Eurosport - Sat, 15 Mar 02:28:00 2008
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv advanced to the EuroLeague quarter-finals by edging Real Madrid 103-100 in an overtime classic in the Spanish capital.
Maccabi will win Group F - getting the home court advantage and avoiding Group G CSKA Moscow in the next round - if they beat Zalgiris next week, while Real Madrid have a winner-takes-all game against Olympiacos to see who joins them in the last eight.
Three-pointers in the final two minutes of regulation by Terence Morris and Yotam Halperin allowed Maccabi to force overtime, 89-89, with Derrick Sharp clinching it in the final 23 seconds of overtime with six-for-six free throws.
Olympiacos Piraeus won their second straight game on the road to give themselves a chance of advancing from Group F, beating Zalgiris Kaunas 61-52.
The Lithuanian champs held small leads for much of the game and were 52-49 in front with just a couple of minutes to go, but folded down the stretch to hand the visitors a crucial win.
Meanwhile, Panathanaikos set up a frantic finish in Group A with a tight 77-76 win over Montepaschi Siena.
Both teams go into the final round of games next week with a 3-2 record, along with Partizan Belgrade.
Partizan kept their quarter-final hopes alive by beating Efes Pilsen 83-79 in Istanbul.
Partizan now need to beat Panathinaikos at Pionir Arena next week in order to make it to the last eight, while Efes now have no chance of reaching the knockout stage after dropping to 1-4.
Nikola Pekovic led the winners with 22 points with nine-for-12 shooting, while Uros Tripkovic added 12 and Milt Palacio and Milenko Tepic each had 11.
A run of three-pointers midway through the third quarter handed Partizan a 23-point lead, the visitors holding off a fourth-quarter rally to escape with an excellent away win.
Alex Sharratt / Eurosport