ISTANBUL (Basketball Champions League) - Medi Bayreuth put the finishing touches on a terrific Play-Offs Round of 16 performance by drawing 84-84 at Besiktas Sompo Japan on Tuesday night to advance to the Basketball Champions League Quarter-Finals with a five-point triumph on aggregate.

Winners of the first leg in Germany, 81-76, medi Bayreuth led for much of the second leg before settling for an 84-84 tie in Istanbul.

Gabe York, one of the competition's outstanding shooters from long range, drilled 5 3-pointers and led the German side with 17 points.

Bayreuth coach Raoul Korner got terrific execution for most of the game from everyone he gave minutes to. Assem Marei came off the bench and provided scoring in the low post, 15 points in all, and Nate Linhart was in total command with his dribble penetration, passing and shot-making.

He finished with 14 points and a couple of assists.

"For us, it's an historic win, almost 30 years that a Bayreuth team advanced to the top eight of a European competition. So this has an historic dimension for us and we're very proud of the achievement."Korner

De'Mon Brooks, Justin Robinson, Andreas Seiferth, John Cox, Bastian Doreth and Steve Wachalski were all terrific for medi Bayreuth, who are playing in Europe for the first time in 20 years and will now take on the winner of MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg's tie with EWE Baskets Oldenburg.

"I have to congratulate my team for a tremendous effort tonight and the last game, over the 80 minutes," Korner said. "We deserved to advance. It was a tough battle and we knew that Besiktas was a top team. They played really well and gave us a hard fight.

"At the end of the day, I think we managed to do the things we wanted to do. The players did a terrific job with their execution.

"I think we learned our lessons from previous setbacks. For us, it's an historic win, almost 30 years that a Bayreuth team advanced to the top eight of a European competition. So this has an historic dimension for us and we're very proud of the achievement."

DJ DJ Strawberry led all scorers with 23 points in defeat

Germany is therefore assured of having a team in the Final Four.

Besiktas, who lost to Pinar Karsiyaka in the Round of 16 last season, could not have asked for any more from DJ Strawberry. The captain hit 10 of his 19 shots from the floor and scored a game-high 23 points.

The hosts did go on runs but turnovers killed them each time, usually leading to points for medi Bayreuth. Besiktas also struggled at the free-throw line, making just 6 of 12.