ATHENS (Euroleague) - National team standouts are taking center stage for their club sides all over the basketball world these days.

That is especially true in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague, where only Real Madrid have secured a spot in next month's Final Four.

In the most dramatic of the Euroleague Quarter-Finals being played so far, between Barcelona and Panathinaikos, the Spanish outfit leveled the best-of-five series at 2-2 on Thursday night.

Spanish great Juan Carlos Navarro had a game-high 17 points and Croatia's Ante Tomic 16 for Barca, who won Game 4, 70-60.

A crowd of 17,900 packed the OAKA in Athens, Greece, where the 2004 Olympics were held, to watch the contest.

Barca went into clash looking for a fast start and thanks to players like Australia's Joe Ingles, they achieved their arm.

Ingles, among the Boomers' top players at the London Games, knifed his way into the lane for a lay-up and a 15-9 lead, and he then gave Barca their first double-digit lead with a three-ball to make it 20-10 in the last minute of the opening frame.

"We started much better than in the three previous games and pushed Panathinaikos from the very first moment," Barcelona coach Xavier Pascual said.

"That gave us security and made us comfortable, even when they cut the margin to eight points.

"Then Navarro made a big three and we kept playing good defense."

Barca opened up a 27-16 lead midway through the second quarter, yet Pana stormed back.

At the start of the second half, the Greens twice reduced the deficit to two after baskets from Gabon international Stephane Lasme and Greece's Sofoklis Schortsanitis.

Barca tightened up on defense, however, and went on a 12-0 run for a 45-31 advantage.

Tomic, Erazem Lorbek (Slovenia) and Marcelinho Huertas (Brazil) scored all the points in the spurt.

The advantage ballooned to 17 in the fourth quarter and though Panathinaikos battled and got to within eight with less than five minutes remaining after a Lasme basket, Navarro immediately replied with a shot from the arc.

Panathinaikos will not be short of confidence as the series goes back to Barcelona for next Thursday's Game 5.

They fell in overtime in Game 1 in the Palau Blaugrana, but prevailed in Game 2.

Jonas Maciulis is one player Panathinaikos will need to be at his best if they are to win the decider and make it to London.

"To make it to the Final four is a great motivation and we will go there to fight for that goal," said the Lithuanian, who played in the British capital last summer at the Olympics.

Anadolu Efes will be at home to face defending champions Olympiacos on Friday night while Caja Laboral will host CSKA Moscow.

Olympiacos and CSKA both lead those Quarter-Final series, 2-1.

FIBA