Basketball-Euroleague's big three advance into playoffs

By Zoran Milosavljevic BELGRADE, April 4 (Reuters) - Holders Olympiakos Piraeus, six-time champions Panathinaikos and four-time winners Maccabi Tel Aviv reached the Euroleague playoffs with one quarter-final spot available in the last round of the second group stage. The trio joined Real Madrid, CSKA Moscow, Barcelona and Emporio Armani Milan who had already booked their last-eight tickets, while Galatasaray and Lokomotiv Krasnodar are vying for the last remaining place. Olympiakos endured a patchy run in the Top 16, which features two groups of eight teams, but showed their mettle when it mattered as playmaker Vassilis Spanoulis sank 17 points in an 83-78 win at Anadolu Efes Istanbul on Friday. Their cross-town rivals Panathinaikos Athens cruised to a 69-60 home win over Spaniards Unicaja Malaga while Maccabi Tel Aviv edged hosts Bayern Munich 94-92 in a rip-roaring contest thanks to effervescent long-range shooting. Maccabi nailed 13 of 18 three-pointers in the Audi Dome to silence a vociferous home crowd that included the Bayern soccer club stalwarts Bastian Schweinsteiger and Franck Ribery, with Tyrese Rice scoring 18 points and five assists for the visitors. "That was just a tremendous basketball game and I salute both teams for their effort and class," Maccabi coach David Blatt told www.euroleague.net. "Qualification for the last eight was one of our main goals this season but we would still like to make the Final Four. I am happy and proud of this accomplishment and look forward to a great series against Milan." HOME ADVANTAGE Maccabi, who will finish third in group F, will meet group E runners-up Milan in one of the four quarter-final ties to be played on a best-of-five basis, with the Italians holding the home court advantage in case of a tiebreak. The other three match-ups are yet to be determined, with Barcelona assured of topping Group E and poised to lock horns with either Galatasaray or Lokomotiv, who are deadlocked on six wins and seven losses ahead of the final round in Group F. The Turkish side missed a chance to steal a march on Lokomotiv in the race for a playoff spot as they suffered an 86-85 overtime defeat at another Russian team CSKA Moscow. The hosts made full use of their roster to cancel out an impressive solo effort by Galatasaray's Serbian forward Zoran Erceg who notched 35 points. Erceg buried seven of his nine three-point shots as the visitors threatened to cause a major upset but CSKA's former NBA guard Sonny Weems raised his game in overtime when he scored all of his 12 points. "We had some good and bad moments in the game and we know we have to work hard to be solid in the playoffs," said the Russian giants' Italian coach Ettore Messina. Lokomotiv were thrshed 81-55 by Real as the record eight-time Euroleague winners stayed in the Group F driving seat. The winners of the four quarter-final ties will advance to the May 16-18 Final Four in Milan. (Editing by Ken Ferris)