Barcelona takes win in 300th game

BarcelonaBarcelona continued its historic season by playing for the 300th time in the Euroleague this century, more games than any other club. The Spanish club capped the milestone with an 84-89 win over Turkish team Anadolu Efes at Abdi Ipekci Arena in Istanbul on Thursday; however it took overtime to take the victory.

The Catalan club´s 300th game opened the record books to reveal that the club has won more games in the Euroleague than any other this century, with 126 Regular Season wins and 67 Top 16 victories. With a hard fought success over Efes, Barcelona also went 20 unbeaten in the Top 16, a record that stretches back to the 2012/2013 campaign. On top of that Barca stayed unbeaten at the top of Group E with an impressive 8-0 record, while Efes dropped to 2-6 in seventh place.

Ante Tomic was immense for Barcelona with a career high 26 points and 15 rebounds, a double-double that included 7 points in the decisive overtime period. Juan Carlos Navarro added 17 points and the veteran is still breaking personal records by hitting 11 assists, while Kostas Papanikolaou had 10 points.

Zoran Planinic was a driving force for Efes in the fourth frame and he joined Kostas Vasileiadis on 14 points while also delivering 9 assists. Jamon Gordon and Kerem Gonlum picked up 13 apiece in the losing effort.

First quarter
Erazem Lorbek needed two attempts to get the scoring rolling by giving Barcelona the first lead of the game. Marcelinho Huertas split a Dusko Savanovic penetration with a jump shot and two from the line to give the visitors a 2-6 advantage. Juan Carlos Navarro and Ante Tomic continued the scoring for Barcelona as the team opened a commanding 2-12 lead and forced a timeout. When play resumed Kostas Papanikolaou extended it further to 2-14 to complete an impressive 0-12 run for Barcelona. The hosts finally woke up and put together their own 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 17-22 at the end of the first.

Second quarter
Scoring was slow at the start of the second period, but Milko Bjelica worked the basket for Efes to get the scoreboard ticking over again. Even though the hosts were competing now, the Barcelona train just kept going as Navarro sunk a triple and Bostjan Nachbar faded away for two. The visiting team was proving adept at carving open the Efes defense, and the home team could barley stay in touch as the first half drew to a close. As the teams headed into the locker room the score read 26-38.

Third quarter
Considering Barcelona´s formidable form during the Top 16, a 12 point lead after halftime looked unassailable. However, the typically boisterous crowd in Istanbul got behind the Efes players and spurred them on. Kerem Gonlum and Jamon Gordon hit for the hosts to cut the lead to single digits, but once again Barca´s class shone through. Nachbar found net from beyond the arc and Tomic hit two to once again extend the lead, this time with the score at 30-44. The away team was in the groove as Tomic scored again and Nachbar slammed to cause another timeout at 33-48. Efes finally rallied to hit a fantastic 10-0 run on the back of consistent offensive play and after 30 minutes the score stood at 48-53.

Fourth quarter
The tale of the game had been Barcelona having too much for Efes in the key moments, but in the fourth stanza the Turkish team finally stole the initiative. Kostas Vasileiadis hit from downtown after Gonlum´s two pointer to tie the game for the first time since the first minute of the game. Zoran Planinic was a threat for Efes and gave the team its first lead of the night midway through the last quarter (59-55). The home team held the lead for the rest of the stanza until the final seconds when Oleson was fouled and intentionally laid up from his free throw for Dorsey to tip in, sending the game to overtime.

Overtime
Tomic proved the difference for Barcelona as he opened the extra period with a two pointer and a hit from downtown (75-80). Plannic responded but Tomic struck again to record seven points in the 5 minutes and propel Barcelona to a very close win.

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