A rematch of last season’s championship game will see Real (19-3) look to bounce back from last week’s heavy defeat at Monaco as it hosts dangerous Olympiacos (12-10), which got back into the groove by easily downing Maccabi.
Chus Mateo, Real: 'Olympiacos deserves all my respect'
Nikola Milutinov was the hero with an astonishing 20-point, 20-rebound double-double and will now take on Real's Vincent Poirier, among others. In the backcourt, Thomas Walkup will try to slow down the impact of the competition’s assists leader Facundo Campazzo (6.8 assists per game), while Isaiah Canaan, who also netted 20 points in last week’s win, will enjoy a long-range shooting tussle with Dzanan Musa.
Chus Mateo, Real head coach
"Olympiacos is a very respected club in Europe for all it has achieved over the years, for how it plays, for its coach and for having a style that is easy to recognize. It's a team with a lot of personality, good players and the heart of a champion. It's a very well-structured and very well-armed team. It's true that they lost two important players in Kostas Sloukas and Sasha Vezenkov, but they covered for that really well until injuries arrived, and now they are regaining their habitual consistency. If their physical problems permit, Olympiacos is going to finish high because it's a championship club, one with great heart and pride that always comes out ahead in the critical moments. For that reason, they deserve all my respect."
Gabriel Deck, Real player
"Tomorrow we expect to do things well and pull off the game against Olympiacos, a team that rebounds and shoots three-pointers very well. At home, we have to make ourselves even stronger with the support of our people. We will give our maximum to try to stay unbeaten at WiZink Center. We'll have to put all of our character on the court and fact a great team with great names who are playing very well and will require us to give our best."
Giorgos Bartzokas, Olympiacos head coach
"The opponent is a very, very difficult one. We also must see how we are doing, who we are, what the re-adjusting we need to be doing is in which aspects of our game, so that we are competitive. This is important. We are minus two centers and we don't know if Nigel Williams-Goss can play. We have to see how we are doing, what plays we must play on both ends of the court in order to contest for the win. Some players will be getting more minutes, others will play in different positions... But we are going to try to be tough and competitive, as always."
Luke Sikma, Olympiacos player
"I believe that, more than anything else, we must play with confidence and as a team. Trying to win in Madrid is difficult. They are very strong, especially at home. But, we must play hard and be competitive. We must be totally focused to make it."