Panathinaikos eke through

Panathinaikos improved to 9-1 in Group C, enough to clinch a place in the next round with four games to go, while Partizan slumped to 4-6.

Partizan nearly overturned a 55-43 deficit from the end of the third period, but the Greens ultimately held on as Nikola Pekovic, who scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, failed to tip in an alley-oop pass from Milt Palacio with 2.4 seconds left in the game.

Elsewhere in Group C, Barcelona edged Chorale Roanne 98-79 in France thanks to a dominating third period to improve to 8-2.

The visitors outscored the Pro A club 25-15 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach, as Jaka Lakovic led Barca with 19 points including 3-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc.

Although Marc Salyers led all scorers with 30 points and added a game-leading 11 rebounds, it was not enough to save the French side.

Former champions CSKA Moscow joined Panathinaikos in the Top 16 with a comfortable 74-57 victory Union Olimpija Ljubljana in the Russian capital.

The Russian champions improved to 9-1 while the Slovenian title-holders dropped to 3-7, but kept their slim hopes of reaching the next round alive.

David Andersen led all scorers with 25 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field, adding a team-leading eight rebounds.

In Group B Unicaja Malaga virtually secured their place in the next round with a 89-70 home victory over Armani Jeans Milano to improve to an 8-2 record.

Berni Rodriguez led the hosts with 16 points, while Dusan Vukcevic scored 19 for the visitors.