Intro:

Galatasaray Liv Hospital booked their place in Euroleague's play-offs with victory over Partizan NIS Belgrade, while Real Madrid lost at Zalgiris Kaunas and Unicaja Malaga ended their Top 16 season with a home win against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 95-85 on Friday (11 April).

Script:

The Euroleague Top 16 Group F saw a Galatasaray side face Partizan Belgrade looking to claim the fourth and final playoff spot.

The Turkish team has been decimated by injuries since the start of the season but was determined to secure the 7-7 record that would see them reach the playoffs.

The packed crowd pushed them forward with tremendous support in a game that Partizan refused to make easy for Galatasaray.

They eventually closed out the victory 64-55, enough to see them overtake Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar in the table.

Galatasaray will now face Barcelona in the best of five playoff series starting in Spain on Tuesday.

Staying in Group F and Zalgiris Kaunas were looking to end their Top 16 adventure in positive fashion as they played host to a dominant Real Madrid side.

Real Madrid had already secured second place in the group with CSKA Moscow currently topping the standings.

Kaunas gave their fans a night to remember, coming out on top against the Spanish giants 87-80.

The victory means Kaunas still finish bottom of the table with a record of 2-12 but go out of the competition on a high.

Meanwhile Real Madrid will face defending champions Olympiacos in the playoff series, the matchup is a repeat of last season's final.

Finally, at the Martin Carpena Arena, Unicaja Malaga were hoping to end their Top 16 series on a positive note against an already qualified Emprorio Armani Milan.

The Spanish side came into the game having lost four in a row, a run that cost them a playoff place.

However, they were able to give their fans something to smile about as they came out on top against an excellent Milan side, 95-85.

Malaga end the Top 16 in fifth place in Group E with a 6-8 record and narrowly miss out on the playoffs.

Emporio Armani Milan on the other hand, finish second behind Barcelona in the group with a record of 10-4 and will face Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv in the playoffs.