SASSARI (Basketball Champions League) - Dinamo Sassari held on for an 80-78 win over AEK to keep their Basketball Champions League Play-offs hopes alive on Thursday evening.

The game was not short of drama, with AEK getting the better of the early stages before Sassari responded to take control in a contest that was nip and tuck all the way.

AEK refused to give up on the game, piling on the pressure from behind, tying it up on multiple occasions in the third quarter. And in the fourth, a Dusan Sakota three with six seconds remaining brought AEK to 79-78 to set up a nail-biting finish, but Sassari held their nerve to pull out the win.

"I am very satisfied because it was the strongest team that we can challenge right now,"said Sassari Head Coach Federico Pasquini.

"I was a little bit worried about how we can challenge them (AEK) physically and I am very, very satisfied about how we challenged them in the third quarter, as it was the quarter where they used a lot of energy. I'm satisfied with how my guys challenged those difficulties when we couldn't finish the game because they kept on coming back."

David Bell had 14 points on 5/7 shooting to lead Sassari, Stipcevic had 13 and 5 assists, and Savanovic 12 points.

Sassari improved to 5-6 in fifth place in Group E with the win, a spot behind AEK (6-5), despite the loss.

Michael Dixon led AEK with 18 points, Roko Leni-Ukic 16 and 6 assists and Sakota joined them in double figures with 13 points.