Olympiacos came out on top, but it was a great effort by the French side
Olympiacos, ASVEL demonstrated why every EuroLeague game matters
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Regular Season
Round 9 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Tuesday’s clash between Olympiacos Piraeus and LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne could serve as the perfect example why every game matters in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
On one side was an Olympiacos team coming into the duel on the back of three straight victories against powerhouses Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens. On the other was an ASVEL side missing leader Nando De Colo and the league’s top rebounder, Neal Sako (8.5 rpg). The visitors sat second bottom in the standings (2-6), having gone on a four-game losing streak coming into the game in Piraeus.
Yet, it was the guests that hit the ground running at Peace and Friendship Stadium and forced Olympiacos to trail for the majority of the game. Evan Fournier opened the scoring in transition and Sasha Vezenkov made it 4-2, but a triple from David Lighty gave ASVEL a lead that it maintained until there was just 2:24 left on the clock in the closing quarter.
That's when Thomas Walkup drilled one from deep to put Olympiacos ahead, 87-86, and the hosts never looked back, clinching the victory despite an extraordinary performance by Theo Maledon, who netted a career-high 31 points.
“Exactly this game shows us that if you come into the game relaxed and not focused anybody can beat you,” Nikola Milutinov, who paired his 13 points and 7 rebounds for a team-high PIR of 26, told EuroLeague TV. “This is why the EuroLeague is so strong. We have to change our mindset for the next game if we want to be a winning team.”
ASVEL netted 92 points against an Olympiacos side that boasted the fifth-stingiest defense (78.1 points conceded per game) in the competition coming into Tuesday’s clash. More importantly, though, the French team demonstrated that EuroLeague games are there to be won on the court, regardless of the status or the streak of a team.
“Our mindset today was problematic,” head coach Georgios Bartzokas admitted after the game. “We thought that, without giving our best effort defensively or offensively, we can win this game. We thought probably that Villeurbanne is not as strong as the previous teams that we played. But it’s not like that. EuroLeague is immediately giving you the reality in front of you.”
As Bartzokas stressed before the game, all wins are important in the competition regardless of the opponent. “A win is a win in the EuroLeague and, it’s equally important whether you beat Real or Panathinaikos, or ASVEL on your home court,” he stressed. “To me, the importance of tomorrow’s game is the same and maybe more."
ASVEL demonstrated on the court that it has what it takes to look in the eye of EuroLeague powerhouses. Meanwhile, Olympiacos avoided what would have been its first home loss of the season. Instead, the Greek side extended its winning streak to four with a victory that could prove to be more important than the ones against Real Madrid, Barcelona and Panathinaikos.
“Those nights will help us and it’s better when you win and see the lesson that you have to take,” Vezenkov noted.
After starting off the double-round week on a positive note, Olympiacos will look to learn its lesson and push to end the week in style away at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. As for ASVEL, it will try to build on this road performance and snap its five-game losing streak with a potential home victory over Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade on Thursday.