Turkish Airlines Euroleague leader Olympiacos Piraeus produced a vintage second-half performance in a 85-92 road win against Valencia Basket after veteran Kostas Papanikolau tied his career high of 22 points, with the Greek side improving its record to 18-7.

Sasha Vezenkov racked up 20 points and 7 rebounds after a quiet first half, while Thomas Walkup netted 13 points, all of which came in the third quarter. Shaquielle McKissic added 11 points for Olympiacos, too. Kostas Sloukas produced a solid performance on his return to action from injury, posting 10 points and 9 assists for the visitors. 

Klemen Prepelic paced Valencia with 21 points, shooting 5-of-7 from three-point range and 2-of-2 from inside the arc. James Webb III had 14 points and Jared Harper 11 for the home side, but Chris Jones managed only 5 as Valencia dropped to 13-12.

The hosts made a flying start and raced into a 15-point lead, 25-10, late in the first quarter, with Vezenkov subdued and the home side nailing their shots from all around at the other end. Olympiacos replied with a 0-15 run to draw level 25-25, but was soon trailing by 15 points again, 45-30, as Valencia was lethal from long range.

With most of the visiting team’s options misfiring in the first half, Olympiacos relied on Papanikolau to keep the Greek side afloat as the forward scored 13 first-half points.

Prepelic sank 5 straight points early in the third quarter to fire Valencia 50-37 ahead, before Walkup and Vezenkov ignited a 2-20 Olympiacos run which turned the tide. Valencia never recovered from that blow and Vezenkov, who looked totally subdued in the first half, suddenly started hitting his shots from all angles.

Olympiacos ruthlessly took advantage of the home team’s dip. The depth of its roster was everywhere to be seen in the final 10 minutes as the more resourceful visitors built an insurmountable 60-73 advantage early in the fourth quarter.

Three-point heroics by Prepelic had briefly rekindled Valencia’s hopes of forcing a final twist, but there was no way back after Papanikolau nailed a triple to make it 78-88 to the visitors, clenching his fists in delight as he silenced the vocal home crowd.

The home team still refuse to roll over and fought until the end, but Olympiacos held out comfortably in the last two minutes.

Game Videos

Game News

Olympiacos catches fire to earn 85-92 win at Valencia

Valencia Basket v Olympiacos Piraeus (2023-02-24T19:30:00.000Z)

### Sergio Scariolo, Virtus Segafredo Bologna head coach

“We were pretty much in control. In certain moments, you lose your focus a little bit. This is a great scoring team with great shooters. The very few times we didn’t have the right matchup on \[Markus\] Howard, he was knocking down 2 threes in a row. So you needed to keep a high level of concentration. But we played a good game, a good offensive game, quite a good defensive game, as well with some lapses. But it was a big win. We are still in the fight, in the race, which is what we want.

“I am extremely proud of the game we played tonight. We had a very solid game from the beginning to the end. We were able to get back together after a couple of the slumps we had. But we were in control and we beat a very, very good team. I really want to thank our fans, who were so supportive as always. And I want to thank my staff because they did an unbelievable job. We have many players who need daily special assistance. A player \[Toko Shengelia\] flew in last night after playing 30 minutes with the national team. He was there tonight. A player who had a 39-degree fever was there tonight. There are players who are really playing through pain or at a very high level of tiredness. And they are there fighting. I am really really proud of them.

"A special mention to Abi \[Awudu Abass\]. One month ago he wasn’t even a player, and we had an idea to start him and put him on \[Markus\] Howard. Most of the time, he did a great job. He trusted our tactical decisions, but he also has the personality to knock down a couple of threes. And he was really really important in our win."

### Joan Penarroya, Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz head coach

“Congrats to Virtus. I think the little things decided it at the end of the game. We missed important three-point shots and Virtus scored in those important moments.

“I think we played a good game, but with bad shooting percentages on offense. For example, we had 1 three-pointer in the fourth quarter. And it’s hard to win like that away. In the first two minutes, Virtus scored with confidence: 9 points in two minutes. And in the last three minutes of the first half, Virtus scored 15 points. And in the third quarter, Virtus scored 10 straight points on layups and we didn’t use our fouls. It is little details like this that we need to improve.” 

### Marco Belinelli, Virtus Segafredo Bologna guard

“This was a solid game for us, especially after losing to Germani Brescia in the Italian Cup \[final\]. For us, every game in the EuroLeague is like a final. We just need to stay together, be better every day and try to do our best every game. We knew before the game it wouldn’t be easy against this type of team. They really love to run. But we controlled them, especially the third and fourth quarters. We moved the ball on offense. Everybody was willing to help on rebounding."

### Awudu Abass, Virtus Segafredo Bologna forward

“For sure it’s a really big win. I am really happy for the team. I am also really happy for Toko Shengelia that he played yesterday \[for the Georgia national team\] and he came back to play with us. It was my first game after five years. I was waiting to come back to EuroLeague and do something, and now is the time.”

Marco Belinelli, Virtus: 'Every EuroLeague game is like a final'

Virtus Segafredo Bologna v Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (2023-02-24T19:30:00.000Z)

### Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos Piraeus head coach

“The third quarter was amazing, \[both\] defensively and offensively. We completely changed our approach. We became fighters like we always do. I consider this win one of the most important victories of the season. Everybody did their job and fulfilled their roles in the third quarter; we found whatever we could in transition, and through defense we found our rhythm on offense.

“I consider this win one of the most important of the season, basically because we came off the Greek Cup where we had three games in three days. In the early stages of the game we were in a bit of a celebration mood, while Valencia was ready to play with huge motivation right from the start. They played with more energy, more motivation and more desire than us; they shot the ball really well in the beginning and that’s why we were 10 points down in the first half.

"Our third quarter was amazing, we completely changed our approach. We were motivated to play defense, and through our defense we found rhythm on offense. We had 10 more possessions through our rebounding and 25 assists, which is a huge number. Congratulations to Valencia, congratulations to my team. We’ll keep on going with the same approach.

(Asked if he believed both teams could make the Top 8 at the end of the regular season): “For us, for sure I believe. That’s why I am here. As for Valencia, I consider them a strong contender for the Top 8. When you have two wins against other contenders, it’s always important and they have two against Efes, for example. Valencia is a team with a good basketball IQ based on the very experienced players they have. They have aggressive guards and I don’t forget that we lost the first game against them in Piraeus, so they are definitely strong contenders.”

(On whether Vezenkov will stay with Olympiacos next season amid reported interest from the Sacramento Kings): “We are in the middle of the season, we are first in the ranking in the EuroLeague and the domestic league. Honestly, I don’t care what they say from the NBA. Sasha has a contract with us, he also has an option for the NBA, we will sit after the season ends and discuss. I don’t know if he is going to get the offer from them, but right now I care about our team and Sasha is one of the most important players of our team. So, let’s focus on this. We have this fantastic player, of course we want him desperately and I don’t believe this is the right time for any player to discuss what he is going to do next season. The season is in front of us, we have a lot of goals.”

### Alex Mumbru, Valencia Basket head coach

“We didn’t play good defense in the third quarter. They easily scored 30 points in one quarter and that was just too much for us.

“It was a game of two very different halves. In the first half, we dominated and missed some shots which could have made the gap bigger. They came back in the third quarter with very good defense and we didn’t play defense at the required level. They scored some easy baskets and that gave them confidence. We missed some shots we needed to make to stay in the game and then it was impossible for us to make a comeback.”

### Thomas Walkup, Olympiacos Piraeus guard

“We haven’t been in this situation too often this season, but \[Isaiah\] Canaan said at halftime: ‘Hey man, there’s nothing wrong with being down. Now we'll show our true face and what we are made of.’ To be honest, playing basketball like this is so much fun: when you’re suffering and sacrificing everything for each other, playing great defense. The second half was one of the most fun halves we’ve played all season.

(On his 13-point third quarter performance when he put on a one-man show to rescue his team): “I wouldn’t put it like that, the whole unit was out there. Moustapha Fall scored just a few points tonight, but he played great. Even the guys who weren’t scoring tonight… Everybody played a great game.”

### Kostas Papanikolaou, Olympiacos Piraeus forward

“What matters most is the win. This is what will make us happy at the end of the season, if we keep winning and put ourselves in a great position. It was a very tough game, a very tough crowd; they know how to play their basketball.

(Commenting Olympiacos now on seven wins out of seven at Valencia): “I didn’t know that. Personally I love playing here, I have great memories of playing here. If you win the memories are better, but like I said before, it’s a great place to play. The fans here know how to create a great atmosphere.”

Thomas Walkup, Olympiacos: 'Playing like this is so much fun'

Virtus Segafredo Bologna grabbed an important victory in its fight to reach the playoffs, as it beat Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 88-83 to improve to a 12-13 record. This was Virtus’s third win in the last four games. Baskonia’s road woes continued, however, as it fell to 13-12 and 3-10 away from Vitoria.

Milos Teodosic tallied 17 points and 7 assists, while Marco Belinelli scored 15 points on 5 three-pointers and Toko Shengelia added 12 points. For Baskonia, Rokas Giedraitis scored a season-high 25 points, and Daulton Hommes and Darius Thompson had 15 points apiece.

Teodosic had a strong start to the game with 6 points and an assist to help Virtus build an 11-5 lead. But, Giedraitis and Hommes tallied all 13 points in a 2-13 Baskonia run to pull ahead, 13-18. The duo scored all 19 points of their team's points in the first quarter, as the guests led 16-19. Baskonia remained ahead and had a 27-31 advantage when Virtus scored 6 straight points to pull back ahead, 33-31. The score was 44-41 at the break.

 

Mam Jaiteh stepped up in the third quarter at both ends and helped extend the cushion to 56-48. Markus Howard got hot with back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game at 58-58, before he added a four-point play. But Virtus scored the final 5 points of the quarter and was up 68-62 after 30 minutes. Awudu Abass was the next Virtus player to shine with 2 three-pointers and a block, as the cushion grew to 71-62. Giedraitis would not let his team go down without a fight, however, getting the deficit to 78-76. Yet, Teodosic stepped up with a three-pointer and 3 made free throws to extend the advantage to 84-76 with 85 seconds remaining. Virtus tried to push forward and win the tiebreaker, but Baskonia fought off that challenge.

Virtus slows down Baskonia for important victory, 88-83

### Sarunas Jasikevicius, FC Barcelona head coach

"Monaco is a very good team. They are really difficult to play against, so they are gonna come back and gonna make runs. There was a lot of good guard play. We found solutions in the fourth quarter by driving the ball, by being aggressive. These big games are about details; we stuck with it and pulled it out. As far as the standings, it is a very important win. But, you know how this EuroLeague is; everything happens so fast, everything changes so fast. You have to keep your composure and stay with it.

"Congratulations to our players and our fans. It was one of those great nights to be here. We played good basketball for the majority of the game. It was difficult to expect that we were gonna sustain the offensive game that we had in the first half, but the most important was that we had too many turnovers in the second, and we lost control of the game a little bit. We found a way to play better and found some solutions in the fourth quarter."

### Sasa Obradovic, AS Monaco head coach

"Small things decided in the end. They used bonus fouls pretty good. They used situations when we were not careful on defense to score against us. And we did not execute in the last quarter when it was important.

"Congrats to Barca, they deserved to win. We had our chances, especially in the last quarter when we got closer. We could have turned the game in our direction, but we missed some shots and had some turnovers that cost us the win. I am happy how we played defense in the second half; that gave us a chance to win. We have to forget this and think about the next game: Maccabi at home. We have to use our home court \[advantage\], that is the most important. Everything that comes on the road is a great win in this kind of competition.

### Jan Vesely, FC Barcelona center

"In the second half, in the third quarter, we did not have solutions on offense and we gave them some easy baskets. But it is important we stayed in the game, we did not quit and we got the win. It is always good to celebrate \[a 300-game milestone\] with a win. It is a good accomplishment; it also means I am getting older."

### Tomas Satoransky, FC Barcelona guard

"I think we played pretty solid basketball. I think we made a step forward, especially when we did not play that well in the second half and we were going through the tough moment. That was with us during the whole season, so I think that was a step forward to be able to react in those moments, and I am very happy for our performance and for the win. Vesely is amazing. We sometimes forget how many years he has already been playing in the EuroLeague. He started at Partizan when he was 17, 18 years old. It's a hell of an accomplishment and I am happy to share this \[achievement of his\] with him on the court. I think he can keep going. He is playing good basketball and I am very happy for him."

Saras Jasikevicius, Barcelona: 'You know how this EuroLeague is'

FC Barcelona v AS Monaco (2023-02-24T19:45:00.000Z)

EuroLeague Live Blog: A five-game slate to close Round 25

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Friday Blog: Olympiacos, Barca remain hot at the top

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade v ALBA Berlin (2023-02-24T18:00:00.000Z)

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2023-02-24T19:00:00.000Z)

In a back-and-forth battle that went down to the final second, Anadolu Efes Istanbul survived a thriller in Round 25 by edging LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 89-90 at the Astroballe on Friday. Will Clyburn scored his team's last four second and poke the ball away from Nando De Colo's hands in the game's final possession. Efes improved to 12-12 in the standings  while ASVEL dropped to 8-17 and is on a four-game losing streak. 

Clyburn led the winners with 20 points. Shane Larkin added 16, Elijah Bryant had 14 and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double in his 121st game in the competition while Rodrigue Beaubois got 12 points for Efes. Nando De Colo led ASVEL with 20 points. Youssoupha Fall added 15 for the hosts. 

Clyburn's heroics lead Efes to 89-90 win! 

In a back-and-forth battle that went down to the final second, Anadolu Efes Istanbul survived a thriller in Round 25 by edging LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 89-90 at the Astroballe on Friday. Will Clyburn scored his team's last 4 points and poked the ball away from Nando De Colo's hands on the game's final possession. Efes improved to 12-12 in the standings while ASVEL dropped to 8-17 with its fourth consecutive defeat.

Clyburn led the winners with 20 points. Shane Larkin added 16. Elijah Bryant had 14 and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double in his 121st game in the competition. Rodrigue Beaubois scored 12 points for Efes. Nando De Colo led ASVEL with 20 points while Youssoupha Fall added 15.

Larkin followed a triple with a jumper to give Efes an early 4-7 lead. De Colo and David Lighty fueled a 6-0 run that put ASVEL ahead, 10-7. Beaubois stepped up for Efes, hitting 3 consecutive mid-range jumpers and a bomb from downtown for a 14-16 visitors' lead. Tibor Pleiss dunked twice to keep Efes ahead, 18-23, after 10 minutes. Beaubois and Pleiss kept pacing the guests and Bryant Dunston's tip-in made ASVEL call timeout at 23-31. Yves Pons and De Colo combined for 7 points in a 10-0 run that let ASVEL regain a 33-31 lead. De Colo kept pacing ASVEL, getting help from Fall and Retin Obasohan to boost the hosts' edge to 49-45 at halftime.

Efes found a new go-to guy in Amath M'Baye, who buried a couple of three-pointers and a jumper to help his team re-take a 56-59 lead. Alex Tyus followed a three-point play with a layup to give ASVEL a 61-59 edge. Ante Zizic and Clyburn combined for 10 points in a 0-13 run that Larkin capped with his fourth three-pointers for a double-digit Efes lead, 61-72, after 30 minutes. Yves Pons and Obasohan each struck from downtown and Fall scored down low to bring ASVEL within 73-77. De Colo led a 9-0 run highlighted by Obasohan's acrobatic three-point play for an 82-82 tie. Dee Bost buried a three-pointer to give ASVEL an 89-86 lead but Clyburn hit 4 of 4 free throws in the final 40.8 seconds, and got the final defensive stop of the game, too.

Clyburn's heroics lead Efes to 89-90 win

 Elijah Bryant, Efes: 'Defense wins this type of game' 

### Anadolu Efes Istanbul head coach Ergin Ataman:

"We lost our chance to break the game in the middle of the last quarter. And of course, ASVEL has De Colo, who is a great offensive player. It is also not easy to defend \[Youssoupha\] Fall under the basket, we had a problem. But anyway, this season, we lost many games in overtime, many games like this, but tonight we got lucky, it was with us and we found the way to win the game. I am happy that in our country, the people who are watching the game, for one instant, they were happy for this victory. Last year, we lost the game in the last quarter when we were up 19 points. Moreover, this season, many of the games that we lost on the road, we were up 8-9 points in the last quarter. We have this psychological problem but tonight also we got tired and made a lot of turnovers. This arena, especially when ASVEL starts to come back, the atmosphere is too tough."

### T.J. Parker, ASVEL head coach

"I am really proud of the guys. The whole game plan, offensively, was really good. We played good team basketball and had 18 assists and 9 turnovers; it was perfect. Defensively, OK, you have to live with some of the shots they made, that were really, really tough shots, and they shot 50% of those shots. But overall, at the end, it was a close game and we were right there to win the game."

### Anadolu Efes Istanbul forward Elijah Bryant:

"This is EuroLeague basketball; every game is going to be tough. I think defense wins this type of game and we were able to get some stops in the end. They are a great team but we came out with a win. I think it is good for us to get some confidence back, to get some rhythm back. We were missing some guys but were able to come here and get a win, and that is all that matters."

### Anadolu Efes Istanbul forward Will Clyburn:

"We are in the last part of the season. Every win is important, especially in these last weeks, and we needed this road win. It is definitely a boost to our morale and we have to get ready for the next one. Coach did a great job at keeping everybody in shape, keeping everybody in game shape and mentally ready. Congrats to everybody."

Elijah Bryant, Efes: 'Defense wins this type of game'

ALBA Berlin came back from a double-digit first-half deficit to beat host Crvena Zvezda Merdianbet Belgrade 72-87 on Friday night. The victory snapped ALBA's six-game losing streak, raising its record to 7-18 on the season and giving the German club four consecutive wins over Zvezda in the Serbian capital. Meanwhile, Zvezda dropped to 11-14. Maodo Lo shined with 24 points, Louis Olinde scored 11 of his 13 in the first half and also had 7 rebounds, while Gabreile Procida scored 11. Filip Petrusev led Zvezda with 14 points.

 ALBA rallies to stun Zvezda, 72-87 

ALBA Berlin came back from a double-digit first-half deficit to beat host Crvena Zvezda Merdianbet Belgrade 72-87 on Friday night. The victory snapped ALBA's six-game losing streak, raising its record to 7-18 on the season and giving the German club four consecutive wins over Zvezda in the Serbian capital. Meanwhile, Zvezda dropped to 11-14 after leading by 13 points late in the first quarter. But Maodo Lo led ALBA's rally and the visitors used a 4-19 fourth-quarter run to pull away to a double-digit lead and never look back.

Lo shined with 24 points, Louis Olinde scored 11 of his 13 in the first half and also had 7 rebounds, while Gabreile Procida scored 11. Filip Petrusev led Zvezda with 14 points, Nemanja Nedovic netted 11 and Luca Vildoza had 10 in the losing effort.

Both teams went inside often in the opening minutes before a pair of dunks from Petrusev and a three-pointer from Nikola Ivanovic capped an 11-2 run that opened 20-10 Zvezda lead. A triple from Nedovic helped the hosts to a 25-12 margin but Jonas Mattisseck ended the quarter with a three-pointer before Yanni Wetzell scored 5 points early in the second to make it 27-20. Vildoza's triple restored a double-digit margin for the hosts, but Olinde scored 7 more points before Wetzell and Procida cut the difference to 37-33. Vildoza scored 5 more points as Zvezda held a 44-39 halftime advantage.

ALBA scored the first 6 points of the second half to grab its first lead of the night. Petrusev answered with a three-pointer, but 5 more points from Lo, including a three-point play, kept ALBA in front. The teams kept trading leads as Nedovic and Ivanovic scored for the hosts, but Lo kept scoring for ALBA. Zvezda took a 61-60 edge into the final quarter, but Alba scored the next 10 points behind Jaleen Smith and Procida to open a 61-70 lead. Zvezda needed 4 minutes to score its first points of the quarter, a layup from Ognjen Dobric, but Lo answered with back-to-back three-pointers that helped pushed ALBA'S advantage to 65-79. Petrusev snapped 4-19 ALBA run with a three-point play, but Smith nailed an impossible baseline jumper, Ben Lammers made another defensive stop for the visitors with a blocked shot, and ALBA comfortably closed out the game.