By Niki Bakouli/ bakouli@eurohoops.net
The third place doesn’t provide anything to anyone in a Euroleague Final Four, however the game that decided the final standings between CSKA Moscow and Barcelona at least had a thrilling end.
The Russians beat the Catalans 74-73 thanks to two free throws by Aaron Jackson 27 seconds before the final buzzer. Barcelona had the last shot, but Marcelinho Huertas missed it and despite a rare offensive rebound by Sarunas Jasikevicius, there wasn’t time left for anything else. Viktor Khryapa had 16 points for the winners, Sonny Weems added 14 and Jackson 13.
The most impressive offensive performance came from Juan Carlos Navarro who had 17 points, however Barcelona is leaving London not only with a hurt ego, but also with the news that Nate Jawai will miss the rest of the season due to his leg injury. That’s a huge blow in the effort of coach Pascual’s team in the race for the title of Liga Endesa.