Barcelona becomes first to reach Top 16

FC Barcelona Regal used a 12-0 third-quarter run to pull away from Brose Baskets Bamberg en route to an 86-66 road victory, which made Barcelona the first team to clinch a berth in the 2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16. Eleven of Barcelona’s 12 players scored, led by Pete Mickael with 17 points, while Erazem Lorbek added 14 points and Juan Carlos Navarro had 13 points as Barca improved to 6-0 in Group D. Bostjan Nachbar paced Bamberg with 18 points, but scored only 1 after halftime. Sergerio Gipson tallied 12 points and Anton Gavel scored 11 as Bamberg dropped to 2-4 in the group.

First quarter: Lorbek, Nachbar strong; six lead changes

Both teams started the game with the same lineups as last week with Gipson, Nachbar, Casey Jacobsen, Gavel and Maik Zirbes starting for the hosts while Barcelona started with Marcelinho Huertas, Navarro, Lorbek, Mickael and Ante Tomic. Huertas and Gipson swapped three balls to start the game before Lorbek hit a hook shot over fellow Slovenian Nachbar for a 3-5 lead. Gipson nailed his second triple and Nachbar knifed into the lane for a layup and an 8-5 Bamberg cushion. Navarro drained a triple from the left wing to even things at 8-8 but Zirbes scored back-to-back baskets in the paint to give the hosts a 12-8 advantage. And Nachbar’s jumper had Bamberg ahead 14-10. Lorbek’s free throw started a mini-Barcelona run with Mickael scoring down low for a 14-15 Barcelona lead. Gavel answered with a long ball and Philipp Neumann came off the bench for a basket in the low blocks to make it 19-17. Victor Sada scored for the Barcelona reserves, as did CJ Wallace with two foul shots for a 19-21 Barcelona lead. Nachbar backed down Wallace and converted a three-point play as Bamberg went back ahead only to see Nate Jawai score inside for Barcelona’s 22-23 lead after one quarter.

Second quarter: Nachbar keeps Bamberg in game with 10 points in quarter

Navarro and Joe Ingles sandwiched three-pointers around two John Goldsberry missed free throws for Bamberg as Barcelona’s cushion grew to 22-29. Latavious Williams got the hosts on the scoreboard and was answered at the other end by Tomic’s hook for his first points. After Nachbar and Williams both split two foul shots, Ingles nailed another triple to increase the advantage to 26-34. The Bamberg captain Jacobsen hit right back with a long ball of his own and Nachbar’s two free throws trimmed the gap to 31-34. Mickael drove too easily down the baseline for a layup and Bamberg coach Chris Fleming called a timeout with his team down 31-36. Lorbek tried to throw down a dunk but hit the front of the rim only to see the ball fly high above over the court and straight back in for a 33-38 Barcelona advantage. Nachbar came back down with a three-ball and Gipson’s jumper evened the game at 38-38. Marko Todorovic was the beneficiary of some fine passing for an inside layup and Mickael hit two jumpers for a 40-44 Barcelona cushion. Gavel downed a jumper to cut it to a two-point game but Bamberg could not prevent Navarro from burying a three-pointer at the buzzer to send Barcelona into the locker room ahead 42-47.

Third quarter: Barcelona pulls away with 0-12 run

Gavel converted on Bamberg’s first possession of the second half and Lorbek put back and offensive rebound at the other end before another Gavel hit a layup and assisted on a Gipson triple to even the game at 49-49. Lorbek answered however with a three-point play and Mickael hit a floater and Navarro a jumper for a 51-56 Barcelona lead midway through the third quarter. Bamberg could not hit their open looks and Zirbes missed a putback while Jawai scored inside, Wallace nailed a triple and Huertas converted in the lane for a 51-64 lead. Bamberg called a timeout and Williams snapped the 0-12 run with a jumper to pull within 53-64. Neither team could score in the final minute and that was the score after three quarters.

Fourth quarter: Barca never lets up

Sharrod Ford opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer for the hosts and Wallace’s hook shot was followed by a Gavel jumper. Xavier Rabaseda came off the Barcelona bench for two spectacular dunks on the break and a Bamberg timeout down 58-72 with six minutes remaining. Williams threw down a dunk of his own and swapped baskets with Tomic for a 62-74 score halfway through the fourth. Nachbar and Gipson each split two foul shots to move within 64-76, but Mickael scored three straight baskets, the third a three-point play to increase the advantage to 64-83 with two minutes left. Todorovic picked up some more good experience with three points down the stretch.