By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Baskonia celebrated the first game of the EuroLeague season in “Fernando Buesa Arena” with an 82 – 66 win over Olympiacos Piraeus behind a personal record-setting performance by team captain Tornike Shengelia.
Shengelia finished with a EuroLeague career-high 25 points plus nine rebounds as his team captured its second win in four games of the regular season. Meanwhile, Olympiacos dropped to 1-3.
“It feels great we won the game,” Shengelia said when asked about his performance in the EuroLeague TV post-game flash interview. “I’m here to talk about the team. And the team did a great job. For us, for the fans, we needed this game. I’m happy we won.”
Brandon Paul scored a season-high 15 points on 5/9 3-pointers for Olympiacos that crumbled down in the second half after recovering from an 11-point deficit to close the break down by 2, 38 – 36. Baskonia outrebounded the visiting side (49 – 26 overall) and reached the final stretch up 65 – 49. Paul and Will Cherry (10 points, five rebounds, five assists) hit a couple of threes in another Red comeback attempt but their squad didn’t pose any serious threat to the hosts.
Baskonia finished the match with 28 second-chance points against its opponents’ 12.
Apart from Shengelia, Pierria Henry posted 11 points and Nik Stauskas 11 (3/7 triples) in the second EuroLeague game of his career. Luca Vildoza had 10 points and six assists while Youssoupha Fall collected 16 rebounds (six on offense) apart from scoring eight points.
For Olympiacos, Vassilis Spanoulis scored 10 (2/9 3-pointers) and served five assists. Augustine Rubit had 10 points and Nikola Milutinov nine points and 10 boards.
Shutting down the Reds’ comeback hopes
Every time Olympiacos tried to become dangerous, Baskonia always responded in order to preserve its advantage. This focus was something that coach Velimir Perasovic really appreciated.
“If you relax 2-3 minutes against a team like Olympiacos, they can hit three three-pointers in the blink of an eye, as they did at the end of the second quarter. Having a high level of concentration is very important in the EuroLeague,” Perasovic said.
“I think we played very tough, with great hustle,” Perasovic added. “We have some players in great shape, like our two big men [Shengelia and Fall]. In crucial moments, we found a way to stop their reaction. There was an important moment in the third quarter, we knew it and stopped their reaction, and this was the key. It is always important to win at home. We must use our [home court] advantage, this is the key. It is not easy because we play against great teams, but it is important to start with a victory.”
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball