Maccabi Tel-Aviv made a dominant performance at “Palau Blaugrana” and crushed FC Barcelona (80-104).
The Israelis were in control from the opening tip and led by 11 at halftime (46-57). The hosts attempted a comeback in the third quarter (68-76). But, Maccabi outscored the Catalans 12-28 in the final part of the game to cruise to the victory.
This was the fifth straight win for Maccabi, which improved to 16-11 and kept its chances for the fifth place alive.
The Israelis have to defeat Fenerbahce on Wednesday (13/04) and will finish fifth if Anadolu Efes loses to Crvena Zvezda on Friday (08/04). If the reigning champions defeat the Serbians, then the Israelis will claim the sixth place.
On the other hand, FC Barcelona has clinched the top spot in the EuroLeague standings and will take on Bayern Munich in the playoffs. The “Blaugrana” ended the regular season at 21-7.
At Astroballe, ASVEL Villeurbanne attempted a late comeback, but Armani Milano stood tall and earned the win (80-81).
The French trailed by 12 (58-70), but turned things around late in the contest. ASVEL relied on its offense, outscored Armani 22-11 and made it an one-possession game. But, Chris Jones missed the game-winning two-pointer and the Italians emerged victorious.
Armani ended the regular season at 19-9 and will finish third if Real Madrid loses to Bayern on Friday. If the “Whites” defeat the Bavarians, though, the Italians will be fourth.
On the contrary, ASVEL Villeurbanne dropped to 8-20 and finished its EuroLeague campaign in the 13th place.
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