After a 0-2 start in the Top 16, Scavolini is now tied for second place in Group E after hanging on to defeat visiting Real madrid 90-88 in an overtime thriller on Thursday in Pesaro, Italy. Hanno Mottola's three-pointer in the final minute of overtime provded the game-winning points for Scavolini's second consecutive home victory. Scavolini and Winterthur FC Barcelona share 2-2 records for second place behind CSKA Moscow, which is 3-1, while Real Madrid fell to 1-3. Two games remain in the Top 16, and only the first two finishers make the next round, the quarterfinal playoffs. Mottola came off the bench to lead the winners with 23 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Charles Smith added 19 points for Scavolini and Marko Milic 12. Real Madrid got 17 points from Louis Bullock and Elmer Bennet, 16 from Pat Burke and 10 from Antonio Bueno.

Real Madrid found inside baskets early as Bullock and Burke pulled the guests ahead 2-4. Bullock copied a triple by Smith of Scavolini to keep the guests ahead, but Archibald's put-back and layup returned the lead to the hosts, 9-7. Scavolini's defense became the main character as 3 consecutive steals allowed Smith to fire up 7 points in a row to make it 16-7. Madrid used fullcourt defensive pressure alternating with zones to make up possessions and pull itself within 16-11 as Hervelle scored from inside the lane and Mickael Gelabale on a fastbreak dunk. Mottola entered the game with a corner jumper, and then Matteo Malaventura scored from downtown for a 21-17 Scavolini lead at the first break.

Madrid pulled ahead 21-24 to start the second quarter with a 0-7 run featuring baskets by Bennett and Burke. Archibald got another layup before Antonis Fotsis found a key triple for Madrid. Smith's driving layup made it 25-27, but Madrid pushed ahead further now, with a dominating 10-4 run. Mickael Gelabale went coast-to-coast for a basket-and-free throw, Antonio Bueno scored 4 straight and Alberto Herreros nailed a three-pointer to push the lead to 29-37. Scavolini struggled to go inside against the Madrid big men, when Mottola and Smith found holes, the hosts climbed within 35-39. Bullock had other ideas as his 4 points opened Madrid's lead to 6 again, 37-43. Tomas Ress got a couple points back for Scavolini before the teams hit the lockers with Madrid up 39-43 at halftime.

Archibald and Antonio Bueno traded baskets to start the third quarter, and Smith's fastbreak got Scavolini within 43-45. Fotsis responded with a pull-up shot and Bueno with a layup, but Madrid didn't escape because Smith and Penn found a triple and a driving basket, respectively, to cut the lead to a point, 48-49. Archibald gave the hosts back a lead, 50-49, with free throws. Almost 3 minutes limited to free throws ended with Burke popping a mid-range jumper to put Madrid back in front, 51-52. Mottola then scored after a diving save by Alessandro Frosini, putting Scavolini back in front, but when Madrid finally got its first three-pointer of the half, a pair came back-to-back off the hand Bennett, boosting the visitors to a 53-58 edge. Mottola's pair of buckets and defensive stop made it a one-point game again, at 57-58, but Madrid was able to widen that to 57-61 on a difficult jump shot by Gelabale to end the third quarter.

Bennet assisted Burke to open the final quarter before Malaventura struck with a huge three-pointer that made it 60-63. Penn found holes in Madrid's defense now, feeding Archibald to start a 7-0 Scavolini run that featured a triple by Tomas Ress and a go-ahead layup by Marko Milic, putting 67-65 on the scoreboard as the Pesaro crowd went crazy. After a tiemout, Madrid hit back with 5 unanswered points, including a three-point play by Bullock, to surge ahead 67-70. When Gelabale sank from the corner, the guests were ahead 69-74, but Madrid now sturggled against Scavolini's 2-3 zone defense and the host drew within 73-74 on a layup by Penn. With Archibald fouled out, Scavolini stayed in its zone as Mottola nailed a big three-pointer to tie 76-76. He followed that with baseline basket-plus-free throw for a 79-76 Scavolini lead, but with a minute left, Bullock tied with a three-point shot. Penn stole and put Scavolini up 81-79 but Bennet was good for 2 free throws with 5 seconds left that sent the game to overtime after a game-winning three-point try by Malaventura missed.

Herreros got Madrid ahead to start overtime with a three-pointer. Mottola and Milic combined for 4 points to put Scavolini ahead, but Madrid took back the lead at 85-86 on a mid-range jumper by Burke. Bullock's drive then gave Madrid a three-point edge, 85-88, with 1:50 left. Milic made 2 free throws before Axel Hervelle's shot was blocked by Smith, letting Mottola find the go-ahead triple at the othe end that made it 90-88. After Bullock missed from downtown, Penn got but missed a pair free throws. When the second one dropped out, however, Smith found the offensive rebound to secure an emotional Scavolini win.