Quarterfinals start March 23 - Mar 12, 2010 (by Eurobasket News)
The road to the 2010 Final Four in Paris saw eight more teams get off at the end of the Top 16 and only eight remain for the Quarterfinal Playoffs. One of them will be the new Euroleague champion on May 9 [read more]
The road to the 2010 Final Four in Paris saw eight more teams get off at the end of the Top 16 and only eight remain for the Quarterfinal Playoffs. One of them will be the new Euroleague champion on May 9. But first they need to get through the best-of-five playoffs! Of the teams that have stayed alive this far - Regal FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, Partizan Belgrade, Olympiacos Piraeus, Asseco Prokom Gdynia, CSKA Moscow and Caja Laboral - each Final Four since 2005 in Moscow has featured at least three of them! And the 2006 Final Four in Prague featured four CSKA, Maccabi, Laboral and Barcelona a foursome that could potentially reach Paris together! Among the quarterfinalists are Euroleague champions from five of the last seven seasons. Together the eight of them have won a whopping 21 Euroleague crowns overall. The matchups also offer a lot of significance. Spanish League super rivals Barcelona and Madrid square off again in the quarterfinals just four years after Barcelona bounced Madrid from the same stage. Maccabi, which won its first Euroleague crown in Belgrade in 1977, also faced Partizan in the 1988 Final Four. Meanwhile CSKA will try to extend its record run to an eighth consecutive Final Four. Its opponent, Caja Laboral, looks to return to the party after a year away broke its own string of four in a row. Laboral and CSKA met in the semifinals in both 2005 and 2008, each winning once. Meanwhile Asseco Prokom reached the last eight for the first time in club history. The Polish champs look to make waves against Olympiacos, itself aiming to get back to the Final Four for a second straight season.
Quarterfinal 1: Regal FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid Game 1, Regal FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, March 23 Game 2, Regal FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, March 25 Game 3, Real Madrid vs. Regal FC Barcelona, March 30 *Game 4, Real Madrid vs. Regal FC Barcelona, April 1 *Game 5, Regal FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, April 7 * if necessary
Quarterfinal 2: Maccabi Electra vs. Partizan Game 1, Maccabi Electra vs. Partizan, March 23 Game 2, Maccabi Electra vs. Partizan, March 25 Game 3, Partizan vs. Maccabi Electra, March 30 *Game 4, Partizan vs. Maccabi Electra, April 1 *Game 5, Maccabi Electra vs. Partizan, April 7 * if necessary
Quarterfinal 3: CSKA Moscow vs. Caja laboral Game 1, CSKA Moscow vs. Caja Laboral, March 23 Game 2, CSKA Moscow vs. Caja Laboral, March 25 Game 3, Caja Laboral vs. CSKA Moscow, March 30 *Game 4, Caja Laboral vs. CSKA Moscow, April 1 *Game 5, CSKA Moscow vs. Caja Laboral, April 7 * if necessary
Quarterfinal 4: Olympiacos vs. Asseco Prokom Game 1, Olympiacos vs. Asseco Prokom, March 23 Game 2, Olympiacos vs. Asseco Prokom, March 25 Game 3, Asseco Prokom vs. Olympiacos, March 30 *Game 4, Asseco Prokom vs. Olympiacos, April 1 *Game 5, Olympiacos vs. Asseco Prokom, April 7 * if necessary
Last round of Top 16 - Mar 12, 2010 (by Eurobasket News)
Group E
Regal Barca - Partizan 82-64
Regal Barca had an easy job against Partizan - the only team who managed to beat Spanish champion in Euroleague this season. Barca ended Top 16 phase as No.1 of Group E and they will play against Real Madrid in the Quarterfinals. Partizan also advanced and they will meet Maccabi Electra. Juan Carlos Navarro (192-G-80) led Barca in scoring with 18, while Gianluca Basile (192-G-75) added 13 pts. Visitors got 14 points and 5 boards from Lawrence Roberts [read more]
Group E
Regal Barca - Partizan 82-64 Regal Barca had an easy job against Partizan - the only team who managed to beat Spanish champion in Euroleague this season. Barca ended Top 16 phase as No.1 of Group E and they will play against Real Madrid in the Quarterfinals. Partizan also advanced and they will meet Maccabi Electra. Juan Carlos Navarro (192-G-80) led Barca in scoring with 18, while Gianluca Basile (192-G-75) added 13 pts. Visitors got 14 points and 5 boards from Lawrence Roberts. Barca 5-1, Partizan 3-3. Partizan grabbed quick 2-7 lead at the beginning, but all after that belonged to Barca last night. The hosts made 16-14 turn and later ended first quarter with 22-16. Partizan came to 26-25 at the halfway of the second period, but still was not able to make a turn. Gianluca Basile and Vazquez shined in the finish of the first half brining their team 36-30 lead. Third quarter was the crucial one. Barca started with 5-0 run and few minutes later they reached 51-35. Juan Carlos Navarro drained a triple and Mickael followed him for 20-points margin, 58-38. Rest of the game was just formality, despite there was more than 10 minutes to go. Barca slowed down allowing Partizan to win the last period 21-22. The Quarterfinals start on March 18.
Panathinaikos - Marousi BC 82-79 Panathinaikos eliminated Marousi handing them 4th defeat in Top 16. It was very exciting game and second win for the Greens, who also said goodbye to 2009/10 Euroleague edition. PAO is No.3 and Marousi is the last ranked team in Group E. Mike Batiste (203-F-77, college: Arizona St.) nailed 21 points and grabbed 8 rebounds for PAO. Sarunas Jasikevicius (192-G-76, college: Maryland) and Giorgi Shermadini helped with 11 pts each. In the loosing squad, William Keys and Jared Homan netted 13 pts each. PAO opened the game better taking 13-5 lead. Visitors immediately woke up and for the next few minutes created 5-13 run. Thanks to mid-range shot by Mike Batiste, PAO had was 22-20 ahead after 10 minutes of play. Second quarter was pretty leveled with neither team making a serious lead. Marousi tied the score to 26-26 and later PAO grabbed 32-28. Williams Keys and his teammates made 41-39 turn in the finish of the first half, but Mike Batiste and Marcus Haislip stepped up for the hosts with triple and dunk for 41-39 (HT). In third quarter PAO reached plus 5, but Marousi replied with 0-7 run. This time it was Pat Kalathis who drained a triple for PAO, lifting it to 61-60 with 10 minutes to go. Teams exchanged in lead many times during the last quarter. In thriller finish, Sarunas Jasikevicius made one of two from the line for 82-79 and Marousi had 15 seconds for the last possession. They had the chance to tie the game but Keys and Kaimakoglou missed from downtown.
Group F
Montepaschi - Efes Pilsen 93-87 Both teams faced with elimination last week. Tonight, Montepaschi celebrated for third place in Group F having 3-3 score. At the same time, the Turkish powerhouse suffered fourth defeat for six appearances in Top 16. David Hawkins (193-G-82, agency: Buck Andre, college: Temple) and Romain Sato (194-G/F-81, college: Xavier) shined for the hosts with 22 points each. Charles Smith answered with 15 points for Efes Pilsen. Efes Pilsen had better start last night taking 7-12 lead. The hosts immediately replied with 7-0 run and later they made 26-18 lead (1Q). Kurtoglu, Rakocevic and Nachbar created 1-9 run for Efes Pilsen at the beginning of the second quarter, but David Hawkins answered with 8-0. In the finish of the first half Montepaschi reached plus 12, but Kurtoglu fixed the halftime score at 50-40. After basket by Romain Sato, Montepaschi reached 57-44 lead and it seemed that Efes Pilsen will not be able to respond once again. However, the Turkish giant had enough power to do it and they came to minus 5 with one quarter to go. Thanks to Guler, Charles Smith and Popovic, visitors managed to make a big turn with 6 minutes left, 76-77. Romain Sato stepped up for Montepaschi soon after that and with two consecutive baskets brought his team plus four, 89-85. Peker scored for Efes Pilsen, but Stonerook allowed the hosts to keep a 91-87 edge with 35 seconds left. Visitors made a mistake and Terrell McIntyre closed this game from the free throw line.
MMC Real M. - Maccabi T-A 64-66 Maccabi is No.1 of Group F thanks to thriller 64-66 victory in Madrid tonight. Alan Anderson scored both free throws with 4.3 second left and the hosts had last possession. However Llull's pass to Hansen was wild and time expired without Madrid shooting, leaving Maccabi to celebrate. D'or Fischer (211-C-81, college: W.Virginia) (8 rebs) and David Bluthenthal (202-F-80, college: USC) stepped up for the winners with 13 points each. Chuck Eidson (7 rebs) and Stephane Lasme (6 rebs) added 11 points apiece. The hosts got 14 points from Sergio Llull. Maccabi (4-2) will meet Partizan in the Quarterfinals, while Real Madrid (3-3) will play against Regal Barca in Spanish 'El Clasico'. Everything started good for Real Madrid, who grabbed 13-6 and later 17-8 lead. Doron Perkins finally replied for Macabbi cutting the margin to 17-10 after ten minutes of play. At the halfway of the second quarter Real Madrid seemed untouchable. They created 12-0 run, closed with a triple by Sergio Llull, and they had huge 29-13 lead. Maccabi missed 7 consecutive shots and committed 2 turnovers until Anderson stepped up with a dunk. Stephane Lasme and David Bluthental than stepped up for the guests and somehow closed the gap to 31-21 at the HT. Real Madrid had no troubles to keep comfortable lead in third period, despite Perkins fixed the score to 45-36 with 10 minutes to go. Than, visitors exploded. With six minutes left in the game they came to 50-46 and few moments later it was 55-52. Bluthenthal drained a clutch triple to tie the game and everything was open again. Maccabi grabbed its first lead in this game after great long-range shot by Chuck Eidson, and he made two free throws at the next possession for plus 3. Hansen replied with a triple with 13 seconds left and than Anderson made it twice from the line. As mentioned above, Llull's pass to Hansen was wild and time expired without Madrid shooting for the big joy of Maccabi Electra players, who managed to avoid Barca in the QFInals.
Group G
CSKA - Zalgiris 84-71 CSKA Moscow finished Top 16 phase as No.1 in Group G with five wins and just one defeat. Last nigth, the Russian powerhouse was too strong for Zalgiris Kaunas 84-71. Pops Mensah-Bonsu (206-F-83, agency: SportsTalent, college: George Washington) came up with 19 points and 8 rebounds for the Moscow team, while Trajan Langdon (192-G-76, college: Duke) and Zoran Planinic followed with 17 and 12 points respectively. Manas Kalneitis replied with 22 points for Zalgiris, who finished as No.3 in this group (2-4) and failed to reach the Quarterfinals. Dainius Salenga had 13 pts. First quarter was pretty leveled, but still CSKA finished it with minimum lead, 15-14. Andrey Vorontsevich scored the last basket in this period. Zalgiris replied with 0-4 after that, but that Kaun, Langdon and Holden created 9-0 for the hosts. CSKA reached plus seven after that and mostly owing to Pops Mensah-Bonsu kept it until the half time, 38-31. After the breather, the hosts continued in the same rhythm and at the midway of third period they grabbed first double-digit lead, 50-39. Few moments later it was 61-44 and question about the winner was resolved, despite there was something more than 10 minutes to go. Visitors were not able to treat and CSKA celebrated comfortable win to close this stage. CSKA will meet the second ranked team of Group H in the Quarterfinals.
Assec.Prokom - Unicaja 63-82 Unicja cruised past Asseco Prokom on the road finishing Top 16 phase as No.3 in Group G. The Polish powerhouse already booked a spot for the Quarterfinals last week and they already knew they will take on Olympiakos. Joel Freeland (208-F-87) top-scored in victory with 17, Berni Rodriguez (197-F/G-80) had 15 and Carlos Jimenez netted 2 points less for Unicaja. In defeat, Ratko Varda collected 16 points and 9 rebounds. Unicaja 2-4, Asseco Prokom 3-3.
The score was almost tied after 10 minutes of play, 21-20. Nothing has changed after that, except Unicaja touched plus 3 at the beginning of the second period. Neither of two teams was able to make a serious lead and they were totally leveled at the half time, 39-39. Ronnie Burrell scored the last basket for Asseco Prokom in the first half. Than in third, Prokom made 7-0 run for 46-39, but Unicaja immediately answered with 0-5. Visitors connected seven more unanswered points grabbing nice 46-51 lead. The hosts were unable to respond and visitors entered to last ten minutes with 55-62. When Unicaja reached 60-76 at the halfway of the last quarter, it was clear who the winner of the night will be. For rest of the time visitors just stretched their lead to 19.
Group H
Caja Laboral - Cibona 102-90 OT Caja Laboral advanced to Quarterfinals thanks to great 24-12 in overtime. With this victory, the Spanish squad remained on second place in Group H and they will meet CSKA in the QFinals. Mirza Teletovic (205-F-85, agency: Beo Basket) paced Caja Laboral to the next stage with 25 points and 9 rebounds. Fernando San Emeterio (198-G/F-84) followed with 19 points and 5 boards. For the guests, Marko Tomas and Vedran Vukusic (8 rebs) netted 23 and 20 points respectively. Caja Laboral 3-3, Cibona 1-5. The hosts grabbed 9-3 initial lead, but Cibona replied with 0-7 run after that. They made another 0-7 in the finish of first period for 18-19. Vedran Vukusic and Robert Troha led Cibona to plus 6 after that, and Eliyahu and Oleson closed the gap to 25-26 with basket and a triple. Vukusic was on fire and Marko Tomas also was in a game mood. Samo Udrih joined them from behind the arc and Cibona was up by 9, 25-34. Fernandro San Emeterio and Mirza Teletovic closed first half with free throws and 3-pointer for acceptable 32-37. It was do-or-die game and hosts showed their nerves. Cibona exploited that opportunity and they jumped to impressive 36-49 and the halfway of third period. The hosts were in big trouble, but they somehow managed to close the gap to 49-55 with one quarter to go. With five minutes left Cibona had plus 11 and it seemed Caja Laboral will not make it to Quarterfinals. However, Mirza Teletovic, Marcelinho Huertas and Fernando San Emeterio had other thoughts and they led Caja Laboral to fantastic comeback. With 1:25 to play, the hosts came to 73-74 and after basket by Huertas they grabbed one point lead. Radosevic dunked the ball on the other side, and Huertas was sent to the line. He made just the second FT for 78-78 and on the other side Gordon's intended game-winner from the arc was short. As it is mentioned above, in extra five minutes Caja Laboral destroyed Cibona and they will meet CSKA in QFinals.
Khimky - Olympiakos 96-83 Khimky handed first loss in Top 16 phase to Olympiakos, but failed to reach the Quarterfinals because Caja Laboral outplayed Cibona also tonight. Despite this defeat, Olympiakos ended this stage as No.1 in Group H and they will meet Asseco Prokom in the Quarterfinals. Khimky is No.3 with 3-3 score. Keith Langford (193-G/F-83, college: Kansas) (7 as) and Kelly McCarty (201-F-75, agency: Avi Zilberman, college: S.Mississippi) led the hosts tonight with 24 and 21 points respectively. Linas Kleiza and Milos Teodosic had 17 pts each for the Reds. Khimky had amazing first period yesterday. The Euroleague newcomer made 13-0 run at the very beginning sending a clear sign there won't be undefeated teams at the end of Top 16. Trio of Keith Langford, Kelly McCarty and Raul Lopez was amazing and together with Mozgov and Javtokas led Khimky to 32-19 in the first ten minutes. It is important to mention that Mavrokefalides and Schortsanitis brought the visitors within minus 13. Nothing has changed after that and Khimky had not trouble to take 55-40 after two quarters. At the halfway of third period Khimky was up by 22, 64-42. Olympiacos secured the first place in group H last week and they didn't need this one, but they still threatened in the last quarter. Baskets by Papaloukas and Childress gave the Reds hope and later they completed 0-10 run. With four minutes left, the host still were 85-74 up. In the finish, Jankunas triple and a steal and layup from Langford put the hosts up 94-81, and the game was over for Olympiakos. Unfortunately to Khimky, Caja Laboral escaped with OT win against Cibona meaning that the Moscow Region team will have to say goodbye to 2009/10 Euroleague edition.
Top 16 Week 5 MVP: Bojan Bogdanovic, Cibona - Mar 5, 2010 (by Eurobasket News)
Along with a first Top 16 victory that could yet lead to the playoffs, Cibona Zagreb this week also can celebrate the rise of another major talent, Bojan Bogdanovic (202-G/F-89), who has become one of the Euroleague's youngest weekly MVP's ever! After his team suffered through three consecutive three-point losses in Group H, the 20-year-old forward exploded on Wednesday to lead Cibona to a blowout 82-63 home win against Khimki Moscow Region [read more]
Along with a first Top 16 victory that could yet lead to the playoffs, Cibona Zagreb this week also can celebrate the rise of another major talent, Bojan Bogdanovic (202-G/F-89), who has become one of the Euroleague's youngest weekly MVP's ever! After his team suffered through three consecutive three-point losses in Group H, the 20-year-old forward exploded on Wednesday to lead Cibona to a blowout 82-63 home win against Khimki Moscow Region. Bogdanovic was lethal from long distance, making 6 of 6 three-point shots on his way to 22 points. His scoring, along with his 9 rebounds, a steal, an assist and 3 fouls drawn, added up to a performance index rating of 28, the highest among all Euroleague players in Wednesday and Thursday's games. Bogdanovic's Week 5 honor follows that of teammate Jamont Gordon (193-G/F-87, college: Mississippi St.), who had the best index rating in Week 4. Coming in second place this week was Mirza Teletovic (205-F-85, agency: Beo Basket) of Caja Laboral, who shined despite his team's road loss at Olympiacos with 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, a block and 7 fouls drawn, all good for a 26 index rating. Four players tied for the week's third-best index rating, 25. Josh Childress (203-G/F-83, college: Stanford) led Olympiacos past Caja Laboral with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists to clinch Group H's first place. Marcus Brown guided Zalgiris to victory against Asseco Prokom Gdynia with 23 points, 2 assists and 7 fouls drawn. Jorge Garbajosa (205-C/F-77, agency: Interperformances) helped Real Madrid beat Efes Pilsen on the road and qualify for the playoffs with 16 points on 4-of-4 three-pointers and 11 rebounds. And last but not least, Viktor Khryapa posted another great all-around performance - 11 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals - as CSKA Moscow locked up both a playoff spot and first place in Group G.
Individual highs: Pablo Prigioni (191-G-77) of Real Madrid, 10 assists
Teletovic was the best scorer of Top 16 Week 5 with his 25 points against Olympiacos. Jamont Gordon of Cibona remains the Top 16's best scorer at 21.4 points per game. Aleks Maric (211-C-84) of Partizan led all rebounders by pulling down 12 in a home loss to Panathinaikos. Curiously enough, his teammates Lawrence Roberts (8.4 rpg.) and Jan Vesely (8 rpg.) the Top 16's best on the boards so far. Pablo Prigioni of Real Madrid was the only player to record double-digits in assists this week, dishing 10 in his team's road win at Efes. He also climbed into the Top 16 lead with 5.8 per game. Terence Morris (207-F-79, college: Maryland) of Regal FC Barcelona collected 5 steals - more than anyone this week - to help his team get a playoff-clinching road win. Khryapa is the steals leader in this year's Top 16 at 2.8 per night. Stephane Lasme (203-F-82, college: Massachusetts) of Maccabi Electra had 4 blocks to help put his team in the playoffs with a home win against Montepaschi Siena. He ties teammate D'or Fischer atop the overall table for blocks, each with 2 per game. Childress, Garbajosa and Mario Kasun of Efes Pilsen, who posted 13 points and 11 rebounds against Madrid, were the only players to register double-doubles this week.
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