EuroLeague champions CSKA Moscow remained unbeaten by surviving a late onslaught by Olympiacos to win 81-75 in Piraeus.
It looked like one way traffic at half time as CSKA held Olympiacos to just seven points in the second quarter to take a 44-28 lead heading into the third. Slowly but surely though the Greek side fought back and in the fourth period reduced the double-digit deficit that they had faced for so long. The Muscovites, who led from tip to buzzer, led by Nando De Colo’s 23 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
“I think overall we were better on the court,” CSKA coach Dimitris Itoudis said. “We showed determination from the very first moment, knowing what we were going to face over here. Olympiacos is a team with very concrete and direct ideas on what they want to do on the court.
“They have changed some things this year: running more, being more physical on the boards, and trying not to turn over the ball. The fact that we were dominant in those elements, considering that we did not let them run in the open court and forced them into turnovers from their best players, and Vassilis Spanoulis is one of the best there is. And my team not turning over the ball, as I told them, lets us make plays.”
Georgios Printers led Olympiacos with 26 points as their three-game winning streak comes to a halt.
Brose Baskets erased a 17-point deficit to beat EA7 Milano 106-102 after a session of overtime in Bamberg.
Darius Miller led the way with 27 points for Brose Baskets as they hit 100-plus points for the first time in a EuroLeague game as they improve to 2-3, while dropping Milano to the same mark as they lose their third game in a row.
“We just made good plays,” said Miller. “They did too; they made it really tough on us. It just feels really good to close out a game. We’ve been struggling closing out games when we had the lead or really close, so it feels good to get one, especially at home in front of our fans. Amazing support every single game. We drew from their support and were able to get a win because of them.”
The game came down to free throws late on and Milano’s Ricky Hickman, who drew a three-point foul in his own backcourt with 8.5 seconds remaining, tied the game at 91-91 to set up overtime.
Miller though took charge with nine points in the extra session, but fouled out with 38 seconds remaining. It was left to Nikos Zisis to bury a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game with 15 seconds left and the hosts held on to win it.
Real Madrid showed no mercy on Galatasaray in the Spanish capital, claiming a comfortable 90-81 win to keep the Istanbul side the only winless side in the EuroLeague after five games.
Sergio Llull paced the 2015 champions with 23 points and Rudy Fernandez added 13 points and six assists in the win as Madrid improve to 4-1 this season.
“I think that all EuroLeague games are tough, at home or on the road,” Llull said afterwards. “We lost our last home game against Baskonia and I think we played a good game tonight. We could have done better, for sure, but we are happy with this victory.”
Vladimir Micov led Galatasaray with 17 points.
