Panathinaikos demonstrated great performance in the first game of the Euroleague Top 16. The reigning Greek champion cruised past Lietuvos Rytas on the road for 1-0 record in Group E. Mike Batiste (203-F-77, college: Arizona St.) shined for the Greens with 26 points. Kostas Kaimakoglou (206-C/F-83) had 16 points and 9 boards, while Kostas Tsartsaris (210-F-79) added 12 points. On the other side, Rytas got 11 points and 8 boards from Milko Bjelica (207-C-84, agency: Beo Basket). Khalid El-Amin (178-G-79, agency: Beo Basket, college: Connecticut) and Kenan Bajramovic (206-F-81, agency: Beo Basket) netted 10 points each. Lietuvos Rytas started the game better making 21-18 lead after first ten minutes. They jumped to plus 7 at the beginning of the second quarter, but PAO players improved after that cutting the margin to 3 pts. Rytas was better in the finish of this period and went to the HT with 33-29. Third period was the crucial one tonight as Mike Batiste and his teammates smashed the home squad with 8-24. They were extending their lead in the last quarter for the final 59-80 victory and 1-0 in Group E. PAO will host Unicaja in the next round, while Rytas will meet Caja Laboral in Vitoria.

Unicaja — Caja Laboral 71-76
Caja Laboral started the Top 16 phase in style. The reigning Spanish champion celebrated 71-76 victory in Malaga to join Panathinaikos with 1-0 record in Group E. Marcelinho Huertas (191-G-83, agency: Edge Sports) stepped up for his team with 19 points (valuation 26). Fernando San Emeterio (198-G/F-84) and Mirza Teletovic (206-F-85, agency: Beo Basket) (8 rebs) helped Caja Laboral with 14 and 13 points respectively. In Unicaja, Joel Freeland (208-F-87) collected 16 points and 7 rebs. Carlos Jimenez (205-F-76) (7 rebs) and Roderick Blakney (181-G-76, college: S.Carolina St.) netted 13 pts each. Caja Laboral was slightly better at the beginning as they made tiny 19-21 in the first ten minutes. Marcelinho Huertas and his teammates continued in the same rhythm and they jumped to 35-41 at the halftime. Unicaja won Q3 with 18-17 and was still in the game. However, the home squad did not have enough power in the last ten minutes and they faced with 5-point home loss in the first game of Top 16 phase. In the second round, Caja Laboral will host Lietuvos Rytas. Unicaja goes to Athens, where they will meet Panathinaikos.

Group F
Regal Barca — Maccabi T-A 81-71
Regal Barca was too strong for Maccabi Electra at the Palau Blaugrana tonight. The reigning Euroleague champion celebrated 81-71 victory for 1-0 score in Group F. Juan Carlos Navarro (192-G-80) was unstoppable as he scored 24 points and handed out five assists to his teammates. Navarro made 5 of 10 attempts from behind the arc and he reached valuation 27. Alan Anderson (198-G/F-82, agency: Priority Sports, college: Michigan St.) had 16 and Kosta Perovic (217-C-85) nailed 12 points (6 rebs). Visitors got 13 points and 8 boards from Doron Perkins. Richard Hendrix (203-F-86, college: Alabama) had 13 points and 6 rebs. Regal Barca took control on Maccabi from the beginning as they created plus 5 in the first quarter, 21-16. Visitors improved after that and managed to cut the margin to 4 pts until the HT. Third period was the crucial one in this game as Barca won it 22-16. It means that the hosts had 63-53 lead with 10:00 to go, what was too much for the Israeli powerhouse. In the second round of Top 16, Regal Barca goes to Ljubljana. Maccabi will host Lottomatica Roma.

Lottomatica — Union Olimpija 63-64
Union Olimpija grabbed 63-64 thriller win against Lottomatica Roma tonight. Two free throws by Kenny Gregory (197-G/F-78, college: Kansas) with 8 seconds to go were enough for Olimpija to escape with a win as Nemanja Gordic missed the last shot almost on the buzzer. Gregory had double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds for Olimpija. He was the MVP of this game with valuation 30. Saso Ozbolt (188-G-81, agency: World Sport Agency) secured a great help adding 16 points and Damir Markota (210-C/F-85) added 9. For the home squad, Vladimir Dasic (207-F-88, agency: Beo Basket) demonstrated nice performance collecting 18 points and 11 boards. Nihad Dedovic (196-F-90, agency: Beo Basket) followed with 10 pts and 7 boards. Union Olimpija started the game with quick 0-8 run, but the hosts replied with 13-5 soon after that. Lottomatica had 19-18 at the end of Q1 and 35-33 after twenty minutes of play. Thanks to Vladimir Dasic, Nihad Dedovic and Washington, the hosts jumped to 43-35 at the halfway of third period, but Olimpija answered with 1-8 run and Roma was forced to call a time out. Third period finished with 49-47 and there was 10:00 to go. Teams exchanged in lead and Roma had 63-62 with 40 seconds remaining. Washington tried to drive to the basket but clashed with the Olimpija defense. As mentioned above, Gregory made two FTs and Gordic drove to the rim but missed. In the next round, Union Olimpija will host Regal Barca. Lottomatica will go to Tel-Aviv.

Group G
Efes Pilsen — Montepaschi 60-58
Very exciting game was played in Istanbul tonight. Efes Pilsen escaped with tiny 60-58 victory against Montepaschi for 1-0 record in Group G (same as Real Madrid). Marvis Thornton (194-G-77, college: St.John's) was a key player for the hosts as he collected 12 points and 9 rebounds. Thornton reached valuation 28 and was the MVP of this meeting. Igor Rakocevic (191-G-78) was the leading scorer in Efes Pilsen with 17 pts (valuation 7), while Lawrence Roberts (205-F/C-82, college: Mississippi St.) helped with 8 pts and 6 rebs. Milovan Rakovic (208-C-85) replied with 16 points and 8 boards for the guests, and Rimantas Kaukenas (193-G-77, college: Seton Hall) posted 12 pts. Efes Pilsen made 18-17 in the first and 11-10 in the second period for plus two at the halftime. They jumped to 47-40 for the next ten minutes and were looking good. Efes Pilsen reached 52-43 at the beginning of the last period, but than Milovan Rakovic and Rimantas Kaukenas stepped up for the guests cutting the difference to 52-47. Moss joined them with a basket and Lavrinovic joined the fun then closing the 0-8 run. It was 52-51 for the hosts and there was five minutes left. Thanks to Vujcic, Efes Pilsen stopped Siena and after that Lawrence Roberts and Marvis Thornton lifted the home squad to 57-51. Efes Pilsen went to the last 30 seconds with 59-55, after what Wisniewski made one FT. Zisis raise up from the corner for a triple to suddenly make it 60-58. When Efes missed two chances on its last possession, Zisis came up with the ball and a chance to finish what he started, but his running triple hit the front of the rim and fell out, keeping the first Top 16 victory of Group G in Istanbul. In the next round, Efes Pilsen will meet Partizan in Belgrade. Montepaschi waits Real Madrid.

Real Madrid — Partizan 78-58
Real Madrid had no troubles to beat Partizan in the first game of the Top 16, Group G. Second quarter was the crucial one in this game as the home squad smashed Partizan 26-9. Sergio Llull (190-G-87) was in a game mood tonight scoring 21 points. He made 9 of 10 attempts from the line. Clay Tucker (195-G-80, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Wisc.-Milwaukee) had 18, while Carlos Suarez (202-F-86, agency: Court Side) and Pablo Prigioni (191-G-77) added 9 points. For the Serbian powerhouse, Jan Vesely (211-F-90) was the leading scorer with 13 points. Nathan Jawai (207-C-86, college: Midland CC) (5 rebs) and Curtis Jerrells delivered 12 points each. As mentioned above, the Whites destroyed Partizan in the second quarter 26-9 keeping the comfortable lead for rest of the game. Partizan was slightly better team at the beginning (17-18), but they were not able to resist any longer. Real was 43-27 up at the HT and they jumped to 58-40 after 30 minutes of play. Last quarter was just the formality and the Whites celebrated first victory at this stage. In Round Two, Real Madrid goes to Siena. Partizan will host Efes Pilsen.

Group H
Valencia — Zalgiris 73-59
Valencia opened the Top 16 phase with excellent 73-59 home win against Zalgiris. The last season's EuroCup winner got 20 points from Dusko Savanovic (204-F/C-83, agency: Beo Basket), who was the MVP of this meeting with valuation 25. Victor Claver (207-F/C-88) scored 14 points, while Ukrainian big guy Serhiy Lishchuk (210-C/F-82, agency: Beo Basket) helped with 9 points and 12 rebounds. Zalgiris did not have anyone with double-digits in scoring. Their best player was DeJuan Collins (188-G-76, college: Tuskegee) with 7 points and 7 boards. Martynas Pocius (196-G-86, agency: Interperformances, college: Duke) stopped to 9 pts with poor shot percentage. Both teams are Group H participants. Zalgiris was slightly better in the first quarter as they grabbed 20-21 lead. However, Valencia players drastically improved after that stopping their rivals to just 10 pts for the next 10 minutes. They made 19 on the other side for 39-31 lead at the HT. Zalgiris came to 39-35 after the breather, but Martinez responded with a triple and later Valencia jumped to plus 9. Jankunas nailed a catch-and-shoot jumper and Brown beat the buzzer with a nine-meter bomb to get Zalgiris as close as 54-50 after 30 minutes. However, Dusko Savanovic and his teammates exploded in the last period making nice 12-2 run, which allowed them later to celebrate the first win in Top 16 (Q4, 19-9). In the next round, Valencia will meet Fenerbahce Ulker in Istanbul. Zalgiris will host Olympiakos.

Olympiakos — Fener.Ulker 70-84
Fenerbahce Ulker exploded in the last quarter against Olympiakos (29-12), what allowed them to register very important road win at the beginning of Top 16 phase. The Turkish champ celebrated 70-84 victory and they share the first place in Group H with Valencia, who also won in Round One. Marko Tomas (201-G-85) top-scored for Fener with 19 points and his countrymate Roko-Leni Ukic (195-G-84) added 17 pts. Omer Onan (194-G-78) followed them with 14 points. For the Reds, Thodoros Papaloukas (200-G-77, agency: FCM) came up with 15 points and 5 rebounds. Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82, agency: Beo Basket) stopped to 14 pts. Olympiakos was slightly better team in Q1 as they had 18-16 lead. Visitors made 24-27 turn at halfway of the second period and they later jumped to 26-33, but Vassilis Spanoulis and Nesterovic then stepped up for the hosts tying the score to 33-33 until the halftime. Teams exchanged in lead during the entire third period and thanks to Halperin and Spanoulis, the Reds were 58-55 up after it. All after that belonged to Fenerbahce Ulker. First they made 63-64 turn and few minutes later it already was 65-73 for the Turkish champ. Olympiacos kept struggling to score right when it mattered and Ukic capped a game-breaking 0-12 run with a free throw, 65-76. Olympiacos had been scoreless for more than 5 minutes. Visitors managed to stay in control and to keep their lead until the end of the game. In the next round, Fenerbahce Ulker waits Valencia. Olympiakos will go to Kaunas.