom.
The second thing we have to take care throughout the year is keeping the same rhythm in all our matches and playing together as a team.
I think we wanted it more and we got stops when we needed it. Our defense was definitely the key of the game and we move forward.”
Caja Laboral (SPA) 73 Maroussi 65
Caja Laboral stayed in the race to win Group C by downing Maroussi BC 73-65 in Vitoria, Spain while Maroussi remained in Top 16 contention despite the loss.
Maroussi kept fourth place after Maccabi Electra defeated Lottomatica Roma in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Maroussi will reach the Top 16 if it beats Maccabi next week or if Roma lose next week.Fernando San Emeterio and Mirza Teletovic paced the winners each with 15 points. Tiago Splitter added 14 on 7-of-9 two-pointers for Laboral.
Billy Keys and Dimitrios Mavroeidis each had 12 points for Maroussi while Jared Homan added 11 for Maroussi who led 2-14 early.
Splitter and Teletovic brought Laboral back to life, 16-19, after 10 minutes. A three-pointer by Carl English gave Laboral its first lead, 31-30, near halftime.
A driving basket by Kostas Kaimakoglou allowed Maroussi to get its last tie, 34-34, soon after the break. San Emeterio led a 15-0 run that broke the game open, 49-34, as Maroussi only rallied once the outcome was clear. Maroussi coach Giorgios Bartzokas praised his opponents but looked forward to achieving a Top 16 finish.
“We knew before the game that this was a difficult place to go for the win. Not only because Caja Laboral is a very good team, but because I think they are in a good momentum right now and they showed they are in good shape.
“We knew also that we needed to maintain a high level of concentration for 40 minutes. We started playing very well, we remained ahead at halftime, but our third quarter was pathetic. “If you let Caja Laboral play fast and find open shots, you won’t have any opportunity. We tried hard in the last period. We managed to make the difference smaller, which was good.
“Now we have the last game against Maccabi at home and I think that if we win we are going to play in the Top 16, which is a great success for us.
“We still have ambition, we believe on ourselves and I hope that playing in our arena, we can make it.
Maroussi host Maccabi Electra at home in the final group stage match next week.
