A tough road game for Olympiacos in the second round of the EuroLeague!
The “Red-and-Whites” traveled to Kaunas, Lithuania, to face Zalgiris (8:00 p.m.) at the packed “Zalgirio Arena,” with the game taking place just two days after their final against PAOK and their victory in the Stoiximan Super Cup.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Olympiacos first overcame the challenge posed by a formidable AEK, and a day later dominated the first half and found ways to counter PAOK’s second-half comeback, ultimately securing a hard-fought 101-96 victory and claiming the season’s first domestic title. Last week, in their EuroLeague opener, the Piraeus team defeated Baskonia relatively comfortably (106–89) in Spain, while tonight’s game will be the second of five away games they’ll play during the first six rounds of the EuroLeague.
This will be followed two days later by the match against Virtus Bologna (Thursday, Oct. 1, 9:30 p.m.) in Italy, before the “Red-and-Whites” make their league debut in Thessaloniki at the Ivanofio Arena against Heraklis (October 4, 5:30 p.m.). Their first home game at SUNEL Arena will be against Efes (October 9, 9:15 p.m.), for the 4th round of the EuroLeague.
On the court, Giorgos Bartzokas will be without Milutinov, who, despite playing briefly against Baskonia, continues to suffer from tendinitis and was sidelined for the Super Cup games; he also did not travel to Lithuania and will not play against Virtus either, Dunston was named to the roster and traveled with the team to Lithuania, while Papas will not play tonight.
“We’re playing on a tough road court against a team contending for the playoffs. If we don’t play well, we’ll have a very hard time. We’re playing five games in seven days, and that’s not normal—it’s more like… a gamble. I don’t know how ready we are; we’re going there to do a shootaround, watch some video, and then we’ll go out and play,” said the Olympiacos coach ahead of tonight’s game.
As for Zalgiris, they kicked off their EuroLeague campaign with an 83-77 road win against Red Star, a game in which their top performers were Valančiūnas (13 pts, 8 reb), Williams-Goss (14 pts, 6 ast), Tubelis (10 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists), Carsten Edwards (13 points), and Sterling Brown (10 points). Thus, they got off to a strong start, and for the rest of this grueling week, they will travel to France to face Paris. In the Lithuanian league, they’re 3-0, and last Sunday they easily defeated Šiauliai 101-82, giving Valančiūnas a rest.
“The EuroLeague champions are coming. A team with its own style, that moves the ball quickly and plays with minimal dribbling. It’s hard to contain them; they have top-tier players at every position, and we’re in for a big challenge,” said their coach, Jonas Masiulis, who cannot count on the services of former “Red-and-White” player, Williams-Goss, who played in the EuroLeague opener but was injured and is a major loss for Zalgiris in tonight’s game.
The referees for the game will be Saša Pukl (Slovenia), Emilio Pérez (Spain), and Luka Kardum (Croatia).
The two teams each had one win in their meetings last season, with Olympiacos prevailing 95-78 at SEF and Zalgiris winning 99-94 in double overtime in Kaunas (73-73 at the end of regulation).
