2020-21Regular SeasonRound 5
December 10, 2020 CET: 18:30
Local time: 18:30 ARENA STOZICE

Olimpija to Top 16; Nanterre, too

In a rescheduled game from Round 5, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana qualified to the 7DAYS EuroCup Top 16 by downing Promitheas Patras 77-73 at home in Arena Stozice in the Slovenian capital on Thursday. Olimpija improved to 6-3 in the standings while Promitheas dropped to 2-6 and is eliminated from the Top 16 race due to its tie-break disadvantage against Nanterre 92 (4-4), which also advanced with this result. Kendrick Perry led the winners with 24 points, while Jaka Blazic added 18 and Mikael Hopkins 11. Danny Agbelese led Promitheas with 17 points and Ian Miller added 16. Vangelis Mantzaris had a triple-double of 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, while Diante Garrett scored 11 points for the guests. It all came down to the final minute, wen Blazic and Edo Muric made the difference from the foul line.

Miller got Promitheas going with a three-pointer but Perry and Hopkins soon gave Olimpija its first lead, 5-3. Antreas Christodoulou stepped up with a back-door layup, Miller and Perry traded baskets, and Agbelese restored a 7-9 Promitheas lead. Ivan Marinkovic dunked but Christodoulou and Vangelis Mantzaris each hit triples in a 0-12 run highlighted by Miller's coast-to-coast basket. Roko Ukic and Marinkovic kept Olimpija within 13-21 after 10 minutes. Christodoulou downed a jumper and Agbelese a put-back slam to open the second quarter. Agbelese matched Blazic's layup with a jump hook and Diante Garrett added a jumper to make Olimpija call timeout at 15-29. Garrett bettered Hopkins's layup with a three-pointer but Perry and Alen Hodzic brought the guests within 22-34. Agbelese dunked and Garrett swished another jumper for a 24-38 Promitheas margin. Perry had 8 quick points to singlehandedly bring Olimpija within 32-41 at halftime. Perry scored off the inbound steal immediately after the break and Hopkins added a layup for a 36-41 score. Mantzaris and Muric exchanged triples and Blazic gave Olimpija hope at 43-45. Hopkins struck from beyond the arc to complete the hosts' comeback, 46-45. Blazic joined the three-point shootout, getting help from Hopkins and Marinkovic to keep Olimpija ahead, 53-50. Michalis Lountzis beat the shot clock with a big three-pointer but Blazic buried back-to-back shots from downtown for a 59-55 score after 30 minutes. Blazic's driving layup started the fourth quarter but Miller did better with a triple. Agbelese and Garrett soon brought Promitheas as close as 63-62. Perry and Rion Brown rescued the hosts but Mantzaris hit a three-pointer and Garrett added a layup for a 67-67 tie with under 6 minutes left. Brown sank a jumper and Perry bettered Agbelese's layup with a triple for a 72-69 Olimpija lead with 2 minutes to go. Perry scored again but Agbelese and Dimitris Agravanis got Promitheas within 74-73. Blazic split free throws, Miller missed from downtown, and Muric sealed the outcome from the foul line.

Pivotal performer

Blazic stepped up by scoring 16 of his 18 points in the second half. He hit 3-of-5 three-pointers and added 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 6 fouls drawn for a PIR of 23.

Game-changing moment

Olimpija changed the game's momentum at the start of the third quarter. Perry scored off the inbound steal, Hopkins followed down low and Blazic added 4 quick points. Hopkins hit a triple, his first in 12 attempts this season, to put Olimpija ahead, 46-45.

Stellar stat

Offensive rebounds and turnovers made the difference in this game. Olimpija pulled down 9 offensive rebounds and limited turnovers to just 10. Promitheas picked up as many as 18 turnovers and that difference of 8 extra possessions were critical in such a close game.

Did you know?

Mantzaris recorded the ninth triple-double in 7DAYS EuroCup history. The last player to get a triple-double was Quino Colom of UNICS Kazan against Buducnost VOLI Podgorica on December 9, 2015. He joins a list that also includes Todor Stoykov, Meir Tapiro, Elvir Ovcina, Pascal Perrier-Davis, Courtney Fortson and Donta Smith, who did it twice.

Next game

Both teams meet again in Patras, Greece on Wednesday, December 16. Promitheas has to play one more game, postponed from Round 8, at home against Frutti Extra Bursaspor on Tuesday, December 22.

Kendrick Perry - Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana (photo Olimpija - Ales Fevzer) - EC20
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Eurocupbasketball.com
Referees: BISSANG, JOSEPH; SILVA, SERGIO; PEERANDI, RAIN
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana13192718
Promitheas Patras21201418
End of Quarter1234
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana13325977
Promitheas Patras21415573
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 RADOVIC, ROK DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3 PERRY, KENDRICK 25:45 24 6/10 3/7 3/5 1 1 2 2 1     2 4 5 18
5 HOPKINS, MIKAEL 23:02 11 3/5 1/3 2/2 4 1 5 1 1 4 1   3 2 10
7 DUSCAK, DAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 MURIC, EDO 25:48 9 2/5 1/3 2/2   6 6 1         2 2 11
10 UKIC, ROKO 14:08 2 1/2 0/1     1 1 3           1 5
11 BLAZIC, JAKA 32:44 18 4/9 3/5 1/2 1 5 6 3 2 1   1 2 6 23
15 BROWN, RION 29:32 4 2/4 0/3     4 4   1 1   1 2 1 1
20 HODZIC, ALEN 18:03 3   1/3           1 1     3   -2
21 JONES, JARROD 14:03   0/1 0/3     3 3   1 2     1 1 -2
27 DIMEC, ZIGA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
29 MARINKOVIC, IVAN 16:55 6 3/4   0/2   2 2     1     1 1 4
Team           3 1 4               4
Totals 200:00 77 21/40 9/28 8/13 9 24 33 10 7 10 1 4 18 19 72
        52.5% 32.1% 61.5%
Head coach: GOLEMAC, JURICA
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Promitheas Patras
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 AGBELESE, DANNY 38:05 17 7/7   3/4 1 6 7   1 5 2   3 4 22
4 LOUNTZIS, MICHALIS 3:52 3   1/2                       2
5 JAMES, DELROY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7 AGRAVANIS, DIMITRIS 33:33 4 2/5 0/5   1 4 5   2 3 1   4 2 -1
10 GARRETT, DIANTE 18:03 11 4/8 1/1     1 1 2 1 3   1 3 2 6
11 FAYE, MOUHAMMAD 8:13 3 0/1 1/3     1 1     2 1   1   -1
13 CHRISTODOULOU, ANTREAS 26:30 7 2/2 1/2   1 1 2           2 3 9
17 MANTZARIS, VANGELIS 39:56 12 1/1 3/6 1/2   10 10 10 1 4     3 4 26
44 MILLER, IAN 31:35 16 4/6 2/10 2/2   7 7 6   1     3 3 18
45 RADICEVIC, NIKOLA 0:09                              
72 MANTZOUKAS, ELEFTHERIOS 0:04                              
80 TANOULIS, GEORGIOS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           3   3               3
Totals 200:00 73 20/30 9/29 6/8 6 30 36 18 5 18 4 1 19 18 84
        66.7% 31% 75%
Head coach: GIATRAS, MAKIS

Head Coaches

GOLEMAC, JURICA
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana
"We started very soft and were a little bit without confidence because we knew what the game meant to us. In the second quarter, we came out with heart, with great defense and that allowed us to break the game."
GIATRAS, MAKIS
Promitheas Patras
"I would like to congratulate Cedevita Olimpija for the qualification to the next round. Olimpija is a very good team. We thank Olimpija and its organization for its hospitality. We will do the same, as we do with all the teams, when they visit Patras. Unfortunately for us, this means that we are not going to qualify to the Top 16. I could say a lot of things, but the only thing I want to do is to wish health to everybody."

Players

PERRY, KENDRICK
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana
"We did a better job in the second half with our energy just all-around. When you get more stops on defense, it gives more confidence to our offense. Like I said at halftime, we just needed to stay true on defense and offense was going to take care of itself when we needed it the most to get this win. Now it feels good to be in the Top 16. It is a long season and you are going to have battles like this. For us, as a group, we definitely took a step forwards today. If we would have been in this position last month, maybe we would have let this one get away. But it just shows the growth and the maturity of us throughout the year."
MANTZARIS, VANGELIS
Promitheas Patras
"I think we were very focused in the game today, especially defensively. We controlled the rhythm and played very good in the first half. Unfortunately, we started the third quarter with three or four turnovers in a row and the lead went down to two points, but we fought until the end. It was a close game. We missed the shot. If Ian had scored that three-point shot, we would have won the game."