 Louis Olinde, ALBA: 'It felt good' 

### Israel Gonzales, ALBA head coach

"First of all, congratulate the players. They deserve it. We have been very good in rebounds, and we controlled the turnovers in the second half, and I think this has been the key, as well as the spirit they played with today."

### Dusko Ivanovic, Zvezda head coach

"In the second half, we didn't play defense how we needed to win this game, especially in transition. We had many problems in one-on-one situations, but also on offense, we only looked to shoot three-pointers. This is not how \[we should play\]. Sometimes you can win shooting the three-pointer, but not in a serious game, not in a close game."

### Moado Lo, ALBA player

"We went into halftime with a deficit that was not too big, so we had a chance to get back into the game in the second half. We came out, were able to get some stops and run, get some sort of rhythm, and this helped us for the rest of the game. I'm just happy that we were able to get a win because it's been very tough for us this season so far. Especially on this court, also, it's not easy to get a win with this atmosphere, so I'm very happy that we were able to get a win today."

### Luis Olinde, ALBA player

"We're very happy to get a win here in a very intense atmosphere. It felt good. We came out good \[in the second half\], aggressive, shared the ball on offense, and it went our way. It was the intensity. We played great defense, got a couple of steals, rebounded really well, and then got easy points on offense."

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Louis Olinde, ALBA: 'It felt good'

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade v ALBA Berlin (2023-02-24T18:00:00.000Z)

### Euroleague Basketball's CEO dishes with Milan's superstar center

It's a unique edition of A Quarter with Kyle Hines when the four-time Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion devotes his latest episode to a lively, near hour-long exchange of ideas with Marshall Glickman.

In what Hines guesses must be a first in professional sports – an active player interviewing the head of the league in which he competes – the EA7 Emporio Armani Milan star and the new Euroleague Basketball CEO cover the gamut of on- and off-court issues that concern players, coaches, clubs, fans and stakeholders alike.

Among those issues is the prospect of the EuroLeague reaching new markets in the future.

"We have an incredible bright future, and there's a lot of what I call 'white space' out there, unlocked value, and I'm feeling really good about that opportunity, particularly in the growth markets," Glickman says.

Hines wanted to know about the role of players in that future.

"The players are at the core of everything," Glickman answered. "To me, hearing from and understanding and being sensitive to the journey that players are going through is critically important to any decision that we make."

The other audience that's a major focus of their discussion is the fans themselves, to whom Glickman made a forthright appeal.

"Help us spread the gospel," he said. "Because in EuroLeague, it's true, every game matters, and that's something very different. And so I'm really proud of that. I feel really honored to be here to help. I said I'm a player-first guy, but what I should have said, and I'll correct it now: I'm a fan-first guy. I really am, and it's always been about that for me."

Watch the whole interview and enjoy a lively back-and-forth between Kyle Hines and Marshall Glickman.

For previous episodes of "A Quarter with Kyle Hines" check his whole playlist [here](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXcjy-GNBj1yw5p-hYGtl5xE7lZBNFVSZ).

A Quarter with Kyle Hines and Marshall Glickman

Who's hot: Tornike Shengelia, Virtus Segafredo Bologna

As the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague action resumed this week after a week-long break, 10-year veteran [Tornike Shengelia](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/tornike-shengelia/001133/) of Virtus Segafredo Bologna (11-13) is motivated to continue where he left off as one of the hottest players in the last month.

Shengelia missed nine of the first 11 games of the season due to injuries, playing only in Rounds 6 and 7. Once he got through those problems, which started in late August with a shoulder injury, it took Shengelia a few weeks to pick up steam.

Once he had done so, however, the Virtus forward has become one of the most productive players in the league.

In his first nine appearances, Shengelia scored in double figures four times and averaged 9.3 points per game. He knocked down 58.3% of his three-point shots, but took only 12 of those in nine games compared to 58 two-point attempts, on which he had just 39.7% accuracy.

The versatile forward also posted 2.3 and 2.1 assists, and had an average PIR of 8.0, never accumulating a performance index rating higher than 13 in any of the games before Round 19.

That Round 19 game, a tight home loss against league leader Olympiacos Piraeus, marked a turning point for Shengelia, who has since boosted his contribution for Virtus in all facets of the game. That includes scoring 10 or more points in five of his last six games, raising his scoring average to 11.7 points over that span.

Shengelia has done so by scoring on 63.6% of his two-point attempts while also posting 3.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steals. 

Two games that particularly stand out are Shengelia's posting  16 points, a career-high 7 assists and 3 steals in a home win over Panathinaikos Athens in Round 20, as well as posting 15 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in a home win over Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade.

Those led to Shengelia averaging a PIR of 17.2 since Round 19. Only five players in the league have accumulated a higher PIR over these last six rounds than Shengelia's 103.

Now, the veteran forward will have a super-busy few days. After playing for the national team of Georgia on Thursday night in the Netherlands, Shengelia will try to maintain his momentum and help Virtus keep its position firm in the playoff race in an important home clash against Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (13-11) on Friday night.

Shengelia then plans to wrap up a busy four-day stretch by heading home to Georgia and playing for the national team in a key home game against Iceland on Sunday.

This Friday night (20:30 CET), two of the hottest teams in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague come head-to-head at La Fonteta, as Valencia Basket (13-11) hosts Olympiacos Piraeus (17-7) in Round 25. While Valencia has gone 6-1 in its last seven games, rising up to eighth in the standings in the process, Olympiacos has won its last six contests and is currently the league leader.

Valencia vs. Olympiacos: Two teams with the wind in their sails

This Friday night (20:30 CET), two of the hottest teams in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague come head-to-head at La Fonteta, as Valencia Basket (13-11) hosts Olympiacos Piraeus (17-7) in Round 25. While Valencia has gone 6-1 in its last seven games, rising up to eighth in the standings in the process, Olympiacos has won its last six contests and is currently the league leader.

Yet, when Olympiacos welcomed Valencia to Peace and Friendship Stadium back in Round 6, Alex Mumbru's team caused one of the early surprises in the season by coming away with an 82-83 win, thanks to 3 clutch free throws made by Chris Jones in the final seconds of the game. At La Fonteta, though, it has often been a different story.

Olympiacos saw their unbeaten streak snapped in an unfortunate evening against Monaco. They seek recovery when they entertain a Valencia roster that hope a triumphant encounter with ALBA Berlin can be a catalyst for future success on the continent.

Olympiacos Piraeus vs Valencia Basket - Round 6 - Highlights

Valencia has played host to Olympiacos on six occasions in the EuroLeague, but its record from those six games stands at 0-6. When they have taken on each other in Piraeus, Olympiacos has had the upper hand, but only just, winning four times compared to Valencia's three.

Although Valencia and Olympiacos had differing experiences during last week's domestic cup action, with Valencia falling in the quarterfinals while Olympiacos went on to lift the Greek Cup, a tight game – and an electric atmosphere – is to be expected this Friday night.

For starters, Valencia is slowly starting to welcome back some of its injured players. While Jones and Jared Harper have been available since Round 20, with Victor Claver making his return one week later in Round 21, center and team captain Bojan Dubljevic is expected to play against Olympiacos after missing the last four EuroLeague games with an ankle injury.

The absence of Dubljevic has not been all bad, however, as EuroLeague rookies Jaime Pradilla and Kyle Alexander have had a chance to show what they can do. In the case of Alexander, he is coming off a career-high 16 points and a career-best 17 PIR against Panathinaikos. Pradilla, meanwhile, scored a personal-best 13 points and had a career-best 17 PIR in Round 23 against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.

The best scoring plays of Valencia Basket big men Kyle Alexander and Jaime Pradilla since Round 21 in the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Kyle Alexander and Jaime Pradilla's best scoring plays since Round 21

In the four games that Dubljevic has missed, the 26-year-old American has averaged 11.3 points and 3.3 rebounds, while the 22-year-old Spaniard is averaging 9.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists. Both Alexander and Pradilla have vastly improved their scoring numbers in this period, as the former averaged 4.4 points per game prior to Round 21 whereas the latter averaged 3.4 points.

Olympiacos, meanwhile, is able to welcome back Kostas Sloukas, who featured in the Greek Cup last week after missing his team's last three EuroLeague games, following an injury picked up in the second quarter against Maccabi in Round 21. Even though the Reds have seen Thomas Walkup step up excellently as their primary playmaker, with the American having a telepathic relationship with star forward Sasha Vezenkov, the return of Sloukas adds yet another dimension to their offense.

Worryingly for Valencia, February MVP of the Month candidate Vezenkov is coming off his best scoring night of the season. In a dominant 60-93 win on the road at ALBA Berlin in Round 24, Vezenkov led Olympiacos with a 28-point, 13-rebound double-double, while he also recorded 1 assist and 1 steal en route to a PIR of 40. He has been on fire this season, and he will be hoping to exact some revenge against Valencia this Friday night.

The best plays of Olympiacos Piraeus duo Thomas Walkup and Sasha Vezenkov since Round 21 in the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.

Thomas Walkup and Sasha Vezenkov's best plays since Round 21

The Valencia fans have become accustomed to watching their side enjoy success at La Fonteta, with the team having gone 3-1 in its last four home games, but Olympiacos arrives with the joint-best road record in the EuroLeague at 8-4 and it has also won its last three games away from Piraeus. It should be an intriguing contest, so make sure to tune in from 20:30 CET tonight!

Lookback: Olympiacos vs Valencia

Valencia Basket v Olympiacos Piraeus (2023-02-24T19:30:00.000Z)


A career night from Marko Guduric gave Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul a crucial victory on an emotional evening, with the Turkish team overcoming host Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 94-97 at Stark Arena.

Guduric gave Fenerbahce the victory on an emotional night

A career night from Marko Guduric gave Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul a crucial victory on an emotional evening, with the Turkish team overcoming host Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 94-97 at Stark Arena.

It was Fenerbahce’s first game in three weeks in the wake of the tragic earthquake in Turkey and Syria, which led to the postponement of its scheduled Round 24 game against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan and all domestic basketball in Turkey.

Fenerbahce was understandably concerned about how it would be able to cope with the intensity of the packed Stark Arena atmosphere following such an unusual and unexpected gap in action, but Guduric never looked anything other than totally comfortable as he led the team with 25 points on 3-of-5 two-point shooting, 4-of-5 from three-point range and 7-of-7 from the foul line. He also dished 7 assists, grabbed 2 rebounds and 2 steals, also drawing 5 fouls to achieve a new career-high PIR of 35 and – unsurprisingly – the highest plus/minus of any player in the game with +12.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🥶 Marko Guduric tonight 25 PTS I 7 AST I 35 PIR 🥶<a href="https://twitter.com/FBBasketbol?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FBBasketbol</a> <a href="https://t.co/OUoBUCrO9Y">pic.twitter.com/OUoBUCrO9Y</a></p>&mdash; Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague/status/1628880834617802753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Entering the game midway through the first quarter, Guduric quickly made an impact with 2 assists before starting his scoring spree in the second period. He scored 9 points in that second quarter and added 5 more in the third, but reserved his most prolific phase of the game for the decisive final period. After sinking a three-pointer during a 0-9 run to take a 78-84 lead, Guduric then forgot about long-range shooting and focused on driving with intensity to the basket, completing a pair of three-point plays to keep the Partizan defense under constant pressure. 

And at the end of a thrilling game, it was perfectly fitting that Guduric had the final say – he drew a foul with 5 seconds remaining and netted twice from the line to make it a two-possession game, extinguishing any Partizan hopes of recovering.

Marko Guduric (25 points) Highlights vs. Partizan Mozzart Bet, 02/23/2023

Marko Guduric highlights vs Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade

The victory was extra special for Guduric for two reasons. First, it came in his home country of Serbia, in the same city where he started his professional career as a teenager with Partizan’s archrival Crvena Zvezda. Guduric came through Zvezda’s youth ranks and made 53 EuroLeague appearances for the club between 2015 and 2017, also winning back-to-back domestic titles in those two seasons.

And more importantly, the starring role in a vital victory allowed Guduric to spread a little happiness to the hordes of Fenerbahce fans who, as with everybody throughout Turkey, have been devastated by the tragic scenes of the earthquake earlier this month. After the game, he expressed his sympathy for the victim as he summed up the feelings of all his teammates by noting: "For a week nobody talked about basketball. As we all know a lot of people died...it was not easy to see them suffer, but life I guess has to continue. So I just pray for everybody out there."

Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade v Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (2023-02-23T20:00:00.000Z)

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul produced a superb night of three-point shooting to secure a much-needed 94-97 victory over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade at Stark Arena on Thursday night

Three-point barrage secured key Fenerbahce road win

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul produced a superb night of three-point shooting to secure a much-needed 94-97 victory over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade at Stark Arena on Thursday night, strengthening the Turkish team’s position in the playoffs places and also seizing the head-to-head tiebreak advantage over the hosts.

Coach Dimitris Itoudis’s team made 14 of its 26 attempts from beyond the arc, with three players responsible for nearly all the damage: Marko Guduric converted 4 of 5 from beyond the arc and Scottie Wilbekin hit 3 of his 7 attempts, but they were bettered by a flawless Dyshawn Pierre who struck all 5 of his three-pointers on his way to a new career high of 21 points.

Crucially, all three players were involved in a flurry of three-point shooting that came during a decisive phase of the game early in the fourth quarter. With the lead frequently changing hands, Partizan threatened to surge into a commanding advantage as Mathias Lessort and Kevin Punter both excelled offensively.

But every time Partizan struck, Fenerbahce responded from long-range: firstly Wilbekin (for a 71-71 tie), then Pierre (71-74), Wilbekin again (78-78), followed by Guduric (78-81) and finally Pierre again (78-84). Those 5 triples came in the space of less than 5 minutes, and provided a lead that would never be lost as well as serving to suck the belief out of a Partizan team that just couldn’t hold onto a lead in the face of Fener’s barrage of threes.

That long-range excellence allowed Fenerbahce to overcome a big battering on the boards, which saw Partizan win the rebounding battle 34-23, taking 14 offensive boards to just 7 from the visiting team. Normally, that kind of physical dominance would be enough to secure victory, but Fenerbahce’s trio of sharpshooters ensured otherwise on this occasion.

Real Madrid did not find much trouble to beat Zalgiris Kaunas 96-69 at Wizink Center in the Spanish capital in Round 25.

Real Madrid did not find much trouble to beat Zalgiris Kaunas 96-69 at Wizink Center in the Spanish capital in Round 25, grabbing its 17th victory of the season. Being effective in the paint was the biggest key to this game.

Real dominated the boards and was able to find easy baskets in the paint. Real outrebounded Zalgiris by 35-29 and finished the game with 30 two-point shots made. It was *Los Blancos*' second-best mark of the season: Real scored 31 two-point shots in a 92-73 home win against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in Round 15. Gabriel Deck, Walter Tavares and Vincent Poirier combined for 16-of-19 two-point shooting (84.2%).

*Los Blancos* only needed 41 two-point shots to get 30 baskets inside the arc. That shooting percentage, 73.2%, was a new club season-high: it previously made 72.4% of its two-pointers in a 71-85 Round 11 road victory against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. It was also Real's fourth-best mark in EuroLeague history. Its best two-point shooting night (80% 2FG) came against Crvena Zvezda Belgrade on March 10, 2017. Real beat Zvezda 98-68 in that game.

Real's effectiveness makes the difference

Real Madrid v Zalgiris Kaunas (2023-02-23T19:45:00.000Z)

Real Madrid was without Sergio Llull and Adam Hanga in its Round 25 game against Zalgiris Kaunas. Nigel Williams-Goss made the most of the opportunity and stepped up for *Los Blancos* when his team needed it most.

Williams-Goss finished the game with 12 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a PIR of 13 in a 96-69 home victory against Zalgiris. Real was +19 with him on the court, and it was the highest plus-minus in this game. It was his second double-digit scoring game of the season, and that PIR of 13 matched a season-high: he previously reached that number in Round 16 against Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Williams-Goss was the first player to reach double digits, getting 10 points in the first quarter and keeping Real in the game. Indeed, *Los Blancos* trailed 22-24 after 10 minutes and took off right after that. Williams-Goss did a little bit of everything in that first quarter, taking Isaiah Taylor to the low post for a basket-and-foul, adding a fastbreak layup, a three-pointer off a fantastic behind-the-back assist from Rudy Fernandez, and a floater. Williams-Goss proved to be at his best again, and that is great news for Real in terms of backcourt depth.

Williams-Goss stepped up in Round 25 

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan carved out a tough 78-76 home win over Panathinaikos Athens largely thanks to superiority in the paint, where the Italian team’s big man Brandon Davies turned out to be the decisive factor.

Davies and offensive rebounding lifted Milan to victory

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan carved out a tough 78-76 home win over Panathinaikos Athens largely thanks to superiority in the paint, where the Italian team’s big man Brandon Davies turned out to be the decisive factor.

Having come off the bench in the second quarter, Davis contributed with a huge performance as he netted 16 points, nailing 8 of 11 shots from the floor with the visiting defense unable to contain him.

In total, Milan racked up 40 rebounds including 14 offensive boards, while Panathinaikos managed 28 and a mere 6 of them were offensive. It was a game of few free throws, with Milan netting 4 of 5 while the visitors hit 10 of 13.

However, the foul line also made for a fine margin as Nicolo Melli sank a pair of free throws with 11.6 remaining to give Milan the win, as Dwayne Bacon missed a tough shot in the closing seconds in an effort to force overtime.

Both teams were solid from two-point range (Milan 25 of 41, Panathinaikos 21 of 31), but neither shined from beyond the arc, with Milan hitting 8 of 26 while the visitors sank 8 of 30.

They were also on an even keel in terms of assists and turnovers and the other thin line that separated the rivals was drawn by Shabazz Napier, who scored 8 successive points down the stretch in the second half to finish on 16 – his EuroLeague career high after joining Milan last month.

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan v Panathinaikos Athens (2023-02-23T19:30:00.000Z)