ATHENS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- AEK Athens withstood heavy pressure to edge Antwerp Giants 77-76 in Group C of the Basketball Champions League.

The reigning Champions League winners held the lead throughout the game thanks to Vince Hunter, who scored a game-high 19 points and had nine rebounds.

Antwerp tried to keep up, with Ismael Bako also scoring 19 points, and they came close to beating AEK Athens in the final seconds of the game, but Paris Lee missed the critical chance for the Belgian side.

The win sees AEK finish top of the Group C, and the Greek side now await Friday's draw to find out who their opponents will be in the round of 16. Possible opponents include French side Le Mans and fellow Greek outfits PAOK and Promitheas Patras are the possible opponents of last year's winners of the Basketball Champions League Cup.