In the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, on a round-by-round basis we see that Every Game Matters.
No more was that the case than in Round 3, as four teams maintained their unbeaten starts to the season in the first set of EuroLeague games this week: Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, Olympiacos Piraeus, ALBA Berlin, and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. AS Monaco, meanwhile, saw its winning run stopped on the road at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. Three games came down to the final shot of the game, and even more excitement is in store for Friday night's games in Round 4.
One of the games that was won in the final moments was Olympiacos's 87-89 triumph on the road at Real Madrid, as the Reds moved to 3-0 on the season, having beaten FC Barcelona – also away from Athens – in Round 1 before downing Zalgiris Kaunas at Peace and Friendship Stadium. Kostas Sloukas came up clutch for Olympiacos against Real, using a pump fake with the seconds winding down to create space away from Walter Tavares before coolly converting a layup. That is the type of entertainment we see in the EuroLeague in every single round.
Olympiacos marked its return to the top table of European basketball last season by reaching the EuroLeague Final Four for the first time in five years, yet it has used the disappointment of last year's semifinal defeat to eventual champion Anadolu Efes Istanbul as motivation in the early part of this current campaign. Some were saying that, with many teams having strengthened during the offseason, it would be very difficult for Olympiacos to replicate its success from last season, but two statement wins on the road against Barca and Real show that the Reds mean business once again.
It has been a case of Olympiacos excelling in several areas, as it did last season, with the Reds being the third-best scoring team after three games, as well as being fourth highest for rebounding, and fifth highest for assists. With the majority of its stars still in place, including Sloukas and the always impressive Sasha Vezenkov, Olympiacos goes into games knowing that it can make some noise.
"Congratulations to our players. It was a big win, especially here in Madrid, it is always difficult [to win at WiZink Center]. But we need to immediately forget it, because on Friday we have one more demanding game," said Olympiacos head coach Georgios Bartzokas in the wake of his team's victory over Real, understanding that the Reds have another tough test at Buesa Arena against Baskonia.
Speaking of which, Baskonia – along with ALBA – has been one of the surprise stories of the season so far. Under new head coach Joan Penarroya, Baskonia is the highest-scoring team in the EuroLeague with an average of 92.0 points per game, having been lights out from three-point range, averaging a league-high 14.7 made triples per game. After opening with a road victory at Valencia Basket, Baskonia has won back-to-back games on its home floor against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade to go to 3-0.