Barca stay unbeaten, Gala beat Zalgiris

Barcelona continued their unbeaten start to the Euroleague top 16 with a 63-56 win over Panathinaikos on Friday. The Group E leaders edged past the second-placed Greek outfit to seal a fifth straight win in a frenetic contest in Athens. Barca took a commanding 44-32 advantage into the second half, but the hosts fought back admirably and had reduced the deficit to five by the end of the third quarter. However, the Spanish side hung on to strengthen hopes of a place in the quarter-finals, with Marcelinho Huertas' 17 points proving key to the Catalan side's fortunes. Zalgiris Kaunas remain winless at the bottom of Group F as Galatasaray earned only their second victory of the top 16 stage with a 90-83 triumph. Galatasaray held a five-point lead at the interval and, despite superb showings from Martynas Pocius (26 points) and Robertas Javtokas (21 points, 9 rebounds), Zalgiris were unable to turn things around. Anadolu Efes continued the theme of Turkish success as they overcame Laboral Kutxa 72-66. The Istanbul side led 37-34 at the end of a tight first half and quickly pulled away in the second half to ensure a second consecutive win. Elsewhere, Lokomotiv Kuban held off Partizan to seal a 87-81 victory. The contest was finely poised going into the fourth quarter in Belgrade, with Lokomotiv holding a slender three-point lead. And it was the Russians who finished the stronger of the two sides, outscoring the Serbian side 24-21 in the final period as Lokomotiv moved just one game adrift of top spot.