EUROLEAGUE - Post-Ivanovic Barca win over Maccabi; Yannakis' Reds fall to Maccabi

BARCELONA (Euroleague) - Barcelona gave care-taker coach Xavi Pascual a 64-62 victory over Unicaja Malaga on his debut while Panagiotis Yannakis lost his first Euroleague game in charge of Olympiacos in Top 16 action on Thursday.

Facing the team that knocked them out of the competition last season at the quarter-final stage, Barcelona, just hours after the club sacked boss Dusko Ivanovic, enjoyed a perfect start under Pascual.

They led by as many as 12 points in the first half and were still in front 62-55 four minutes from the end before surviving a nervous finish.

Leading 64-61, Barca fouled Croatia national team guard Davor Kus, who went to the line with 5.2 seconds remaining and made his first free throw but intentionally missed the second.

Unicaja twice got offensive rebounds and put up potential game-tying shots but missed both.

Afterward, Pasqual admitted it had been a very tough day for the club but said the win was just what the Catalans needed.

"I want to thank our fans today," he said.

"We had to overcome a strange environment and they helped us a lot. I also want to congratulate my players on the way they reacted after such a long day."

Jaka Lakovic, who will play for Slovenia this summer at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens, had 14 points for Barcelona.

He also spoke with a sense of relief after the contest.

"It was a different game tonight, as everything happened in just a few hours," he said, referring to Ivanovic's departure.

"It was a shock for everyone, but that's life. We had to regroup and show that we can play as a team."

Spain big man Fran Vazquez scored 10 for Barcelona against his former team.

As for Yannakis, the Greece national team coach who recently took over at Olympiacos after the Reds parted with Pini Gershon, he will have to go back to the drawing board.

Yannakis said at his unveiling that fans would need to be patient as he puts his imprint on the team, and on Thursday the Greek legend watched his players fall 75-67 at home to Maccabi, who played without injured Croatian center Nikola Vujcic.

Not surprisingly, Yannakis talked about the third quarter when his team was outscored 29-16, and also the 'P' word in his post-game press conference.

"We were impatient during that time," he said.

"Patience will be the key in our team. We have to show patience during the whole game, no matter what the fans may want.

"We cannot achieve everything in a day's time; we need to work hard physically and mentally. Our goal is to create a team that wins every game under any circumstances. I am just asking for patience …"

Israel international Yotam Halperin and Terence Morris each had 16 points for Maccabi.

Another Greek team lost at home on Thursday when Fenerbahce Ulker prevailed 96-88 at Aris in Thessaloniki.

Real Madrid scraped an 88-85 triumph at home against Zalgiris Kaunas and Montepaschi Siena put their Coppa Italia quarter-final exit behind them with a 71-54 victory over Partizan Belgrade.

Dunk of the night

Block of night

Assist of the night

FIBA