Winterthur FC Barcelona edging Efes Pilsen 82-73

Winterthur FC Barcelona took a crucial step towards reaching a playoff spot in Top 16 Group F by edging Efes Pilsen 82-73 at home in Palau Blaugrana, Spain on Thursday night. Barcelona improved to 2-1 and is second in the Group F standings right behind the unbeaten leader, Panathinaikos, first at 3-0. Meanwhile, Efes Pilsen dropped to 0-3 and needs a major comeback to get to the next round. Juan Carlos Navarro led the winners with 24 points on 6-of-10 three-pointers. Jaka Lakovic added 15 and 6 assists while Jordi Trias and Fran Vazquez each had 10 for Barcelona. Marcus Haislip had 18 points for Efes, Drew Nicholas added 16, Cuneyt Erden 15 on 5-of-7 three-pointers while Niksa Prkacin scored 10 points for the guests. The game saw as many as 10 lead changes in the first half, but Vazquez had 4 points in a 11-0 run that gave Barcelona a 37-30 lead at the break. Efes rallied in the final period and a four-point play by Nicholas gave his team a 67-68 edge midway through the final period. Navarro had 8 points in a game-breaking 11-2 run that sealed the outcome down the stretch.

Lakovic got Barcelona going with a four-meter jumper but Erden answered from downtown for a 2-3 Efes edge. Basile fired in his first three-pointer but Haislip matched it with a layup-plus-foul to keep Efes ahead, 5-6. A red hot Basile nailed another triple that Trias followed with a reverse layup for a 10-6 Barcelona lead. Nicholas fed Erden for his second bomb from downtown but Barcelona kept finding troubles to adjust its man-to-man defense. Meanwhile, Navarro joined the three-point festival but a driving basket by Haislip and an easy layup by Prkacin tied the game again, 13-13. Vazquez provided a highlight with a power dunk but free throws by Haislip and a stop-and-pop jumper by Nicholas provided another lead change, 15-17. Trias hit a five-meter shot but a corner triple by Fikret Can Akin gave Efes a 17-20 edge after 10 minutes.

Haislip took over with a fallaway jumper right at the start of the second quarter. Vazquez matched it with a six-meter shot while Roger Grimau buried a corner triple to tie it at 22-22. Trias capped a 7-0 run with a dunk that put Barcelona back ahead, 24-22. Efes called timeout and Antonio Granger fired in a triple from the right wing but Trias scored again for a 26-25 Barcelona edge. Efes found a go-to guy in Erden, who nailed another three-pointer to which Grimau quickly answered with a driving layup to tie it at 28-28. Barcelona kept powering the boards and did not allow open shots now. Kakiouzis had a huge block on Kerem Gonlum and scored in the other end while Lakovic added a running triple to make Efes call timeout at 33-28. The guests kept struggling to score, while Vazquez followed a layup with free throws to cap an 11-0 run. A wild put-back dunk by Haislip brought Efes within 37-30 at halftime.

Navarro shined with a driving basket right after the break, as Efes kept struggling to score, even missing open shots now - until Nicholas buried a big triple. Lakovic answered from downtown but Erden - who else? - took over with his fourth three-pointer. Navarro and Nicholas joined the three-point shootout, as both teams kept exchanging baskets at full speed. Navarro followed a fast break layup with another bomb from downtown, but Haislip also hit a triple for a 50-44 Efes deficit. Nicholas shined with a fast break basket that made Barcelona call timeout at 50-46. Trias stepped up with a baseline jumper but Prkacin scored in the low post and Nicholas dunked it to get Efes even closer, 52-50. Lakovic hit a big shot and Vazquez added a tip-in to give the hosts some air at 56-50. Haislip made foul shots and Prkacin scored inside while Navarro and Akin traded triples before a huge put-back dunk by Prkacin tied it at 59-59 after 30 minutes.

Vazquez left the game early in the final period with a back injury but Kakiouzis stepped up with a corner triple to give Barcelona a 62-59 edge. Efes went scoreless for more than 2 minutes while Kakiouzis hit a long jumper to make the guests call timeout at 64-59. Erden fired in another three-pointer but Lakovic answered from downtown to keep the hosts ahead, 67-62. Efes was not done, however, as Gonlum shined with a fast break layup while Nicholas simply took over with a critical four-point play to give his team a 67-68 edge. Navarro - a 90% free throw shooter - missed foul shots but hit a consecutive three-pointers to put Barcelona back ahead, 73-68, with under 3 minutes to go. Haislip hit free throws but Basile buried a triple to make it a six-point game, 76-70. Navarro hit free throws to put the victory on ice, as even when Granger nailed one from downtown, it happen to be too little, too late for the guests.