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Thrills, shockers build bridge to playoffs!
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 The last week of the Top 16 may go down in Euroleague history as a change-of-the-guard moment like few others as fully half of the eight playoff qualifying spots were decided in perhaps unexpected fashion. Two of the youngest teams in the entire competition seized transformational home victories to advance at the same time that last year's champion, another Final Four participant and the would-be host team of this year's season finale were all eliminated. For all but two of the Top 16 teams, survival or home-court advantage in the playoffs came down to Week 6. In Group D, the biggest bomb dropped when Partizan knocked out defending champion Panathinaikos with a memorable 82-73 victory before a euphoric home crowd in Belgrade. Milt Palacios scored 24 points, including a killer layup near the finish, while Dusan Kecman added 16 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. The Group D winner was decided when Montepaschi Siena bested Efes Pilsen 80-67 behind Romain Sato’s season-high 25 points. Although tied for first place with Partizan with 4-2 records, Montepaschi was group winner based on a better head-to-head point difference between them. In Group E, Fenerbahce Ulker vaulted into the playoffs by handing Tau Ceramica its first Top 16 loss, 75-59. Willie Solomon matched his season-high with 28 points, hitting 5 of 6 three-pointers, to lead Fenerbahce, whose entire frontcourt during the Top 16 was 21 years old or younger. Fenerbahce's victory meant that Aris TT Bank topping Lietuvos Rytas 83-74 did not affect the Group E standings. In Group F, a great comeback was completed and the would-be Final Four host deflated when Olympiacos topped Real Madrid 72-63 as Panagiotis Vasilopoulos had 14 points. Olympiacos became just the third team in the four-season playoffs era to begin the Top 16 with a 0-2 record and still advance, while Madrid was the second to start the Top 16 with two victories and get eliminated. Group F's winner was Maccabi, which topped Zalgiris 80-66 on Yotam Halperin's 17 points and 8 assists. Group G's last qualification went to Barcelona, a 64-62 winner over CSKA, which had already clinched first place, as Jaka Lakovic had 14 points. Theo Papaloukas of CSKA dished 10 assists in the game, giving him a new Top 16 record of 42. If CSKA's last-second three-pointer had fallen, Barcelona would have been eliminated, but since it did not, Unicaja's 79-58 home win over Lottomatica went for naught. Barcelona and Unicaja finished tied and won against each other on their home courts, but Barcelona did so by a single point more, and advanced on the strength of that difference. The best-of-three quarterfinals, scheduled for April 1, 3 and 10, look like this: Montepaschi Siena vs. Fenerbahce UIker, Tau Ceramica vs. Partizan Igokea, Maccabi Elite vs. AXA F.C. Barcelona, CSKA Moscow vs. Olympiacos. It marks the first time in three seasons that the Final Four is sure to have two new teams as compared to the previous season before the playoffs even start... MORE
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Wednesday-Thursday, March 19-20
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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. Efes Pilsen
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Partizan vs. Panathinaikos
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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. Tau Ceramica
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Aris TT Bank vs. Lietuvos Rytas
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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. Real Madrid
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Maccabi Elite vs. Zalgiris
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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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AXA FC Barcelona vs. CSKA Moscow
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Unicaja vs. Lottomatica Roma
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STANDINGS Top 16, GAME 6
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GROUP D
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W-L
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PTS
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1-Montepaschi Siena*
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4-2
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+38
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2-Partizan Igokea*
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4-2
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+10
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Panathinaikos
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3-3
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-16
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Efes Pilsen
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1-5
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-32
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GROUP F
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W-L
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PTS
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1-Maccabi Elite*
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4-2
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+20
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2-Olympiacos*
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4-2
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+7
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Real Madrid
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3-3
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-4
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Zalgiris
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1-5
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-23
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GROUP E
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W-L
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PTS
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1-Tau Ceramica*
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5-1
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+43
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2-Fenerbahce Ulker*
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3-3
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+5
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Lietuvos Rytas
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2-4
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-1
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Aris TT Bank
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2-4
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-47
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GROUP G
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W-L
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PTS
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1-CSKA Moscow*
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4-2
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+62
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2-AXA FC Barcelona*
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3-3
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+10
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Unicaja
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3-3
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-6
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Lottomatica Roma
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2-4
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-66
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* Qualified to playoffs 1- Clinched first place 2- Clinched second place
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OTHER INFO
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Top 16
Game 6 co-MVP
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STATISTICAL LEADERS
(Week 6)
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Points
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Aver.
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Solomon,
FB Ulker
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20.5
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Rebounds
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Aver.
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Morris,
Maccabi Elite
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10.2
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Assists
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Aver.
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Papaloukas,
CSKA
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7.0
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Steals
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Aver.
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Solomon,
FB Ulker
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3.0
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Blocks
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Aver.
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Asik,
Fenerbahce
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3.2
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GAME 6 SLIDESHOW
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