BELGRADE: Alba Berlin and Laboral Kutxa have reached the Euroleague Top 16 with a match to spare while the race for three more places in the second group stage will go down to the wire after some rip-roaring action on Friday.
Unics Kazan boosted their hopes with a 73-60 home win over 1999 champions Zalgiris Kaunas but their progress was put on hold by Nizhny Novgorod’s shock 65-61 victory at Anadolu Efes Istanbul.
A three-way dogfight for two berths in that section will be decided in the last round next week, when Nizhny host Unics in an all-Russian clash and Zalgiris play bottom-placed Italians Dinamo Sassari.
There is also one spot available in Laboral Kutxa’s group where either Neptunas Klaipeda or Galatasaray will join them, Olympiakos Piraeus and Red Star Belgrade.
Alba reached the premier club basketball competition’s second group stage for the second time with a 71-65 win at French side Limoges after a fine performance by American forward Jamel McLean, who finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.
French guard Fabien Causeur carried Laboral Kutxa to a 93-89 home win over Valencia, scoring 21 points in a thrilling contest whose outcome eliminated their fellow Spanish rivals.
Unics trailed Zalgiris by two points at halftime but stormed back after the break as Americans D’Or Fischer and Keith Langford netted 16 points apiece to keep alive their hopes of progressing.
Nizhny also grabbed a lifeline with a win after Trey Thompkins and Dimitriy Khvostov scored 14 points each to sink Anadolu Efes, who visit Real Madrid, winners of a record eight titles, in the last round of the preliminary group stage.
Olympiakos, who won the title in 2012 and 2013, secured top spot in their section thanks to a 64-59 home win over direct rivals Red Star in a match marked by a friendly atmosphere similar to when they met in the reverse fixture in Belgrade.REUTERS
