Despite missing key contributors, the Olympiacos Piraeus reeled off two wins to climb in the standings.

Olympiacos overcame injuries to complete perfect double-round week

Following its 90-85 road win at Real Madrid in Round 23, things looked anything but great for Olympiacos Piraeus. The Reds dropped to a 12-11 record, but most importantly they were forced to add Filip Petrusev and Giannoulis Larentzakis to an injury list that already included Nigel Williams-Goss, who missed the game in Madrid, as well as centers Moustapha Fall and Nikola Milutinov.

Coming into the double-round week, Olympiacos had no available center, with Luke Sikma being the only option to feature at ‘5’. While Larentzakis and Williams-Goss managed to shake off fitness issues, Petrusev would miss out on Tuesday’s duel against ALBA Berlin. The Greek side had just landed emergency signing Moses Wright, who averaged 26.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in five appearances in the Turkish league but had no Turkish Airlines EuroLeague experience. In fact, the rookie had only participated in one team practice before making his debut and struggled in the first half against ALBA, when he didn’t record a single point.

“In the first half I came out a little shaky, but in the second half, \[after I\] went to the locker room and gathered myself, I came out to do what I was supposed to do,” Wright said after the game.

And that’s exactly what the new Olympiacos signing did. Wright stepped up his game and netted 15 second-half points, having gone 7-for-9 from inside the arc. Along with a red-hot Isaiah Canaan, who scored a career-high 31 points, including a club-record 9 three-pointers made, they led Olympiacos to a 101-87 victory.

Moses Wright had 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks in an impressive Olympiacos Piraeus debut.

Wright's highlights vs. ALBA

Having provided the team with a boost in morale, many may have expected Wright and Canaan to build on their momentum and come to the fore again against FC Bayern Munich. However, the two men scored a combined 2 points, with Canaan failing to register a single point in a game for the first time this season. Enter Thomas Walkup and Filip Petrusev. The two Olympiacos players were excellent throughout the second half and combined for 30 points to lead their team to a narrow 72-76 victory at BMW Park.

“I consider this win as one of the most important wins of the season,” head coach Georgios Bartzokas said after the game.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Coach Bartzokas speaking: “This was the turning point of the season”. ✊🏽🔴⚪️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OlympiacosBC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OlympiacosBC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreOlympiacos?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreOlympiacos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherWeFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFight</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BAYOLY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BAYOLY</a> <a href="https://t.co/tBwRF9IwEl">pic.twitter.com/tBwRF9IwEl</a></p>&mdash; Olympiacos B.C. (@Olympiacos_BC) <a href="https://twitter.com/Olympiacos_BC/status/1753212410540786020?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Olympiacos didn’t make a single turnover after the break and its defense made the difference in the crucial third quarter, where it kept Bayern to 13 points.

“Our defense \[was the key to the win\],” Walkup noted. “They scored 72 points, that’s a great number. It was our toughness also. Our fans here really brought it. Great showing for an away game, but most of all it was our toughness, fighting through, especially in the second half.”

Last season, Olympiacos may have boasted the EuroLeague MVP, Sasha Vezenkov, but what took the team all the way to the championship game was its ability to produce new heroes in each game. This term, Canaan and Alec Peters have stepped up their game, but injuries haven’t allowed the team to gel up. Yet, the last two games saw different players make the difference.

One of them was Ignas Brazdeikis, who pulled off his best performances for the Greek side so far and netted 11 points in each of those duels. The Olympiacos guard hit the ground running and netted half of his team’s 18 points in the first quarter against Bayern by completing three hard-fought three-point plays.

Olympiacos Piraeus swingman Ignas Brazdeikis had back-to-back 11-point games in this double-round week.

Brazdeikis stepped up for Olympiacos

“We’ve got a lot of new pieces and some injuries,” Brazdeikis noted. “We just need to learn about each other and support everybody who’s on the court doing well and I think it’ll end up being good for us.”

Indeed, following these two important wins, the team’s morale is currently sky-high heading into the last stretch of the season. Olympiacos will now travel to Spain, where it will take on another playoff contender, Valencia Basket, in search of revenge after its 56-63 defeat in Piraeus back in Round 14. Milutinov will be sidelined for that game too, while Fall is expected to be questionable. However, Olympiacos proved this week that it boasts the squad depth to generate new protagonists.

More Olympiacos news

Despite missing key contributors, the Reds reeled off two wins to climb in the standings.

EuroLeague top photos of the week

Nigel Williams-Goss of Olympiacos shoots in front of ALBA's Gabriele Procida.

Chima Moneke of Baskonia dunks with two hands in Munich against Bayern. 

Elia Okobo of Monaco keeps the ball away from Partizan's James Nunnally. 

Nicolo Melli of Milan competes against Panathinaikos's Mathias Lessort. 

Jan Vesely of Barcelona looks to dunk with two hands against Virtus. 

Players from Baskonia and Maccabi vie for the ball in their Round 25 game. 

Yanni Wetzell of ALBA defends against Valencia's Semi Ojeleye. 

Bryant Dunston of Virtus emotes as he dunks in front of Partizan's Zach LeDay.

Milan's Rodney McGruder and Efes's Darius Thompson tussle for the ball. 

Scottie Wilbekin of Fenerbahce looks to split the defense of Monaco's Mam Jaiteh and John Brown. 

Look back at all the action from Round 24 and 25 of the regular season by checking out the best photos of the week!

The Top 10 photos of the week, Rounds 24 and 25

In the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague roll call, we take a look at five players who had a big impact on their respective games in this latest double-round week: Kevin Punter, Nemanja Nedovic, Ignas Brazdeikis, Vincent Poirier, Marco Belinelli.

Roll call, Rounds 24-25: Standing out in the double round

### Punter lit it up for Partizan

This week didn’t exactly go to plan for Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade as it fell to back-to-back defeats, but [Kevin Punter](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/kevin-punter/009862/) showed that he is back to his best on the offensive end of the floor by scoring 50 points across his team’s two games this week. After netting a [season-high 28 points](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/as-monaco-partizan-mozzart-bet-belgrade/E2023/213/#boxscore) in Round 24 at AS Monaco, Punter once again led Partizan in scoring by [posting 22](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/virtus-segafredo-bologna-partizan-mozzart-bet-belgrade/E2023/224/#boxscore) in a defeat at Virtus Segafredo Bologna. There was no stopping Punter on offense this week, but unfortunately it didn’t result in wins for his team.

Kevin Punter scored 50 points in the most recent double-round week for Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade.

Punter lit it up for Partizan

### Nedovic found his groove on offense

[Nemanja Nedovic](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/nemanja-nedovic/000848/) erupted for a season-high 27 points as Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade as it [downed on Valencia Basket](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/crvena-zvezda-meridianbet-belgrade-valencia-basket/E2023/208/#boxscore) in Round 24, before following that up with 21 points, the most of any Zvezda player, in a [loss to FC Barcelona](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/crvena-zvezda-meridianbet-belgrade-fc-barcelona/E2023/223/#boxscore) in Round 25. That’s the first time that Nedovic has paired back-to-back games of 20 points or more this season, and the first since Rounds 12 and 13 last season. As we enter the home stretch of the season, Nedovic is catching fire at just the right time.

Nemanja Nedovic scored 48 points this week for Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade.

Nedovic found his groove on offense

### Brazdeikis stepped up for Olympiacos

Olympiacos Piraeus came into this double-round week with the injuries of Nikola Milutinov and Moustapha Fall as a hot topic, but swingman [Ignas Brazdeikis](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/ignas-brazdeikis/011983/) tried to help cover for their absence by taking advantage of an increased role on offense. Brazdeikis played 20 or more minutes for the first time this season in Round 24 and that led to his first double-digit scoring night of the campaign, with the Lithuania international notching 11 points in a [win against ALBA Berlin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/olympiacos-piraeus-alba-berlin/E2023/211/#boxscore). He then played exactly 20 minutes at FC Bayern Munich a couple of days later and also scored [11 points](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/fc-bayern-munich-olympiacos-piraeus/E2023/218/#boxscore), meaning he had back-to-back double-digit scoring nights in this double-round week after not scoring more than 9 at any point this season.

### Poirier did his best Tavares impression this week

Real Madrid has been without Walter Tavares since Round 21, and his absence had the potential to cause some problems for Los Blancos in this double-round week. Well, the good news for Real is that it has arguably the best backup center in the EuroLeague in [Vincent Poirier](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/vincent-poirier/004887/). In addition to having a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double in a [106-101](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/real-madrid-maccabi-playtika-tel-aviv/E2023/212/#boxscore) win against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, the Frenchman also had 3 blocks in that game. Poirier followed that up by recording a joint season-high 4 blocks in an [86-79](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/real-madrid-ldlc-asvel-villeurbanne/E2023/219/#boxscore) triumph over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. He posted 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, too. As such, Poirier had 7 blocks in the space of 48 hours, which are the sort of numbers we’re used to seeing from Tavares.

Vincent Poirier had 7 blocks for Real Madrid in this double-round week.

Poirier did his best Tavares impression this week

### Belinelli bounced back in style

Round 24 certainly didn’t go to plan for Virtus or [Marco Belinelli](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/marco-belinelli/bcn/), who had a season-low 4 points in an [84-57](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/fc-barcelona-virtus-segafredo-bologna/E2023/214/#boxscore) humbling loss at FC Barcelona. With Partizan visiting Bologna in Round 25, the veteran Italian quickly put that performance behind him by posting a joint team-high 20 points in an [88-84 win](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/game-center/2023-24/virtus-segafredo-bologna-partizan-mozzart-bet-belgrade/E2023/224/#boxscore) against Partizan. In particular, Belinelli scored 10 of Virtus’s 16 points in a third quarter that finished 27-27 and allowed the hosts to enter the fourth period with a 62-58 advantage. Belinelli has now finished with 20 or more points on six occasions this season, showing that age is simply just a number.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna sharpshooter Marco Belinelli responded to a season-low scoring night in Round 25 by scoring 20 in Round 25.

Belinelli bounced back in style

In the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague roll call, we take a look at five players who had a big impact on their respective games in this latest double-round week.

Andrea Trinchieri and his Zalgiris Kaunas side recorded back-to-back wins in the double-round week by beating Anadolu Efes S.K. and Panathinaikos B.C. in just a couple of days.

Andrea Trinchieri amazed with ‘evolving’ Zalgiris Kaunas after double-round sweep

After sweeping a double-round week for the first time this season, Andrea Trinchieri expressed his amazement with what his Zalgiris Kaunas team was able to accomplish. However, the Italian coach does not think now is the time to look at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings.

Zalgiris fans can nevertheless begin to speak with a bit more confidence regarding the playoff race after the team managed to knock off [Anadolu Efes Istanbul 96-70](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/euroleague-live-blog-zalgiris-kaunas-vs-anadolu-efes-sk/) and [Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens 80-68](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/euroleague-live-blog-zalgiris-kaunas-vs-panathinaikos-bc/) in the span of 48 hours.

"Great week, two wins against two very good teams,” said Trinchieri, who has guided Zalgiris to a 4-0 record at home during his month at the helm and now a 10-15 record.

Zalgiris-Panathinaikos | Round 25 Highlights | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

### Two contrasting victories

What really impressed the Italian play-caller was how his team played two distinctively different games in those two wins.

“I’m very happy for one thing. We played a great game 48 hours ago with a lot of offensive quality,” explained Trinchieri. “And today we were able to win diving on the floor like in a pool. I saw one play with four players diving for the loose ball. Being able to change the way you play in 48 hours and do what it requires to win the game, it’s amazing. Now we should enjoy \[the win\] for at least one day.” 

Trinchieri was hired as Zalgiris’s new coach on December 30 with the team mired in a six-game losing streak and with a 5-12 record in 16th place. The Kaunas club has since reeled off five wins in the eight games with Trinchieri in charge, even though the team hasn’t had much chance to practice.

“I have been here one month and every day I see one small step forward. We are evolving as a team and as players,” he stated after the Panathinaikos win.

<center>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Enjoy! 💚 <a href="https://t.co/2KpLRCW6EM">pic.twitter.com/2KpLRCW6EM</a></p>&mdash; BC Zalgiris Kaunas (@bczalgiris) <a href="https://twitter.com/bczalgiris/status/1753514436781125906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Trinchieri’s praise for his players

The coach called [Keenan Evans](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/keenan-evans/011218/) the team’s leader, as he is doing an especially good job of balancing effective individual work but not to the detriment of the team game – and doing so in a quiet, workmanlike manner.

Trinchieri also called [Arnas Butkevicius](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/arnas-butkevicius/002676/) the team’s backbone because he sacrifices for the team night in, night out. And he said Butkevicius grabbing 9 rebounds versus Panathinaikos was “super, super, super important”.

After the double-round sweep, Zalgiris can once again see the play-in spots in the not-too-far distance, with multiple teams only three wins ahead of the Greens with nine games to go. And, importantly, Zalgiris plays four of its last five games at home, where it is 100% since Trinchieri’s arrival.

Still, Trinchieri said the team is not looking at the standings.

“It’s not the right moment. It’s the right moment to keep pushing and grinding.”

More Zalgiris News

Keenan Evans of Zalgiris Kaunas is chased down by Marius Grigonis of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in Round 25 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

After beating Efes in Round 24, the Lithuanian side defeated Panathinaikos in Round 25.

Andrea Trinchieri amazed with ‘evolving’ Zalgiris after double-round sweep

Zalgiris Kaunas v Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (2024-02-02T18:00:00.000Z)

A stellar individual performance in a winning effort allowed Keenan Evans of Zalgiris Kaunas to earn Round 25 MVP honors in the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season with a PIR of 35.

Round 25 MVP: Keenan Evans, Zalgiris Kaunas

A stellar individual performance in a winning effort allowed [Keenan Evans](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/keenan-evans/011218/) of Zalgiris Kaunas to earn Round 25 MVP honors in the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season with a PIR of 35.

Evans led Zalgiris to an 80-68 home victory over Panathinaikos Athens in a near-perfect performance. He finished the game with 24 points on 5-of-6 two-pointers, 4-of-5 three-pointers and 2-of-2 free throws. Evans added 3 rebounds, 5 assists, a career-high 5 steals and 2 fouls drawn to amass a PIR of 35. Evans earned MVP honors for the second time in his 75-game EuroLeague career and is the first Zalgiris player to become MVP of the Round this season.

Keenan Evans | RS Round 25 MVP | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

[Guerschon Yabusele](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/guerschon-yabusele/010357/) of Real Madrid got a PIR of 33 in his team's 86-79 win against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. He had a career-high 26 points on 6-of-8 two-pointers, 1-of-1 three-pointers and 11-of-11 free throws, as well as having 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 6 fouls drawn. [Wade Baldwin](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/wade-baldwin-iv/009863/) of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv amassed a PIR of 30 despite his team's 92-82 against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. Baldwin had 25 points on 4-of-7 three-pointers, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, a steal and 4 fouls drawn. [Mike James](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mike-james/005985/) of AS Monaco had the fourth-best mark with a 29 PIR, as he amassed 23 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in a 76-69 triumph against Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. The 28 PIR posted by ASVEL guard [Paris Lee](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/paris-lee/011225/), which came on 23 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal, completes the list of top individual performances in Round 25.

Evans earned MVP honors for the second time in his 75-game EuroLeague career and is the first Zalgiris player to become MVP of the Round this season.

Round 25 saw many Turkish Airlines EuroLeague stars deliver great individual performances. These are the players who led all the main statistical categories.

Round 25 individual highs: Chima Moneke, Baskonia, 15 rebounds

[Points](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/expanded/?size=25&viewType=traditional&seasonCode=E2023&statisticMode=perGame&seasonMode=Single&sortDirection=descending&statistic=score)

[Guerschon Yabusele](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/guerschon-yabusele/010357/) of Real Madrid, [Kendrick Nunn](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/kendrick-nunn/012774/) of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens and [Markus Howard](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/markus-howard/011948/) of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz led this round in scoring with 26 points apiece. [Mike James](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/mike-james/005985/) of AS Monaco is the competition's top scorer at 19.3 points per game. In Round 25, he took sole control of second spot in the EuroLeague's all-time scoring list with 4,406 points, only trailing Vassilis Spanoulis (4,455).

[Rebounds](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/expanded/?size=25&viewType=traditional&seasonCode=E2023&statisticMode=perGame&seasonMode=Single&sortDirection=descending&statistic=totalRebounds)

[Chima Moneke](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/chima-moneke/012201/) of Baskonia pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds in his team's 92-82 over Maccabi. Moneke is also first overall with 7.4 boards per night.

[Assists](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/expanded/?size=25&viewType=traditional&seasonCode=E2023&statisticMode=perGame&seasonMode=Single&sortDirection=descending&statistic=assistances)

[Sergio Rodriguez](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/sergio-rodriguez/cvm/) of Real had 9 assists, more than anyone else in Round 25. [Codi Miller-McIntyre](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/codi-miller-mcintyre/009048/) of Baskonia leads the EuroLeague in assists with 6.7 per game.

[Steals](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/expanded/?size=25&viewType=traditional&seasonCode=E2023&statisticMode=perGame&seasonMode=Single&sortDirection=descending&statistic=steals)

[Keenan Evans](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/keenan-evans/011218/) had a career-high 5 steals in Zalgiris Kaunas's 80-68 home victory over Panathinaikos. [Paris Lee](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/paris-lee/011225/) of LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne ranks first in steals with 1.9 per contest. 

[Blocks](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/expanded/?size=25&viewType=traditional&seasonCode=E2023&statisticMode=perGame&seasonMode=Single&sortDirection=descending&statistic=blocksFavour)

[Vincent Poirier](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/vincent-poirier/004887/) of Real had 4 blocks against ASVEL. He is second overall (1.63 bpg.), only trailing teammate [Walter Tavares](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/walter-tavares/005791/) (1.65 bpg.).

[Double-doubles](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/stats/expanded/?size=25&viewType=miscellaneous&seasonCode=E2023&statisticMode=accumulated&seasonMode=Single&sortDirection=descending&statistic=doubleDoubles)

Moneke (15 points, 15 rebounds) and [Joel Bolomboy](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/joel-bolomboy/009035/) of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (12 points, 10 rebounds) were the only players to register a double-double in Round 25.

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 25th winner in the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge! Matas Mykolas beat everyone else in Round 25 with his team bandziuganai, which had a Fantasy Challenge score of 242.5.

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge Round 25 winner

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague fans, we have our 25th winner in the [EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge](https://euroleaguefantasy.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/home)! Matas Mykolas beat everyone else in Round 25 with his team bandziuganai, which had a Fantasy Challenge score of 242.5.

Dusan had the following lineup: team captain Keenan Evans of Zalgiris Kaunas, Mike James of AS Monaco, Chima Moneke of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, Guerschon Yabusele of Real Madrid, and Laurybas Birutis also of Zalgiris as starters.

His sixth man was Markos Howard of Baskonia, while the rest of the bench was made up of Jaime Pradilla of Valencia Basket, Arnas Butkevicius of Zalgiris, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis of Panathinaikos and Aleksa Avramovic of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade. His head coach was Andrea Trinchieri of Zalgiris.

The prize for finishing first in Round 25 is a free subscription to Euroleague TV for the 2024-25 season, so congratulations, Konstantinos!

Ilias Preveza is the new leader of the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge overall standings with 4,463.45 points.

Trades are now open for Round 26. Remember, it's back to three trades per round until the end of this upcoming round.

The first game in Round 26, Anadolu Efes Istanbul vs. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, tips off on Thursday, February 8, at 18:30 CET. These fixture mark the deadline to get trades done, so don’t leave it too late!

Make new teams now or improve your existing ones and try to become our next round winner in the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge!

Weekly prizes are on offer for the top team manager in the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge, so don't miss out!

Dario Brizuela was on fire as Barça Basket beat KK Crvena zvezda 76-85 in Round 25 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.

Barça Basket thrived in Belgrade as brilliant Dario Brizuela shot the lights out

FC Barcelona stayed on course for a top-four finish in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, as it improved to 17-8 and tightened its grip on the runner-up spot with [a clinical 76-85 win at Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/euroleague-live-blog-kk-crvena-zvezda-vs-barca-basket/).

It was an 11th successive win for Barca against Zvezda, which dropped to 10-15 and dented its hopes of making the playoffs after visiting guard [Dario Brizuela](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/dario-brizuela/009992/) stole the show with 20 points, shooting a career-best 6-of-7 from downtown to silence a raucous home crowd.

Nemanja Nedovic's exhibition of long-range shooting saw Zvezda brush aside Valencia and sustain their aspirations to advance in the competition. Next are a dangerous, yet unpredictable, Barça group longing to rectify its declining away form having fallen in three successive outings on their travels.

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade-FC Barcelona | Round 25 Highlights | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

The 29-year-old’s lethal shooting went hand in hand with Barca’s ironclad defense, which stifled out the home team as it forced a barrage of tough shots while the visitors sank 6-of-11 efforts from long range in the first half.

Four of them came from the effervescent Brizuela, who racked up 14 points in the opening two quarters after coming off the bench and drew heaps of praise from his head coach Roger Grimau for a stellar all-round performance.

“Brizuela had a great game, not just offensively which is easier to see, but also on the defensive end,” Grimau told the post-game press conference. “He has the talent to score but he also used his verticality to very good effect all over the court.

“We had an excellent game at both ends, we controlled it from start to finish and I am really happy with the win and the performance. We have nine games left and we’re only thinking of the next one, it’s such a competitive league and a very tough schedule.”

### Barcelona impressed on defense in Belgrade

Brizuela echoed Grimau’s views that defense was the key to Barca’s win, keeping the Blaugrana in second place behind traditional Spanish rival and reigning EuroLeague champ Real Madrid (22-3).

“A good win. We did a good job on the defensive end and we know that as long as we do that, things will work out on offense,” he commented. “We have to stay focused and move on to the next one.”

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr">Gran victòria, BARÇA! 🚀 <br><br>17-8 i seguim refermant-nos a la segona posició 💪 <a href="https://t.co/ybS1lhvF7t">pic.twitter.com/ybS1lhvF7t</a></p>&mdash; Barça Basket (@FCBbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBbasket/status/1753524041233711373?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Zvezda racked up 16 offensive rebounds, 6 of which came in the first quarter when the Serbian team was able to stay in touch as Barca only led 17-18 at the end of the opening 10 minutes. However, awful three-point shooting (6-of-27) cost the hosts and their head coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos acknowledged his team lacked intensity.

Sfairopoulos chopped and changed throughout the contest in an effort to conjure a fast-flowing unit capable of turning the tide, but he kept hitting a wall as Barca stood its ground throughout the second half after engineering a 32-45 halftime lead.

 “We didn’t have fast and aggressive options on offense, we missed some open shots while Barcelona controlled the game throughout and they deserved to win,” the Greek tactician said.

“We weren’t tough enough to break Barcelona’s rhythm. We tried to change the momentum with lots of different lineups but they scored some tough shots, especially in the first half.”

More Barcelona News

Dario Brizuela of FC Barcelona in action during the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

The 29-year-old guard produced one of the best performances of his career to help the visitors sink Crvena Zvezda.

Barcelona thrived in Belgrade as brilliant Dario Brizuela shot the lights out

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade v FC Barcelona (2024-02-02T19:00:00.000Z)

Isaia Cordinier, Iffe Lundberg and Awudu Abass stepped up late as Virtus Bologna beat KK Partizan 88-84 in Round 25 of the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.

Virtus Bologna trio delivered clutch plays in key win over KK Partizan

Basketball is a highly tactical sport which allows coaches to make a big impact on the outcome with their schemes, personnel decisions and play calling.

Sometimes, though, games are decided by something much simpler: players making plays.

That was definitely the case on Friday night as Virtus Segafredo Bologna returned to third place in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague by [overcoming Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade 88-84](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/news/euroleague-live-blog-virtus-bologna-vs-kk-partizan/) after a game that exploded into life in a crazy final quarter.

Subsequent to a concerning 27-point loss at Barcelona, Virtus endeavour to respond with their habitual strong home form at the expense of a Partizan roster that may rely on Kevin Punter to arrest their problems away from the homecourt having dropped five games in succession on the road.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna-Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade | Round 25 Highlights | 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague

Virtus looked comfortable with a series of double-digit leads in the third quarter, but the visiting team came roaring back and the final period delivered four lead changes, five ties and several spectacular plays at both ends.

### Virtus trio made key plays late on

The first player to step up when it really mattered for the Italian team was [Isaia Cordinier](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/isaia-cordinier/009549/), who scored 6 points in just 42 seconds as the game headed into the final 2 minutes, including a remarkable steal from an inbound pass which allowed him to drive the baseline for a tough layup.

Next it was [Iffe Lundberg](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/iffe-lundberg/010781/), who had produced a series of big plays all night to eventually co-lead the team with 20 points. The last of those came with just 35 seconds remaining, as he calmly sank a three-pointer to give his team a lead, 82-81, which would never be lost.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Again. Again. Again.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AmarsiAncora?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AmarsiAncora</a> <a href="https://t.co/fP0XpQY2TI">pic.twitter.com/fP0XpQY2TI</a></p>&mdash; Virtus Segafredo Bologna (@VirtusSegafredo) <a href="https://twitter.com/VirtusSegafredo/status/1753538588241744215?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Partizan were staying in the game by conjuring up plenty of magic moments of their own, including [James Nunnally](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/james-nunnally/007400/) scoring 6 points in a row, [P.J. Dozier](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/perry-dozier-jr/012742/) rescuing a broken play and beating the shot-clock buzzer by 0.2 seconds, and [Balsa Koprivica](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/balsa-koprivica/011050/) rising high to throw down an alley-oop.

But the last and most decisive crucial moments came from [Awudu Abass](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/awudu-abass/003527/), who firstly stayed cool to sink a pair of free throws for a 3-point lead with 9 seconds remaining. Then Abass authored one of the highlights of Virtus’s season, stealing the resulting inbound pass after a timeout and accelerating clear to detonate a game-clinching dunk.

There was still time for [Marco Belinelli](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/marco-belinelli/bcn/) to make extra sure of the victory from the foul line after [Kevin Punter](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/euroleague/players/kevin-punter/009862/)’s improbable three-pointer gave Partizan some hope, before a breathless contest concluded with Virtus sealing a tenth straight home win.

Victorious coach Luca Banchi summarized perfectly as he said: “We’re talking about two talented teams with a lot of weapons in their arsenal,” he said.

"When you arrive in the clutch, individuals can make the difference. They have many clutch players...\[cue pause for dramatic effect and a cheeky grin\]...we have, too.”

And you can’t argue with that.

More Virtus News

Awudu Abass of Virtus Segafredo Bologna shoots a three-pointer against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in Round 25 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season.

Isaia Cordinier, Iffe Lundberg and Awudu Abass became the heroes late on.

Virtus trio delivered clutch plays in key win over Partizan

Virtus Segafredo Bologna v Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade (2024-02-02T19:30:00.000Z)