FC Barcelona secures top spot in EuroLeague regular season
FC Barcelona rallied past Fenerbahce on the road (73-82) and clinched the first place in the EuroLeague regular season.
The Catalans used a 5-20 run between the third and the fourth quarter and took control of the game to never look back.
Fenerbahce couldn’t recover after that and dropped to 20-13, as they are still fighting for the home-court advantage in the EuroLeague playoffs.
For its part, FC Barcelona, who have already qualified for the EuroLeague playoffs and have secured the home-court advantage, improved to 24-9.
CSKA Moscow clinched the home-court advantage in the EuroLeague playoffs, after dominating Khimki at home (97-72).
The Muscovites never trailed in the game and cruised to an easy victory, ensuring they will finish within the top four.
CSKA now is at 22-10, whereas Khimki dropped to 4-28, remaining on the bottom of the EuroLeague standings.
Zenit St Petersburg crushed ASVEL Villeurbanne at home on Friday night (87-53) and boosted its EuroLeague playoff hopes.
A 25-6 run in the third quarter was enough for the Russians, who secured an easy home win and entered the EuroLeague playoff zone.
Zenit improved to 18-14, with one game to go in the regular season. On the contrary, already-eliminated ASVEL Villeurbanne dropped to 12-20.
Valencia survived a late thriller against ALBA Berlin and escaped from Germany with a big win (86-90) to maintain its EuroLeague playoff push.
The Spaniards trailed by 18 early in the first half and 10 points early in the fourth (74-64), but outscored their opponents 16-26 to seal the deal.
Valencia now has a 18-15 record and remains just outside the playoff zone. Meanwhile, ALBA is at 11-22 and has already been eliminated from the EuroLeague playoffs.
Real Madrid never trailed over Olympiacos and earned the 72-63 win to come a step closer to the EuroLeague playoffs.
The hosts conceded just 26 points in the first half and took a double-digit lead to cruise to the win.
Real now is one step away from the EuroLeague playoffs, at 19-14. On the contrary, Olympiacos have already been eliminated and currently are at 15-18.