By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With all 11 players who entered the game putting their names on the boxscore, Gran Canaria grabbed its second consecutive win on the road and fourth overall in its maiden EuroLeague campaign by outplaying Olimpia Milano 94 – 86 on the road.
It was a beautiful performance by Gran Canaria, particularly on the offensive end, and quite a debut for interim head coach Victor Garcia who replaced Salva Maldonado just two days ago.
“Milano is a great team and it was a great win for us away for home. It’s a win that gives us confidence,” Gran Canaria wing Marcus Eriksson said in his post-game flash interview, just moments after finishing with team-highs 17 points and 19 PIR in 16:33 minutes. He and his teammates had read the many inconsistencies in Milano’s defense to reach the final minutes of the third quarter up by 14, 56 – 70, an advantage that proved to be precious since Milano had a major comeback attempt in store.
A third-quarter buzzer beater from beyond the arc by Mike James (26, eight assists, four rebounds) but the deficit to 8, 61 – 70 and then with captain Andrea Cinciarini taking charge on both ends, the hosts made it a one-possession game, 80 – 82. That was as close as they got though, since the Spanish team kept its cool and answered with a 3 – 7 partial score.
With less than two minutes left and the score 84 – 91, James and Arturas Gudaitis (16 points, plus a career-high 17 rebounds) missed four opportunities in the same play to get their team closer. Gran Canaria preserved safe distance and Oriol Pauli put the cherry on top with a slam. Milano fell to 6-5 with this loss.
Apart from Eriksson, Nikola Radicevic had 10 points plus four assists and Ondrej Balvin also scored 10 for Gran Canaria.