By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos recovered from the Game 1 loss to ASVEL Villeurbanne by crushing Valencia 89 – 63 at home in the first game after the club parted ways with coach David Blatt.
The Reds, coached by previously assistant Kestutis Kemzura, entered the match with 11-0 and proceeded to dominated all aspects of the game in the first half to establish a 54 – 30 lead at halftime. Valencia had no answers against their opponents’ tough defense and offensive effectiveness and suffered their second loss in two games of the regular season.
Nikola Milutinov posted a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds for a game-high 29 PIR to pace Olympiacos.
And also Vassilis Spanoulis provided a vintage performance (17 points, six assists).
Jordan Loyd had 12 points and Brock Motum 11 for Valencia that was without Fernando San Emeterio and Louis Labeyrie. The Spanish side struggled to score in the second quarter and fell behind by 31, 77 – 44, at the beginning of the third period. Olympiacos was too determined to let its superiority be disputed and cruised to the win.
Jaume Ponsarnau: We didn’t understand but now we know
Valencia coach Jaume Ponsarnau noted that his squad must learn on its mistakes as it won’t get an easier throughout the season: “There are a few things we can talk about this game. We did not work very well. We didn’t understand how to start the game with the right energy. Now we know. We need to learn in this EuroLeague because we will play against great teams and we have to play tougher – on offense and defense. A good example of this is our problems with rebounds and our high number of turnovers. These turnovers happened a lot of times because we didn’t play strong with the ball. Olympiacos played a smart game. They started with very good energy and confidence. They are very talented. They played very well on offense, especially on the pick-and-roll. But we played very bad defense.”
Game Highlights:
Photo credit: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague