Panellinios BC punched its ticket to the Last 16 by holding off GasTerra Flames for a 57-63 victory on Tuesday in the Netherlands. Panellinios improved to 4-2 in Group E, clinching second place and moving into Last 16 Group L alongside Benetton Treviso, Alba Berlin and Cajasol. The game was close with the hosts cutting the difference to 2 twice in the fourth quarter, but Djuro Ostojic scored 5 points in a row and Maurice Bailey added 4 free throws as Panellinios iced the game with a late 2-10 charge. Bailey and Samo Udrih paced the winners with 14 points each. Evangelos Sklavos and Joseph Krabbenhoft added 11 apiece, with the latter grabbing 14 rebounds. Matt Bauscher finished with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists and Jason Dourisseau netted 15 for the Dutch champs, who bow out of the competition with a 1-5 record

Bauscher carried GasTerra early with 6 points in the first few minutes as the teams stayed close. Udrih and Krabbenhoft kept Panellinios neck-and-neck with the hosts until Dourisseau drilled a pair of threes in a 9-0 run that gave the hosts a 16-10 lead. Soon Robby Bostain added a three in helping the lead grow to 7. Sklavos got to the line and tallied 3 points on two possessions before Matthew Otten made it 21-15 after 10 minutes. Otten pushed GasTerra to 8 ahead early in the second quarter. However the hosts seemed to tire then and Panellinios took advantage. Sklavos led the charge with a basket inside and a triple in a 0-9 run to give his team the lead. Henry Bekkering countered with a basket-plus-foul and the lead changed hands a few more time as the teams traded baskets. Dourisseau lifted the hosts to 31-27, but Krabbenhoft tied it, Udrih added a three and Vassilis Xanthopoulos’s basket beat the buzzer to cap a 0-9 run and give Panellinios a 31-36 halftime edge.

A Krabbenhoft steal set up Bailey for a layup as Panellinios threatened to take over. But Bauscher and Bostain took charge with three quick baskets to bring GasTerra right back. Krabbenhoft and Bailey pushed Panellinios to 39-44 only to see Jason Ellis bring his team within 42-44 at the end of a low-scoring third quarter. Ostojic scored his first points of the night from the line before Udrih and Dourisseau traded shots from downtown. John Turek got involved and twice brought the home side within 2 points. However he could not stop Ostojic at the other end and he score 5 straight points as Panellinios rose to 49-57. A basket by Bauscher was not enough as the hosts tried to claw their way back, but Bailey was perfect 4 times from the line, raising the lead to double figures and effectively sending Panellinios through to the next round.