2014-15Regular SeasonRound 6
November 20, 2014 CET: 18:45
Local time: 19:45 PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP STADIUM

Spanoulis, Reds grab thrilling win, Top 16 berth

In a game that featured all the drama a fan could want, Olympiacos Piraeus edged Valencia Basket 77-76 at the Peace & Friendship Stadium to remain undefeated in Group D and clinch a berth in the Top 16. The game featured five lead changes and three ties in the last three and a half minutes and nearly saw another, but Nemanja Nedovic’s jumper that would have won the game came after the final buzzer. Vassilis Spanoulis, who scored what proved to be the game-winning free throw with 11.5 seconds left, led the hosts with 15 points and 7 assists. Bryant Dunston added 14 points, Tremmell Darden scored 11 and Dimitris Agravanis totaled 8 points and 10 rebounds. Spanoulis scored 10 first-quarter points and the Reds stretched a 10-0 run into the second to take a 33-21 lead. Valencia fought back behind Pau Ribas and closed to 45-40 at halftime. Valencia held the hosts scoreless for over four minutes in the third quarter and took the lead on a Ribas jumper. Olympiacos pulled back in front 53-49, but Bojan Dubljevic put Valencia on his back for a 1-15 run that Nemanja Nedovic capped with a steal and slam to make it 54-64 early in the fourth quarter. Olympiacos came back, took a 71-70 lead on an Oliver Lafayette three and the game stayed close through the thrilling finish. Dubljevic, Ribas and Vladimir Lucic scored 16 points apiece for Valencia, which dropped to 1-5.

First quarter: Spanoulis pours in 10 points to lead Reds to hot start

Dunston opened the scoring with a pair of free throws. Ribas picked up Serhiy Lishchuk’s missed free throw and scored before Guillem Vives, making his first Euroleague start, added free throws to make it 2-5. Dunston cane through in the paint, but Lucic buried an open three from the corner to put his team up 4. Vangelos Mantzaris penetrated and Lishchuk tipped in his own miss. Spanoulis got himself on the scoreboard and Darden, fouled on the break, evened the game at 10-10. Romain Sato stopped Dunston once inside, but the Reds continued feeding the big man. Sato found a cutting Lishchuk for a layup Dunston evened the score on the offensive glass at 12-12. Spanoulis drove and made an amazing circus shot to put the home team back ahead. Nedovic came in and sank a pull-up jumper to give the visitors a 15-16 edge. Brent Petway was fouled shooting a three and made the resulting 3 free throws and Spanoulis soon scored to put the hosts up 4. Dubljevic and Oliver Lafayette traded threes. Dubljevic added free throws before Spanoulis beat the buzzer for a triple and a 26-21 lead.

Second quarter: Dunston dominates, but Ribas keeps Valencia in the picture

Spanoulis found Darden on the break for a high-flying slam and Lafayette drained a three over Nedovic to give the hosts a double-digit lead. Dunston received a technical for “flopping,” but little changed as he dunked to cap a 10-0 run for a 33-21 advantage. A Sato steal led to a Lucic alley-oop layup, but Dunston’s dunk at the other end kept the momentum with the hosts. Kreso Loncar sank a jumper and Vives added a three-point play for bring Valencia within 35-28. Darden got a lucky bounce to make a three at the other end. Dunston played a big role on the glass at both ends to keep the hosts in total control. Ribas hit an important three for Valencia and Sato added a jumper to claw within 7. Agravanis fought for an offensive rebound and layup, but Ribas countered with a jumper. Spanoulis dished to Dunson for another slam, however a Sato three trimmed the deficit to 44-38. Ribas penetrated for a layup to make it 45-40 at the break.

Third quarter: Dubljevic fuels 1-11 run as Valencia pull in front

Dunston scored and drew a foul to reassert his presence on the second half. Vives drained a three to bring Valencia within 4. Then Dubljevic muscled his way inside for a pair of baskets to even the score at 47-47. Ribas sank a jumper in transition to give Valencia the lead. Darden put back his own miss to end a four-minute Olympiacos scoring drought. Petway and Othello Hunter each dunked to push the Reds in front 53-49. Dubljevic netted free throws and finished again inside to make it 54-53. Dubljevic passed from the low post to Lucic for a three and then banked in a shot. Ribas beat the third-quarter buzzer to make it 54-60.

Fourth quarter: Drama till the final buzzer

Nedovic made his mark on the game with steal and a slam… And then another steal and dunk to make it a 10-point game. Kostas Sloukas came alive for the hosts with a score and then a steal and assist to Hunter for a slam. A Ribas triple made it 58-67. Agravanis scored on the offensive glass and Spanoulis drew Vives’s fifth foul and split free throws to get within 6. Luke Harangody was called for an unsportsmanlike foul trying to stop Sloukas on the break. After Sloukas free throws, Lucic hit a big three to make it 63-70. Spanoulis fed Hunter for a slam and Agravanis drew Olympiacos within 68-70 with a triple. Then Lafayette drained another as Olympiacos regained the lead. Lucic free throws put Valencia back up 1. After Sloukas free throws, it was 73-72. Dubljevic netted a three with 44 seconds remaining to give the visitors control. After a timeout, Spanoulis buried a deep three with 36 seconds to go. Ribas split free throws to tie the game at 76-76 with 25 seconds left. Spanoulis drew a foul and split free throws with 11.5 seconds on the clock. Nedovic raced downcourt and missed a layup, but the visitors got the ball for one last out-of-bounds play with 1.3 seconds left, but did not get what would have been the game-winning shot off in time.

Tremmell Darden - Olympiacos Piraeus - EB14
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Euroleague.net
Referees: LOTTERMOSER, ROBERT; PATERNICO, CARMELO; PETEK, SASO
Attendance: 8641
By Quarter1234
Olympiacos Piraeus2619923
Valencia Basket21192016
End of Quarter1234
Olympiacos Piraeus26455477
Valencia Basket21406076
Olympiacos Piraeus
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 PETWAY, BRENT 20:01 5 1/2 0/2 3/3 2 2 4 1   1 1   2 1 6
5 HUNTER, OTHELLO 20:43 7 3/3   1/2   3 3   3 1 1   3 3 12
6 DUNSTON, BRYANT 17:59 14 5/8   4/5 2 4 6         1 1 4 18
7 SPANOULIS, VASSILIS 33:20 15 3/6 2/6 3/5   2 2 7   4     3 6 14
10 SLOUKAS, KOSTAS 18:22 6 1/3 0/2 4/4 1 3 4 4 2 1       3 14
14 CHRISTODOULOU, ANTREAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
16 AGRAVANIS, DIMITRIS 19:59 8 2/6 1/3 1/2 5 5 10     2   1 3 2 7
17 MANTZARIS, VANGELIS 25:31 2 1/1 0/2   1 3 4 3 1 2     4 1 3
18 KAVVADAS, VASILIS 0:42                              
20 LAFAYETTE, OLIVER 23:01 9 0/1 3/8     1 1 4   1     2 1 6
21 DARDEN, TREMMELL 20:22 11 3/4 1/3 2/2 1 2 3     1 1   1 4 14
Team                                
Totals 200:00 77 19/34 7/26 18/23 12 25 37 19 6 13 3 2 19 25 94
        55.9% 26.9% 78.3%
Head coach: SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
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
Valencia Basket
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 RIBAS, PAU 35:37 16 6/10 1/3 1/2   5 5 6 1 3   1 3 3 17
8 NEDOVIC, NEMANJA 24:14 6 3/7 0/2   1 1 2 4 3 3   1 3 2 4
10 SATO, ROMAIN 31:14 5 1/3 1/5   1 3 4 1 2 2 1   3   2
12 LISHCHUK, SERHIY 17:58 5 2/5   1/2 2 2 4   1 2     3 1 2
13 LUCIC, VLADIMIR 32:23 16 1/4 3/3 5/6 1 2 3   1     1 3 5 17
14 DUBLJEVIC, BOJAN 18:12 16 3/6 2/2 4/4 2 2 4 1         3 3 18
16 VIVES, GUILLEM 15:46 8 1/3 1/2 3/3   3 3 2 2 1     5 4 10
17 MARTINEZ, RAFA 4:23     0/1 0/1                 1   -3
25 LONCAR, KRESIMIR 3:50 2 1/2       1 1               2
34 AGUILAR, PABLO 4:01                         1   -1
44 HARANGODY, LUKE 12:22 2 1/2 0/1   2 2 4     1 1       4
Team           2 2 4     1     1   2
Totals 200:00 76 19/42 8/19 14/18 11 23 34 14 10 13 2 3 26 18 74
        45.2% 42.1% 77.8%
Head coach: PERASOVIC, VELIMIR

Head Coaches

SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
“It is a very important victory, since we knew that Valencia is playing one of their last cards to stay alive. They have a very good roster, which doesn’t meet their results so far. I congratulated my players for the win, but our performance was not good. We showed our character, our heart and winning mentality, but we have to study that game and improve several things. We were nervous at the beginning of the third quarter and the pressure of a home game forced us to make mistakes. I am satisfied with the character of the players; this is something I appreciate very much. Regarding the problems we had playing against their zone defense, it is something we were waiting for and got prepared. It means a lot to me that we performed our best defense during the last period of the match."
PERASOVIC, VELIMIR
Valencia Basket
“Tonight we played our best game on the road so far. Especially when Olympiacos took an early 10-point lead, we didn’t surrender. We reacted immediately and came back thanks to our concentration and willingness to remain competitive. Vladimir Lucic played a very important role, because he had to deal with the pressure that Olympiacos used in defense. Unfortunately we played one bad defense on the pick-and- roll and Spanoulis hit the crucial three pointer.”

Players

MANTZARIS, VANGELIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
“I am very happy because the big teams have to win under any circumstance, even on a very bad night. Valencia is a very good team and I think that they will prove it in the second [half] of the regular season. I think that to win by 1 point after you suffer is more useful than to have an easy game and win by 20. "
AGRAVANIS, DIMITRIS
Olympiacos Piraeus
“We played with big heart down the stretch and the fighting spirit was the key to winning. We found the path to victory through our defense in the crucial moments, and Vassilis Spanoulis scored a big three. Sometimes it is better to lose a game, rather than to win, in order to get the lesson you need.”
DARDEN, TREMMELL
Olympiacos Piraeus
“We are very happy because we survived such a difficult and risky situation. It was a very difficult game and we have to learn a lot from that and especially to correct our mistakes. However this victory proves the character of the team, since we came back from a 10-point deficit in the last quarter. We were in trouble playing against their zone defense, which didn’t allow us to run on the open court and forced us to miss a lot of three pointers. Fortunately we had a very good reaction in the right moment."
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