After an opening day defeat to Real Madrid, Olympiacos will look to get back on track on Thursday when they entertain Anadolu Efes as the EuroLeague returns for week two.
Olympiacos shot just 39.8 percent in their 83-65 loss in the Spanish capital but since rebounded with a stunning victory in the Greek League against Panathinaikos who have since lost coach Argyris Pedoulakis.
The Piraeus outfit will look to claim victory over an Anadolu Efes side, who like Olympiacos, lost their opening EuroLeague fixture against Baskonia. Despite the defeat, the Istanbul side had positive defensive spells and recorded nine steals against the Liga Endesa team.
∞∞∞ DARUSSAFAKA DOGUS, EA7 MILANO LOOK TO BUILD ON WINNING START ∞∞∞
David Blatt’s return to the EuroLeague with Darussafaka Dogus resulted in a narrow, come-from-behind victory at Crvena Zvezda. They face a stern test at home on Thursday as they face EA7 Milano, who also won their opening fixture last week against Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv.
Milano will be looking for Ricky Hickman to continue his rich vein of form as he posted 22 points, en route to week one’s MVP honours. The Italian side will also look to maintain their offensive fluidity after setting a club record with 29 assists in the win against Maccabi.
Darussafaka on the other hand only dished out 12 assists last week in Belgrade but showed terrific team spirit to claw their way back from a 16-point deficit to claim an eventual 73-70 win.
∞∞∞ OTHER GAMES ON THURSDAY ∞∞∞
Real Madrid and Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv will lock horns in the traditional EuroLeague heavyweight match-up as the two team face each other for the twentieth time since the competition began in 2000. Overall, this is the 52nd meeting between the two teams, making this the most played European fixture.
And Brose Baskets host Unics Kazan with both sides looking to claim their first win of the new EuroLeague season. Offensively, both teams had nightmare starts to the campaign with Bamberg coming up with the second-worst shooting conversion rate in two and three-pointers as well as free throw percentage, while the Russians tallied the lowest total in their 69-63 loss to Barcelona in week one.
