The reigning Euroleague champions Olympiacos came from behind to defeat Unicaja Malaga 69-61 in Group C on Friday night.
Down 45-44 at the end of the third, Olympiacos went on a 25-4 run in the fourth quarter to turn the game around. Brent Petway and Matt Lojeski played pivotal roles in the comeback, each making 3-out-of-4 three-pointers on the night.
Petway and Vassilis Spanoulis led Olympiacos with 13 points each, while Fran Vazquez led Malaga with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“It is too early to be ready and play our basketball, as the season is too long,” Petway said afterwards. “We have lots of things to improve, but we keep working hard and I think that our chemistry will be at the right level.”
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In the other Group C game Bayern Munich were comfortable 94-73 winners over Stelmet Zielona Gora in Poland.
The Germans got off to a solid start and built on that first quarter showing to lead 48-28 at half-time at take the game away from the Polish newcomers.
Chevon Troutman led the Germans with 19 points with Bosnian Nihad Djedovic adding 17.
“We did not expect that it would be easy like that,” Djedovic stated. “Of course we felt pressure, but they did too and I think we took the pressure off of us quicker. We played very good in defence, Stelmet could not to pass ball easily and I think it was the key.”
Erving Walker and Przemyslaw Zamojski each scored 11 to lead Stelmet.
Real Madrid stamped their authority with a comfortable 83-63 success at Zalgiris Kaunas.
Nikola Mirotic led Madrid with 18 points as the Liga Endesa side built the lead gradually as the game went, only getting better as their Lithuanian counterparts got tired.
Paulis Jankunas led Zalgiris with 15.
The team did a great job in the first half, and showed great defence,” Madrid coach Pablo Laso said. “After the break, we seemed to play solidly and further increased the difference and thus celebrated the victory. We can expect Zalgiris to really showcase its true face later in the season, because this team is definitely going to get better.”
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