EuroLeague Live Blog: Four fascinating games to close Round 26

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Friday Blog: Milan downs Olympiacos to tighten standings at the top!

Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz v Valencia Basket (2023-03-03T19:30:00.000Z)

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan v Olympiacos Piraeus (2023-03-03T19:30:00.000Z)

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul v Virtus Segafredo Bologna (2023-03-03T17:45:00.000Z)

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v Real Madrid (2023-03-03T19:00:00.000Z)

Three-point history was made on Friday night with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul knocking down 20 shots from the arc in a 104-72 blowout win of visiting Virtus Segafredo Bologna.

 Fenerbahce rained record threes against Virtus 

Three-point history was made on Friday night with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul knocking down 20 shots from the arc in a 104-72 blowout win of visiting Virtus Segafredo Bologna.

Fenerbahce not only set a new club record and a 2022-23 season-high for all Turkish Airlines EuroLeague teams, but also became only the third team this century to make at least 20 triples in a single game, behind 22 triples from Anadolu Efes Istanbul last season and 21 threes from Buducnost VOLI Istanbul in the 2018-19 campaign.

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul maked 20 three -pointers vs. VIRTUS SEGAFREDO BOLOGNA, 03/03/2023

Fenerbahce rained record 20 threes against Virtus

Fenerbahce head coach Dimitris Itoudis's men shot 40 times from deep, another season high and a club record, and had nine different players make at least 1 three-pointer, and three players make multiple ones. Scottie Wilbekin and Dyshawn Pierre each went 5-for-7 while Marko Guduric was 4-for-4 from long range.

Fenerbahce made 7 triples in the first quarter and had 12 by halftime. That was another club first, and just 1 triple short of the EuroLeague all-time first-half record, set by Real Madrid in a home loss against FC Bayern Munich last season.

The team also tied its season-best with 27 assists, and scored more than 100 points for the fourth time this season.

Game Videos

Game News

Fenerbahce rained record threes against Virtus

Real Madrid made it five straight wins with a 71-75 road triumph at LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on Friday night. The French team has now lost five in a row to drop to 8-18, whereas Real now has the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague's highest winning percentage with one fewer game played after advancing to 18-7.

Real’s defense dominated the early exchanges to establish a double-digit lead, which grew to 15 points at the break as Real’s offense caught fire. ASVEL battled back in the second half and reduced the gap to 2 points midway through the fourth, but Real held firm. Fabien Causeur led the way with 14 points on 5-of-6 field goal shooting, while Nigel Williams-Goss scored 13 points, Gabriel Deck added 12 and Dzanan Musa scored 11. Nando De Colo and Jonah Mathews paced ASVEL with 13 points each.

Walter Tavares made two early blocks while Williams-Goss and Causeur both scored twice as Real surged ahead, 6-13. A big alley-oop by Tavares helped make it 10-20 at the end of the first quarter, but 5 straight points from Mathews reduced the gap. Musa hit two triples to make it 17-29, but Mathews stayed hot to keep ASVEL fighting, 25-31. Musa again scored from deep as Real stayed well ahead, 32-47 at halftime. De Colo and Causeur both scored two triples, making it 42-57, before a 6-0 run pulled ASVEL closer, 54-63, with 10 minutes left. Alex Tyus scored twice in a 10-3 run to make it 64-66, but Deck scored all 6 points in a 6-0 run to settle Real en route to its 71-75 triumph.

Real Madrid keeps rolling with win at ASVEL, 71-75

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul hit a club record 20 three-pointers en route to a 104-72 blowout win of visiting Virtus Segafredo Bologna on Friday, improving to 16-9, good for fourth place. Virtus dropped to 12-14 and 12th place. Dyshawn Pierre paced the winners with 20 points. Johnathan Motely and Marko Guduric had 16 apiece. Scottie Wilbekin netted 15 and Nick Calathes added 11 points with 8 assists. Marco Belinelli scored 18 points for the visitors.

 Fenerbahce blows by Virtus, 104-72, on record night 

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul hit a club record 20 three-pointers en route to a 104-72 blowout win of visiting Virtus Segafredo Bologna on Friday. In the first home game since the devastating earthquakes that hit Turkiye and Syria, Fenerbahce finished the first quarter with an 18-0 run, stretched that to 27-2 in the second, and never looked back.

The victory improved Fenerbahce's record to 16-9, good for fourth place, while Virtus dropped to 12-14 and 12th place. Dyshawn Pierre paced the winners with 20 points on 5-for-7 three-point shooting. Johnathan Motely and Marko Guduric had 16 points apiece. Scottie Wilbekin netted 15 on 5-for-7 three-point shooting, while Nick Calathes added 11 points and 8 assists. Marco Belinelli scored 18 points on 6-for-9 three-point shooting for the visitors, while Tornike Shengelia and Jordan Mickey had 10 points apiece in defeat.

Virtus delivered the first blow in the game with Mam Jaiteh scoring inside and Semi Ojeleye from the outside to open a 6-12 lead. Fenerbahce responded with visible hustle and energy in a 7-0 run sparked by Pierre's triple. That opened the floodgates for 6 three-pointers to finish the first quarter: a pair from Guduric and Wilbekin, and one apiece from Pierre and Nigel Hayes-Davis for a 31-14 advantage after 10 minutes. The hosts did not stop there and kept pouring in the buckets, including back-to-back threes from Pierre and Calathes to make it 45-20. Daniel Hackett and Shengelia gave Virtus a spark, but the hosts increased the margin to 58-29 at halftime.

Belinelli sustained the Virtus offense in the third quarter, knocking down 4 trees on 5 attempts, but the hosts kept the margin safe with balanced offense, and 2 more triples from Pierre, who also scored inside to make it 81-46 late in the third. Fenerbahce made 16 triples through the first three quarters, then added 4 more in the final quarter for a club-record 20, comfortably closing out the game.

Fenerbahce blows by Virtus, 104-72, on record night

 Dimitris Itoudis, Fenerbahce: 'We played a brilliant game' 

### Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul head coach Dimitris Itoudis

"First of all, to the players, an amazing atmosphere. Lately, we are practicing good. We are focused, you can hear just the ball and the calls, and we are healthy. It was also a day you can make some spot shots or don't make them, but as soon as we are creating good shots, and we did create great shots today with 27 assists. Virtus is a great team; we made them look like that also because of the defensive effort, allowing 14 and 15 points in the first two quarters. Good luck to them the rest of the season.

"The players are very experienced, I talk with them a lot of times. They know we have only 40 minutes to share and we have certain roles to fulfill and everybody is having a concrete role what he is doing on the team. We found a way. We also kept working hard when we were not playing the best. We are the same team, we kept being persistent on what we are doing, we kept believing that we have potential. Today we played a brilliant game, yes. Is it going to be every game like that? No. We have to find other ways to win games and we need to find our identity. And our identity was to be humble and to play for each other, and today we did that."

### Virtus Segafredo Bologna head coach Sergio Scariolo

"We have to re-watch the game, learn from mistakes and especially try to understand why, when the opponent put such a high level of physicality, we did not respond in the same way. Congrats to Fenerbahce, they played great. They shot the ball excellent, they moved the ball very well, they played a very strong defense. There was only one team really playing well on the floor tonight, congrats to them."

### Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul forward Dyshawn Pierre

"We played the right offenses, we followed the game plan. People made open shots. Got to give credit to the coaching staff and players for making the open shots. I am good, we are winning, can't be happier than that. We are just trying to take it game by game. Obviously, games like these give us confidence, but we know the next game is not going to be as easy. So, we've got to stay together and just do the right things."

### Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul guard Marko Guduric

"I know everything starts with our defense. When we defend then we have easier shots, open shots, on offense. That's the key. Tonight we were getting stops, we were defending, and then you get confidence and the shots are falling in. We feel good, offensively we are feeling good as well. We are sharing the ball, we had 27 assists, so that's what makes me happy. We were getting a lot of open shots in transition. We are staying true to our routine, every day in our practice we are doing the same thing, actually a lot of similar shots you saw tonight in transition. We just have to stay humble, stay on the ground. A lot of new players are coming, players from injuries as well, so we just have to stay together and keep playing like this."

Dimitris Itoudis, Fenerbahce: 'We played a brilliant game'

Vladimir 'Vlado' Micov decided to hang up his basketball shoes last summer after playing a total of 15 seasons in Euroleague Basketball competitions, with four of those years coming with EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. On Friday night, he was honored during the teams' presentations ahead of Milan's Round 26 game against Olympiacos Piraeus in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

Milan honors Vlado Micov against Olympiacos

[Vladimir 'Vlado' Micov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/vladimir-micov/000529/) decided to hang up his basketball shoes last summer after playing a total of 15 seasons in Euroleague Basketball competitions, with four of those years coming with EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. On Friday night, he was honored during the teams' presentations ahead of Milan's Round 26 game against Olympiacos Piraeus in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="it" dir="ltr">Ciao, Prof! 😍<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/insieme?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#insieme</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VladoMicovNight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VladoMicovNight</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a> <a href="https://t.co/LiXKYN6ppU">pic.twitter.com/LiXKYN6ppU</a></p>&mdash; Olimpia Milano (@OlimpiaMI1936) <a href="https://twitter.com/OlimpiaMI1936/status/1631733766589759488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Serbian left Milan in 2021 and played out the final season of his career with Buducnost VOLI Podgorica, but now he finally got the chance to say goodbye to Milan's fans. Sergio Rodriguez was able to return Mediolanum Forum earlier in this campaign to receive the adulation of the fans, following his return to Real Madrid last summer, but Micov never had that luxury with Buducnost.

After joining Milan ahead of the 2017-18 season, having already established himself in the EuroLeague with Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, Pallacanestro Cantu, CSKA Moscow and Galatasaray, Micov went on to play 115 games for Milan in Europe's premier club basketball competition.

The best plays of Vladimir Micov during his four seasons playing for EA7 Emporio Armani Milan.

Vladimir Micov's best plays for Milan

In that time, he scored a total of 1,232 points – the second most in club history – for an average of 10.7 points per game. He also ranks second all-time for three-pointers made by a Milan player (168) and second highest for assists (226).

Micov, one of only four players to play 100 games or more for Milan in the EuroLeague (Kaleb Tarczewski 156, Nicolo Melli 137, Micov 115, Kyle Hines 100), also received a commemorative case containing his No. 5 jersey prior to tipoff on Friday night. In 2021, he was part of the Milan side that reached the EuroLeague Final Four, his last appearance in the team's jersey.

Milan honors Vladimir Micov before game

Milan honored Vladimir Micov before Friday tipoff

It is a key game in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague playoffs race. Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz takes on Valencia Basket in Round 26 for what is a new, decisive chapter in their growing sports rivalry. 

Baskonia vs. Valencia: Plenty of crossed paths 

It is a key game in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague playoffs race. [Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz takes on Valencia Basket in Round 26](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2022-23/cazoo-baskonia-vitoria-gasteiz-valencia-basket/E2022/234/) for what is a new, decisive chapter in their growing sports rivalry. 

Valencia and Baskonia have a lot in common, challenging Real Madrid and FC Barcelona for domestic titles in Spain, and going against each other often on all fronts. This, however, is arguably their biggest EuroLeague showdown ever, late in the regular season and with both teams having good chances to make it to the playoffs. Baskonia and Valencia arrive with identical 13-12 records. Only the winner will hold one of the top eight spots in the standings at the end of this round.

This marks the 11th meeting between Baskonia and Valencia in the EuroLeague, and they have each won five of those games to date. There are a lot of crossed paths between them. In 2020, Baskonia beat Valencia in the semifinals of the Spanish League on the latter’s court, La Fonteta, and ended up claiming the domestic crown. Valencia beat Baskonia in the 2021 quarterfinals. Baskonia returned the favor in this very same stage in 2022, downing Valencia twice at La Fonteta in a best-of-three series. 

Valencia Basket - Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | Round 1 | Highlights

Baskonia head coach Joan Penarroya headed the Valencia bench last season, which adds more spice to this important showdown. Likewise, Alex Mumbru started his coaching career with Bilbao Basket, Baskonia's regional rivals, and also played for that team for a decade.

Many players have worn both teams' jerseys in the past, and were successful in both cities. Fabricio Oberto and Dejan Tomasevic led Baskonia to the Spanish double – league and cup titles – in 2002, and went on to win the original EuroCup title with Valencia in 2003. Head coach Neven Spahija and Pau Ribas also lifted the Spanish League trophy with Baskonia in 2010 and claimed the EuroCup crown with Valencia in 2014. Baskonia legends Tiago Splitter and Toko Shengelia also played for Valencia at some point during their careers.

The only player to win the Spanish League title with both teams is Fernando San Emeterio, lifting that trophy with Baskonia in 2010 (scoring the title-winning free throw) and with Valencia in 2017. San Emeterio played seven seasons with Baskonia and six with Valencia, where he finished his career. He is currently one of Mumbru's assistant coaches. Other than Penarroya and San Emeterio, Baskonia shooting guard Vanja Marinkovic also played for his Round 26 opponent. Rokas Giedraitis of Baskonia and Martin Hermannsson of Valencia were teammates with ALBA Berlin, reaching the 2019 EuroCup Finals and losing against Valencia.

Baskonia has beaten Valencia twice this season, 85-79 at home in Spanish League action and [71-81](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2022-23/valencia-basket-cazoo-baskonia-vitoria-gasteiz/E2022/5/) in Round 1 of the EuroLeague Regular Season. That 10-point different will be a critical issue in this game in case Valencia wins, as having the tiebreak advantage would give that team an edge in the playoffs race. This time, Valencia is without [Sam Van Rossom](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/sam-van-rossom/lrq/) and [Kyle Alexander](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/kyle-alexander/011973/), but has three players available that did not play in Round 1: [Jaime Pradilla](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/jaime-pradilla/010393/), [Shannon Evans](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/shannon-evans/010677/) and [James Webb](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/james-webb-iii/011971/). [Tadas Sedekerskis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/tadas-sedekerskis/007230/) is questionable for Baskonia, which has [Steven Enoch](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/steven-enoch/011239/) and [Max Heidegger](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/max-heidegger/012259/) this time.

<br>
Above all, it is a battle between two solid playoffs contenders. Fun fact: Valencia and Baskonia only reached the EuroLeague Playoffs once in the same season. It was in the 2010-11 campaign: Valencia took its series to Game 5, losing against Real Madrid. Baskonia had the home-court advantage in its series but lost against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. Baskonia has reached the playoffs 13 times, but only twice in the six seasons Valencia has been in the competition: 2011 and 2018. Baskonia made it to five Final Fours and the 2001 Finals, but none of those appearances came when Valencia was in the EuroLeague. <br>
Long story short, there is a lot of tradition and sports rivalry between these teams, from former players to big showdowns. When Baskonia and Valencia step on the court at Buesa Arena, all the ingredients to see a great basketball game will be present in ways that only the EuroLeague can offer at this time of the year.

Entering Round 26, Olympiacos Piraeus sits atop the standings in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and is currently on a seven-game winning streak, while its players are the league leaders this season in PIR, scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. Thomas Walkup is leading the way in terms of steals (1.9 spg.), in addition to ranking seventh in assists (5.5 apg.). 

Who's hot: Thomas Walkup, Olympiacos Piraeus

Entering Round 26, Olympiacos Piraeus sits atop the standings in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and is currently on a seven-game winning streak, while its players are the league leaders this season in PIR, scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. [Thomas Walkup](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/thomas-walkup/008855/) is leading the way in terms of steals (1.9 spg.), in addition to ranking seventh in assists (5.5 apg.). 

In recent weeks, particularly with point guard Kostas Sloukas unavailable due to injury in Rounds 22, 23 and 24, Walkup has taken his game to another level and significantly increased his overall production.

A starter in all 25 of Olympiacos's games this season, Walkup has been an instrumental part of the Reds' success to this point. Even in the first part of the season, when he had some up-and-down performances on the offensive end, he was a menace on the defensive side of the ball, as evidenced by his league-leading numbers for steals.

Walkup has been scoreless twice this season: first in a blowout home win against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in Round 7 and again in a tight road loss against AS Monaco in Round 18. In the latter, he played a season-high 33 minutes but missed all 4 of his attempts from the floor, while he also had 7 assists and 4 turnovers.

But, Walkup quickly bounced back. One week later, the 30-year-old began his run of standout performances, as he has averaged 11.5 points on an impressive 75.0% of his two-pointers and 48.0% from behind the arc. What's more, in this stretch he has posted 7.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal for an average PIR of 16.2.

In Round 20, Walkup scored a season-high 18 points in a win over Real Madrid. He had only 2 assists in that game, but in the following round, he dished a career-high 12 assists as Olympiacos beat Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.

Then, Walkup was everywhere for the Reds in a dominant road win at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, finishing with 12 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds. 

After scoring just 2 points but having 7 rebounds and 5 assists to his name against Anadolu Efes Istanbul, the last two weeks have seen Walkup come to the fore with a 15-point, 10-assist double-double against ALBA Berlin before a 13-point, 6-assist outing on the road at Valencia Basket.

As such, Walkup has dished more assists over the last five games than any other player in the EuroLeague, having recorded a total of 40 for an average of 8.0 per game. His total PIR of 84, which averages out at 16.8, is tied for 11th over that same five-game span.

Walkup will be keen to continue his run of performances in Round 26 and help the Reds keep their winning streak alive, as they travel to take on EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on Friday night.

 Jasiel Rivero, Valencia: 'I just keep doing my job'

Big man Jasiel Rivero was a main factor for taking Valencia Basket to the 7DAYS EuroCup semifinals in 2021-22, his third season in Europe. Now, the Cuban native has become just the second player from that country to play in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague in his debut season in the competition.

Before him was Howard Sant-Roos, who played a total three seasons in the competition with CSKA Moscow and Panathinaikos Athens from 2019 to 2022. Rivero and Sant-Roos have such a close relationship that the latter became instrumental in Rivero's decision to come to Europe to play in the EuroLeague.

"He told me, before I started playing in the EuroLeague, what the competition was like", Rivero says about Sant-Roos. "He told me it was a great competition, tough and intense."

Which is just the kind of challenge that Rivero likes, because, as he admits, his intensity and athleticism are his main assets, which go hand in hand with Valencia's style and new coach for the 2022-23 season, Alex Mumbru.

"I just keep doing my job", he explains. "I continue to carry out the same role, which is bringing energy to the team. It's the most important quality I have, and it keeps things flowing."

In his debut season, Rivero has appeared in 15 EuroLeague games so far, mainly off the bench, and is averaging 10.1 points and 3.7 rebounds, to become one of the main pieces that is keeping Valencia in the thick of the playoffs race.

But just as he is a main piece of the puzzle on the court, coach Mumbru also praises him off the court.

"He is very happy, he has a very nice personality", Mumbru says. "He is one of those players who helps to create a group, in the locker room and he unites the team."