A pair of free throws by Vangelis Mantzaris followed by stifling defence on Tyrese Rice helped Olympiacos to a narrow 69-67 win over Barcelona on Thursday night as the Reds move up to second in the EuroLeague table.
Mantzaris hit both foul shots with 7.4 second remaining of what was a deeply intense battle. The Catalan side had a chance of winning it or at least taking it to overtime, but Rice’s drive was met by a sea of Olympiacos bigs and the Barca guard was unable to get a good look at the basket.
“We knew that to get a win here, against a team like Barcelona on the road, we had to be concentrated all 40 minutes, not just the last three minutes,” said Olympiacos’ Georgios Printezis who led the way with 16 points and nine boards.
“We did a great job, played good defence and managed to get another win. It is too early yet and we are going game by game. This is our plan, our goal. There is a long way to go, so we will celebrate this good victory today and from now on, rest, prepare and discuss the next game.”
Olympiacos improve to 12-5 while Barca, led by 16 from Rice and Petteri Koponen, drop to 7-10.
Crvena Zvezda improve to 9-8 after a tense last 12 seconds saw them beat Fenerbahce 75-73 in Belgrade.
Charles Jenkins hit, what turned out to be the game-winning long jumper with 12.4 seconds to go, and after a timeout, Ognjen Kuzmic blocked an Ekpe Udoh layup attempt, starting wild celebrations on the floor and in the stands of the sold-out Aleksandar Nikolic Hall.
“We have to be pleased that we played smart,” Crvena Zvezda coach Dejan Radonjic said. “Not only at the end, but for the entire 40 minutes.
“Rebounding was an important segment tonight in order to be successful against Fenerbahce. We managed to control the boards and that gave us a chance to compete against them. The team played well, almost everyone had a big and important role. Our team functions well, and that makes me satisfied.”
Red Star secured its fourth consecutive win, while Fenerbahce dropped to 10-7. Ognjen Kuzmic starred with 21 points.
Red Star improved to 9-8 record with its fourth consecutive win, while Fenerbahce dropped to 10-7
Unics Kazan made it an unhappy return for Nikos Zisis, Vladimir Veremeenko and head coach Andrea Trinchieri as they defeated Brose Bamberg 63-58.
Keith Langford proved to be the difference in a defensive-minded battle as the EuroLeague’s current leading scorer posted 27 points, which included three triples but the American gave all the credit to his team-mates.
“It is all about the team,” Langford said. “We had a bad week last week and heard every negative thing possible about this team. Credit to my teammates and personally, I had a lot of criticism about shooting the ball, but I am going to keep shooting until my damned arm falls off.”
Janis Strelnieks led Bamberg with 13 points as both teams own 7-10 records.
Darussafaka Dogus became the first team from Istanbul to dismantle Baskonia this season with a 98-89 victory at the Volkswagen Arena.
It ends Baskonia’s four-game winning run over the Istanbul-based sides as they were outdone from outside as Darussafaka drilled 14 three-pointers, shooting 63 percent, a club record as they improve to 9-8 following a third straight home success.
“I’m happy we got the win, that’s was really important, especially after we lost the game in Baskonia; they destroyed us,” said Baskonia’s Dairis Bertans, who exploded for 29 points, a career-high.
“So we wanted to come out strong. About my game, I started strong with energy and kind of got it going, so I just kept doing what I do. It’s good that we win against the top teams, but we also have to win against the bottom teams. Hopefully we will play like this against everybody and keep going up in the standings.”
Adam Hanga dropped 19 points for Baskonia who fall to 11-6.
