By Achilleas Mavrodontis/ info@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos center Nikola Milutinov had an MVP-caliber performance in his team’s bounce-back win over Valencia but didn’t get the weekly EuroLeague award. Still, the Reds’ big man was pleased that the one who landed Round 2 MVP was none other than his Serbian national team teammate Vasilije Micic.
“I’m happy for him. Really happy that he played well because he’s a really good friend of mine. I hope he continues to play like that… except for the games against us,” Milutinov told Eurohoops.
Micic registered 32 PIR by posting 23 points, 13 assists and four steals in the overtime win of Anadolu Efes over Alba Berlin. Milutinov had 29 PIR thanks to the 17 points and 14 rebounds (including a career-high eight offensive boards) he had vs. Valencia.
“Honestly, I was stressed because of the things that were going lately on our team. I wanted us to win this game a lot. I’m so happy we succeeded. I don’t care about my personal record honestly. Just about the team and the picture we showed tonight.”
This game was the first for Olympiacos following the departure of coach David Blatt. Kestutis Kemzura, Blatt’s assistant, served as head coach.
“We had to look into the future because you can’t change the past. I was excited when I saw the coach’s philosophy. I believe in him. I support him and I think we can succeed with him.”