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Tau, Siena lead the pack at halfway point!
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 The halfway point of the Top 16 arrived in Week 3 with some unpredictable story lines that left two teams sitting prettier than the rest when the dust had finally settled. The two biggest winners, without doubt, were the only undefeated teams in the round so far: Montepaschi Siena, which beat visiting Panathinaikos 84-75 to go 3-0 in Group D behind Bootsy Thornton's 23 points; and Tau Ceramica, now 3-0 in Group E after a blowout 69-87 road win at Aris TT Bank as Sergi Vidal and Tiago Splitter scored 16 points each. Either or both of those teams could possibly qualify for the next round without winning again, although both will be aiming for first place and homecourt advantage in the best-of-three Quarterfinal Playoffs. Other teams at 2-1 will have the same ideas, however, especially two that now share their group leads. In Group F, a big move was made by Maccabi Elite, which blasted previously undefeated Real Madrid 94-75 at home in Tel Aviv, Israel as Will Bynum had 22 points, Terrence Morris 16 and 15 rebounds. Maccabi and Madrid are tied at 2-1 in first place. The same situation stands in Group G, where AXA F.C. Barcelona blew out visiting Roma 86-57 as Gianluca Basile scored 19 points and Jaka Lakovic 17, while Unicaja handed CSKA its first defeat, 72-67, behind Daniel Santiago's 20 points. Barcelona and CSKA are both 2-1 now. The other 2-1 team in the competition will never forget how it reached that record. Group E's Fenerbahce defeated Lietuvos Rytas 95-91 in overtime to end one of the strangest games in recent memory. Fenerbahce and its fans thought they had won on a shot by Will Solomon at the end of the fourth quarter, but that was ruled to have been launched after the buzzer. More than a half-hour later, overtime started and Fenerbahce made sure of the victory by following Solomon, who finished with 27 points. Fenerbahce is alone in second place in Group E, which has the only winless team left in the round, Aris at 0-3. The first-time winners in three other groups promise an interesting second half of the Top 16. Besides Unicaja getting in the win column in Group G, Olympiacos did so in Group F by outlasting Zalgiris 86-84 in overtime on Lynn Greer's 22 points. It was the Reds' first victory under new coach Panagiotis Giannakis. Finally, in Group D again, Partizan topped Efes 78-65 as Nikola Pekovic had 20 points. Partizan joined a three-way tie with Panathinaikos and Efes for second place, all at 1-2... MORE
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Wednesday-Thursday, February 27-28
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GROUP D
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STATS
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REPORT
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QUOTES
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PREVIEW
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WATCH
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Montepaschi vs. Panathinaikos
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Partizan Igokea vs. Efes Pilsen
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GROUP E
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STATS
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REPORT
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QUOTES
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PREVIEW
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WATCH
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Fenerbahce Ulker vs. Lietuvos Rytas
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Aris TT Bank vs. Tau Ceramica
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GROUP F
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STATS
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REPORT
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QUOTES
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PREVIEW
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WATCH
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Olympiacos vs. Zalgiris
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Maccabi Elite vs. Real Madrid
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GROUP G
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STATS
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REPORT
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QUOTES
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PREVIEW
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WATCH
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Unicaja vs. CSKA Moscow
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AXA FC Barcelona vs. Lottomatica
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STANDINGS Top 16, GAME 3
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GROUP D
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W-L
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PTS
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Montepaschi Siena
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3-0
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+29
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Efes Pilsen
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1-2
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-6
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Partizan Igokea
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1-2
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-6
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Panathinaikos
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1-2
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-17
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GROUP F
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W-L
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PTS
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Maccabi Elite
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2-1
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+8
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Real Madrid
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2-1
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-6
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Zalgiris
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1-2
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+14
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Olympiacos
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1-2
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-16
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GROUP E
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W-L
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PTS
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Tau Ceramica
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3-0
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+40
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Fenerbahce Ulker
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2-1
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-7
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Lietuvos Rytas
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1-2
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+8
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Aris TT Bank
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0-3
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-41
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GROUP G
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W-L
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PTS
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AXA FC Barcelona
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2-1
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+14
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CSKA Moscow
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2-1
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+13
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Unicaja
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1-2
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-5
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Lottomatica Roma
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1-2
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-22
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OTHER INFO
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Top 16
Game 3 co-MVPs
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STATISTICAL LEADERS
(Week 3)
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Points
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Aver.
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Solomon,
FB Ulker
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21.3
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Rebounds
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Aver.
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Morris,
Maccabi Elite
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10.3
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Assists
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Aver.
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McIntyre,
Montepaschi
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6.3
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Steals
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Aver.
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Langdon,
CSKA Moscow
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3.7
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Blocks
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Aver.
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Asik,
Fenerbahce
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