Olympiacos Piraeus forward Kostas Papanikolaou was named the Player of the Game after shining in his team's impressive 85-92 win at Valencia Basket, as the 32-year-old tied his Euroleague career high of 22 points to help keep the Reds in the competition’s driving seat.

Having won back-to-back Euroleague titles with Olympiacos in 2012 and 2013 in the early stages of his career, Papanikolaou underlined his credentials to play a major role as a stalwart in his team's bid to capture its third title in Europe’s premier club competition since the turn of the century.

With Olympiacos struggling in the first half against a fired-up Valencia, Papanikolaou kept his team in the game by amassing 13 points in the opening two quarters.

He also stepped up in the second half, nailing a clutch three-pointer to give the visitors an unassailable 78-88 lead in the dying minutes, clenching his fists in delight as he silenced a vocal home crowd.

The best plays of Kostas Papanikolaou during Olympiacos Piraeus's 85-92 win at Valencia Basket.

Kostas Papanikolaou's highlights vs. Valencia

Papanikolaou personified Olympiacos's resilience and the ability to win games in the face of adversity, as the Reds only hit top gear after twice falling 15 points behind in the first half.

“What matters most is the win. This is what will make us happy at the end of the season, if we keep winning and put ourselves in a great position,” Papanikolaou said in a flash post-game interview.

“It was a very tough game, a very tough crowd; they know their basketball. Personally, I love playing here. I have great memories of playing here. If you win the memories are better, but like I said before, it’s a great place to play. The fans here know how to create a great atmosphere.”

It was a big win for Papanikolaou and Olympiacos, as the Reds end another round at the top of the EuroLeague standings.

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Kostas Papanikolaou rolled back the years at La Fonteta

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

ALBA Berlin recorded its seventh win of the season on Friday night after coming back to beat Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, 72-87. ALBA was down by double digits in the first half, but it found a way to stay in the game thanks to its stellar two-point accuracy and overall dominance in the paint.

ALBA outrebounded Zvezda 38-24, and the visitors were particularly active on the glass in the fourth quarter, grabbing 15 rebounds to the hosts' 8. Of those 15 boards, 6 came on the offensive end, while Zvezda has 8 offensive rebounds in the entire game.

But, even before that, ALBA was particularly efficient inside the arc. ALBA was an impressive 14-of-18 (77.8%) on two-pointers in the first half, and it had an identical percentage going into the fourth quarter, having gone 21-of-27 (77.8%).

ALBA finished the game 27-of-41 (65.9%) in that department, but it made up for those extra fourth-quarter missed shots by dominating the glass.

Gabriele Procida had 11 points on 4-for-4 two-point shooting, as well as 3 offensive rebounds. Yani Wetzell came up big with 9 points and 6 rebounds. Luke Sikma and Louis Olinde also had multiple offensive boards, while guards Maodo Lo and Jaleen Smith were a combined 10-for-12 on two-point attempts in a big win.

Stellar ALBA dominated Zvezda inside

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

Olympiacos Piraeus showed its trademark resilience as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague leader twice bounced back from a 15-point deficit in the first half to overpower Valencia Basket 85-92 at La Fonteta on Friday night. This victory allowed it to stay in the competition’s pole position.

Valencia, who stunned its more heralded opponent 82-83 in the reverse fixture in Greece, looked capable of completing a regular-season sweep over the Reds, but instead it fell to its seventh successive home loss against Olympiacos.

The hosts led throughout the first half after firing on all cylinders from three-point range, but they looked out of their depth after Olympiacos shored up its defensive leaks to win the third quarter 13-30.

The aggressive approach employed by Olympiacos on defense also enabled it to carve out a barrage of uncontested shots on offense. The Reds ended the game shooting 20-of-26 from two-point range and 13-of-28 from beyond the arc, while Valencia’s percentages dropped dramatically in a flat second-half display. In the game as a whole, Valencia went 12-of-25 from two-point range and 16-of-38 from three.

Just as crucially, Olympiakos racked up 10 more defensive rebounds, 18-28, which gave it plenty of extra possessions, while the two teams posted 5 offensive boards each.

Olympiakcos committed 20 turnovers, but it compensated for slack caretaking of the ball with an impressive 25 assists, the bulk of which came in a one-sided second half, when Valencia had clearly run out of steam.

Olympiacos thrived at Valencia with shooting and rebounding

Virtus Segafredo Bologna’s strong point defensively is holding opposing teams below their usual rate on three-pointers. And that trait was one of the biggest reasons why Virtus was able to defeat Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz on Friday night.

Virtus allowed Baskonia to shoot just 30.3% on three-pointers in an 88-83 home victory, with the visitors going just 1-of-8 from deep in the fourth quarter.

Virtus came into the game giving up just 33.4% on three-pointers, which is good for second best in the entire Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. In fact, this is the only main defensive statistic in which it is in the upper half of the rankings.

Baskonia, meanwhile, had been averaging 36.0% from long range. The guests also dished out 14 assists, 5.6 fewer than their average, and committed 13 turnovers, 2.2 more than their average. Seven Virtus players had steals, with Mam Jaiteh leading the way with 3.

Virtus leaned on perimeter defense to beat Baskonia

Virtus Segafredo Bologna v Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (2023-02-24T19:30:00.000Z)

ALBA Berlin came back from a 13-point first-quarter deficit to stun Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 72-87 on Friday night in the Serbian capital. Even though it is a big upset and has snapped ALBA's six-game losing streak, a 15-point win after trailing by double digits is not something that is unheard of when ALBA takes on Zvezda. On the contrary.

This is ALBA's fourth consecutive road win over Zvezda. A rally from a 13-point deficit is tied for the club's biggest comeback in a road game that hasn't gone to overtime. The only time ALBA erased a bigger deficit in a EuroLeague road game this century also came at Zvezda's home, Aleksandar Nikolic Hall, back in December 2020. That day, it reversed a 64-50 deficit in the fourth quarter to win in overtime, 84-90.

ALBA also won at this same gym last season, beating Zvezda 63-78, the exact 15-point margin that ALBA matched on Friday night.

In this Round 25 game, Zvezda led 25-12 in the final minute of the first quarter and it had a 12-point lead in the second, but the Berliners rallied behind Louis Olinde and Maodo Lo, before running away with it with an 11-27 fourth quarter.

ALBA enjoyed historic comeback vs. Zvezda... again

In a game that saw it commit 15 turnovers, FC Barcelona used great efficiency inside the arc to beat AS Monaco 80-70 at Palau Blaugrana on Friday night.

Barcelona made 22 of its 31 two-point attempts. That 71.0% accuracy is Barca's season-high, and its third-best in a single game since the 2016-17 season.

Nine different Barca players made at least 1 two-pointer, and no player missed more than 3 attempts.

On the other hand, Monaco made 51.3% of its shots from two-point range, and it was 5-for-16 from three-point land (31.3%). All this while shooting a respectable 8-for-20 (40.0%) from long range helped Barca keep control of things throughout the night, as it never trailed after the opening minutes.

Barcelona beat Monaco with season-best shooting night

FC Barcelona v AS Monaco (2023-02-24T19:45:00.000Z)

Anadolu Efes Istanbul returned to Turkish Airlines EuroLeague action in Round 25, registering an 89-90 road victory against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. It did so without Vasilije Micic, but a lot of people were pushing for the back-to-back champs.

 

Efes played its first game in three weeks in the wake of the tragic earthquake in Turkiye and Syria, which led to the postponement of its Round 24 game against Real Madrid and all domestic basketball in Turkey, including the Turkish Cup tournament. Just like Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul did in Belgrade the night before, Efes wore black jerseys at the Astroballe to honor the victims.

 

Efes led for the best part of the game, but ASVEL came back in the fourth quarter and a three-pointer by Dee Bost gave the hosts an 89-86 lead in the final minute. Everything had to work on Efes's favor from then on, and it did. First, Will Clyburn drew a foul with 40.8 seconds left. He was 4-of-7 until then, but he made both attempts to make it a 1-point game, 89-88. Bost missed a rainbow jumper from the free-throw line, Elijah Bryant grabbed the rebound and then Efes ran the game clock as much as possible.

 

Bost picked up a foul when trying to steal the ball from Clyburn's hands. Clyburn returned to the line and was perfect again to put Efes ahead, 89-90. ASVEL called its last timeout with 5.5 seconds remaining. Right after it, Clyburn poked the ball out of Nando De Colo's hands, which meant that ASVEL could not get a shot up in time. Efes had shown resilience and patience, staying calm in critical moment to win the game.

 

Coach Ergin Ataman's first words were for those struggling in Turkiye, his home country.

 

"First of all, I am happy because after many days with big problems, with big sadness for me, for my players, for our supporters, maybe now for one instant, we gave happiness to the people are watching this game in our country," he said. 

 

"We lost many games this season on the last ball in overtime, in the last seconds. Now, in this game, I believe that we played good on offense, but in the last five minutes, we missed some easy free throws, had turnovers and let ASVEL Villeurbanne, especially De Colo, who is a great player, very difficult to guard him one-on-one… we let them come back to the game," Coach Ataman added. "But finally, we used well the last ball, played good defense. It is an important victory for our situation in the standings."

 

Clyburn finished the game with 20 points. Larkin had 16 and 5 assists, playing over 36 minutes in Micic's absence. Elijah Byrant was Efes's X-factor, getting his first double-double in his 121st EuroLeague career game with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Efes only allowed ASVEL to grab 4 offensive rebounds, which was one of the biggest keys to this win.

 

Efes still has to play twice on the road, against Panathinaikos Athens and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, before what will be a very emotional comeback to Sinan Erdem Sport Hall, where it hosts Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in Round 28. But, this win at ASVEL was a nice way to put a smile back on the Efes fans' faces back in Turkiye.

Efes 'gave happiness' to Turkish fans

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne v Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2023-02-24T19:00:00.000Z)

Anadolu Efes Istanbul had to battle for 40 minutes to edge LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 89-90 at the Astroballe in Round 25. ASVEL circulated the ball well, but Efes's shot selection was key in it winning the game.

ASVEL finished the contest with 18 assists and 9 turnovers. Efes had more turnovers, 15, than assists, 13, and still managed to win the game. Boxing out was one of the ways in which Efes secured the victory. Efes pulled down 23 defensive rebounds and allowed ASVEL to get just 4 offensive boards. Efes grabbed 85.2% of all rebounds under its basket. As for ASVEL, it had 19 defensive boards while Efes had 8 offensive boards. The hosts grabbed just 70.4% of all rebounds under their rim.

Efes shot the ball really well from all angles, mainly in one-on-one and isolation plays. The guests hit 21-of-32 two-pointers (65.6% 2FG) and half of its 22 shots from beyond the arc. ASVEL was solid inside the arc, burying 27-of-41 two-pointers (65.9% 2FG) but could not catch up from three-point range, downing 7-of-20 attempts (35.0% 3FG). ASVEL (99) had a higher team PIR than Efes (96), but it was not enough to win the game.

Efes's shot selection was key against ASVEL

FC Barcelona won its fourth straight game on Friday night, downing the visiting AS Monaco 80-70 on at Palau Blaugrana. It could prove to be a key win in a race for home-court advantage in the playoffs, as Barcelona swept Monaco and improved to a 17-8 record in third-place. The visitors, meanwhile, dropped to 15-10 in fifth place.

Barcelona controlled things for much of the night, and it was able to overcame its offensive struggles in the third and early part of the fourth quarter to register the win. Tomas Satoransky finished with 15 points, while Jan Vesely paired 12 points with 7 rebounds and Cory Higgins also scored 12. Mike James had 14 points for Monaco, with Jordan Loyd and Alpha Diallo both adding 13 points apiece in a losing effort.

A pair of triples from Alex Abrines helped Barcelona open a 12-6 lead early on. Diallo got Monaco going, and Elie Okobo took it to the rim to cut the deficit to just 1 point, but Nikola Kalinic hit from downtown and Mirotic scored from close range to make it 24-18 after 10 minutes. Higgins scored twice and Vesely had a three-point play and a big dunk to open a 33-22 margin. Loyd answered with a pair of three-pointers, but Rokas Jokubaitis hit a three of his own and Vesely had two more dunks to help the hosts maintain a double-digit margin, 50-39, at the break.

Things changed in the third quarter, with both teams struggling offensively. A three-pointer from Nicolas Laprovittola opened a 64-52 advantage, but the visitors scored the last 5 points of the third quarter, including a three from Jaron Blossomgame, and the first 5 points of the fourth as a James floater cut it to 65-62. Barcelona was held scoreless for almost six minutes, but Vesely and Higgins gave the hosts an offensive spark with five minutes left to play. Diallo hit a three, but Satoransky answered with a three-point play as Barcelona found a way to close it out.