Name: Zach LeDay: 'I wanted to be there for my team'
Channel: Euroleague Basketball

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade completed a perfect tour of Spain in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with a 73-75 victory at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz to improve to 11-8

Resilient Crvena Zvezda edges out Baskonia, 73-75 

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade completed a perfect tour of Spain in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague with a 73-75 victory at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz to improve to 11-8. The win came after Zvezda celebrated a 74-78 win at FC Barcelona in the previous round.

Joel Bolomboy paced Zvezda with 16 points and 8 rebounds, but it was Isaiah Canaan who emerged as the game-winner for the visitors after sinking a pair of crucial layups. Canaan finished with 15 points, despite making just 1 of 8 from downtown, while Rokas Giedraitis sank 12 points against his former club.

At the other end, Chima Moneke scored 18 points, Donta Hall netted 14 while Markus Howard and Trent Forrest chipped in with 10 each for Baskonia, which shot 0 of 15 from deep in the first half and dropped to 8-11 after a tough home loss.

Game Videos

The home team made a bright start and took an early 14-6 lead as Hall dominated the paint in the opening exchanges, but Zvezda hit back with a 0-10 run before getting firmly into the driver’s seat in the second quarter. Bolomboy took over as Baskonia had no reply for the Serbian outfit’s fast-paced offense, garnished with some spectacular slam-dunks, which propelled the visitors into a 28-42 halftime lead.  

Aggressive defense on the perimeter made it difficult for Baskonia to get any open looks from long range, with the hosts misfiring time and again as their backcourt struggled, particularly Howard.

Game News

Zvezda looked set for some plain sailing after engineering a 42-57 advantage in the third quarter, with Bolomboy bending the rim with yet another ferocious dunk, but Baskonia got a second win with a 10-0 run that set the scene for a tense final 10 minutes.

Baskonia closed the gap to 68-69 as Howard, who finished on 2 of 10 from downtown, hit a rare triple and the home team nosed ahead 73-71 in the home straight, as Zvezda’s offense was ground to a screeching halt. However, Canaan came up big down the stretch as he twice weaved his way through traffic to force the final twist, with Moneke falling short with a tough hook shot on the buzzer at the other end.

The Serbian team headed into 2025 with a gritty road win over a plucky rival 

Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz v Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (2025-01-02T19:30:00.000Z)

Olimpia Milano forward Zach LeDay spoke to EuroLeague TV after his team beat LDLC ASVEL in Round 19 of the 2024-25 EuroLeague season.

Zach LeDay: 'I wanted to be there for my team'

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan forward Zach LeDay spoke to EuroLeague TV after his team beat LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in Round 19 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (2025-01-02T19:00:00.000Z)

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne-EA7 Emporio Armani Milan | RS Round 19 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv showed its strongest collective effort under head coach Dimitris Itoudis with a dominant 64-87 victory at Dreamland Gran Canaria

Hapoel cruises past Gran Canaria 64-87 thanks to big first half

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv showed its strongest collective effort under head coach Dimitris Itoudis with a dominant 64-87 victory at Dreamland Gran Canaria. The Israeli side took the first half 25-51 and never was challenged the rest of the way for an 8-5 record - including 3-2 since Itoudis’ arrival as playcaller. The defensive showing was a major welcome as Hapoel had given up 104 and 101 points in its last two games.

Johnathan Motley and Bar Timor both scored 14 points while Antonio Blakeney tallied 13 points and Bruno Caboclo had 10 points for the winners. Gran Canaria, which suffered its worst halftime margin ever, dropped its second straight game for a 9-4 record, also falling to 5-2 at home. Joe Thomasson had 13 points to lead Gran Canaria and Carlos Alocen picked up 10 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.

Alocen scored Gran Canaria’s first two baskets and it was 4-6 early. But Hapoel started to take control with Motley scoring 9 points to surge ahead 8-20. The visitors did not let up and led 12-26 after 10 minutes. 

Caleb Homesley netted the first 5 points of the second quarter to get the hosts within 17-26. But the Hapoel roll continued with a 4-17 run to take a 21-43 advantage. Gran Canaria just could not get anything going at either end and Caboclo had two baskets and the cushion was 25-51 at the break. The 26-point differential was the worst in a half for Gran Canaria, topping the 25-point gap against ALBA Berlin (49-24) during the 2015-16 season. 

Alocen tried to get the hosts back into the game with two scores, an assist and a steal while two more Gran Canaria baskets cut the deficit to 37-55. Hapoel was not impressed with 2 Timor triples bookending a 4-12 answer to lead 41-67. The score was 43-67 after 30 minutes.

Miquel Salvo hit a three-pointer and converted a three-point play as Gran Canaria was again within 20 points at 52-72. But Blakeney took over with 10 straight points for the visitors for a 56-82 cushion with 5 minutes to play. The game had already long been decided and Hapoel finished strong.

Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv grabs its third win in five games under new head coach Dimitris Itoudis 

Dreamland Gran Canaria v Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv (2025-01-02T20:00:00.000Z)

Yam Madar delivers a great pass to Bruno Caboclo, who hammers home a massive dunk.

Caboclo dunks after great pass! Magic Moment of the Night

 Yam Madar delivers a great pass to Bruno Caboclo, who hammers home a massive dunk.

Tomer Ginat grabs the rebound and then delivers a fantastic behind-the-back pass in traffic to Ish Wainright for the score.

Ginat goes behind-the-back! Magic Moment

 Tomer Ginat grabs the rebound and then delivers a fantastic behind-the-back pass in traffic to Ish Wainright for the score.

 Canaan wins it! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night

Umana Reyer Venice took control early en route to downing the first-place Valencia Basket 81-74 on Thursday night. Reyer improved to 7-6 with its fifth win in the last six games, while Valencia, already qualified for the playoffs, dropped its second straight and now had has an 11-2 record.

Reyer downs Valencia, climbs to winning record

Umana Reyer Venice took control early en route to downing first-place Valencia Basket 81-74 on Thursday night. Reyer improved to 7-6 with its fifth win in the last six games, while Valencia, which already qualified for the playoffs, dropped its second straight and now had has an 11-2 record.

Reyer broke the game open with a 14-1 second-quarter run, led by 22 at halftime, and then kept the lead safe in the second half as the visitors attempted a rally. Davide Moretti and Mfiondu Kebengele had 15 points apiece, Tyler Ennis had 12 points and 6 assists, while Aamir Simms scored 10 in the victory. Xavi Lopez-Arostegui had 17, and Matt Costello collected 14 points and 7 rebounds in defeat.

Brancou Badio scored inside and Nate Reuvers from the outside in the early going, but Kabengele had a dunk and Ennis a short jumper to help the hosts to an early 8-5 advantage. Costello hit a three-pointer for Valencia, but Kabengele took one to the rim and then nailed a corner triple, only to follow it up with a tough turnaround jumper to help open a 19-12 lead. However, Badio and Semi Ojeleye each had a three-pointer to cut it to 21-18 after 10 minutes.

Reuvers made a tough layup early in the second for the visitors, but that was in between two baskets from Simms. Moretti followed it with back-to-back triples that opened a 31-21 lead. The run did not end there, even after a Valencia timeout, with Moretti, Simms and Ennis extending it to 37-21. Valencia was held without a field goal for full 5 minutes before Lopez-Arostegui nailed a triple, but Alessandro Lever and Simms extended the margin to 43-26 with buckets from close range. The hosts continued with their relentless defense, then running it the other way, as Kyle Wiltjer and Kabengele made it 49-28 in the final minute behind a 10-1 run. Moretti's triple, his third, put 52-30 on the scoreboard at halftime.

The teams traded buckets for much of the third quarter. Lopez-Arostegui made a triple for the visitors, Jaime Pradila scored on the fast break and Costello nailed a long jumper, but Jordan Parks, Carl Wheatle and Kabengele kept the margin at 60-37. Costello scored twice more from close range and Nate Sestina hit a transition triple to help cut it to 62-46. Moretti knocked down his fourth three-pointer, but three-point-plays from Sergio De Larrea and Sestina got Valencia within 15 points and the hosts led 68-52 going into the fourth quarter.

Lever and Pradilla traded close-range baskets and, after Lopez-Arostegui took one to the rim, Simms made a hook shot to keep Valencia at bay, 73-57. However, the visitors went to the free throw line on the next three possessions, making all 6 foul shots to get the margin to 10 points midway through the fourth quarter. But Ennis scored 6 points, a driving layup, a pair of free throws and a pull-up jumper, not allowing Valencia to get the margin into single digits, 79-67. Badio did cut it to single digits and Costello's triple made it 79-74, but with just 29 seconds left, it was too late for a comeback.

Coach Neven Spahija's team led by as many as 24 points en route to an important win

Reyer downs Valencia 81-74, climbs to winning record

Umana Reyer Venice v Valencia Basket (2025-01-02T19:00:00.000Z)

Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem-Aris Midea Thessaloniki | Round 13 Highlights | 2024-25 BKT EuroCup   

Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem v Aris Midea Thessaloniki (2025-01-02T18:00:00.000Z)

Carlos Alocen on the run delivers a sweet dish to Pierre Pelos for the layup.

Sweet dish from Alocen! Magic Moment

 Carlos Alocen on the run delivers a sweet dish to Pierre Pelos for the layup.

It's the final seconds, but Parks make sure to stop Costello with a two-handed block.

Parks with a two-handed block! Magic Moment

 It's the final seconds, but Parks make sure to stop Costello with a two-handed block.

AS Monaco guard Mike James spoke to EuroLeague TV after his team beat ALBA Berlin in Round 19 of the 2024-25 EuroLeague season.

Mike James: 'Coach Spanoulis has done a great job'

AS Monaco guard Mike James spoke to EuroLeague TV after his team beat ALBA Berlin in Round 19 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

ALBA Berlin v AS Monaco (2025-01-02T19:00:00.000Z)

ALBA Berlin-AS Monaco | RS Round 19 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Olympiacos BC had a huge second half to beat Zalgiris Kaunas, having trailed by 12 points at halftime before winning 85-92.

Olympiacos’s defense fueled second-half comeback at Zalgiris

Twenty minutes into Thursday’s game at Zalgirio Arena, everything indicated that 2025 would not start on a positive note for [Olympiacos Piraeus](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/olympiacos-piraeus/oly/). 

Boosted by the ever-buzzing home crowd, [Zalgiris Kaunas](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/teams/zalgiris-kaunas/zal/) hit the ground running, with [Sylvain Francisco](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sylvain-francisco/007975/) cooking on offense. The hosts fired on all cylinders, making 11 of 17 (64.7%) from beyond the arc, with Francisco going 5-for-6 from deep. The Zalgiris guard ended the first half on 20 points - just 2 points shy from his career high in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

Zalgiris led 52-40 at halftime, but a visit to the locker room was enough for Olympiacos to regroup and change the chip on both ends.

"In the first half, they did whatever they wanted," game MVP [Sasha Vezenkov](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/sasha-vezenkov/003469/) told EuroLeague TV after the game. "They scored 52 points. Yes, they scored tough shots, but we were not physical and didn’t open the game as we wanted to."

Olympiacos Piraeus forward Sasha Vezenkov spoke to EuroLeague TV after his team beat Zalgiris Kaunas in Round 19 of the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

Sasha Vezenkov: 'Second half was our best defense this year'

The Reds flipped the switch after the break, with Vezenkov netting 19 of his game-high 24 points in the last two quarters. Olympiacos may have outscored Zalgiris 33-52 after the break, but it was its defense that allowed the visitors to complete the comeback.

"I think that in the second half, we had our best defensive game so far this season," Vezenkov added. "We said that even if we’re losing by 12 points, we can win this game possession by possession. We played tough, put pressure on the two handlers that Zalgiris have and are really talented and I think we played a great second half to win the game."

In fact, Francisco scored just 2 points in the second half, where he went 1-for-2 from inside the rainbow and 0-for-4 from downtown. Olympiacos’s solid defense forced him to 3 second-half turnovers, with Zalgiris finishing the game with 19 errors.

"It really started with our defense in the second half and that gave us flow and rhythm on defense and that turned into flow and rhythm on offense," [Thomas Walkup](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/euroleague/players/thomas-walkup/008855/), who netted a season-high 13 points including a big triple on crunch time, told EuroLeague TV.

More importantly, Olympiacos made the most of Zalgiris’s mistakes by netting 33 points off turnovers. Physicality on the defensive end of the floor and a tactical switch by head coach Georgios Bartzokas allowed Olympiacos to extend its winning streak to four games.

<center>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bwinMVP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#bwinMVP</a> of the game, Sasha Vezenkov! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a> <a href="https://t.co/svIls6eCH8">pic.twitter.com/svIls6eCH8</a></p>&mdash; Olympiacos B.C. (@Olympiacos_BC) <a href="https://twitter.com/Olympiacos_BC/status/1874911789970063366?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

"The defense was completely different in the second half,” Bartzokas said in the post-game press conference. "\[We had\] more physicality. We changed some tactical things like \[introducing\] hedge-out instead of switching defense in every screen with the 4 and then they missed lots of shots. They made 3 triples in the second half and the last one was when the game was over."

Having opened 2025 with a hard-fought road victory, Olympiacos will look to extend its unbeaten streak with a potential home win against FC Bayern Munich. One of the finest offenses in the league is set to visit the Reds next week, but in this second-half defensive effort against Zalgiris, Olympiacos has the blueprint that should be followed against the Germans.

The Reds contained a red-hot Francisco by tightening their defense to clinch fourth straight win

Zalgiris Kaunas v Olympiacos Piraeus (2025-01-02T18:00:00.000Z)

Nikola Mirotic and Zach LeDay were Olimpia Milano's two star performers as the Italian side ended its three-game losing run by beating LDLC ASVEL 66-75 in Round 19.

Mirotic, LeDay help Milan snap losing streak with win at ASVEL, 66-75

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan got back to winning ways in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague by downing LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 66-75, which saw the Italian side end its three-game losing streak and cause the French outfit to suffer a second straight defeat. Ettore Messina’s squad improved to 10-9 on the season, while Pierric Poupet’s men dropped to 8-11.

Nikola Mirotic and Zach LeDay combined to devastating effect for Milan, combining for 35 points – Mirotic had 18 and LeDay 17 – as ASVEL struggled to contain the two star forwards. They were also the visiting team’s leading rebounders, with Mirotic grabbing 8 boards and LeDay 6. ASVEL’s Nando De Colo, who surpassed Vassilis Spanoulis to become the EuroLeague’s all-time leader in made free throws by going a perfect 8 for 8 (De Colo now has 1,135 to Spanoulis’s 1,131), scored a game-high 22 points. Theo Maledon had 18 points, but committed 7 turnovers and fouled out in the fourth quarter. ASVEL’s other scorer in double digits was Andre Roberson with 12.

Roberson got the scoreboard moving with a step-back jumper from mid-range, but Milan soon got itself into a 6-9 lead thanks to 5 points from Mirotic. Maledon kept up his impressive form of late and moved to 7 first-quarter points by scoring 5 straight for ASVEL to tie the score at 11-11, though he had to receive some treatment and was held on the bench for the final 3:12 minutes of the opening frame. De Colo took over for ASVEL, also scoring 5 in a row, but Neno Dimitrijevic and Ousmane Diop both split free throws to ensure it was 19-19 after 10 minutes.

Diop got his own miss and scored a layup to give Milan an early advantage in the second period, then Maledon returned to the court with 8:10 minutes to go before the break. LeDay began to put his fingerprints on the contest with a pair of jump hooks, good for a 20-25 score, yet ASVEL kept fighting back through Maledon and made it a one-point game at 26-27. Milan was in front for the entire quarter after Diop’s opening score, but Mirotic ensured it was a four-point margin at the interval, 32-36, by scoring the visitors’ last 5 points of the half.

It seemed as though Milan was going to keep building on its momentum when Freddie Gillespie scored off a bullet pass from Mirotic, 32-38, which tied a game-high six-point lead for Messina’s troops. Roberson made a couple of baskets either side of a Paris Lee triple to reenergize the hosts, however, and Melvin Ajinca’s three-point play gave ASVEL the lead at 42-40. It was then the turn of De Colo to step up, with the veteran guard equaling and then surpassing Spanoulis for the most free throws made all-time, in an individual nine-point spurt that ensured it was a 51-46 score. Nico Mannion’s three-pointer off the glass and Armoni Brooks’s tip-in made it 51-51 after 30 minutes.

LeDay split free throws to restore the lead to Milan at 51-52, then De Colo responded with a one-legged fadeaway jumper, 53-52. That proved to be the last time ASVEL led on the night. Mannion’s layup and Giampaolo Ricci’s deep two, which was downgraded from a three, saw Milan go 53-56 up, but Maledon tied things up at 56-56 with a triple. Then, Shavon Shields struck from three-point land, Mirotic grabbed Shields’s airball to score, and Ricci drained a three to put Milan in a comfortable position at 58-64. LeDay effectively put the win on ice with back-to-back three-point makes, which swelled the lead to 60-70 – the first time it had reached double digits on the night. Leandro Bolmaro went 1 for 2 to set a new game-high lead of 11 points, 60-71, before the final score ended up being 66-75.

The visiting team’s forward duo combined for 35 points on the night

Bolomboy bends the rim with vicious a two-hander!

Bolomboy and Miller-McIntyre at it again! Motorola Magic Moment

 Bolomboy bends the rim with vicious a two-hander!

Giedraitis steals the ball in his own half and races down the court to dunk, drawing a foul in the process!

One-man show from Giedraitis! Motorola Magic Moment

Giedraitis steals the ball in his own half and races down the court to dunk, drawing a foul in the process! 

AS Monaco remained atop the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season standings by downing ALBA Berlin 90-105 in the German capital in Round 19 on Thursday

Monaco beats ALBA again, 90-105 

AS Monaco remained atop the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season standings by downing ALBA Berlin 90-105 in the German capital in Round 19 on Thursday. Monaco improved to 13-6 in the standings while ALBA dropped to 3-16. 

Mike James led the winners with 23 points and 7 assists. Matthew Strazel added 18 points. Jaron Blossomgame scored 17, Elie Okobo 13, Jordan Loyd 12 and Donatas Motiejunas 11. Matt Thomas and Yanni Wetzell paced ALBA with 17 points apiece. Tim Schneider and Matteo Spagnolo each added 13 for the hosts.

James attacked the baseline for a layup on the game’s opening possession before Thomas got ALBA on the scoreboard with a triple. David McCormack threw down a monster slam and Will McDowell-White drilled a triple as ALBA went in front 8-5. Vitto Brown and Strazel heated up as Monaco raced back in front. Strazel’s second three made it 10-15 midway through the opening quarter. Nick Calathes made his Monaco debut and promptly blocked Wetzell from behind. James went off for 8 straight points – including Calathes's first 2 assists of the season – to give Monaco a double-digit lead. Schneider ended the ALBA drought and Spagnolo added a jumper. Nevertheless, Monaco continued to roll as Blossomgame converted a three-point play on the break and the visitors finished the quarter up 21-30. 

Wetzell beat the shot clock with a layup early in the second quarter. Loyd erased that with a jumper that Okobo followed with a three-pointer for a 23-35 Monaco lead. Motiejunas stepped up with a put-back layup and Strazel's wild four-point play broke the game open, 23-41. Spagnolo swished consecutive mid-range jumpers and Elias Rapieque added a power layup, but Loyd and Brown kept Monaco comfortably ahead, 29-46. James buried a floater in traffic, Spagnolo and Okobo traded layups before McCormack's put-back basket brought ALBA within 33-50. Georgios Papagiannis took over with an alley-oop slam and a tip-in, boosting Monaco's lead to 35-55 at halftime. 

 

Schneider buried a corner triple soon after the break and Thomas bettered Motiejunas's layup with a four-point play to bring ALBA within 42-57. James found Blossomgame for a backdoor layup and Strazel improved on McCormack's put-back slam with a bomb from downtown for a 44-61 Monaco lead. Thomas struck twice from beyond the arc and got help from Schneider to give ALBA hope at 55-66. Okobo stepped up with a driving layup and matched Wetzell's dunk with free throws. Schneider kept pushing the hosts and Wetzell dunked again to make it a single-digit game, 71-70. After Loyd sank a three-pointer, Rapieque and Okobo traded layups. Wetzell scored in penetration for a 65-75 ALBA deficit. James and Loyd boosted the visitors' lead to 67-79 at the end of the third quarter.

Strazel nailed his fourth three-pointer early in the fourth quarter and banked in another one to boost Monaco's margin to 69-85. Motiejunas scored twice around the basket, Jonas Mattisseck answered from downtown and Malte Delow carried ALBA to within 73-89. Spagnolo scored in penetration and Mattisseck insisted from beyond the arc, causing Monaco to call timeout at 79-89. After Blossomgame buried a three-pointer, Procida answered with an alley-oop layup and Spagnolo sank a triple off the glass to bring ALBA as close as 84-92. Procida took over with a put-back layup that James bettered with a corner triple. Wetzell and Blossomgame traded free throws, James split attempts and Thomas got ALBA within 90-98 with 1:46 left. Blossomgame sealed the outcome with a bomb from downtown, as ALBA never recovered after that.

Jaron Blossomgame stood out in crunch time to stop ALBA's comeback
