Olimpija holds off Besiktas, grabs road win


Union Olimpija Ljubljana held off a wild fourth-quarter rally to edge Besiktas Integral Forex Istanbul 68-70 on the road in Group D on Wednesday. Olimpija had an 18-point lead with over 8 minutes remaining but managed to escape with a win behind 13 points from Halil Kanacevic and Sasu Salin. JaJuan Johnson led Besiktas with 20 points. Chris Lofton added 17 while Ryan Broekhoff had 12 for the hosts. A rain of three-pointers allowed Olimpija to get a 12-19 lead after 10 minutes and extend it to 22-33 late in the second quarter. Kenecevic had been scoreless in the firsf half but his 10-point third quarter allowed Olimpija to boost its margin to 36-53 after 30 minutes. Hristo Nikolov soon made it an 18-point gane, 37-55, but Lofton, Broekhoff, Kerem Tunceri and Johnson brought Besiktas back to life. Lofton sank a triple which made it a one-point game, 68-69, but Kanacevic drew a foul, split free throws and allowed Olimpija to get a good-as-gold road win.

Olimpija started strong, as Mirza Begic and Hristo Nikolov scored in the paint. Three-pointers by Salin and Marko Marinovic soon gave the guests a 4-10 lead. Lofton and Broekhoff tried to change things for Besiktas but Salin and Blaz Mahkovic answered from downtown to keep Olimpija way ahead, 8-17. A jumper by Lofton and a dunk by Johnson brought Besiktas a bit closer, 12-19, after 10 minutes. Both teams traded baskets early in the second quarter, as Olimpija found a new go-to guy in Gregor Horvat. A dunk by Hilton Armstrong kept Besiktas within 18-24. Luka Rupnik joined the three-point shootout and even when Tunceri answered from beyond the arc, Begic and Nikolov gave Olimpija a 22-33 margin. Armstrong and Johnson kept Besiktas within 24-33 at halftime. Kanacevic nailed a triple right after the break and soon added a layup for a 12-point Olimpija lead, 26-38. Kanacevic kept pacing Olimpija and a put-back layup by Alen Omic made it a 15-point game, 32-47. Armstrong shined with a four-chance basket and Broekhoff dunked but Omic and a triple by Sasin boosted the guests' lead to 36-52 after 30 minutes. A jumper by Nikolov seemed to seal the outcome, 37-55, but Besiktas had other ideas. Three-pointers by Tunceri, Johnson and Broekhoff brought the hosts back to life, 51-59. Nikolov scored again and Marinovic hit a triple but Muratcan Guler and Lofton brought Besiktas as close as 61-64 with a minute left. Marinovic hit 3-of-4 free throws and Kanacevic sank two more but Johnson scored twice and Lofton struck from downtown for a 68-69 score with 3 seconds left. Kanacevic drew a foul, missed his second attempt but allowed Olimpija to escape with a big win.