FC Barcelona took the lead for good in the final minute of the first half and held off Panathianikos’s second-half rallies for a 77-81 victory at Olympic Sports Center Athens on Thursday. The win lifted Barcelona to 6-3 and into a tie with Maccabi Electra for second place. Barcelona hosts Maccabi next week. Panathinaikos dropped to 5-4 and sits in fourth place in Top 16 Group E. Justin Doellman posted 21 points and 7 rebounds for the
winners
, while Juan Carlos Navarro scored 17 and Tibor Pleiss netted 15 in as many minutes before fouling out. Esteban Batista posted 16 points and 9 rebounds, James Gist scored 14 and Dimitris Diamantidis totalled 12 points and 6 assists for the Greens.
Score in each period: 21-16, 32-42, 52-57, 77-81
